Nova stared at the door with a confused look on his face. His hair was messy, and he couldn't help but wonder what had happened. It wasn't the first time Miyu had done something like this, but it was always strange.
'...?'
He heard a couple of wing flaps beside him and looked in that direction, finding Poki. The little animal smiled at him while glancing back and forth between him and the door.
It seemed the reptile had understood something he hadn't—and was trying to tell him about it.
"What? Do you want to tell me something? Even if you do, you know I don't speak your species' language."
Poki shook its head, disappointed. Nova rolled his eyes and sat back down in his seat.
"You're just as weird as my uncle."
Then he stared at the chair, falling into silence.
'Well, there's no one here anymore. It's always this quiet when no one's around...'
He closed his eyes and allowed himself to rest.
'It's like the battlefields in the Calem mountain ranges.'
This time there were only thoughts.
Nova wasn't someone who talked much, so he thought most things instead of saying them. It was a small flaw he had had since he was a child.
He never spoke more than necessary. Usually, when he was surrounded by people, he was forced to talk, but that didn't make him antisocial, as he always said what needed to be said, when it mattered.
Because of that, some people considered him strange, although that never bothered him. All humans are strange in their own way. From those whose Spectrum was Anger to those who wielded Serenity as a weapon.
No one in this world is normal, and that's not necessarily a bad thing.
When he opened his eyes, he looked at the yellow sun radiating its glorious life-giving light above the green leaves of the trees—which danced to the rhythm of the wind's song. It was an everyday sight for Nova, as he was not surprised by the beauty of his own world.
'Okay. Time for a quick check.'
This was the interesting part.
When he concentrated hard enough, looking at the landscape outside, a faint black glow formed in front of his face. A moment later, an ethereal rectangle appeared, displaying words in the current language of humanity.
'Let's see if anything has changed in my Personal Information.'
Personal Information is a skill that Faction Masters teach their recruits so that they can keep an effective and orderly count of their own skills.
It works perfectly because the skill uses the person's memories and experiences to catalog the information in a floating window, even information the user isn't consciously aware of.
The window displayed the following:
[
❖ Name: Nova Asmodai.
❖ Age: 21 chronological years.
❖ Rank: Seventh Level Empath.
❖ Spectrum: Serenity.
❖ Spectrum Skills:
—Attenuate: Ability to greatly diminish the impact of the other seven emotions in the Emotional Spectrum. Considered a passive skill.
—Spectrum Enhancement: Ability to amplify Spectrum and Physical skills, both for other people and for the user themselves.
—Serenity Fluctuation: Ability to imbue Serenity in others. Has the effect of calming theSpectrum of others. Also grants some understanding of the target's emotions.
❖ Energy Control:
—Low control of Calem Energy.
—Medium manipulation of the Plantae Realm.
—Low resistance to Status Effects.
❖ Personal Skills:
—Martial Arts (Basic)
—Knowledge of Botany (Advanced)
]
Nova, bored, reclined his head on the back of the sofa.
'Huh. Nothing's changed.'
Everything the skill showed was stuff Nova already knew.
He had learned all that over the years. However, the Spectrum's skills, unlike Energy Control, which is based on manipulating the planet's energy, are something that appears over time based on a person's experiences, not something that is learned as such.
In total, there are eight branches of the Emotional Spectrum. Each branch descends from a primitive emotion: Ecstasy, Admiration, Terror, Amazement, Grief, Loathing, Rage, and Vigilance.
Each branch has its secondary and tertiary emotions. And between the primary emotions are the intermediate emotions that arise from the combination of the primary emotions.
Serenity, Nova's Spectrum, is the third emotion in the Ecstasy branch, after Joy.
As such, the entire Ecstasy branch is extremely rare in humans. The same is true of the Loathing branch. This is because it is very uncommon for a human to feel these emotions in the first decade of their life.
Although there are cases where children are born with traces of a Spectrum and develop from there.
'It's still no big deal, but if I continue like this, I will soon become a Sixth Level Empath.'
He smiled slightly, proud of himself.
'Three years fly by. There is a big difference between being a Tenth Level and a Seventh Level...'
He had worked hard for the last three years for this. He started in the Dimension faction at age 18 as a Tenth Level Empath, and now he is in his uncle Viktor's rising faction as a Seventh Level Empath.
'If I want to climb even higher, I just need to work harder.'
Hard work shapes a man—and Nova worked hard.
"Hm?"
Because he was so distracted looking at the ethereal window, he barely noticed that there was something heavy on his lap.
"Poki?"
It was that little winged reptile, who had fallen asleep there.
Seeing how adorable his reptilian friend was, Nova scratched the scales on its head with a slight smile.
Poki smiled, curling up closer.
"You sleep a lot, Poki. Let's go home."
Getting up from the sofa, he picked up Poki as if it were a baby and left the room. The ethereal window vanished into thin air afterwards.
***
Later, he walked through the busy streets of this city covered in nature. Cars moved smoothly through the intersections, and civilians chatted with each other as they swarmed toward their destinations.
Each person looked different in their own way. Some had colorful, feathered wings tucked behind their backs so as not to bother others, while others had ears and tails of different types, sizes, and colors. Most, however, were ordinary humans with no special conditions.
This continent was a very diverse place whose sights and inhabitants Nova liked very much. He was born and raised here. How could he not love such a beautiful and peaceful home?
This peace, leaving aside the Dimensional Portals and Aberrations, was something he appreciated with all his being. Since he had had a very turbulent life and childhood, these small parts of life were precious to him.
Several hours had passed since noon. The sky began to turn crimson, staining the roofs and rooftops of buildings with its magnificent shade of fiery colors.
The clouds took on random shapes in the sky that sometimes coincided with things that exist in real life. The giant birds soaring overhead made it seem as if the day was finally being covered by the blanket of inevitable night.
With Poki back home, this boy could finally reunite with his friends in Lux Valley.
As for that specific place: Lux Valley is the most famous bar and restaurant in Luminaris, the capital of the country of Nemoria on the continent of Calem, where the asteroid crashed more than a thousand years ago. Many wealthy people and some well-known Empaths often gather there.
Nova was heading there.
'Hm... where do you get those stickers?'
He looked amused as he walked down the sidewalk, looking at the communicator in his hand. Miyu's messages were pouring down like torrential rain in the group chat. Repeated sounds of drops bounced off the speaker.
[
MiyuMiyu:
[Where are you guys?]
[I'm going to die of loneliness...]
[Nova? Are you still alive?]
[Elara!]
[*Sticker of Poki impatiently chasing its tail*]
Nova Asmodai:
[I'm on my way.]
[Anyway, why did you get here so early?]
[*Sticker of Poki with a question mark above its head*]
Ellie:
[I'm going to be a little late. Sorry. Start without me.]
MiyuMiyu:
[Hurry up!]
[Some weird guys want to hit on me!]
[It's getting hard to get rid of them!]
[*Sticker of Nova with a poker face*]
]
'Seriously... Where do you get these stickers? I don't remember taking that photo,' he thought, making an uncomfortable face.
To speed things up, he slipped the communicator into the pocket of his clean, dark trench coat and jumped to land on top of a traffic light. Then he jumped again and landed on the roof of a two-story store.
'Let's see how long it takes me to get there this time.'
He ran as fast as his legs would carry him, jumping between buildings as night colored the scene alongside the beautiful light of the full moon, which was breaking through the silvery clouds.