It was a lightless, yet deceptively bright neighborhood, where malice thrived unchecked and tyranny stood as the true mark of power.
This was a land steeped in brutality, untouched by the principles of any civilized world. Located on the outskirts of the New Federation, it was called the Lawless Zone — a haven where exiles; those abandoned by society, had built their settlement.
Amid this living hell, a mother held her son tightly in her embrace, while the boy, in turn, allowed himself to rest against the fragile and tender form of hers.
Kurian asked his mother, "Are you okay?"
Through hiccupping sobs and voice cracks that blended with her answer, his mother delivered a weak whisper: "I am fine."
It was a le, but how could Kurian have known? That was what she told herself — and Kurian, seemingly aware of her unspoken thoughts, chose not to challenge them.
Instead, he made a simple request: "Uppies."
Responding to his gentle plea, the woman lifted him with care, like one might cradle a doll. As their faces met, his small hands reached out toward her lips, guiding them into a smile.
"—!!?" The mother froze in surprise as Kurian let out a soft giggle and said, "You look beautiful when you smile."
His hands loosened as her smile faltered in the absence of his gentle support, yet seeing her son's innocent smile — so content merely to witness her smile — she couldn't help but feel a quiet peace settle within herself.
Perhaps there was nothing in this world that brought greater joy than the feeling of inner contentment.
And so, her lips trembled, shaping a strange yet poignant expression — eyes brimming with sorrow, but a smile touched by relief and calm fulfillment.
Watching her smile, Kurian felt a quiet ache within as he made a silent vow: 'I will never doubt her love ever again.'
Yes, what he had done just moments ago was a test of affection — yet after witnessing the purity of her heart, shame washed over him, and he resolved that next time, 'I will not make her smile by force anymore.'
***
*Tap — Tap*
With a gentle rhythm, Serena — Kurian's mother — softly patted her hands against his chest, her eyes filled with tenderness as she watched her son sleep peacefully. Gradually, she too surrendered to the pull of drowsiness.
As she drifted into slumber, Kurian's eyes slowly opened. His thoughts began to connect scattered fragments in his mind, but he soon paused.
Sighing he reasoned, 'It's pointless to piece things together right now,' then, he swiftly decided. 'Perhaps I should begin training instead. First, I'll focus on the 'Eye of Akasha'.'
The Eye of Akasha, also known as the Æthric Eye, was something that existed in the blurred space between logical and the illogical.
In his previous life, Empedocles — the pre-Socratic philosopher who delved into cosmogony, the study of the universe's origin — had proposed that the human eye was shaped by Aphrodite, an ancient goddess who lit a divine fire within it.
The theory was dismissed as absurd, for if it were true, humans would see equally well in the dark. Yet from his question, "What is light?" a profound realization emerged: "Human perception is frighteningly narrow."
A/N: Kurian or Ferdinand to be exact, hailed from a parallel world to ours which is ravaged by demons. For context, he was born in Germany, but was raised in Spain.
They say the universe is composed of only two things — matter and energy. In his previous life, Kurian understood what matter was and what energy represented, yet he could never truly perceive energy.
Believing that grasping it might give him an advantage, he sought to understand — or rather perceive energy itself. Of course, human senses were never meant to detect energy directly.
His mistake, however, wasn't in the attempt to perceive it — it lay in his understanding of the relationship between matter and energy, thinking of them as separate.
One cannot feel electricity coursing through a live wire unless shocked by it; this implies that matter — the body — is the medium through which energy can be perceived.
The Æthric Eye was a discipline of the senses. Ordinary eyes are limited, for training only the eyes is insufficient. The Eye of Akasha is more akin to refining one's entire sensory awareness until the senses themselves become an eye.
Consider your sense of smell — you can detect the aroma of good food before seeing it. Or think of your movements at home — you can navigate stairs effortlessly because you are aware.
The Eye of Akasha operated on a similar principle, but when honed, it could reach the threshold of what seemed an inhuman ability.
And yet, because such feats seemed impossible did not mean they were — for anything one can imagine, it must exist in some way.
The human brain does not conjure imagination out of nothing; it weaves it from subtle patterns once perceived.
Through these intricate threads of experience, imagination is born — and every imagination, in one form or another, finds its reflection in the physical world.
The Eye of Akasha revolved around four core concepts — or rather, four sayings:
First, that which is of existing, but not of existence.
Second, that which is not of existing, but of existence.
Third, that which is of both existing and existence.
Fourth, that which is of neither existing nor existence.
In this doctrine, existing referred to matter, while existence referred to energy.
The first aspect concerned the material world — the realm visible to ordinary humans. One perceives objects such as a resting table, a swinging chair, or a flying bullet; these belong to the domain of existing — the realm of matter, perceived by the Static eye.
The second aspect spoke of the energy residing within — the potential and kinetic forces animating matter. This was known as the Corporeal Eye.
It was not that the Corporeal Eye stood superior to the Static Eye, rather; both could be refined, and in some instances, a master of the Static Eye could surpass one who wielded the Corporeal Eye.
The Eye of Akasha was not a linear hierarchy with four ascending stages, but rather a discipline in which all four must be cultivated together, balanced in harmony.
