An alarm rang in an apartment, and in response, Jay woke up. His sleepy hand slowly reached for the alarm clock, stopping the irritating sound before it could fully reach his ears. But reluctantly, he sat up, unwinding himself from the comfortable cocoon of the blanket. Of course, he had to—after all, it was the big day.
The apartment was not too fancy, but it was comfortable. It was the home Mr. Hank had left to Jay. A home he had bought to live a life with a family he once lost. But now, only memories remained, waiting to be forgotten.
Jay climbed out of bed, rubbing his half-closed eyes as he went to the bathroom.
After getting ready, he stood before a full-length mirror, adjusting his clothes, he gazed at his own reflection through the mirror. Dark circles framed his eyes, hinting at countless sleepless nights. His hand drifted over to a sunglasses resting on a small side table, which once wore by Mr.Hank. Lifting them. He opened his mouth as if to speak but stopped, letting the silence settle.
At the door, he slipped on his shoes and glanced back at the apartment one last time.
"I'm off now. See you soon."
He headed toward the nearest metro station, just a fifteen-minute walk away.
The station loomed large, designed to accommodate thousands at once. It was the peak morning rush, and the platform teemed with people on their way to work.
Within the Empire, cities were protected by massive barriers known as Fortresses. Only those with special clearance could pass beyond, for the world outside was overrun with monstrous creatures that no non-Awakened could survive. The cities were sprawling, almost like miniature countries, filled with hills, rivers, and districts. Most people relied on trains for transportation, though the wealthier citizens could afford teleportation poles. Cars, while available, were rarely used due to strict traffic regulations. In a metropolis like the Holy City, home to nearly a billion residents, roads could only hold so much.
Jay made his way to Platform 6, where his train was due shortly. He reached into his pocket for his phone and checked a message from Albedo: Look for a boy with black hair and crimson eyes. You'll find him there.
"Black hair… shouldn't be too hard to spot," he thought, running a hand through his own dark-brown hair—a shade so close to black that it often fooled people. Black hair colour was rare in the empire.
Scanning the crowd, he soon spotted the boy—a teenager with pitch-black hair, sitting alone on a bench. The platform was crowded, with all the other benches filled—despite only seating three adults comfortably, some had four or even five people squeezed onto them. Yet, no one was attempting to approach the black-haired boy's bench.
Curious, Jay approached. As he drew closer, he noticed an eerie silence surrounding the boy, like a heavy fog that seemed to repel anyone who came near. At the center of this unnatural quiet sat the black-haired boy, reading a book, his crimson eyes faintly aglow.
The boy looked up as Jay approached, his eyes widening slightly. In that moment, a flicker of fear crossed his face, a fear he'd likely buried long ago.
This was the boy Albedo had messaged him about—the master of this strange, unnatural silence.
******************
On Platform 6, Jin sat alone in the crowd, holding a book and reading it with excitement. His phone rang, notifying him of a message.
Jin had just bought the phone a few days ago and was still not able to use it properly. He opened it, reading the message sent by Albedo.
The message read, "You will find a skinny boy with brown hair on the platform; come to the location along with him."
"And when exactly am I supposed to find this boy?" he muttered.
He turned his head, scanning for the boy Albedo had mentioned.
He saw someone approaching who matched the description—a skinny boy with brown hair.
'Well, that was easy,' he thought.
As the boy came closer, Jin's natural instincts warned him of a danger that made him flinch.
'What is this sensation I feel? Don't tell me… was that… fear?!'
Thinking this, a small smile appeared on his face.
'Interesting. Not even the Outer Gods had a presence like his.'
Jin watched the boy intently when a floating screen suddenly appeared before him.
An Abnormality has been detected.
'An Abnormality?! Question: What's that?' Jin asked in his mind.
The screen responded.
Description (Abnormality): Beings or objects that defy the laws of Existence.
"Interesting, this Question feature on this thing is quite useful. As for this kid…"
"Um…hello, by any chance, were you sent by Lord Albedo?" Jay asked, scratching his head.
