He whispered:
— "My mom always warned me about people. She said they only protect themselves."
Heimin said nothing. But something tore inside him.
He stood up slowly, walked toward the boy, and knelt in front of him.
— "I know you don't trust me… but I don't plan to leave you alone."
— "My mom died."
— "I saw it."
Silence lingered… then Tamiyok muttered with a choked voice:
— "Did she die because I was weak?"
— "No… she died because of the greed of those who don't know what it means to lose everything."
Then something strange happened.
Heimin saw a faint shimmer around the boy. Something was coming out of his skin… light, or a strange shape of insects.
Tamiyok said with an eerie calm:
— "Whenever I'm sad, these things come around me. I feel them… they understand me better than humans."
Heimin whispered:
— "Maybe this is your power… and maybe it's the one thing that won't betray you."
Just then, they heard a light tremor in the ground. They both turned toward the street… and saw a group of people running toward what looked like a temporary shelter under the bridge.
Heimin said:
— "We should follow them. I don't think the city will be safe for much longer."
Before they could move, Heimin felt a sting in his chest. A familiar echo returned:
The vision is forming. The child before you… he is not just a survivor. He is a stone at the heart of what's to come.
His body shivered slightly. He looked at Tamiyok and gave a faint smile:
— "Maybe... you're greater than you think."
But the moment he said it, it felt as if the air itself had been pulled from his lungs.
Time stopped… inside him, not around him.
He found himself in a place that didn't exist before. A place of nothingness… yet he knew it was part of him.
The ground was smooth and black, absorbing all light. The sky… unseen.
Suddenly, in front of him… two symbols appeared:
The first: a broken eye, leaking faint light
The second: a small stone pulsing slowly, like an ancient heart
He felt a slight tremor in his skull, as if his entire memory compressed.
Mental Store – Access Granted
Temporary access. Shards: 1
Skills cannot be bought. Only existing ones can be evolved.
He approached the stone first.
Touched it… and saw a blurry image of a child drowning in a pond, and a voice said:
Endure the Drowning – Level 0
Linked to childhood trauma
Upgradeable
Then he touched the broken eye. He saw himself leaping to protect Tamiyok, and felt the inner jolt that passed through his heart at that moment.
Perceive the Event – Level 1
Evolves during moments of danger and decision
Can be upgraded with shards of perception
He hesitated, then whispered:
— "These… aren't powers. This… is me."
He chose to enhance Perceive the Event, and saw the stone slowly melt into him, as if absorbing the pain.
He opened his eyes suddenly.
Tamiyok was staring at him, worried.
— "Are you okay? You stopped moving all of a sudden!"
Heimin smiled.
— "Don't worry… I just… felt something inside me change."
---
Narrator:
In that place no one can see, power does not begin by buying… but by remembering what you were afraid to face.
And the deeper you go… the more you realize that the world isn't testing you — it's showing you who you truly are.
--؟