Moving to the third — the Transparent Eye — was a heightened state of perception, allowing one to see both matter's outlines and the flow of energy within, even allowing one to anticipate its outward manifestation.
Finally, there was the fourth aspect, and the most elusive of them all — Brahman.
Truth be told, even Ferdinand knew little of it. He had only fleetingly attained a glimpse of enlightenment during his battle with Baal, a momentary awakening that allowed him to transcend dissolution itself and emerge unscathed.
"It would be difficult to train any of the other eyes apart from the Static Eye right now," Kurian mused as he turned his gaze toward the faint glimmer of dust drifting through the air.
Quietly, he began to study their motion. 'I should start by observing what I can,' he decided.
***
The next day, Kurian nearly suffered a stroke and almost died from the exertions of yesterday's training. While training his Static Eye, he thought, 'Hmm, perhaps I should get some rest too.'
However, sleeping would mean halting his training. Sleep was a necessity for the body, a condition it demanded — yet right now, Kurian could not afford to surrender to it. He needed to keep training.
To overcome this, he decided to combine his static-eye exercises with a Unihemispheric sleep technique — a method in which one half of the brain rests while the other remains alert.
Of course, the notion of true Unihemispheric sleep in humans is complete nonsense. Even Kurian would dismiss the idea that a human could fully perform such a feat.
Humans can, however, simulate a Unihemispheric-like state, keeping certain parts of the brain active while the rest rests. Kurian attempted exactly this, keeping his eyes open to observe while the rest of his body drifted into sleep.
But since the brain still required rest — and the eyes were connected to it — his attempt left him exhausted. Upon dawn, his body was fully capable of performing mundane tasks, yet his brain throbbed with pain, groaning from the strain.
'Bear it, it will get better over time,' he told himself, as he continued observing the dust particles filtered by sunlight. He tried to rationalize how their movements appeared so different under sunlight compared to moonlight.
Depending on the temperature, the motion could seem blurry. Ambient conditions played a surprisingly significant role in visual perception as well.
"Urgh"
Kurian felt the urge to vomit but forced himself to hold back. 'Damn, I'll get sick if this keeps up… If that happens,' clenching his fist, he resolved, 'I'll have to stop training, no matter what, and prioritize getting better.'
Military Teachings no 5: "Your greatest enemy is not the opponent or the trap they set, but it is falling ill in a foreign land, surrounded by strangers."
'I must endure,' Kurian thought, attempting to move, but he slipped on the step, only to be caught by gentle hands of Serena as she looked at him with concern, asking, "Are you okay?"
"I-I'm fine," Kurian replied with a smile. Yet upon seeing his expression, Serena's eyes widened, and suddenly a fierce chill radiated from her, making Kurian shudder.
'I haven't attained Corporeal Eyes… so why am I feeling this chill?' he wondered, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. Serena's voice broke through: "You… you didn't sleep yesterday, right?"
'So she had caught on.' Kurian wasn't surprised — he knew the dark circles under his eyes must have given him away.
But his exhausted mind hadn't yet grasped why Serena was acting this way. Only when she raised her fist did it hit him — she was angry at him for not sleeping.
'Shit.' He barely had time to react before her knuckles hit his head, and he groaned, "Gah…"
But he had no time for writhing in agony as his mother began to lecture him on how, despite being a child, he needed to sleep.
"Now I know you have a lot of energy, but if you don't make a habit of sleeping early, you'll soon overextend yourself when you grow up," she said, her expression stern.
Unwilling to face her fierceness, Kurian could only nod, murmuring, "Yes, mother."
"Haah…" she let out a sigh before kneeling and offering, "Come here."
She then rested his head on her lap and said, "Now sleep for a while. I will sing you a lullaby."
"That would be unnecessary…" Kurian was about to reply when his eyes flickered and caught sight of a crow flying outside as it let out a "Caw".
*Shudder*
A strange, ominous sensation prickled through him.
But his thoughts were cut short as Serena, in a voice of almost impossible pitch — as if sung by the gods themselves — began the lullaby. Kurian thought, 'What a pleasant voice.'
He could feel the tenderness in her tone, and with her gentle caress running through his hair, he soon grew drowsy, his eyelids heavy.
'Alright, I yield,' he thought, surrendering to sleep after the long and exhausting chain of events that had stretched from his past life to this very moment.
To be continued...
***
A/N: Writing really is a lot harder than reading, honestly. I ended up doing multiple rewrites because I felt like I kept adding unnecessary details that didn't actually move the story forward. But I'm happy with how this chapter turned out.
Also, I've finished creating the artwork! Here's the initial rough design I had in mind for Ferdinand. I edited a photo of a character from another Gacha game — if you recognize it, consider us friends.
Interestingly, Kurian's current name actually comes from this initial design of Ferdinand. I showed the picture to my friends and shared some of the backstory.
They said that while the concept was solid, the character looked like someone untouched by trauma or struggle.
So, for the official remake, we discussed art styles. We wanted a Victorian influence but still with an anime or webtoon to be exact feel.
After some brainstorming, we decided on something similar to the "Trash of the Count's Family" style, but with a Victorian vibe — almost like an oil painting feel.
I really liked the idea, and here's the final design for Ferdinand.