The Next Step

  August 1st, Year 119 (P.R.E.)

  Somewhere in the sector of Ravenspurn— school district nine to be exact, a modern high-rise dormitory stood triumphantly against the backdrop of the early morning sun. It was composed of two different buildings—segregated by gender— and housed several hundred students on any given day.

  The city of Babylon was largely regarded as the world’s best ‘hunting ground’ because of the dimensional grid established by the towers, but it was a lot more than just that. Over the past few decades, it also managed to cultivate a reputation for certain generalities as a whole, particularly in deviant training and education just to name a few.

  The awakening process for a deviant was often times subconscious, and because of that, those who met the criteria for a potential awakening were subject to supernatural phenomenon on a whim. That rule applied for both adults, children and teenagers alike, but in the case of the former they had a much harder time awakening because of their already developed brains.

  However, their younger counterparts—specifically those undergoing one of the most pivotal transformations of the human body, puberty— were much more adaptable to the strange ambient energy floating around the planet.

  Thus, the city that was formed on the brink of such a monumental shift in social dynamics had managed to adapt to become something of a multi-purpose society. It openly welcomed all who sought to earn a living as a hunter, earn from the work done by hunters, study supernatural phenomenon, or learn to control their own supernatural abilities.

  In recent years the dynamic inside the city had stabilized and now, close to eighty percent of its 2.4 million citizens possessed supernatural abilities in some way, shape or form. The strength of those abilities varied greatly depending on the user, but nonetheless it wasn’t the kind of population dynamic one could find anywhere else in the world, not when deviants made up less than ten percent of the global population.

  That was why over time, the majority of Babylon’s residents acclimated to the presence of extra-dimensional gates spawning sporadically. These days, more often than not, the gates were seen as little more than a nuisance.

  A woman wearing a fashionable business-like suit casually strolled down the radiant hallway more than twenty flights up the building on the dorm’s right wing. Sunlit rays tickled her pale skin, and her wheat-colored hair that was tied into a bun shone like precious stones in the early morning sunlight.

  She stopped by an oak door near the end of the corridor and pressed the intercom. Without even so much as a stutter, she stated her purpose matter-of-factly in a smooth, yet unnaturally cool voice:

  “Good morning, Cyril Severin. I’ve been told that you would be home today, and as such I would like to inquire if you were willing to spare me a bit of your time.”

  The boy’s groggy intonation came back to her over the intercom.

  “Hmm...? Who...who is it...?”

  “This is Yelena Riot from the Regis clan. I know we haven’t been acquainted for very long, but I hope you’re willing to honor my request.”

  “....”

  No response came for a while.

  Unsure of what to do, Yelena cocked her head curiously. Although it wasn’t showing on her face, the A-rank hunter was in fact confused. Her business with him couldn’t exactly be called ‘urgent’ but then again, at the same time it was something they needed to resolve as soon as possible, given the current circumstances and all.

  As she stood there cluelessly tapping her foot in contemplation, she heard something—footsteps. The sound of soft footfalls approaching the thin oak door flooded her expression with a fresh supply of optimism, although like always, it still wasn’t showing.

  Soon enough a soft click sound came from behind the door, accentuating the slow turn of the white knob. The door opened with a faint creak and a silver haired boy stepped out onto the hallway, eyes swirling and bed hair ablaze.

  The previous night had been nothing less than hectic for him, having been zapped with more than a hundred thousand volts of electricity from an S-rank's spell and topping the day off with a revelation that was anything but easy to swallow, he found himself staying up far later than he would have liked to, which ultimately resulted in him currently suffering from an extreme case of drowsiness.

  Normally, he would have been in a bind since it was a weekday. However, such a situation was no longer possible for him—or any other high schooler in the country because of one simple reason: his school's needlessly long curriculum had officially come to an end for the final semester.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  In other words, it was summer.

  [Alert. Symptoms of exhaustion are impairing your cognitive function. Suggestion: Activate Unique Skill [Life Surge] in active mode to temporarily increase metabolic activity and alleviate drowsiness. Warning: Mental and physical fatigue will return at sub-optimal levels once effects wear off.]

  He heard the robotic voice’s announcement, but his mind took a bit longer than usually to process the information, especially since he didn’t think she’d said anything important.

  Rubbing the dreariness from his still hazy vision, he glanced up at the woman and repeated his inquiry: “Sorry...what were you saying...again....eh?”

