Kairen's eyes fluttered.
The black strands of his hair clung to his pale cheeks.
He nodded once, eyes still unfocused, as though he'd glimpsed something impossible.
Nolan helped him sit.
The guards, shaken but unharmed, lowered their batons, exchanging bewildered glances.
A nurse hurried in with a med-kit.
Nolan waved her off.
With a puzzled look on her face she was in total shock.
"We're fine. I mean…He's fine."
He turned his gaze back to Kairen.
"That was your first Skill—Echo Shield. It absorbs mana attacks. In your case, it snuffed out a wild mana surge." He paused.
"But you nearly burned out in the process.... How do you feel?"
Kairen's breathing slowed, the fluid pulse beneath his skin receding.
He pressed his hand to his chest, where residual sparks tickled beneath the surface.
Kairen opened his mouth for a moment then he added.
"The island is a—-"
"Cupcakes!"
Said Nolan with a sweet voice cutting Kairen's line of thought.
"Every time you remember that island just think of something you love, for me… just thinking vanilla cupcakes calms me down!"
"Now let's try again! How do You feel?"
Kairen exhaled, a single word finally escaping...
"Hungry"
Nolan smiled, relief pulling at the corners of his mouth.
'A single thought of cupcakes made him this hungry? Man, maybe I shouldnt have tried to be creative and just say think about a beach with hot beutif— its actually better I didnt say that'
Nolan thought with his cheeks getting red.
"Al'ight," he said.
"You rest. I'll bring you food."
A few miniutes later…
While the sky was gleaming with the full, radiant moon.
Something way too bright to be a star shot through the heavens, as if dropped from the very cosmos.
Its hull was a sleek midnight blue, threaded with veins of cobalt light that pulsed rhythmically, mana-oxide reactors humming beneath the surface like a heartbeat.
Nolan led Kairen down the ramp, helping him as they got to the deck. Standing there were the four crew members:
Lira Kest, a young Abyssal scout, probably the same age as Kairen, with lustrous emerald eyes, and a lean, aesthetic frame.
'What's with her hair?', thought Kairen.
Lira was the first redhead girl Kairen had seen until now.
Maric, the pilot. He was watching over the ships cameras making sure no one was on their tail while his arms remained crossed over a white armored vest emblazoned with glowing codex inscriptions arcane runes of guidance and control.
Fen and Jessa, the twin engineers, exchanged a quick glance before eyeing Kairen with curious interest as he stepped aboard.
Lira approached first, her gaze warm but assessing.
"You must be Kairen," she said, voice soft but confident.
"Nolan told me about the mana surge last night. Echo Shield, right? Impressive for a kid."
Kairen dipped his head, not sure whether that was a compliment or an underestimation.
He still wore the thin hospital gown under Nolan's coat. Nolan patted his shoulder.
Come to think of it Lira and Kairen will be the perfect team, they are the polar opposites.
One who's an extrovert while the other is an introvert, at least for now.
"Lira's going to train you in undersea maneuvering and combat drills. I'll handle codex stabilization. But for now…" Nolan said.
He raised a hand and pointed to a waiting crate.
"Breakfast."
Inside the crate, two steaming bowls of fish porridge, seasoned with kelp‐spice and fortified with energy cubes.
Energy cubes were used to fill a drained codex user.
Kairen hesitated, then scooped a spoonful.
The warmth spread from his core outward, shaking off the last wisps of dread.
Maric stepped forward.
"We need to launch in ten minutes. The Black-Zone tides shift fast"
He stopped when he saw Kairen's codex reading spike. A holographic interface hovered above the boy's chest:
TING!
Codex: Nulla-Extremely Rare
Level: 1 (Tier 1) XP: 0.7/100
Available Skills: Echo Shield (Unlocked)
Stats: Nothing worth mentioning
The crew exchanged impressed looks.
Kairen was frustrated at the stats message and what the f is that 0.7, He felt like the system trying to mock him!
Nolan smiled.
"He's new to this world," Nolan explained, "but he already has the Codex Signature of the Nulla lineage , rare, dangerous, and the reason Obsidian Tide wants him."
He glanced at Kairen.
"We must be quick."
"Nullahhh? What's that Dr?" Finally Kairen spoke as if he couldn't help hiding his intrigue any longer.
"Firstly no need to address me as Dr. "
Said Nolan while checking his EJornals.
Kairen recognised the hologram.
Then it suddenly struck that it must be one of those 2 twins who cyber attacked the EJournals servers.
Why are they that interested in Kairen why go this far as comiting such a crime to get a holed of him and hide away news regarding him.
Kairen was trying to decipher what does he have they want. This act of kindness was so fishy something isn't adding up.
' what pushed Nolan to come so early as to wait and come with the whole crew? And how did he teleport to the shelter, is it a teleportation skill?'
Kairen thought.
Being an introvert gave Kairen a huge advantage as an overthinker. Added to that being hard to read.
"As for the nulla matter…"
Nolan paused for a second not lifting his gaze from the hologram in front of him.
"Lira is your mentor now if I answered all your questions what would be the importance of assigning her such a position?"
'The secret is in that Nulla thing' Kairen thought.
Fen and Jessa scrambled to secure hatches. The submarine's engines thrummed to life, and cobalt lights brightened along its frame.
Kairen finished the last bite of porridge and handed the bowl back to Nolan.
He stood, feeling the weight of eyes on him, not with pity, but expectancy.
Lira extended a gauntlet‐glove that glowed faintly with aqua runes.
"Put this on," she said. "It'll interface with your codex to help you swim. We leave in five."
Kairen slipped on the glove. It felt cool, alive against his skin. Instantly, he sensed the sub's mana currents.
Ribbons of energy flowing beneath the plating.
Each thread hummed a subtle note that filled his mind with dizzying possibilities.
Nolan stepped forward, voice soft:
"Remember—Echo Shield can't protect you from everything. Trust Lira to guide you. Trust yourself to control your codex."
Kairen nodded, eyes fixed on the submarine's open hatch. He felt fear ice in his veins but also a spark.
Its called Purpose.
'I can see why the Obsidian Tide are after this kid,' thought Nolan while playing with strands of his soft blond hair.
Kairen climbed into the Abyssal Vanguard sub.
As the hatch sealed, Lira pressed a fingertip to the console, and the vessel sank beneath the rising tide.
Above them, Shelter 9 receded into the morning mists, a distant beacon of the past. Below, Kairen's codex flickered to life:
Next Objective: Reach Abyssal Vanguard Training Grounds
Reward: +20 XP, "Echo Strike" (Tier 2) available upon completing first undersea drill
Kairen closed his eyes.
The hum of the sub, the press of water on the hull, the steady pulse of his own heart each was an echo of the new life awaiting him.
Among the hundreds of questions he kept asking himself most interesting ones were:
'What am I doing here?
Who are these people?
How is this system working?
What does a cupcake has to do with the island?