The scene opens with a typical afternoon in Raiden's room.
Posters of the latest anime series and video games cover the walls, and the low hum of music plays in the background.
Raiden, Zohar, and Kaito sit scattered around the room, books open but clearly distracted. The air is filled with light-hearted conversation, the trio of friends doing their best to avoid their homework.
"Ugh, this math assignment's going to be the end of me. How does this even help us in real life?"
Raiden said scrunching a piece of paper.
Zohar, smirks
"Maybe if we throw the homework at our problems, they'll go away."
Kaito, chuckling: "Yeah, 'cause that always works."
They laugh, shifting into a comfortable silence as Raiden scrolls through his phone.
"Yo, have you guys seen this new trend? People are doing all sorts of crazy stuff to go viral. Last week, someone was eating an entire jar of mayonnaise."
Zohar rolls his eyes.
"That's just gross. The internet never disappoints."
Kaito, shakes his head.
"You guys are too caught up in this meaningless stuff. There's something bigger going on."
Raiden and Zohar exchange skeptical glances. Kaito, always the one to dive into conspiracy theories or religious debates, was clearly gearing up for one of his infamous lectures.
He reaches over to his laptop and pulls up a webpage, pointing at the screen excitedly.
"Check this out. It's a forum I've been following. People all over the world are saying they've been 'Chosen.' There are reports of strange powers manifesting out of nowhere, signs from the gods."
Raiden, leaning forward "Chosen? Like... supernatural stuff?"
Zohar, scoffing. "Come on, Kaito. You can't seriously believe this. It's probably just a bunch of people trying to get clout. Like that guy who said he could summon spirits but was just using mirrors."
"You really think everything's about clout? These people aren't just pretending. There are reports of people doing things no human should be able to do—controlling fire, moving objects with their minds. You think that's all fake?"
Raiden and Zohar remain unconvinced, but there's a flicker of doubt in their expressions.
"Even if it's real... why now? Why all at once?" Raiden asks in a unconvinced tone.
"That's the question, isn't it? Maybe the gods are finally stepping in. Maybe they're tired of watching us from the sidelines and are choosing their warriors."
Zohar shakes his head, still skeptical.
"You really believe in all this? The gods, the Chosen Ones?"
Kaito leans back with a confident smirk.
"Of course. The gods are always watching. It's a sin to be a non-believer, Raiden. You should brush up on your faith."
Raiden laughs, but the seed of curiosity is planted. Zohar, meanwhile, seems more interested in poking holes in the theory.
"Okay, let's say you're right. How come none of us have seen anything? We'd know if someone in our school suddenly had powers, right?"
Kaito, shrugs his shoulders "Maybe we're just not looking closely enough. Or maybe... we haven't been Chosen yet."
The room falls into an awkward silence, the weight of Kaito's words lingering. Raiden and Zohar exchange another glance, but neither says anything. The thought, however ridiculous it seemed, sticks with them.
Raiden, trying to break the tension.
"Right, well, until we start flying or shooting lasers from our eyes, I'll stick to my math homework."
Kaito nudges Raiden.
"Hey, don't say I didn't warn you."
As the conversation shifts back to normalcy, none of them realize that Kaito's words would soon prove more than just a conspiracy theory. The world as they know it was on the brink of change, and they would soon find themselves at the center of it all.
The clock reads 17:00, and the warm glow of the setting sun filters into Raiden's room. Kaito checks his phone before standing up from the floor, closing his laptop, and stuffing it into his bag.
"I gotta head home. My parents are expecting me for dinner."
Zohar, stretches. "Yeah, me too. Later, bro."
Raiden gets up, walking them both to the door.
"See you guys tomorrow. Don't forget the math homework."
Kaito smiles.
"I won't. And hey, don't ignore my email later. I'm serious about those forums."
Raiden chuckles.
"Yeah, yeah."
They exchange a few more goodbyes before Raiden closes the door behind them.
As he heads back into the house, he hears his parents talking quietly in the kitchen.
His father is sitting at the table with a newspaper in hand, and his mother is chopping vegetables for dinner.
Raiden's mum shouts.
"Raiden, come in here for a minute."
He enters the kitchen, where the weight of an impending conversation hangs in the air.
Raiden's Dad, has a serious look on his face
"We need to talk about your grades."
Raiden slumps into a chair, already knowing where this conversation is headed.
"Your teachers are concerned. If you don't step it up, you might be held back. Maybe not just one year, but two."
"I know. I'm trying, okay? I'll get better. I just... I've had a lot on my mind."
Raiden's moms expression is the opposite to his dads, softer, sweeter.
"We don't want to see you fall behind, Raiden. You have so much potential, but you need to focus."
