Chapter 2: Wake-Up Call
Five years until Aloy's Proving.
POV: Rion
"Holy shit, that's cold!"
My entire body convulsed as if I'd been dunked in liquid nitrogen. Cryo sleep wasn't supposed to feel like getting flash-frozen in a microwave.
I blinked against the frost clinging to my eyelashes and spotted a manual release. My fingers—stiff and shaking—found the latch. A hydraulic hiss followed, and the pod cracked open like a thousand-year-old coffin breathing out death and recycled failure.
"Nothing like waking up to the scent of moldy metal and fermented regret," I muttered as I stumbled out, knees buckling. My legs felt like wet spaghetti—useable, barely.
The cryo chamber was being swallowed by nature and time. Moss and vines had crept in through shattered ceiling panels, clinging to stalactites of rust and frozen condensation. Whatever this place once was, it belonged to the Earth again.
I stretched, noting the change in my body. Younger. Cleaner slate. The age reset worked. Fewer scars. Less weight. If I moved right, ate clean, and played my perks smart, I might actually become stronger than I ever was.
Then I saw the corpse.
Slumped beside a crate like he'd died waiting for something. Maybe me. His skeletal hand still reached toward a small triangular device.
A Focus.
I crouched. "Who were you, man?"
I didn't expect an answer. I took the Focus and pressed it to my temple.
The world exploded into light.
Holographic overlays flooded my vision—data streams, environmental readings, heat signatures, all cascading in real-time. It was like stepping into a sci-fi HUD. Then came her voice.
"Hey, sleeping beauty. Enjoy stasis?"
"Terra." I sighed. "Chipper as ever."
"That Focus belonged to my last assistant," she said. "He wanted his family uplifted in another universe. Paid in full. No gods, no magic—just status earned the hard way."
"Good trade," I muttered.
"Crate next to him is yours. Check it."
I opened it. Inside: a sleek, matte-black undersuit—vault-suit adjacent, but edgier. Military-grade. Thin but armored. Regulated temperature and offered mild elemental resistance. Good enough for now.
Something heavier clunked against the side.
I pulled it free.
A revolver. Black with gold vine etchings, six-chambered, ugly and beautiful in equal measure. It looked like it belonged in a Destiny trailer.
Focus blinked.
"Custom piece," Terra explained. "Won't break as long as you're alive. Generates six rounds daily. Capped at twenty-four. You'll find recipes out there—gacha-style unlocks for more exotic ammo."
Perfect.
I loaded the six provided rounds using a speed loader. It had weight, balance—this was a killer's gun. If I could shoot half as well as I wanted to, it'd sing.
Next up: a weird-looking wrist module—smooth, screenless. My Focus identified it.
"Welcome to the Nanoboy 3000!" chirped Terra's voice.
An inventory system. Nano-compression tech. Ten item slots lit up. Expandable, probably. Welcome to the age of looting with style.
A blinking prompt:
ENTER NAME
I typed in Rion.
[WELCOME TO THE NEW WORLD.]
Then came the big one.
[YOU'RE S.P.E.C.I.A.L.]
No pressure, right?
Stat Allocation:
Strength – 7
Perception – 5
Endurance – 7
Charisma – 5
Intelligence – 6
Agility – 6
Luck – 4
Solid survivability base with flexibility. No dump stats—because this wasn't a game anymore. No save scumming. No cheese builds.
Then the skill tree opened like a floodgate—dozens of rows, all interconnected. Fallout roots, Horizon structure, with that extra Kengan flair.
Key Skills:
(only highlights shown for brevity)
Guns – 16: Revolver proficiency. Every shot counts.
Melee Weapons – 18: In this world, bullets are rare. Blades aren't.
Martial Arts – 18: Not "Unarmed"—actual forms. Kure Clan bloodline stuff. It was already in me, waiting to be triggered.
Parkour – 16: Because terrain is your greatest ally and worst enemy.
