After Daudi the ride-share driver drove away, Ven was left alone staring at the Malaika convention center with a beaming eyes. Staring at the chestnut building was almost bloodcurdling, would the twenty-first Emergence really take place there in about twenty minutes?

  He panted as he slowly pulled himself to the front door. He audibly gasped when he realized the front glass double doors were locked.

  C'mon I got to get inside! I want things to change! Ven thought as he repeatedly and desperately yanked the doors. He stopped pulling the locked glass doors when he realized he heard faint voices in the distance. The distant voices seemed surprisingly close, likely within the nearby area.

  His gaze shifted to the right where a beautifully manicured field of grass lay. Then he looked to the left to see a large stadium concealed behind imposing black gates. The origin of the voices had to have been the stadium. With fatigued legs, he began to approach the gates. The voices grew louder with each step he took. As he attempted to navigate the slight ramp leading to the black gates, he accidentally misplaced his walker, causing him to tumble to the ground. The concrete was unforgiving.

  He groaned as he placed both of his hands on his chest on the ground. The swift impact increased the intensity of his chest pain from surgery. He was worried about the possibility of another medical emergency. His heart thumped rapidly against his hands; it was resembling the beat of a drum that wouldn't subside. He was unsure if he was dying or if he was just having another panic attack. Momentarily, the pain in his chest began to die down and his heart rate regulated. It seemed he was fine… for now.

  Maybe this is the day I die, but I must get through those gates, he thought as he yanked his pained body upright. He certainly did still fear death, his quivering hands reminded him of that face, yet his determination for a new life outweighed his apprehension. Thus, he kept propelling himself forward without.

  With determination dabbed in despair, he fixed his eyes on the black gates. If the sight was the twenty-first Emergence, then it was only a few feet away. It was time to see if his life was really about to change forever. He pulled out his phone from the pocket of his black shorts to check the time. 11:41pm, the theorized emergence wouldn't take place for at least twenty minutes.

  Slowly, he made his way through the black gates. His weary eyes scanned a vast soccer field with huge gray bleachers on both sides of the field. As he looked closer, he spotted a multitude of people sitting in the bleachers closest to the gates. Some were engaging in conversation, while others were sitting in quietly. The quiet ones were gazing at the stars with excitement drawn on their gullible faces. About fifty people were eagerly awaiting the rumored event.

  He could of swore that the voices of the civilians grew mute for a second when he walked closer to the bleachers, panting heavily. It was as if everyone was looking at him like some sort of skeptical.

  "Okay, who invited the cripple?" he heard somebody say.

  Ven rolled his eyes and sat on the bleachers while looking at the neatly manicured grass. If this thing works, I'll show you who the cripple is, thought Ven as he plopped down on the front row of the hard metal seats. His hospital robe and walker likely grabbed a lot of unwanted stares. He sat away from most of the people.

  His feet felt like cinder blocks and his breathing was operating faster than a helicopter. His profuse sweat cascaded to the ground like water from a hose, the exhaustion almost made him feel feverish. He had only travelled a short distance, it was almost baffling how much he couldn't keep up with physical activity. He placed his hand on his chest for the millionth time. His BPM was still higher than a flying saucer, however there wasn't any serious pain.

  He stared again at all of the other guests. He realized that most of the people in attendance were not Baharian, as Baharians were dark skinned people with afro textured hair. Some appeared to have hailed from Alpinea, due to their pale skin, blue eyes, and blonde hair. The attendees with light skin, dark hair and slanted eyes appeared to have hailed from Korya. Some could have came from the diverse superhero capital itself - Spectralis, Aerilon. There were many other nationalities he saw in the crowd as well. Some of the guests were male and some were female, however there were slightly more males. The twenty-first Emergence was rumored to occur within the nation of Bahari. Alpinea and Korya were both quite far away from Bahari, perhaps the possibility of getting into another Emergence was worth any distance. Hopefully, they all received their deeply coveted superpowers.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  "This gonna' happen or what?" Ven heard a voice say in the distance. He didn't like eavesdropping on conversations, but perhaps now was the best time to. Not like he had anything better to do.

