Nova woke up from his sleep because of the sunlight piercing through the bedroom window curtains.
His eyes slowly opened, still blurry from just waking up.
"Was that... a dream?" Nova muttered as he sat on the edge of his bed, rubbing his face that still felt tired.
Once his vision cleared, Nova got out of bed and headed to the bathroom connected to his room. Their family's house was quite big—four bedrooms and five bathrooms. Each bedroom had its own bathroom, and there was an extra bathroom near the kitchen. The two-story house had been bought outright by his parents.
In front of the bathroom mirror, Nova washed his face with cold water.
"What was that dream actually about?" he thought as he continued splashing water on his face. "And what was the deal with that black orb that could talk? It said we would definitely meet again. Am I going to wake up in that white room again if I sleep later?"
"Ah, never mind. I'll just consider it a dream. Anyway, thinking about things like that is pointless."
After finishing in the bathroom, Nova left his room and walked down the long corridor toward the stairs. The second floor of their house had three rooms—his and his two younger siblings', Noah and Hina. His siblings' rooms were directly opposite his.
Nova descended the stairs. As soon as he reached the bottom, he could see his father, Nolan, sitting relaxed in the living room, watching TV.
"Oh, you're up, Nova?" his father asked without taking his eyes off the TV.
"If you know that already, why are you still asking?"
Nova shot back as he walked toward the dining area.
On the dining table, breakfast was neatly arranged. His mother, Hanah, was busy washing dishes in the kitchen, occasionally glancing over at Nova.
"Nova, did you wash your face and hands before eating?" his mother asked.
"I did, Mom," Nova replied while scooping white rice onto his plate. Breakfast that morning was quite complete—fried chicken and sambal fried potatoes.
While eating, Nova could hear the sound of the TV from the living room. "Looks like it happened again, huh? Police and several Sages still can't find the cause."
That morning's news returned to the case that had been shaking their city:
"And last night, the same incident happened again. An adult man disappeared without a trace. According to his co-workers, the victim went home as usual after work. However, his wife reported that her husband never returned home. Police and several Sages have conducted searches but to no avail. This is the 59th case. We urge all residents to be cautious when traveling alone, as most of the missing persons are individuals who were walking alone."
Nova chewed his fried chicken while listening intently to the news. "Isn't this strange, Dad? Almost 60 people have gone missing, and what's more, it's happening in the city we live in. It's been a month, and the situation is still unclear. Is this human-made or the work of some strange creature that appeared out of nowhere?"
Sages were individuals with special powers and were the ones who governed this world. Sages also had ranks, with S being the highest and C being the lowest among them.
"I don't know. It seems that the ones searching for the missing people are Sages ranked B or D. If higher-ranked Sages were involved, this would be resolved much more quickly," his father explained.
"Why don't higher-ranked Sages just take care of this? Wouldn't that be faster?"
"Each Sage has their own duties, and this isn't on the level of higher-ranked Sages like S or A. We live in a world where we never know what might happen or what kind of creatures might appear out of nowhere," his father replied.
"Hmm, yeah, you're right. This world really is full of strange things."
"Oh, by the way, Nova," his father suddenly changed the topic with a lighter tone. "After you finish eating, come meet me in the backyard. There's something I want to talk to you about."
"Okay," Nova nodded while finishing the last of the rice on his plate.
In the backyard:
Their backyard was quite spacious, surrounded by a three-meter-high stone wall. In the middle of the yard was a well-maintained patch of green grass, and in the far corner stood a rambutan tree. The distance between houses in their housing complex was around 10 meters, so each family could comfortably park several cars. The walls separating the houses had a few small gaps, allowing neighbors to see into each other's yards.
"So, what is it, Dad?" Nova asked, standing in front of his father with a straight face.
Nolan smiled and said, "Did you know, Nova? Your younger brother Noah just awakened his powers last night! And it's lightning power!"
"Oh, really?" Nova looked slightly surprised hearing it from his father. "Wait, wait... Noah is only 11, right? Isn't it too early for him to awaken his powers? As far as I know, most people don't awaken their powers until they're around 16 or 17."
"Besides, isn't a child Noah's age supposed to have a body that isn't strong enough to handle the energy? I've heard that forcing them to awaken their powers too early can be dangerous, and their bodies could get severely damaged."
In their world, every human was born with dormant supernatural potential. However, this power could only be awakened when the body and mind were mature enough—usually in late teenage years, around 16-17. The awakening process involved a large surge of supernatural energy flowing through the body. If the body wasn't ready, this energy could damage internal organs and the nervous system, even leading to death.
But not everyone had dormant supernatural potential within them.
"Yes, that's usually the case," his father nodded with a smile. "And it's not just Noah who has awakened his power. Ena, the neighbor's daughter on our left, also recently awakened her light power!"
Ena was a girl the same age as Noah, from the family living to their left. Ena and Noah had known each other for a long time and also went to the same school. Ena often played at their house with Hina and Noah. However, Nova rarely played with her, so he hadn't known that Ena had awakened her power.
"Ena too?" Nova looked surprised again. "I never realized the two of them had such deep potential. They always seemed like normal kids."
"Yeah," his father said while patting Nova's shoulder. "Maybe they have talent far greater than most people. That's why their bodies can awaken supernatural energy earlier than usual. Maybe they're what people call 'prodigies'—kids who are geniuses in supernatural power."
His father watched Nova's expression carefully. "How do you feel about that? Honestly, you must be a little jealous of them, right?"
Nova fell silent for a moment.
"Jealous? Why would I be jealous? That's a good thing, isn't it? I don't care who awakens their powers first, and just because they awakened their powers earlier doesn't mean they'll be stronger than me, right?" Nova replied.
"Ooh~" Nolan chuckled, folding his arms across his chest. "Wow, doesn't my son sound confident? You haven't awakened any powers yet, you know?"
"I didn't say I was confident, I just said what I wanted to say. People who awaken their powers earlier aren't necessarily the ones who will defeat those who awaken later," Nova replied with a straight face.
"Hmm, look at how mature my son is," Nolan said while ruffling Nova's hair. "When they become stronger than you, you'll definitely feel embarrassed and jealous of them."
"Okay, say whatever you want, I don't care," Nova replied while fixing his messy hair. "I'm just saying what I want to say, that's all."