Other Notables:
Crafting – 15: Not just scrap glue. Reinventing tech.
Medicine – 15: Stim packs won't make themselves.
Repair – 16: Because everything worth using breaks.
Sneak – 15: Every hunter knows stealth is survival.
Science – 16: For hacking terminals, cracking bunkers, decoding ancient AI logs.
Cooking – 18: Apparently I had Gordon Ramsay stats. Might be useful.
Everything was here. Fallout logic with Horizon necessity. The building blocks of a hybrid survivor.
Traits Selected:
Trigger Discipline: Slower fire, more accuracy. Save those rare rounds.
Skilled: Slower XP gain, but a higher starting line. Worth it.
The system locked in.
And just like that, it felt real. Tangible.
I was no longer some unlucky bastard reborn with potential—I was Rion, survivor of a fallen world, inheritor of three legacies: technology, combat, and chaos.
A glint caught my eye—half of a shattered panel embedded in the wall, its surface warped but still reflective enough. I walked over, curious.
What stared back was familiar and foreign.
Blonde hair, unruly and just long enough to hang over my brow. Eyes—blue, but not quite. They shimmered with silver edges, like starlight frozen in water. And then the scar—faint but unmistakable—a horizontal line carved between my lower lip and chin. Not a wound from this life. Terra must've carried that one over on purpose.
"Still me," I muttered, tracing the scar with a thumb. "Just... rebooted."
I didn't look weak. Younger, maybe—but not soft. And there was something in the eyes. Like they'd already seen things no one should.
"Alright..." I muttered. "Time to start looting."
I grabbed a loose panel and began ripping through every inch of the room—nanowires, cryo hinges, scrap metal. Inventory slots filled fast.
If it wasn't nailed down?
It was mine.
….
Crushing bit.
📦 Inventory: Rion – Day 0 | Location: Cryo Facility Gamma🔫 Primary Weapon: Terra's Gift
Type: Custom Revolver
Chamber: 6 rounds
Material: Reinforced composite alloy with gold-vein nano-etching
Origin: God-Tier Armament | Terra-Modified
Status: Synced (Bound to User's Life Force)
Perks:
🔁 Self-Recharging Ammunition: Generates 6 standard rounds per day. Max capacity: 24.
🎯 Divine Balance: Enhanced stability and recoil control.
💀 Goddess Marked: Critical hits emit a tracer burst visible only to the wielder (guides future shots).
Ammo Types (Locked):
Cryo Dust
Shock Pulse
Piercing Ember
Hollow Echo
Note: Exotic ammo unlocks via Focus Scan & Crafting Schematics.
🧥 Armor: Horizon Reboot Suit Mk.I
Type: Tactical Undersuit
Material: Smart-fiber weave | Vault-tech lineage, GAIA-integrated
Status: Operational
Perks:
🌡️ Thermal Regulator: Protects against moderate environmental shifts
🔍 Minor Stealth Index: Reduces noise and visibility in foliage/ruins
🛡️ Pressure Damping Layer: Reduces fall damage and kinetic shock
Upgrade Slots: 2 (Locked)
⌚ Nanoboy 3000 Wrist Module
Type: Inventory Management & Compression Assistant
Status: Active
Slots Available: 10
Expansion Possible: Yes (Modules Required)
Known Features:
🧲 Auto-compression of qualified gear
🔍 Focus Sync Integration
⚙️ Quick-Slot Recall (2-sec draw time)
📘 Focus
Model: Pre-Derangement Tri-Link Model
Status: Synced
Functions:
AR Overlay
Environmental Scans
Machine Tagging
Data Log Playback
Tactical Mapping (Mini-map requires uplink tower sync)
🔧 Materials Collected (Initial Loot Sweep)Cryo-Pod Hinges (Steel x2)
Nanowire Strips (x5)
Reinforced Panel (x1)
Power Cell Fragment (Low Grade)
Old World Fasteners (x12)
Fungal Rations (Stale, Possibly Edible)