Ethan and Liam left the abandoned area returned to their own, bidding each other farewell.
Ethan still seemed to be suffering from the aftereffects of the encounter.
Liam, however, did not feel anything about the encounter with the cursed creature.
Instead, he recalls that his changed his after this encounter on the very same day.
.....
Time turned 7PM.
Liam reached his home as he entered saying "I am home" but got no replay.
Thinking his parents were yet to return home, he just wanted to sleep after a terrifying encounter.
"This has been quite a terrible day."
He was about to open the door of the room when he heard the sound of glass breaking.
Wondering, Liam entered room where he had heard the sound. What he saw horrified him, and he was truly shaken, falling to his knees on the ground.
Before him lay the dead bodies of his parents, had smiles on their faces and holes in their heads.
His mind went blank as he couldn't think of anything. Then he heard a voice say, "I was waiting for you."
Liam was shocked, A man emerged from the shadows, who appeared to be in his late forties. He had seen this man in the morning, sitting beside a little boy, whom he had questioned.
The man slowly said, "Don't worry, I killed them before they knew it. Aren't I merciful?"
Liam, however, could not hear anything the man said.
"Aren't you the one who said curse's a superstition?" man asked.
Liam wanted to run away from this madman, but his body didn't budge even a little.
Seeing the boy's struggle, the madman grinned and said, "You will play a game with this old hunter, won't you?"
And so, Liam's torture began.
But that was his past.
Liam checked the time as he walked, knowing the fate of Altheria, war was coming in few years, and that was not the worst thing—the descent of the Cradle of Creation was imminent. But he would change the future and begins today.
'This day everything fell apart. The day I lost the people who mattered most. My parents... they didn't deserve to die. Not like that. And I? I stood there, powerless, drowning in my own failures.
But not this time.
The gods may laugh, the Elysian Grid may twist its strings. I've lived a life riddled with regret, haunted by choices I couldn't undo. I carried the weight of this failure through an entire lifetime. This time, I'll rewrite the script.
No more looking back. No more 'what-ifs.' Altheria has suffered enough under the chaos of its own fate. If the cost of saving this world is eradicating the people of Urvi, then so be it. If it means defying the heavens themselves, then I'll tear the sky apart.
My parents will live. This time, I'll stand between them and death.
And Altheria? You've been shackled to a fate of ruin for far too long. No longer. I will steer you toward a future worth living.
This time, I will live. Not as the man bound by regrets.
Let them come—the monsters, the Army of Urvi, the battle to become a god. I'll carve a path through them all. This time, I will not falter. This time... I'll win.'
I am Architect of Cosmos, The first divine of Altheria.
He exhales, steadying himself, the weight of his resolve pressing down like steel. And with that, Liam takes his first step forward into a future he's determined to change.
.....
Ethan reached his apartment and stared into his reflection in the mirror. He noticed that there was no emotion on his face as he began hearing the whispers again.
Ethan, long accustomed to these whispers, suddenly felt pain in his right hand, and a black-marked ring formed on his index finger.
If it were any other person, they would be jumping out of happiness or feeling a bit of pain, but Ethan was different as he felt... nothing.
He knew he couldn't be this calm in this situation; he should be dancing in joy, but this is weird, why couldn't he feel anything?
On this day, Ethan became an awakened.
By the orders of the government, if any person forms a black marked ring on their index finger, they must call the Council of Awakened immediately, and Ethan knew this all too well.
But Ethan was not in the right state of mind, so he went to bed. 'I will contact them tomorrow. They don't know when I was awakened, so it should be fine.'
He closed his eyes and fell asleep.
Time passed: 11PM, midnight.
Then, he abruptly opened his eyes and grinned.
He left his home and started walking towards the abandoned factory area. If someone had seen him, they would have said, "Is he sleepwalking?" His walking was bizarre.
He was like a puppet that was walking with no conscious.
Ethan approached the abandoned factory area, his eyes restless, as if searching for something.
His eyes landed on the dead creature. He walked towards it, tore open its stomach with his bare hands, and removed a blue stone.
The blue stone began to hover in the air and gradually disintegrated into powder, then reformed into a book.
Upon seeing the book, Ethan curiously touched it, and the world turned black.
....
Slums of the western city, Sanctuary 17.
People are evacuating the area within a 200 km radius, with 15 Archons and more than 100 experts overseeing evacuation.
Then suddenly, the strange energy that had been condensing into an orb for a long time turned red.
The paragon, who was stand by watching it with an irritated.
Then he turned around and shouted, "The evacuation radius has been increased from 200 to 300 kilometers."
An archon who stood beside the paragon asked hurriedly, "Is something wrong, Paragon Kael?"
"Yes, I received a telepathic message from Supreme Alfer, and he will be arriving in two weeks."
The Archons were shocked beyond measure, they knew there were only nine Supremes in Altheria, and such a being making a move was a clear indication. The unknown energy would pose a great danger.
one Archon asked casually, "What do you think about the orb, Paragon Kael?"
Kael thought for a moment and said, "I don't know, perhaps the legendary Forgotten ruins." and added, "Whatever it may be, let's hope it won't do anything dangerous until the supreme has arrived."
The Archons shared the same sentiments: "You are right, Paragon Kael. Let's hope for just that."
Seeing the Archons beginning to slack, the Paragon reminded them, "Go and evacuate a 300 km radius and call for more reinforcements."
"Yes, Paragon Keal." With that, the Archons left the area.
.....
In the higher district of the central city, Sanctuary 17.
Dahlia was seated in the car, gazing out of the window. Sharan, the member of the Awakened Council, was driving the car.
Her gaze touched a family where a little girl running in front of her parents and parents telling the little girl to slow down. seeing that dahlia felt sad and thought 'I should have listened to them that day'
Sharan observed Dahlia in the mirror and inquired while driving, "What is troubling you, Lady Dahlia?"
"It's just... strange that the guys we saved should be terrified, but one of them was actually faking his expressions," Dahlia replied hiding her actual thoughts.
"You even noticed that. You are truly amazing, Lady Dahlia," the man said and thought.
'Once she completes contracting with Elysian Grid, she will definitely gain the title 'supreme' in the future'.
The rest of their journey proceeded smoothly as they arrived at their destination, which was a Checkup Center.
Upon reaching their destination, Dahlia inquired, "Is the mental checkup necessary?"
"yes" Sharan nodded.
"Why was the checkup plan scheduled for two months long?"
Sharan did not provide any response to her query.
She gritted her teeth in frustration. She didn't know anyone here, she would be all alone. During the checkup, one should not be provided with phones or TVs or anything related to Entertaiment. They couldn't use force for anything, since the head of the checkup program was an Archon.
She knows better, what an Archon can do if they use their full power.
'Seriously, isn't it a bit of an overkill for Archon to watch over 15,000 newly awakened individuals'.
She abandoned useless thoughts as she walked towards the entrance.