Chapter 3: The First Signs of Power
Jin hadn't slept. How could he, when his entire world had been flipped upside down in less than twenty-four hours? The news was a constant stream of panic and confusion, with experts and officials speculating wildly about the towers. But there were no answers—only more questions.
Seoul hadn't calmed down. In fact, as the night wore on, the panic had only grown worse. Looters smashed windows, taking advantage of the chaos. Small fires had broken out in some parts of the city, and the sound of helicopters constantly whirred in the background. But even the military presence did little to reassure anyone. Everyone knew that the soldiers had no idea what they were up against.
Jin sat at his table, staring at the half-eaten food he had tried to force down earlier. He wasn't hungry anymore. All he could think about was the Torre looming in the distance, and the strange, almost magnetic pull he had begun to feel toward it. It wasn't just curiosity; it was as if something inside the tower was calling to him.
His phone buzzed again. It was another message from Ha-Yoon.
Ha-Yoon: I heard something strange. People here are talking about "awakeners." They say some people are getting powers from the towers.
Jin blinked, rereading the message. Powers? That couldn't be right. The towers were terrifying enough on their own, but now people were claiming they were being changed by them?
He quickly typed back a response.
Jin: What do you mean, powers? That's just a rumor, right?
He waited for her reply, staring at the screen with a mixture of disbelief and anxiety. It couldn't be true. The towers had already brought enough madness into the world—something like that couldn't be real.
But Ha-Yoon's response came quickly.
Ha-Yoon: I didn't believe it at first, but people are posting videos. There's a guy here who can throw fire from his hands. It's real, Jin.
His heart skipped a beat. Throwing fire? That sounded like something out of a fantasy novel, not real life. He tried to rationalize it—maybe it was some trick, a hoax. But the more he thought about it, the less certain he became. The towers had come from nowhere. They defied explanation. Why shouldn't the impossible follow in their wake?
Jin stood up from the table, pacing the room as his mind raced. What if the towers weren't just threats? What if they were changing people? Could he be affected too?
He stopped pacing and glanced at his reflection in the mirror. He looked the same—tired, confused, worried—but what if something had already changed inside him?
His phone buzzed again, pulling him out of his thoughts. It was another message from Ha-Yoon.
Ha-Yoon: I know it sounds crazy, but the guy in the video wasn't alone. There's more. I don't know how, but some people are different now. I think the towers did this to them. Maybe they're a key to something… bigger.
Jin's stomach churned. Ha-Yoon's words echoed in his mind: the towers did this to them. His instinct had been to stay as far away from the towers as possible, but now there was a new layer of mystery. What if the towers were more than just instruments of destruction? What if they were also a source of power?
Before he could reply to Ha-Yoon, there was a sudden knock at his door. Jin froze. No one ever came to his apartment this late—especially not in the middle of a city-wide panic. His first instinct was to ignore it, but the knocking came again, louder this time, almost urgent.
He moved cautiously toward the door, his hand hovering over the handle. "Who is it?"
No answer.
Jin's heart raced, but he steeled himself, unlocking the door and pulling it open just a crack. On the other side stood a young man, his face pale, his eyes wide with fear. Jin had seen him around the building a few times but didn't know him well.
"Please," the man gasped. "You have to help me."
Jin opened the door wider, eyeing him cautiously. "What's going on?"
The man stumbled forward, gripping Jin's arm with trembling hands. "I—I think I'm one of them," he stammered. "One of the awakened."
Jin's blood ran cold. Awakened? "What are you talking about?"
"I was at the tower," the man said, his voice shaking. "I don't know why, but I—I couldn't stop myself. I got too close. And then… it happened."
Jin felt a knot tighten in his stomach. "What happened?"
The man's hands began to glow, faint at first, then growing brighter until they were shimmering with a soft, golden light. Jin stepped back, eyes wide in disbelief.
"I can feel it," the man whispered, staring at his hands. "I don't know how, but it's like the power is inside me now. I can heal people. I've already done it once."
Jin's mind spun. This wasn't just a rumor. It was real. The towers were giving people abilities—changing them. But why? And for what purpose?
"I don't know what to do," the man said, his voice desperate. "I can't control it. The power… it's too much. I don't understand any of this!"
Jin swallowed hard, trying to keep his voice steady. "Have you told anyone else?"
The man shook his head frantically. "No, I don't know who to trust. But I had to tell someone. Please… I don't want to hurt anyone. You've got to help me."
Jin felt the weight of the man's fear pressing down on him. How could he help? He didn't even understand what was happening himself. But he knew one thing: the world was changing in ways no one had expected, and if people were already getting powers from the towers, then things were about to get a whole lot more dangerous.
He glanced back out the window at the Torre in the distance. It stood there, silent and menacing, but now it held a new significance. It wasn't just a threat—it was a gateway to something far greater. Something that could either save humanity… or destroy it.
"Come inside," Jin said finally, stepping aside to let the man in. "We'll figure this out together."
As the man walked inside, Jin couldn't shake the feeling that this was just the beginning. The towers had already upended the world. Now, they were changing people—unlocking powers that no one had ever imagined. But with that power came danger, and Jin knew that whatever was happening was only going to escalate.
The question was: would he be ready for it?