Yohan scrolled through his phone for a while, then set it on the table and propped his chin on one hand, tapping the surface in a steady rhythm with the other, staring at the screen.
Okay so... that enigmatic ritual is actually banned in a significant number of countries, including Iystoria. And it's documented in a book called "Obscure Destiny."
He sighed and stretched his arms up, rolling his back out.
I can't find any archived copy of that book online, let alone a physical one anywhere. Which means I've got no other choice but to look it up on the Shattered Web.
Then his screen buzzed with a notification.
Done! Brick Browser has installed. Now I can access the Shattered Web.
One day, while trawling through everything he could find on core awakening, Yohan stumbled across mention of a shortcut. Not an ideal one, but a shortcut nonetheless. The conventional path required serious dedication, a considerable stretch of time, skilled instructors, and the aid of Qi artifacts — none of which Yohan had access to, and with the exam phase closing in, time was the one thing he could least afford to waste.
Still, he decided against rushing. He settled on attempting the shortcut only as a last resort — something to try before the exam if he failed to awaken his core through normal means, which, if he was being honest with himself, was already looking likely.
It had started with a clickbait video. Some claim about awakening the core in a single day. He watched it all the way through, only to find it was funnelling toward a paid course, with private consultation fees steep enough that Yohan didn't even entertain the thought — especially with no way of knowing whether it was legitimate or an elaborate scam.
So he did what he always did.
He delved.
Article after article, cross-referencing whatever scraps of information he could piece together, until he found a faint trace of the actual procedure the video had alluded to. From what little he could gather, it was most likely a forbidden ritual — banned across the majority of nations. Precise details were nowhere to be found on the surface web, and neither was any clear explanation of why it had been banned in the first place.
Now that Yohan had made up his mind, the next step was finding the actual procedure — and that meant going into the Shattered Web, the internet's deep underworld.
The Shattered Web existed beneath the surface for a reason. It was where data was exchanged and acquired in private, where illegal trade ran quietly alongside the buying and selling of information too sensitive or too dangerous to exist anywhere public. Using the Shattered Web itself wasn't inherently illegal — what decided that was what you did once you were in. In other words, everything was permissible here, so long as you weren't caught by cybersecurity.
To access the Shattered Web, Yohan needed a separate browser that worked as a bridge between the surface web and the Shattered Web — the Brick Browser.
Huh?! Ah... damn.
Yohan pressed a hand to his forehead, staring at the screen in his other hand.
I didn't know it needed an OS code and a proxy server just to get in. I can probably track down a proxy server somehow — but an OS code? Where do I even begin.
He set his phone on the table and leaned back, both hands sliding over his face and dragging slowly down as he stared up at the ceiling.
After a minute he picked the phone back up and tried every angle he could think of to find an OS code. After what felt like a small eternity he gave up and called someone instead. But no response came.
Has he really died?
Then a notification popped up:
"Yeah?"
As expected he can't die this easily.
Yohan replied with a feeling he couldn't quite put a name to — somewhere between relief and resignation. The person on the other end was Daniel, a friend from his previous school.
Yohan had two friends back then: Daniel and Neon. They had all attended the same school through junior high, but once those two years wrapped up, they transferred to different schools depending on family circumstances and personal situations. In Iystoria, high school ran for four years in total — two years of junior high followed by two years of senior high — and Yohan was now in his final year of senior high.
After going their separate ways, the three of them rarely found time to meet, and Yohan least of all. His house sat considerably further out than either of theirs, and beyond the distance, he didn't have much freedom to go anywhere — meeting up outside of necessity was either considered a waste of time or quietly discouraged, depending on the mood of the household.
Yohan hadn't called Daniel in nearly a year. He didn't pick up — but he texted back.
"What are you doing?"
"Nothing." Daniel messaged back.
"Is that it? How's your studies going?"
"Yeah, decent. You called just to ask that? I almost forgot you existed."
"Uh... sorry, I've just been really caught up in things. Anyway, I called to ask something— it's urgent."
"What happened?"
"Are you mad at me or something?"
"No, why?"
"No, nothing, never mind."
"I just got that feeling. Whatever, the point is I need to access the Shattered Web but I need an OS code and a proxy server."
" And I have no idea where to get the code and—"
"Listen, listen. First things first, are you on mobile or PC?"
"Mobile, why?"
