The wind had calmed…
but the silence felt heavier now.
I stood still in the field,
my hand slowly lowering.
The strange pulse inside me…
had not disappeared.
It was still there.
Breathing… waiting…
I looked around.
Nothing.
Yet…
something felt wrong.
"…I'm not alone."
My voice was barely audible.
A faint pressure in the air shifted.
Not my power this time.
Something else.
Behind me…
A slow clap echoed.
Clap… clap…
My body froze.
I turned immediately.
A figure stood at the edge of the field.
Tall.
Still.
Wearing a dark coat that moved slightly with the wind.
His face was partially hidden in shadow.
But his eyes…
They were clear.
Sharp.
Calm.
Like he had been watching me for a long time.
I stepped back.
"…Who are you?"
No answer at first.
Only a faint smile formed on his face.
He walked forward slowly.
Unhurried.
Confident.
Each step…
felt heavier than it should.
Not because of force…
but presence.
He stopped a few meters away from me.
Then tilted his head slightly.
"…So it finally awakened."
My eyes widened.
"What do you mean?"
He looked at my hand.
Then at me.
"As expected… unstable."
My breathing tightened.
"You— you know about this?"
He sighed softly.
Not annoyed.
More like… disappointed I had to ask.
"Yes."
A pause.
"More than you can imagine."
The wind moved between us.
But it didn't touch him.
It bent around his presence.
That's when I felt it.
Not fear.
Recognition.
He knew.
Everything.
My power…
my condition…
even what I didn't understand about myself.
"…Why are you here?"
He finally smiled fully.
A calm, unreadable expression.
"Because you're not supposed to exist like this alone."
My heart tightened.
"What are you talking about?"
He took one more step forward.
And lowered his voice.
"You are not the first."
Silence.
The world itself felt like it paused.
"You're just the next one who survived long enough to awaken."
My eyes widened slightly.
"…Next one?"
He nodded.
Slowly.
As if confirming something long known.
"And if you continue like this…"
His gaze sharpened.
"You will either evolve…"
"…or destroy yourself."
The wind stopped completely.
For the first time…
I felt real danger.
Not from power.
From knowledge
The silence stretched between us.
I couldn't move.
Not because I was weak…
but because something in his presence felt… familiar.
He noticed my hesitation.
"…You feel it too, don't you?"
I frowned.
"Feel what?"
He exhaled slowly, as if deciding how much truth to reveal.
Then he spoke.
"My name is Ravel."
A pause.
"And I am what you would call… a monitor."
My eyes narrowed.
"…Monitor?"
He nodded.
"We observe individuals who awaken unstable abilities."
My heart tightened.
"Unstable…?"
Ravel looked at my hand again.
"The kind of power you have… doesn't belong to a normal origin."
My breathing slowed.
"What do you mean?"
He stepped closer… but not threatening.
More like analyzing.
"There are rules in this world you don't know about."
His eyes sharpened.
"And your existence breaks one of them."
A cold weight spread in my chest.
"…Breaks a rule?"
Ravel nodded.
"Your power is not natural evolution."
"It is a resonance."
I froze.
"…Resonance?"
He continued.
"A leftover echo from something that should not exist anymore."
My mind went blank for a second.
"…That doesn't make sense."
He smiled faintly.
"It doesn't have to. Not yet."
The wind picked up slightly…
but avoided him again.
As if reality itself respected his presence.
I stepped back.
"Why are you watching me?"
This time…
his expression changed.
Not cold.
Not neutral.
But serious.
"Because you are unstable."
A pause.
"And unstable ones… either become disasters…"
"…or keys."
My eyes widened slightly.
"Keys…?"
He nodded.
"To something sealed."
Silence.
A heavy one.
Then he added quietly:
"And because someone else is already looking for you."
My body tensed instantly.
"…Who?"
Ravel's gaze darkened.
"You wouldn't survive knowing that name yet."
My fists clenched.
"So you're protecting me?"
He laughed softly.
Not mocking.
More like tired honesty.
"No."
"I'm observing you."
A pause.
"And reporting what you become."
My breath froze.
"…To who?"
He turned slightly away.
As if the conversation was already over.
"To those who decide whether your existence continues…"
"…or ends."
Then he glanced back one last time.
"But I will say this."
His voice lowered.
"You are not the only one awakening."
"And the others… are not as stable as you."
A final pause.
"Survive."
And with that…
He vanished.
Not running.
Not teleporting.
Just… gone.
As if he was never there
After he vanished…
the field felt emptier.
But not safer.
I stayed still.
Listening to the silence that followed his words.
"…Others are not stable like you."
That sentence kept echoing.
My fingers tightened slightly.
Then—
I felt it.
A shift.
Not from within me.
From somewhere else.
The air… turned heavy again.
But different.
Sharp.
Intentional.
My eyes moved instantly.
"…There."
A figure stood far across the field.
Not hidden.
Not observing like Ravel.
This one… was watching openly.
And smiling.
He raised his hand slowly.
Clap…
A single clap echoed.
But the sound carried pressure.
My body reacted instantly.
Step back.
Instinct.
Danger.
The figure tilted his head.
His smile widened.
"…So you're the one."
My eyes narrowed.
"Who are you?"
He walked forward.
Each step cracked faintly against the ground.
Not from weight.
From energy.
His presence felt unstable.
Wild.
Uncontrolled.
Unlike Ravel…
This one was chaos.
He stopped halfway.
And laughed softly.
"I was wondering what kind of 'key' they were talking about."
My heart tightened.
"…Key?"
He nodded.
"Yeah."
His eyes sharpened.
"The thing everyone wants."
A pause.
"And the thing I want to break."
The air around him twisted.
Like something inside him was leaking out.
I felt it immediately.
His power…
It wasn't calm like mine.
Or controlled like Ravel's.
It was aggressive.
Unstable.
Hungry.
He stretched his hand forward slightly.
And the grass around him burned… without fire.
Just disappearing.
My eyes widened slightly.
"…What are you?"
He smiled.
A wide, excited smile.
"I'm someone who already woke up… and stopped caring what I become."
My chest tightened.
He stepped again.
Closer.
Too close.
"You should come with me."
I frowned.
"…Why?"
His smile darkened.
"Because Ravel is lying to you."
Silence.
My body froze.
"…What?"
He tilted his head.
"Oh, you met him already?"
A soft laugh.
"Of course you did."
His eyes sharpened.
"He always arrives first… to prepare the 'inventory'."
My breath slowed.
Inventory…?
He pointed at me.
"But I'm not here for reports."
His aura exploded slightly.
The ground cracked.
"I'm here to test you."
My body reacted instantly.
Power rising inside me.
Uncontrolled.
He noticed.
And smiled wider.
"There it is…"
"…that unstable thing."
He took another step.
And the air collapsed between us.
Pressure.
Collision of presence.
For the first time…
I felt something equal.
Not stronger.
Not weaker.
Just… different.
A second awakened being.
And he whispered:
"Let's see what breaks first.