"Wow..." Amidst the falling snow, a young man who was sixteen-years of age was sitting on the edge of a tall building with his feet dangling in the air as he let out a chuckle.

His gaze, which was mostly unfocused, suddenly regained its focus as he looked at the distant buildings — The skyscrapers that stood tall amidst the snowy night, with their bright lights coming out from the windows illuminating the hectic street.

The young man, who had sparkling eyes, spoke to himself. "Snow... Snow, it's been a while. It really was unexpected, wasn't it?"

He nodded to himself as if he was talking to someone else. "Right... The Blevoics' are almost in the midst of a war, what a peaceful weather it is, to welcome war!"

"...But if the snow persists, I doubt we will see some action. After all, restocking supplies in the snowy weather is very difficult and the terrain advantage would be given to Mercoixs."

With a disappointed gaze, he looked up at the sky which was filled with endless stars as his mood brightened.

"Atleast the stars remain the same, representing the old world..." He suddenly sighed. "I still remember those starless nights before the Last Embers that old man Armado had recounted, those days must've been depressing..."

Boom!

Just as he was talking to himself, his eyes suddenly sparkled as he gazed at the distance, where there were black smokes and fires rising up in the air.

"Damn, exciting things just at the start of the snow?" He supported his chin on his palms. "I was just thinking of jumping off this building you know, but too bad... Gotta grasp those opportunities."

With eyes full of vigor, he stood up as he left the terrace of the building, going through the seemingly endless stairs as he jumped through the gap in the centre at a safe distance to arrive at the ground floor.

Looking around and noticing that a few people had already taken out their cellphones and were rushing towards the explosion, he scrutinized the smoke carefully before running towards it.

He mostly used the shadows of the buildings as cover as he avoided the street lights, shielding half his face (up to his nose) with a bright red scarf as he rushed towards the explosion.

...And what he saw there didn't disappoint him at all as he let out a laugh before rushing over.

The vehicle that had caused the explosion was an Arms and Machinery truck that was under Blevoics' blessings, but the blessings were now torn apart.

It was probably their rival, he thought.

Looking at the truck, he noticed that there was already a neat circle of crowd formed around the truck while few took pictures of it with their smartwatches and smartphones while a few tried to take the opportunity into account and try their luck.

The sixteen-year boy belonged to the group of the latter as he skipped past the crowd with skilful footsteps which were honed throughout the years and closed in on the truck.

Looking around, he noticed that the members of Blevoics' and their rivals had already left, the only ones remaining were the Cvoilics Police Force, who were trying to bring the situation under their control with steel batons and strangely, riot shields and taser guns in their hands.

"It's gonna be a bit difficult..." The boy who was sixteen-years of age clicked his tongue as he took the situation into account before deciding to take the most optimal route.

He slid past the Police Force that were already busy dealing with opportunists who were trying to take advantage of the situation.

"Hey! Who do you think you are to stop us!"

"Do these retards still think they are incharge of the Alliance and the streets after the Last Embers?"

"Move aside, I have a hidden superpower!"

"This damned Skien Family!"

The stupid and enraged comments of the ambitious people went into his ears and passed through another as he meticulously neared the truck, finally reaching its behind where the real "stuff" were kept.

Licking his lips, he placed his hand on the cloth which covered a small part of the "goods" as he tried to sneakily remove it when...

"Belite!!" An angry and strained shout reached his ears as panic finally appeared in his eyes.

'Crap!'

He instantly abandoned the "goods" which he painstakingly laid his hands on and tucked his tails between his legs as he ran as fast as he could.

Bang!

His panic-filled eyes suddenly turned into horror as a bullet hit right next to his face upon a random wall, but the sixteen-year old boy, Belite, didn't actually panic much.

He used a Garbage Can that had moderate height as a leverage to perform a higher jump as he landed on the roof of a small store, and with great familiarity, he hunched his back slightly as he sneakily slid down in-between a gap on the roof and arrived at a familiar place.

The current place he was in was in-between two buildings, they were very narrow and even Belite, who wasn't fat from any angle could barely navigate throughout it.

His back placed against the walls, he took one step at a time as he arrived in front of a ruined cathedral.

Using the railings as a leverage to speed-up, he skated on them with his worn-out shoes as he jumped before the railing came to an end, landing on solid floor.

Then, seeing the fence in front of him, he placed his foot in the right gaps with familiar ease as he finally reached the other side — a vast grass field.

'Safe?'

Clang!

He shuddered as he felt like a scared kitten as he looked at the iron fence behind him, which was slightly bent due to getting pierced by a bullet.

Belite's pupils instantly dilated as he heard an exhausted sigh.

"You. You are that brat Belite, aren't you? The one that scavenges the city when others are amidst chaos."

Seeing Belite's silence, the voice pondered for a few moments before saying out of boredom. "Chasing kids is already too low on my paycheck, but oh well. Since it's the 'Unwanted Hand' Belite, I guess it's fine."