"The thing is you need a PC or laptop to get an OS code and every device has its own whille Mobiles don't have OS code."
"That's exactly why I called you. You once told me you'd used the Shattered Web and had nightmares for a week straight. I was asking if you could give me your code."
"Are you sloth? I just said every device has a different OS code. Even if I gave you my PC's code it wouldn't work on your mobile because of proxy server privacy which indeed is necessary to access the shattered web."
"Okay, okay. Are you free right now?"
"Yeah, why?"
"I'm coming over in an hour."
"Probably..."
"I need your PC for a while."
"Ok, no problem. Any particular reason you need the Shattered Web?"
"Yeah, for the love of the game. Keep the coffee ready."
"Sorry, I can only afford tea."
"Whatever."
Yohan set his phone aside and changed out of his school uniform — an oversized black t-shirt and white trousers.
He had barely finished when his mother called him downstairs. He told her to give him a moment and headed down.
What he found in the kitchen disappointed him slightly. He accepted it anyway and sat down at the table.
His eggs had been made into an omelette without his consent.
Rather than complaining, he decided to make peace with it. He ate without much fuss, though not without a quiet undercurrent of impatience. When he was done he washed his hands at the basin near the bathroom and spoke.
"I'm going out for an hour — please don't ask why, when, what, how, or with whom. I'm going to Daniel's place regarding something important for our final exams. And before you ask, I can't explain what that important thing is because it just is — important, for me, and... it just is. I'm not wasting time. I'll go on foot so don't worry about anyone kidnapping me in a cab. And I'm going alone — no, it's not a group hangout."
He said it all in a single breath, his tone edging toward frustrated. His mother opened her mouth with a perplexed look on her face, but before she could get a word in, Yohan interrupted her.
"I promise I'll be back within the hour, and for the love of everything — I am not going to do some gambling stuff, so stop looking at me like that."
'Not to mention, there's no wealth to gamble.'
And not to mention, you're worthless either.
"Okay, you can go, but ask your father first."
'What a creative way to say no.'
After that brief, one-sided altercation with his mother, Yohan scurried out even though he didn't get a clear answer either way yet he went out apathetically. He washed his face before leaving too, which was either an attempt to look somewhat presentable after so long seeing someone he actually knew, or just basic hygiene. Yohan probably knew better.
***
"You see, even with the Brick Browser working as a bridge to the Shattered Web, you still need an OS code to actually get in."
Daniel said, eyes hidden behind large round-square transparent glasses, the monitor's reflection ghosting across the lenses. Behind them were elegantly long lashes — the kind that would make most girls quietly envious — framed by medium-length black curly-wavy hair with two block cuts. He sat in an office chair in front of the computer desk while Yohan occupied a wooden armchair beside him, cheek resting on his fist against the armrest, gazing blankly at the screen.
"Mobiles don't have an OS code — when you try to enter the Shattered Web you're exposing the system's security to whatever web you're entering, and mobile architecture simply can't handle that. PCs are different. They run on entirely separate operating systems that can also be switched to private ones, which makes bypassing the device's pre-installed security far easier. The proxy server is there to ensure your safety on top of that, and it works by..."
Daniel glanced at Yohan mid-sentence and stopped.
"Why do you look so disappointed?"
Yohan lifted his head, eyes closing on an exhale.
"Ah, nothing. I appreciate you walking me through all this, but I'm in a bit of a hurry, so..."
"Have some patience — it takes a little time to verify and open."
"No, that's not what I meant." Yohan said. "Where's my tea."
Daniel turned to look at him with a flat, unreadable expression. "I've always said — if you can't look decent, at least talk decent." Then turned back to the screen.
Yohan looked at him with a pout.
'This beast within a beauty is definitely laughing on the inside — I just can't prove it. He's always been like this since school. He would land a joke with such a straight face that the rest of us could barely hold it together, while he sat there perfectly blank, nearly getting us all killed by the teachers mid-lecture.'
Yohan raised an eyebrow.
"And... Can I ask why the hell are you wearing shorts under your shirt and still have your tie on?"
"I was feeling too lethargic to change out of my uniform properly. Removing the trousers was about all I could manage."
"I see, I see." Yohan studied him. "You've lost some weight too — looking slimmer than the last time I saw you."
"Yeah, I recently joined a gym. Oh — it loaded!"