  Reality caught up to him. Soon enough all the images swimming in his vision overlapped and the scenery became clear. He instantly recognized that familiar, unyielding presence and his eyes wandered up to meet the cold, steel-grey stare of the woman decked out in her business-like attire.

  It could be said that their expressions mirrored each other, but to varying degrees. While Cyril’s eyes were slowly going wide, Yelena’s expression visibly flinched for the first time today. Cyril took a step back unconsciously; he glanced down to his lazy sleeping attire then flashed his head back up to Yelena who’d already begun to regain her composure.

  “Ah...uhm..well...sorry for coming out here like this...my head really wasn’t in the right place just now, haha...” The awkward, nervous laughter did little to quell the strange atmosphere. Yelena didn’t say anything, she simply stood there, scanning him with a dose of scrutiny so potent he felt like she was trying to peer into his soul.

  “You....You are Cyril Severin?” she asked, her expression softening from mild shock.

  “Mhm, it’s me. I know I look a little different now, but I promise the changes are mostly external.”

  “I find that hard to believe, your aura...it feels completely different from the last time we met.”

  Cyril chuckled to himself, finally finding a bit of his composure.

  “Well, I did say the changes were ‘mostly’ external. It’s a little early, but I think I know why you’re here. Can you give me a minute? I can’t exactly go with you looking like this.” he finished politely, gesturing vaguely at himself, his shirt half-buttoned and his hair a wild mess from sleep.

  He rubbed his eyes again before throwing a glance toward the visitor and trying his best not to lose out to embarrassment. "Unless, of course, you prefer your guests to look like they just rolled out of bed," he added with a smirk.

  “It’s you after all; I thought I was mistaken for a moment. Please take your time. I will be waiting for you in the parking lot.” Yelena whipped around and moved towards the opposite end of the corridor, her high heels clanking like a metronome down the empty hall.

  Cyril waited until her figure disappeared down the stairway to heave a heavy sigh off his chest.

  I wasn’t expecting that at all. To think Yelena would show up to my dorm all of a sudden...come to think of it how did she even get my address? It was probably the Chairman’s doing, that shrewd old man really likes rushing things along.

  He was in the midst of a full-blown interrogation and a self-directed rant, arms folded and head bobbing like every part of his body was in a state of unanimous agreement.

  Well, now that she’s come to pick me up it’s pretty much inevitable at this point. Yelena’s kind of intimidating but I don’t think she means to be...most of the time. This is already off to a bad start, I think she just rolled her eyes at me.

  [Notice. The exasperated gesture known as an ‘eye roll’ was indeed detected during your recent encounter. The individual ‘Yelena Riot’ shows little fondness for your character, and with regards to the current strength difference in mind a cautionary approach is advised.]

  Cyril’s shoulders drooped a little.

  Aria’s words were clear cut, but it only served to reinforce several glaring issues he was already trying to distract himself from—Yelena’s mild impression of him being the most obvious one.

  Aria, by any chance, have you been reading my memories while I’m asleep?

  [Affirmative. I have been conducting comprehensive sweeps of your memory on a regular basis while you rest. Due to the vast amount of data, a single session is insufficient for a complete scan. Therefore, I must perform the analysis incrementally, step by step.]

  That’s a major invasion of my privacy, you know.

  [Judgmental error detected. Cyril, do you require an apology?]

  Hmm… not really. If you hadn’t been doing that, my unique skill probably wouldn’t be anything close to what it is now, and I really like the way it is. Isn't that what you’re searching my memories for, combat data from all my fights, matches, and spars?

  [Affirmative. This data needs to be process for the sake of tactical reasons. Do you wish to forcefully halt the procedure?]

  He wasn’t very surprised to learn what his assistant had been up to, but the thought of admonishing her seemed futile considering the fact that she occupied his mind at all times. In the worst-case scenario, he thought it would simply end with her discovering some of his particularly embarrassing memories and that would be it. Overall, his approach to the situation could easily be summed up in a few words: “It’s not like she can tell anyone.”

  No, it’s fine. I can’t really hide anything from someone living inside my head anyway. Just don’t do anything strange with my memories.

  [Acknowledged. No alternations will be made to your mental institutions. This procedure is solely for the sake of analytical purposes.]

  Good, then that’s settled. I think I’m gradually getting used to having you in my head. I just hope you’re willing to keep your interference to a minimum—I’d like to try figuring this whole skill thing out on my own.

  [Acknowledged. I intend to.]

  Registering the strange voice’s approval, Cyril stepped across the doorframe and began his preparations.

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