He nods, guilt gnawing at him. They're right, of course, but he can't shake the feeling that his mind has been elsewhere lately. Something about Kaito's conspiracy theories, those strange forum posts about the Chosen Ones, had been sticking with him.
"I'll do better. I promise."
His parents share a glance but let the conversation end there. Raiden grabs a plate of dinner—steamed rice and chicken—before heading upstairs to his room.
The room is dimly lit by the soft glow of his desk lamp, casting long shadows across the walls. Raiden sets the plate on his desk, ignoring the cluttered textbooks and loose papers. He quickly eats while scrolling through his phone, then tosses the plate aside and heads to the bathroom for a quick shower.
Refreshed, Raiden dries his hair as he stares into the mirror. His eyes linger on his reflection—short, scruffy hair, a slim frame, and tired eyes staring back at him. His thoughts drift, wondering how he could push himself to be better. Kaito's words echo in his mind: "People all over the world are becoming Chosen Ones."
Raiden, murmurs to himself .
"How do I get stronger? How do I... change?"
After slipping into a fresh set of clothes, he returns to his desk and opens his laptop.
The dim light from the screen flickers to life, filling the dark room.
Absentmindedly, he types in search queries about workout plans, martial arts training, anything that might help him feel more in control.
But it feels useless.
Just then, a notification pings in the corner of his screen—a new email from Kaito. The subject line reads:
"You're Skeptical, But Check This Out."
Raiden clicks on it, intrigued despite himself.
Kaito's Email: I know you don't believe in all this stuff, but just look at these forums. Some people are talking about ancient Greek gods and how Hercules wasn't just a myth—he was a Chosen One, given divine strength by Zeus. There are stories like this in every culture. Maybe there's something to it.
Attached to the email are links to several forum posts, each with strange, convoluted threads about ancient myths, divine powers, and mysterious phenomena happening around the world.
Raiden scrolls through them, his skepticism battling with a nagging curiosity.
His eyes narrow as he clicks on a post titled: "Hercules, A True Chosen One of Zeus?"
The post talks about how ancient myths like the tale of Hercules weren't just stories—they were exaggerated accounts of real people who had been granted powers by the gods.
It explains how Hercules' strength was a gift from Zeus, a divine power passed down to him.
Raiden leans back in his chair, staring at the screen, a knot of confusion tightening in his chest.
"Could this actually be real?"
As the glow from the laptop illuminates his face, the first seeds of doubt about the world he thought he knew begin to take root.
Raiden's laptop screen flickered with multiple tabs open, the ancient myths and forum posts swirling in his mind.
His phone vibrated on the desk as he called Zohar, the familiar ringing sound cutting through the dim silence of his room.
Zohar's face popped up on the screen after a few rings, his expression already exasperated.
"Not you too, man. Don't tell me Kaito's got you drinking the Kool-Aid now."
Raiden leaned forward, still scrolling through the forums.
"I don't know, Zohar. At first, I thought it was just Kaito being Kaito, but some of these stories... they're kind of hard to ignore."
"Hard to ignore? Dude, it's the internet. People say anything for clicks."
Raiden, pulling up another tab:
"Yeah, but it's not just random people. These myths go way back. Look at this—people talk about Jesus, Asclepius, even figures from different mythologies. They were mortals who supposedly died and came back with god-like powers."
Raiden clicked through the images of ancient texts and theories. The forum users debated the connections between the gods and the supposed resurrection of certain mortals throughout history.
"Okay, I'll bite. But if this stuff is real, how come we've never seen any of it? We've got cameras on every corner, CCTV, the internet—where's the footage of people doing godly things?"
Raiden paused, glancing back at the forum. He scrolled down, reading more of the discussion.
Raiden, thoughtfully: "According to this, there hasn't been a celestial age war in over 400 years. They say these stories are becoming myths, like legends passed down, but no one's seen anything because it's been quiet for centuries."
Zohar tilted his head, a small spark of curiosity flashing in his eyes before he shrugged it off.
"So what, the gods just decided to take a break? Go on vacation for a few hundred years?"
Raiden chuckles.
"Yeah, maybe. Or maybe it's just a decent story someone cooked up online."
They both shared a moment of silence, contemplating.
There was something strange about the consistency of the myths and the way they were retold across cultures and generations.
It left a small but nagging thought in their minds.
Zohar adjusts his seat.
"Alright, well, until I see someone actually throwing lightning bolts or rising from the dead, I'm calling it fiction. But hey, it's an interesting theory."
"Yeah, you're probably right. Anyway, I'm heading to bed."
Raiden yawns.
"Same here. Don't let Kaito convince you to join some cult or anything."
Raiden grinned, waving goodbye as they both logged off.