The light from the bulb blurred his vision as he slowly opened his eyes.
"Why am I soaked in water?" Aren thought. He tried to get up but he couldn't. His hands were numb, and his body was shivering.
Then he realised...
He had been stabbed.
Blood soaked his clothes, pooling beneath him.
Something moved in the bushes nearby.
Fear crept into his chest,but he couldn't move. He knew it-
He was nearing his end.
A monster emerged from the bush. It was the size of an average dog with big eyes and a short tail with blue skin that has two horns in its shoulders.
It didn't look terrifying.
Infact It looked comforting,cute even.
But Aren knew better.
Even something like that could kill him—and he had no strength left to fight back.
"At least… I can feed it before I die" he thought bitterly.
As the creature stepped closer, Aren shut his eyes tightly, bracing himself.
But instead of pain, he heard a voice—
"Don't worry… I'm here for you."
Aren's eyes snapped open.
He was in a taxi.
It was just a dream.
The vehicle came to a stop infront of a café "See that motel next to the convenience store?" the driver said, pointing. "That's the place you asked for."
Aren nodded. "How much for the ride?"
"Ten von will do."
Aren scratched his head. "Uh… I'm not from this country. I don't have your currency."
The driver frowned.
"Wait, hold on!" Aren said quickly, searching his pocket. He pulled out a coin and held it up.
"This is what I used to pay for everything while traveling. Can I pay with one universal coin?"
"One universal coin!? That's way more than the fare!" the driver shouted.
"It's fine. Keep the change," Aren said, handing it over.
He grabbed his small backpack and headed toward the café.
Opened the door and entered the café, it was busier than expected.
After scanning the room, He found an empy table and sat down, picking up the menu. As he flipped through the pages, something caught his eyes.
Special chocolates.
Curious, he checked the price - and froze.
A thousand von. "Who would actually buy a thing like that for that price?" He thought.
As he looked up hidms eyes landed on a blonde haired guy around his age... casually eating one.
Aren stared for s moment.
"...Guess Iam poor" he muttered to himself.
Suddenly the blonde haired guy glanced at Aren and calmly went back to eating.
Aren didnt think much of it.
Then -
the ground trembled. His eyes widened.
An earthquake?
The Shaking grew stronger. Plates started to fall of the tables and break, glasses shattered.
Panick spread instantly.
People rushed out of the cafe flooding the streets. Their screams filling the air as traffic came to a halt.
But Aren didn't move.
He stood in the middle of the road, watching.
The tremors… they weren't random.
They were getting closer.
Louder.
He narrowed his eyes.
"…No."
A slow grin spread across his face.
"This isn't an earthquake…"
The ground cracked beneath his feet.
"…It's a monster."
Aren's grin widened.
"Perfect."
Finally… a chance to test my power.
A faint glow began to form around his hand.
The air itself started to vibrate.
Vana...