  "Of course it's gonna' happen. xHeroMan36, has never been wrong."

  "There's no guarantee that the guy who made that post was the real xHeroMan36 though! Could have just been a hoax! That's happened before!"

  "Well it better be the real him! I took off work for this!"

  Ven began to feel even more uneasiness. If the post was a hoax, his perilous journey would have been for nothing. He checked his phone again, now it was 11:47pm - still a few more minutes before the alleged Emergence.

  "What are you gonna do once you get superpowers?" He heard a woman ask someone in another group.

  "Rob a bank of course," a man answered.

  "That would make you a supervillain then Rodney!"

  "I wouldn't be a supervillain... I'd only rob banks on Tuesdays. Big difference."

  "Whatever you say!"

  Ven chuckled, before taking another substantial gulp of water. No doubt the Emergence would also give birth to more supervillains as well if it were real. Since that was the case, governments were allegedly keeping people away from Emergence sites, however there was no resistance to the site he was at. Perhaps it was because the governments didn't take it seriously. False reports of Emergences were probably common. Nonetheless, it was inevitable for some emergees to transform into supervillains—a terrible side effect that shattered the notion of a world without villains.

  Tilting his head back, Ven kept drawing deep breaths to recover his composure. He was relieved that his heart rate had somewhat normalized, now he had no choice but to wait and see what the stroke of midnight would bring. Closing his sleepy eyes, he attempted to relax while laughing at his own foolishness. The idea of leaving that spot without gaining superpowers would make him the biggest idiot of all time. He could only hope that wouldn't be the case. Embracing the cold air that embraced his weary body, he eventually drifted into a deep slumber... or so it seemed.

  ****

  As fast chilling winds blew past his ears, Ven surveyed his strange surroundings. While trying to get a grip on where he was, he took in the mellow sight of a cloudy sky with snow gently descending. The biting cold wrapped around him like it was something alive, squeezing him tight. It made the atmosphere feel surreal, yet eerie.

  Then it hit him—he was way up in the sky. Higher than he’d ever been. He was standing on the narrow peak of a snowy mountain, and there was barely any space beneath his feet. One wrong move, and he’d fall. He took a deep breath and looked down. There was no ground. Just endless mist and empty space. He had no idea how high he was—but whatever it was, it was too high.

  The whole scene already had him on edge, but things just kept getting weirder. Off in the distance, he spotted another mountain. At first, it seemed normal—until he noticed it was drifting toward him. When he looked down, he realized that his mountain appeared to be moving as well. Both of them were slowly closing the space between. It was all so perplexing.

  As the mountain got closer, Ven’s eyes went wide. There was a figure standing on top. It was dressed in sparky white clothing, and had wings that were shimmering in the light. The being looked so angelic. For a moment, Ven actually felt calm... Safe even. He couldn’t see its face, but he assumed it would be spectacular.

  Then everything changed.

  The angel's pure white garments turned dark as ash, and its wings lost their luscious shine. The once serene white sky transformed into a dark and miserable stormy abyss. The wind also became as quick as a hurricane, unforgiving and brutal.

  Terrified, Ven's gaze now met the figure's face, revealing horrifying red eyes that made his downcast soul cry out for mercy. He was quivering like a startled prey in the presence of a ruthless predator. Looking into those awful eyes made the young man experience more fear then he had ever experienced in his entire life—far greater than the fear preceding surgery or even the fear facing cardiac arrest. Attempting to scream as inconsiderate rain buffeted his frightened face, he found his voice silenced.

  What he was staring at was a monster... an angel of darkness masquerading as an angel of light. A dreadful deception that left him feeling like a tiny flame dying in the unforgiving wind.