Belite, who was titled the famous 'Unwanted Hand', looked at the trembling 2 metre fence as a figure jumped over.

The figure had a short stature of 1.6 metres of height and wore a brownish-blue uniform with stars embroidered on his shoulders.

He looked at Belite with an interested expression he recalled about this boy's past.

'Name, Belite. No last name,

Parents, dead.

Friends or affiliates, unknown.

Current gang or organisation, unknown.

Manifestation Stage…'

He then remembered the words his comrade and his friend, Nanchoko had said when looking at the report.

"Ha, this kid Belite? He's a remarkable individual. He's appeared in at least 7 accidents and he's in suspicion of being involved in activities such as weapon trades and sellings of fake Bright Emblem armours in the Black Market."

"Oh. He was also seen hanging out around the Bright Days café of Lower Street District but the owner denies his visiting and we don't have substantial proof either."

"Even though no Superhuman cares about him and there are barely any available in Lower Street District, the ordinary people such as the Police are quite irritated by this fellow born in the Year 68... And he has quite an interesting past as well."

Dwelling on his friend's words, Clite shook his head slightly to look at the figure in front of him as he grinned.

"Well kid. Unfortunately for you, I'm unlike those of the Police Force. You know, right?"

Belite looked at the Bright Emblem armour on the short figure's torso and sighed as he nodded reluctantly, hanging his arms in the air in front of him as he looked like one of those Zombies mentioned in the novels.

Clite looked at the sixteen-year old in front of him as he then raised his left arm and looked at the smartwatch wrapped on the wrist as he started typing something.

Soon after, he nodded to himself as he looked at Belite with a sly grin, making Belite gulp as his head immediately came up with multiple grim possibilities.

...

Woosh!

A few hours later, a Police Officer adorned in a red and blue uniform arrived in front of an iron fence with a frown on his face as he pondered over the words of his superior.

'Manifestation... What?'

Sighing softly, he struggled to climb the fence and arrived at the other side where he saw a kid wearing white and black clothes tied to the fence with a rope.

"Yo..." The kid immediately greeted him with a smile that looked quite awkward. "Took you long enough! I really thought I was going to get eaten by the wolves here you know..."

However, the Police Officer didn't pay any attention to his words as he pulled out a crudely drawn portrait from his pocket which was mostly wrinkled at this point.

Looking at the figure drawn on the paper, the officer nodded. 'Its him, indeed.

The kid who steals everything — From food to guns, to make a living.'

Confirming the identity of the kid, he smiled in satisfaction as he heard the kid say. "Um... Can you please take me off of here? It's... Uncomfortable, you know?"

Coming back to his senses, the officer looked at the kid who was tied with his arms and feet apart.

He would've felt pity for the kid and would have helped him if it wasn't for who he was.

Right now, all he did was laugh which made Belite's expression contort as he retorted.

"Hey! This is a living being we are talking about, moreover a kid! Isn't this more of a child abuse? H-how dare you?"

"Serves you right, kid." The officer chuckled as he took out a pocket knife from his boots and started to cut the ropes, keeping a cautious eye upon Belite in the process.

Even though he had a smile on his face, he— Liam could never be cautious enough while dealing with kids, the major headache for every Police Department.

After the Last Embers eighty-four years ago, may it be the increase in theft, robberies, smuggling or even fake beggars and scammers — kids ranging below sixteen and eighteen were frequently involved in them.

But most of these kids were ones sent on errands by various gangs and undercover spies, so even though they were annoying, they were quickly dealt with once traced back to their origin.

But the kid in front of him, someone of unknown origins and affiliation, was one of the hardest ones to catch.

He was better at escaping even than some criminals that were on the top of the list and were famous enough for their cunningness.

'But he's still a kid after all. Someone who has lived in Cvoilics longer than others. The only reason he can escape so well is because he's familiar with narrow routes and crevices, along with abandoned routes and buildings.'

He looked at the boy who was different from his peers. 'Most of the kids who rely on illegal activities to earn a living either have pale faces or suffer from short heights due to malnourishment... But he...'

Looking at his bright and lively face, the officer couldn't help but comment. "Looks like you are living well?"

He didn't actually expect a reply but the boy in front of him, 'Unwanted Hand' Belite sighed.

"You call this a living? Running around, hiding in the shadows and changing locations once in a while and trying to earn a living by stealing food and locating people and memorizing them and the landmarks in the new surroundings... While being on the edge while not touching the Cvoilics Law Enforcements bottom-line in order to not attract those superhumans from higher streets? Yeah I'm indeed living lavishly."

The officer, Liam, looked at the boy in front of him with an astonished gaze.

'Bottom line? This means he could've done worse things than he already has?

What else could be worse than theft, robbery, stealing identities, fraud, scam of items worth 1200 Crystals and vandalism for a sixteen-year old!?'