The first thing Silla did when his senses returned was what any normal person would do upon finding a large, mysterious object on their bed... he blinked rapidly.
Once... twice... three times...
The image before him remained unchanged. The onyx-black egg still rested silently on his light blue duvet. Its silver patterns moved with a slow, elegant grace, like a constellation orbiting in a distant universe. It was beautiful... and terrifying at the same time.
This has to be a dream... he told himself. He was probably just overtired and hallucinating.
He pinched his own arm, hard. The sharp sting that shot through his skin made him wince and confirmed the cruel reality... this was not a dream.
His next thought was to call the police or the Awakened Association, but he dismissed the idea almost immediately. What would he tell them? "Hello? A mysterious egg just teleported into my bedroom, could you come take a look?" They would think he was either insane or making things up.
What about his family?
Silla shook his head so hard that his damp hair flung water everywhere. Just imagining how Seyrus would overreact, or how his mother would put him under "house arrest" for his own safety, made it hard to breathe. This was the only freedom he had fought so hard to obtain. He would never let it be ruined by something so bizarre.
After standing frozen for nearly five minutes, his legs finally decided to move again. He crept toward the bed slowly and cautiously, as if stepping into the cage of an unknown beast. Up close, he noticed the egg wasn't as cold as he'd imagined. It radiated a steady, faint warmth—a warmth that felt strangely familiar.
But in the end... curiosity was a stronger instinct than fear.
Silla reached out a trembling hand, moving as slowly as he could. His fingertips grazed the smooth surface of the eggshell.
In that instant... the silver patterns on the shell flashed in response. The warmth he felt intensified, and a strange sensation washed over him... it was a feeling of 'joy' and 'contentment,' like a baby being held in its mother's arms.
Silla snatched his hand back as if he'd been shocked by an electric current. His heart pounded... This thing... was actually alive.
Alright... whatever it was, the first thing he needed to do was hide it. He made a quick decision. He scanned the room and chose the wardrobe in the corner. He gathered some clothes he rarely wore into a pile before returning to the bed and trying to lift the egg.
It was much heavier than it looked, but still manageable. He staggered toward the wardrobe, carrying the strange egg, placed it on the soft pile of clothes, and covered it with a thick winter coat before gently closing the door.
Silla let out a huge sigh of relief, feeling as if he'd just run a marathon. He glanced at the now-empty bed before quickly getting dressed. Tonight would definitely be another sleepless one.
The morning sun streamed into the room, but for Silla, his entire world felt dark.
He hadn't slept a wink all night. Every hour, he would get up to peek inside the wardrobe to make sure the egg was still there... and it always was, emitting a faint warmth and a soft, silvery glow whenever he drew near.
He decided to check the morning news, hoping for some clue about the strange occurrence. And that's when he found it—true disaster.
[Awakened Association Breaking News: Unprecedented Breach at Nightcrow Guild; Newest S-Rank Item Missing!]
The glaring red headline on the hologram screen made Silla's breath catch in his throat. He immediately clicked for more details.
The screen cut to a field reporter standing in front of the Nightcrow Guild's skyscraper, which looked noticeably more chaotic than usual.
"...This is a truly shocking development. Late last night, the Nightcrow Guild, the nation's number one guild, issued an emergency announcement regarding the disappearance of a brand-new 'artifact' just recovered from the S-Rank Gate, the 'Sunken Cathedral of the Abyss'!"
The feed switched to a press conference, where an Awakened Association spokesman was speaking with a grim expression.
"...According to preliminary information, the artifact is an ovular, egg-like object, black in color with moving silver patterns on its shell. Its type and properties are currently unidentifiable, but as it originated from an S-Rank Gate, the Association has classified it as a highest-level dangerous object and an asset critical to national security..."
A 3D hologram model of the egg appeared in mid-air... it was, without a doubt, the exact same egg that was currently sitting in his wardrobe.
Silla felt the world spin around him, the blood in his veins turning to ice.
"The Association and the Nightcrow Guild have offered a massive reward for any information and would like to warn the general public. If you see this object, do not approach or touch it under any circumstances. Report it to the authorities immediately. The individual in possession of this artifact may be a high-level Awakened with malicious intent against the nation's security..."
A high-level Awakened... malicious intent...
Those words hammered in Silla's head like a gavel. He was no longer just some guy who found a weird object. In the eyes of the entire country, he was now a 'suspect' in the most serious case of national treasure theft in history!
How could he possibly return it? Who would believe that the egg just showed up on its own? They would think he was a thief, or a rival guild member sent to cause trouble. And the penalty for being an enemy of the Nightcrow Guild... Silla didn't even want to imagine it.
Panic took complete hold of him. He stood up and paced around the room like a trapped mouse. What should he do? Throw it away? No... that was a national treasure. He could be charged with destroying government property. And what if it exploded?
As his mind raced, a soft light seeped from the closed wardrobe door. It was the egg, glowing warmly, as if it could sense his distress and was trying to comfort him.
But to Silla, it felt like he was hugging a ticking time bomb.
Suddenly... his Awakened instincts screamed a violent warning.
An immense pressure, the likes of which he had never felt before, emanated from outside. It was as heavy as if the entire sky were about to collapse on his apartment. The distant city buzz that he could always hear suddenly fell silent. The air in the room grew thick, almost unbreathable.
Silla froze. He didn't hear footsteps in the hall or the sound of the elevator, but he knew... he knew instantly that 'something' was coming for him.
His heart hammered against his ribs as if it would break free. He held his breath and slowly turned toward the source of the pressure... the balcony.
There, outside the glass door, a tall, elegant figure had appeared out of nowhere. He stood leaning against the outer railing, shrouded in the afternoon shadows. The sun at his back cast him in a dark silhouette... a silhouette that radiated an undisguised and terrifying aura of power.
Silla felt as if his legs had turned to ice...
He was no longer alone.