"Ugh…"
A pained groan broke the silence. A young man lay curled up on a pile of blankets, clutching his head like it was going to rip open. A brutal headache tore through him, every throb like hooves kicking inside his skull.
"What the hell just happened?" he muttered, groaning as he rubbed his temples.
His name was Julius. And the last thing he remembered was syncing his new NeuroLens. Everyone had one now. Augmented contact lenses, supposedly revolutionary, handed out free by the government. Smart assist, overlays, real-time guidance. Designed to make life easier, or so they said.
He'd just started the installation when everything had gone black.
Then it hit him. Eyes widened in shock.
"Shit. Did my head actually explode?"
Before he could panic, fragments of memories not his own flashed across his mind. Foreign. Disjointed. But real. His limbs twitched uncontrollably. His whole body shook like he was convulsing. Then it stopped.
"Wait. Did I transmigrate?"
The confusion on his face slowly faded. What replaced it was disbelief. And underneath that, excitement.
This world… it was nothing like Earth. From the memories, it was massive. Unbelievably vast. And insane.
Towering beasts, mountain-sized monsters, and humans who could evolve their bodies into living weapons and turn into Giants.
With the right formulas and training manuals, people could force their bodies to form something called Cellular Resonance. That resonance fueled their evolution into Titans beings who could fight monsters head-on, or even fuse with them to steal their power.
Julius's heart started racing. He sat up fast and instantly regretted it. Pain shot through his ribs and skull.
Right. This body had died.
He clenched his fist, expression hardening.
" Jack…"
His voice was low.
"If I'm using your body, I'll settle your debts."
The memories came in clearer now. This Julius guy was trash. Could barely get past the second stage of some basic body refinement technique. Three years of struggle for nothing. Everyone thought he was useless.
Julius scanned the room.
No bed. Just blankets. One broken chair. Two piles of syringes in the corner. One clean. One dirty.
Right. That was how this guy survived. Scavenged used syringes, cleaned them, and resold them on the street. Occasionally found leftover serum, sold it off for scraps. Not much of a life.
Julius's stomach growled.
He sighed. The last bit of food was supposed to last until tomorrow, but with these injuries, he needed energy now.
Dragging himself across the room, he pulled out a small box hidden under one of the syringe piles. Inside was a half-squashed sandwich and some wilted greens.
He lifted the sandwich. Right before biting into it, something flickered across his vision.
[Item: Nutella Sandwich]
[Grade: Low]
[Energy: 2]
[Effect: Barely suppresses hunger. No real benefit.]
"What the f*ck?"
Julius blinked hard.
"That's the A.I. assistant from the NeuroLens. How the hell is it still active?"
He stared at the floating text, brain working overtime.
"It can't be just hardware anymore, there's no way. That thing fused with my soul.
He tested it.
"Assistant. Scan internal systems."
A chime. Text filled his view.
[Scan Complete]
[Name: Julius Thennon