Morgan looked at his hands slowly, scrutinizing the tattoo that covered them. Before it suddenly disappeared, Morgan felt a surge of surprise at what had happened, causing him to extend his hands and touch the spot where the tattoo had been moments ago. He then felt a mild heat ignite in his hand, though it was not painful.
With that touch, strange characters appeared before him, but despite their strangeness, he was able to read them.
"Congratulations, you have been chosen to become one of the Awakened. The trial begins in 24 hours."
Morgan looked at the words with a blank expression.
The Awakened… what does that mean? Ah, I understand.
After reading all the novels he could comprehend, this meant one thing: I have been chosen to save the world.
Wait, why would I even care about saving the world? Why am I thinking about this in the first place? Wouldn't it be better to search through Charlon's memories?
But Morgan couldn't find anything of the sort, as some memories were missing, which made him frown slightly.
He quickly diverted his attention from the questions; these empty questions, whose answers he did not know, did not matter.
Morgan sighed lightly. Hmm… if I focus on the state, will it appear? No harm in trying, I suppose, Morgan then thought about the state.
Then those strange characters appeared before him again:
Name: Charlon Kleimen
Age: 17
Rank: Semi-Awakened
Djinn Core: None
Tattoo: Shadows
Abilities:
[Blood Eyes]: Ability that turns the user's eyes completely red, removing all emotions, making the user incapable of feeling pain or fear.
[Shadow Edges]: Ability that allows the user to utilize shadows as a combat weapon, though not sharp, aimed only at paralyzing the opponent for a few seconds.
[Foggy Forms]: Can change your form according to the person you kill when absorbing the fog from their body, allowing you to transform into their shape.
Curse: -
Gift: -
Morgan stared at his states with a blank expression, then sank into deep thought, to the point that he felt nothing around him, until something blocked the moonlight that had been illuminating the place with its calm, beautiful glow.
Morgan raised his head to check what was happening…
And froze in place.
Before his eyes, black eyes streaked with yellow stared directly at him.
He swallowed hard before murmuring in a low voice,
"What is this person doing here…?"
The owner of the black eyes streaked with yellow directed his gaze toward Morgan, then spoke in a calm tone,
"Ah… I'm sorry if I startled you, I didn't mean to."
Morgan looked at him very cautiously, stepping back a few steps without taking his eyes off him.
In his mind, he began thinking about fleeing, and if he couldn't, he would scream at the top of his lungs in hopes that someone would hear him.
He quickly looked around to discover that the street he was on was devoid of any human presence, which increased his tension.
The owner of the black eyes streaked with yellow noticed Morgan's nervous behavior, appearing puzzled for a moment before understanding the situation.
"Don't worry, I don't want to hurt you. I just came after sensing a strong energy coming from this direction, so I hurried here. I didn't expect to meet you again."
But Morgan never lowered his guard, his anxiety only growing.
Sensing energy? That alone was enough to confirm to him that the man in front of him was not ordinary.
Morgan clenched his fists without realizing it and stepped another step back, ready to run at any moment.
The owner of the black eyes sighed calmly, then looked directly at Morgan as if fully aware of what was going on in his mind. Then he extended his hand to shake his.
"My name is Karl Dristen. I am from the Awakened Organization. Nice to meet you."
Morgan looked at Karl's outstretched hand.
Should I shake it?
After a brief moment of hesitation, he made his decision.
He finally extended his hand and shook Karl's,
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Karl. My name is Morgan."
As soon as he finished speaking, clear signs of surprise appeared on Karl's face.
He seemed to be thinking deeply before speaking in a hesitant tone,
"Isn't your name Charlon? That's strange… Could it be that they gave me the wrong name?"
At that moment, he cursed himself silently as he lowered his gaze slightly.
He had made a mistake… he had spoken his real name, Morgan, without realizing it. He had grown so used to it that it slipped out automatically, not the name of the body he was inhabiting—Charlon.
His thoughts raced, and he quickly searched for a convincing excuse before arousing suspicion.
"Hmm… my apologies, I misspoke a little. You are right, my real name is Charlon. But some call me Morgan, so I said it unconsciously. Please forgive me for that."
Morgan watched Karl's face and noticed that his features had returned to normal.
"I see. For a moment, I thought I got the name I was told wrong."
Morgan breathed a sigh of relief and felt a momentary comfort, but it didn't last long.
How did he know my name in the first place?
He raised his eyes to Karl.
"Mr. Karl… may I know how you knew my name?"
Karl directed his eyes straight at him, and their gazes met in a silent moment.
"I was told to go to this place because one of the Awakened would awaken here. I didn't know it was you specifically. They only told me your name. If I had known it was you, I would have taken you from the very first meeting this morning…"
Morgan swallowed in silence.
"Don't worry. I won't do anything to you. All I want is for you to follow me to the headquarters."
Morgan stepped two cautious steps back. He wasn't foolish enough to go with him so easily.
He began thinking quickly, trying to find a way out of the situation, but before he could make any decision…
Something strange happened. His body moved forward.
Morgan advanced until he was directly in front of Karl, then… stopped.
What happened? Did fear take control of me, making me approach him without noticing? Of course not… if I were afraid, my heart would have exploded.
But I don't think so, he thought. He must have done something to me… yes, that's right. Then, he heard Karl's voice.
"You will not be able to move your body. I am the one controlling it now. Don't worry, I won't do anything to you. All I want is to take you to the headquarters… to prepare you for the trial."
Upon hearing these words, Morgan confirmed what he had suspected.
But wait… why don't I feel this strange fear? I used to be a coward! Could it be because I transferred into a different body? I don't know, and I don't care… it's better to keep this matter as it is.
Moments of silence passed, then Karl grabbed Morgan by his clothes. Morgan shivered for a moment in surprise, before Karl moved with astonishing speed, leaping from one building to another.
Morgan felt the night air hit his face, which was somewhat comforting, before he turned and noticed the full moon in the sky.
The sight of the moon was truly magnificent, leaving Morgan staring at it for a moment, amazed by its beauty.
Karl suddenly stopped in the middle of an abandoned street. If the street they had been on a moment ago was almost lifeless, this place was even darker and more depressing.
There was no moonlight, and everything was nearly completely dark. Then Karl took out a small black object from his pocket and quickly smashed it.
Morgan felt extremely puzzled by his actions.
"Why did we stop here? And why did you smash that black object? Was someone spying on us? If that's the case, we need to get out of here quickly before they chase us."
Karl looked at Morgan with genuine surprise before sighing.
"Boy, you really have a wild imagination… What I smashed is Furias, so my friend can sense our presence and come to transport us. That's all there is to it."
Morgan nodded as if he understood the meaning.
"How will it transport us? Will it come from the sky? Or will it bring a luxury car for us? Or—"
He didn't finish his last sentence.
Suddenly, he felt something moving in the darkness around them. A hand emerged from the shadows… and then a person appeared, standing before them.