Yohan immediately locked in, fixing his gaze on the screen. "...Should we cover the webcam or something before going in?"
Daniel looked at him the way an adult looks at a small child asking their father something wonderfully naive.
"If anything needs covering, it's your face — to protect the cybercriminals from getting PTSD."
He sighed. "Just do what you need to do. Nobody's going to find you worth stalking, and it's not even possible at this initial layer of the Shattered Web anyway."
"Ah, 'kay, 'kay... Got it." Yohan gave a slow, uneven smile with half-lidded eyes.
Daniel stepped out of the room—presumably to make the tea — while Yohan dove into the web and almost immediately found what he was looking for.
He found an online copy of the book he was looking for, but it required payment for a permanent copy — and there was no guarantee it was even the authentic item he needed. On top of that, even if it were entirely legitimate, he couldn't afford it, especially not on a web he had only just set foot in. And the technique he was hoping to learn from it had no confirmation of actually working.
He dragged both palms down his face and leaned back in the chair, worn out and deflated. Then his eyes drifted, rolling idly around the room.
It was roughly twice the size of a standard apartment elevator — not large by any measure. A desk took up one wall, a computer set up on it with books and textbooks scattered around it without much order. Facing the desk was the room door, and beside it in the corner stood a shelf running half the height of the wall, packed with books and everyday domestic odds and ends. On top sat a small pen holder, a few informally stacked books, and a small decorative plant.
From the look of it, this was Daniel's study room — though not exclusively his. The formula sheets and maps pinned around suggested his sister used the space as well, likely for her own coursework. On the wooden door hung a hand-drawn map of Iystoria. Yohan found his eyes tracing it without meaning to, quietly appreciating the detail and accuracy someone had put into drawing it by hand.
He pulled his attention back to the screen. With an irritated exhale he brushed his hair back and perused further.
But what's even the point of banning something if people can still access it with a little effort? Or maybe that's the whole ploy — slap a confidential label on it and people will read it more out of sheer curiosity.
Damn, this habit of overcomplicating everything.
Wait, for real?
The corner of his lip lifted, incongruous against his otherwise blank expression.
So, there's a ten minute trial too before purchasing the actual thing. Damn hell, all I need is one specific chapter containing that procedure, I don't need whole book anyway.
Without hesitating, Yohan clicked on the trial and opened the file. The problem was immediately apparent — he had no idea where to look. The book was long, the chapters numerous, and to make it worse, there was no index.
Several minutes crawled by. A restless nervousness crept in as he began to suspect he might not find the right page in time. One leg shook involuntarily under the desk. The fingers of his other hand drummed a quiet rhythm on the armrest. He kept searching. Then Daniel came back into the room carrying two glasses, small drops of condensation clinging to their surface.
"Did you find what you were looking for?"
"Not yet..." Yohan frowned, leaning closer to the screen.
Daniel held out a cold glass of juice.
"I thought you went to make tea!"
"You wouldn't make it home on your own after drinking my tea." Daniel said, suppressing a soft laugh.
"It's really that heavenly, your tea?"
"That heavenly that you'd need someone to carry you back."
Yohan's eyes went lifeless, a crooked smile curving at the corner of his mouth.
CLICK!
"Ugh, finally." Yohan's eyes narrowed. He had found the chapter he was looking for — at least, that was what he believed. Only two minutes remained on the trial, so he read through it in a rapid sweep, confirming the general content, then took a few photos of the monitor with his phone.
"Good, you found it sooner than I expected but what exactly were you looking for on the Shattered Web?" Daniel leaned toward the screen, trying to make out the text. "Are you researching some conspiracy or what?"
"You could say that, just some Academic research on unsolved mysteries throughout history." Yohan took a long sip of juice as he said it.
"Aren't you a science student?" Daniel asked, settling back beside him.
Yohan set the glass down and rose, moving toward the door.
"Yeah, I am... but you can't solve mysteries without science, you know."
Daniel gave a short nod, scratching the back of his neck. Yohan threw him a wave, thanked him with easy warmth, and headed out to the main door.
...Mysteries can't be solved without science unless they're myths or beliefs.
He pulled out his phone and looked at the photos he had taken.
So there are two types of rituals. His gaze sharpened. The sacrificial ritual sounds more promising.
He slipped the phone back into his pocket and let out a quiet laugh, the corner of his mouth lifting.
"Ridiculous."