Author's Preface
Blue sat with his head lowered, rubbing his thumbs together as he stared at the floor. Murim crossed his mind again. "Harder. Absolutely. But somehow, simpler. No systems to question me. No machines to judge. The weight of all this feels so different." He looked over at Eve. "It hasn't even been twenty hour hours. And here we are. Not exactly how I pictured my first full day back." He whispered to her.
Eve giggled. "Trouble always finds you. You should know that by now." She studied him a little too long. "When this is over... we are getting you new clothes." Blue nodded. "You've gotten bigger." She said quickly, as she realized what she said a blush crept across her face. "I mean like... you know..." she made a vague motion with her hand. "Like you've definitely been working out more in that Murim place." She cleared her throat. "Anyways, I know a great store."
Blue smirked. Before he could say a word though, the atmosphere in the lobby changed. Conversations died, the crowd started to part like Moses splitting the red Sea. Blue raised his head and saw the man forcing the change. Tall, broad-shouldered. Gray hair pulled back, marked by age not weakness. A scar across one cheek, a thick beard framed his face. Behind him walked Aaron. Blue let out a quiet sigh and glanced at Eve. "Looks like I'm not leaving anytime soon." Blue nodded his head toward the man. "Who is he anyway?"
Eve straightened immediately. "That's the Assocation Leader. Stand up."
Blue and Eve stood. The man approached without slowing. His presence alone changed the room, not overwhelming, but controlled. Absolute. "Nice to meet you, sir." Blue said, offering his hand.
The Leader didn't take his hand. He stopped just in front of Blue and simply stared at him. He studied Blue from head to toe, as if he was measuring something that wasn't visible. Seconds passed and Blue finally lowered his hand. Behind the Leader, Aaron laughed. The laugh was deep and echoed through the lobby. For a moment it reminded Blue of Mu Jang.
"Blue, this is the Assocation Leader. Seems there were some... complications during your scan." Blue said nothing. He simply stared at Aaron. "We are going to take you somewhere else," Aaron continued. "a place where we evaluate potential S-ranked awakeners." His eyes met Blue's. "Follow us."
Inside a private testing chamber, Blue stood beside a reinforced chair positioned at the center of the room. There was no metallic sphere this time. The chair itself was the device. Thirteen contact points were embedded along the frame, aligned with the body's key pathways. Thin wires and translucent hoses extended from its back into a sealed control room behind thick glass. That was where Eve, Aaron, John, and the Association Leader stood and watched with anticipation.
"Blue." John's voice came through a speaker. "For this test, you'll need to strip down to your skivies."
Blue nodded and without hesitation he stepped out of his clothes and sat on the chair. Behind the glass Eve's face went bright red as she watched. Blue noticed and smiled slightly, almost amused.
The chair adjusted automatically beneath him, aligning the contact points with his body with precision. A faint hum filled the room as the machine powered on.
"This will be slightly uncomfortable. There are thirteen contact nodes on the chair. Each will deploy microscopic needles." He paused. "What flows out from them will interact directly with your bloodstream. They will map out your core, your system, and extract information as data that our system will interpret." Blue turned his head toward the glass. "It will feel like a series of small bricks. Nothing more. There will be no residual effects on your body, your core, or your system." John clicked a few buttons on the console in front of him. He looked back up at Blue through the glass. "Do we have your permission to proceed?"
Blue gave a single nod. The machine activated with a soft click. Then thirteen needles pierced Blue's skin. His body tightened for a half a second then relaxed. Inside his body, something strange began to unfold. It wasn't just a sensation, it was movement. The needles released something almost intangible. It flowed through Blue's veins like liquid code. It passed through blood vessels, muscles, bone and nerve. It reached his heart and brain, searching, interfacing with the console in front of John.
This was technology born from Veltrax. Humans called it Flux. A strange, programmable energy used to interact with awakened systems and much, much more. In Veltrax it was worshipped. Revered as the Will of the Architect himself. Now it was trying to get a read on Blue.
Behind the glass, a screen flickered to life. Everyone's head turned and locked onto the screen. Lines of data began to populate in the language of Veltrax. When it was done, word after word changed into the English language automatically and eventually stabilized.
Core: Qi and ????
System: Unavailable
Stats: Unavailable
Abilities: Unavailable.
No one moved. John stared at the screen without blinking. Eve's eyes slowly shifted towards Blue. The Assocation Leader's expression gave away nothing at first. Then, almost imperceptibly, something in his face changed. Not shock or confusion. Something deeper. Almost recognition.
"Everything alright?" Aaron asked quietly.
The Leader's eyes never left the screen. "I don't like what I can't measure." He paused then looked at Aaron. "And I trust it even less." The room went silent for a moment. "Register him as a D-rank."
John blinked. "But, sir?"
"If he wants a higher rank. He will have to earn it." The Assocation Leader's eyes flicked toward Blue. "Keep an eye on him, Aaron." He paused and turned toward the door. "I'll handle the golden gate situation." He placed a hand on Aaron's shoulder and squeezed slightly. "I trust you'll get the information we need about this... Murim."
Aaron nodded once. "Yes, sir."
The leader said nothing more, he released Aaron and walked out. Aaron stepped forward and pressed the button for the microphone. "Blue. Congratulations," he smirked. "you're officially an awakener. Go ahead and get dressed and meet us in the lobby."
In the lobby, Blue walked over to where Aaron and Eve were waiting. Aaron reached into his coat and handed him a card. “Don’t lose this,” he said. “It’s your identification as an awakener.” Blue turned it slightly between his fingers. Aaron watched him for a second, then spoke again.
“Seeing as you've just returned. And we’ve taken up more of your time than we should’ve.” He let the words settle. “One week.” His tone was firm. “Take a week to reacclimate. Spend time with your family. Get your bearings.” Aaron smiled. “Then we begin the fun.”
Blue raised a brow. “By ‘fun,’ you mean gates?”
Aaron gave a short laugh. “Gates? Hell no.” A grin touched his face. “My favorite kind of fun.” He paused for a moment. “Training.”
Blue glanced at Eve. She shrugged. “… Yeah,” she said. “That sounds about right.”
Aaron stepped back, already turning away. “I’ll see you next week, Blue.” Then, over his shoulder: “Eve, keep him out of trouble.”
Eve immediately grabbed Blue by the arm. “Come on. Let’s get you some clothes before we head home."
Blue blinked. “We?” Eve shot him a look. “Yes, dummy. We.” A small smile tugged at her lips. “I haven’t seen you in over a year. And I want to hear everything.” Blue let out a quiet breath. “…Yeah. Alright.”
Together, they stepped out of the Association building and into the noise of the city. For the first time since his return, things felt… almost normal. No guards. No tests. No questions. Just the two of them, walking side by side like nothing had changed. Blue glanced up at the skyline, taking it all in. The lights, the movement, the constant hum of a world that never slowed down.
A year ago, this had been everything he knew. Now… it felt like something he was trying to remember. Eve nudged him lightly. “You’re thinking too much again.” Blue grinned. “Yeah… maybe.” Neither of them said anything after that. They didn’t need to. Because for now... this was enough. A quiet moment. A normal day. The kind you don’t realize you’re going to miss… until it’s gone.