"So... have you decided which university you're aiming for?"
Lykoan asked White as they walked down the pavement.
Beside them, vehicles sped past.
A few hundred meters above, another road stretched across the sky, flying vehicles and hoverboards zipped through the air, directed by beams of laser light.
The speed sent their hair whipping around, but both continued unperturbed.
"I think I'll join the United Earth Federation."
White answered.
Truth was, he remembered that ten years ago Lykoan had asked him the same question.
Back then, he had replied, "MutantGnomes," but unfortunately, they only accept those with physically enhanced awakenings.
White, against all his expectations, had ended up awakening as a Psychic, instead of a Physical Enhancer.
He couldn't imagine himself being surrounded by Psychics all day, so in the end, he could only go for the United Earth Federation, where they were both Psychics and Enhancers, the two types of awakeners on Earth.
"United Earth Federation. Tsk, don't be so hopeless, White. You can awaken a powerful ability!"
Lykoan said, and White raised an eyebrow.
"UEF isn't good enough?"
"No, no, it's good. But usually, only people who aren't confident they'll get into the other two major schools aim for the United Earth Federation."
"I was expecting you to say MutantGnome, knowing how much of a thickskull you are."
Lykoan teased, and White could only roll his eyes.
Silence extended for a second before Lykoan exclaimed.
"Hold on a second, did someone just ask me what university I'll be joining?"
"Don't bother. I already know."
White said, and Lykoan scoffed.
"I'll bet you a cent you don't."
"Make it a hundred dollars, and it'll be a deal."
White said with a cunning smile, and Lykoan's brow furrowed before replying.
"Fine. Guess correctly, and I'll pay you 50 dollars."
"You'll be joining XtremeCybers."
"Wrong. I've decided to join the United Earth Federation too."
Lykoan said with a smug grin, clearly pleased with himself.
Truth was, his heart was with XtremeCybers, but he wasn't planning on losing 50 dollars.
"The Awakening test is tomorrow. I'll find you and confirm."
Suddenly,
fwoosh!
A powerful wave of air hit both of them as a flying car appeared to the side.
Two people stepped out, bowing respectfully to Lykoan as they opened the vehicle's doors wide.
"I can give you a ride back to your house."
Lykoan said, but White shook his head.
"I have some shopping plans before heading home. Don't forget my fifty bucks tomorrow."
He said, nudging Lykoan forward and watching him step into the flying car.
The two guards gave White an expressionless look, their brows creasing slightly in annoyance, before they stepped into the flying car, which sped off into the sky.
Lykoan wasn't an ordinary student.
He was the young master of a successful business family here in Dongard City.
Their backgrounds were worlds apart, yet somehow, they had still become friends.
Lykoan's family, however, never approved of that friendship for quite clear reasons.
White also knew something: tomorrow would be the last time he ever saw Lykoan, and today would be the last day he ever spoke to him.
The boy would awaken an S-grade Ability and be instantly admitted into XtremeCyber, the organization he had always wanted to join.
As for him, he would awaken a B-grade ability, be refused by MutantGnomes, and, with no other choice, join the United Earth Federation.
White resumed his steps, walking for about 30 minutes before he finally reached a different area.
In this place, there were fewer skyscrapers around, mostly small flats and old bungalows.
Heading deeper, he came before an old, rusty-looking gate.
Bringing out a key from his pocket, he opened up the gate and stepped into the compound.
It was a simple 2-bedroom bungalow, his inheritance from his parents after they both died in a car crash, 7 years ago.
The sight of the house brought a feeling of nostalgia to White.
Especially when he knew that the entire city of Dongard would be reduced to dust from the clash of two extremely powerful Bestial Titans, exactly 2 years from now.
Opening the door to the living room, he threw the bag onto the sofa and, quickening his pace, ran to the bathroom, slipping into the bathtub.
He clutched his head as a surge of emotion rose inside him.
"Draugr! Draugr that bastard!"
The words were forced through the gap of his teeth, as the memory of what had truly happened flashed in his eyes.
An unknown supernatural beast had crept into the United Earth Federation, destroying three bases.
The cities where those bases were located were also completely wiped out.
The flowing blood that filled the gutters, organs splashed on walls, and piles of corpses.
Everything he could still remember.
The United Earth Federation had assigned him and his combat squad the mission of hunting down that beast, which was named the Beast of Draugr.
Looking back, it should have made him suspicious that the Commanders had asked for Draugr to be a temporary Co-captain of his own Combat Squad.
They gave the excuse that he was important in capturing the beast of Draugr, since he was an expert in supernatural beasts.
White didn't doubt the commanders' words, and he had allowed Draugr to take charge, having him lead them to the Death Zone.
In that place, Draugr had changed, becoming the same monstrous beast they had been told to hunt.
He watched his entire combat squad be torn apart. Brothers who had fought beside him for years, executed mercilessly.
He himself was burned half to death, but he didn't die.
No!
He took a forbidden serum that he had found previously in an ancient ruin and drank it.
The price was his Psychic awakening and his life for a brief burst of monstrous power
He had thought all of this would be worth it if he could warn the organization of the true identity of the Beast of Draugr.
They could have helped him get revenge for his fallen comrades.
But who would have guessed?
All of the Commanders already knew.
They knew Draugr was a supernatural beast.
They knew he had killed people of the United Earth Federation and slaughtered an entire city of civilians.
Commander Gione, Commander Draugr, and Commander Lourinette.
They had all sided with the supernatural creatures, and that mission they issued him was a way of getting rid of him and his squad.
And she, Commander Lourinette.
He had thought they had a mutual connection.
Something he believed was only hindered by their different hierarchies at the base and their heavy schedule.
They had promised to be together after he completed his mission to hunt down the Beast of Draugr, yet he had died at her claws.
"I'll kill them...I'll kill them all."
White swore through clenched teeth, punching the bathtub fiercely until it shattered, blood dripping from his knuckles.
For several minutes, he kept punching at the shattered tub, but eventually, he paused, his eyes regaining a calm that held a chilling, unforgiving cold in their depths.
10 years was more than enough time.
For now, something else needed his attention.
And that was none other than the golden light shining at the edge of his vision.
"What are you?"
He asked quietly, and in the next moment, the panel appeared before him, golden lines rapidly buzzing out.
[Hello, White.]
[I am the...]
...