"Yes, so we'll be going together then," Jin replied, scanning Jay closely.
"Right… oh, my name is Jay. And you are…?" Jay introduced himself, feeling awkward under Jin's intense gaze.
"You can call me Jin. No family name."
"I don't have one either," Jay replied.
'So, he's not from any noble clan.' Jin thought.
Jin glanced back at the floating screen. He wanted to use his skill to determine Jay's hidden mystery but couldn't—he hadn't Awakened yet and was still in his Deep Sleep state, a state in which a human possesses their soul but hasn't yet connected their psyche and body to it.
Seeing there was nothing he could do about it, Jin returned to his book. Jay awkwardly sat down beside him, glancing at the book in Jin's hands. He opened his mouth, then closed it, not quite daring to ask, lacking the courage.
"Do you want to say something?" Jin asked, noticing Jay's hesitation, which startled him.
"Um… that book you're reading. Isn't it about the technological revolution fifteen years ago?"
"Yes, it is." Jin closed the book and continued, "I'm interested in this new technology everywhere nowadays. Back in my time in the Human Realm, things were… different."
"Different?"
"Old-fashioned, in a way. People relied more on Awakened for things like light at night—back then, they used illuminating stones for that. For travel, carriages and beasts were used. Now everything's been replaced by cars and trains. It's strange, how they work with these rotating engines. But the most interesting thing is this TV and phones."
'Just how old is he? He looks about the same age as me.'
Jay didn't ask, already knowing that powerful Awakened could live for hundreds of years.
"What got you so interested in them?"
"Hm… it's kind of revolutionary. It makes sharing information so easy. Then there are cameras, which I found especially surprising. Before they existed, Summoners used their summoned beasts for surveillance. They had an eyeball monster for that, but cameras are far more practical. You can't even sense them, since they don't have any spiritual energy. The only downside is that they don't move."
"I read about them before. Actually, some cameras do move—there are drones that can fly."
"Really? Looks like I underestimated technology."
"Yes, it's pretty fascinating. Though it's not as powerful as Spiritual Arts," Jay said.
Jin glanced back at his book, which explained the technological revolution fifteen years ago.
Fifteen years earlier, a large army from the Abyss had attacked the Human Realm, using an artifact to hide from detection. Many Awakened and non-Awakened lost their lives. Because of this, the ORDER decided to invest in technological development to protect humanity from similar incidents in the future. This event was later known as a turning point in human history.
Through this revolution, non-Awakened people—who hadn't contributed much to human defense—were now able to support the Awakened with technology.
"Some even believe science has the potential to rival Spiritual Arts. They've developed explosives and missiles with incredible destructive power."
"No, they don't. Sure, they can destroy a city, but any mid-level Awakened can do even more than that. Science isn't there yet," Jin said, opening his book to a page describing a weapon called a gun.
"Speaking of the power of science, this gun is quite interesting."
Jay looked at the page Jin had opened. "Isn't that weapon discontinued because it wasn't powerful enough?"
The gun was created by non-Awakened people to protect themselves. It was a metal weapon that fired a metal ball called a bullet, but it lacked enough firepower to do serious damage, even to lesser level Awakened.
"You're right. But in the hands of an Awakened with exceptional spiritual energy control, the bullet's power can be amplified. If you change the material to a spirit orb or spirit stones, its power becomes quite deadly. And non-Awakened can use it too."
Jin's words surprised Jay. Now he understood why the project was banned. It wasn't because the weapon was weak but because it could be too powerful.
"So ORDER stopped the development of a weapon that could give non-Awakened the ability to kill an Awakened."
"You're quite sharp, aren't you? The powerful will always stop the weak from gaining power. That's just how the world works."
As they talked, the train finally arrived. Jin stood up first.
"Let's get going now. Oh, by the way, we'll be fellow disciples from now on."
"What—you're a disciple too?!" Jay asked, surprised. He'd been thinking Jin was some ancient monster in a young body.