Sadness struck him suddenly, sharp and unbidden. The words of his teacher—once distant philosophy—now pressed upon him with unbearable weight. Not just for him, but for all those he knew.
"It's not about certainty. It's about increasing the odds. You have no certainty for anything—not even this world. It could be an alien experiment, a simulation, things you've heard, or things you cannot even imagine. All you can do is increase the odds."
For him, something was ending, and yet, something else was beginning.
---
Above the sprawling canopy of a massive tree, a boy stood motionless, as though carved from silver light. He wore a plain purple shirt and skin-colored trousers; green shoes softened the color of his outfit. Thick silver hair fell to his neck, ethereal yet tempered by a soft, youthful innocence. His pale skin, long lashes, and round blue eyes gave him a striking presence, framed by a narrow chin. He was seventeen.
In his hands, he held an apple, feeding it to a small creature at his feet—a juvenile Omnithal, four-legged, covered in white fur. Nutritious, prized, and only moderately available, Omnithals were both food and delicacy for humans.
A voice cut through the quiet.
"Reinhard, feeding an Omnithal again? Excellent. Keep it up—feeding human food to the food of humans. Let your cousins starve, while your enemies feast."
Reinhard's lips pressed into a thin line, irritation threading his calm.
"How many times are you going to repeat the same thing?"
Kael leaned casually against the branch, amusement glinting in his eyes.
"Relax, I'm joking. Though I know you won't listen anyway. I've said it a million times. The message from Level 2.b came for us—apparently, they want you at their apartment."
Reinhard nodded evenly. "Then let's go."
---
Descending from the tree, the wind carried a chill that hinted at evening. The Level 2.b building greeted them with a silence heavier than usual, pressing against Reinhard like a shadow he could not name.
His gaze immediately found his sister. Elizabeth. Nineteen, golden curls framing her face, blue eyes catching the light, golden lashes lending quiet majesty. She moved with poise, a princess in skirt and posture alike, and yet there was a hint of caution in her steps.
"Are we all summoned together?" Reinhard asked.
Elizabeth's lips curved faintly. "It seems so. Quite unusual."
The main office opened, revealing cool relief after the dying heat outside. At the desk sat Uncle Malric, president of Human Government Level 2.b. Black coat and pants, white shirt beneath, and a magician's hat perched upon his head. Lean, precise, composed.
The trio greeted him. Reinhard's voice followed, steady.
"So, why have you summoned us, Uncle?"
Malric's tone was grave, unwavering.
"You've always wanted to see the outside world, haven't you? Especially you, Reinhard."
A spark of pleasure flickered in Reinhard's chest. Curiosity entwined with anticipation, sharp and intoxicating.
Malric continued.
"I have a mission. A big one. You will save the Oryn."
The Oryn—eight-legged, spider-like, crawling both ground and tree. Aggressive, endangered. Extinction loomed without intervention.
Reinhard's mind surged with happiness, though he did not speak. Kael, ever bold, asked aloud, "Where is it located?"
"In the continent of Hawkins," Malric said, calm and measured.
Reinhard's teeth clenched, excitement coursing through every nerve. Hawkins—the third continent, ruled by species that prized humans as secondary sustenance, surpassed in appetite by only one other species.
Never had Reinhard or his companions left Noren Island. The promise of the outside world—of any world beyond the village of Yangpass—thrilled him. Freedom, long denied, brushed against him for the first time.
"You leave immediately," Malric said, "on a private jet."
Amusement flickered across Reinhard's face. He had expected a public airplane, mundane and crowded.
Kael spoke with confidence. "We'll complete the mission in three days. The Oryn will arrive at Yangpass, under Level 2.b's care, within that time."
Malric's gaze was unwavering. "I have full faith in you."
Elizabeth, silent until now, felt only unease. Geography lessons had painted Hawkins as biologically dangerous to humans, moderated only by treaties. For most children, it was an abstract fear, distant and theoretical—like worrying about the sun swelling centuries hence.
Malric rose, expression measured, and retrieved a paper from his drawer—a map.
"Come, I want to show you a partial world map."
Excitement tingled even in Elizabeth as they gathered around.
Malric traced the geography.
"This small, roughly two-hundred-thousand-square-kilometer land is Neron Island. To the northwest lies the human-dominated continent, and far to the northeast stretches the Continent of Hawkins."
After understanding partial details of Geography concerning there Mission .
The trio decided to leave the Malric office . At last the greeted Uncle Malric , opened the door and left for their mission without realising the surprise that's waiting for them to come .
The trio left Uncle Malric's office, moving toward the path that would lead them to their private jet. The procedure was simple: return home, and the jet would arrive, pilot in tow. Excitement swelled with every step, undiminished, only growing sharper as they neared their house.
Half an hour passed in anticipation when a familiar sound reached them from the sky, growing louder, sharper, undeniable. The private jet, previously seen only with Malric aboard, now came for them. Their second journey in it promised far more than the ten-minute joyride Reinhard had demanded before. This flight would carry them farther, longer—freedom stretched before them like an open horizon.
The jet came into view, its partial black-and-white fuselage glinting under the sun. They greeted the pilot with nods, brief and formal, and the pilot returned the courtesy with the same cold efficiency, eyes sharp and businesslike. Doors opened, they stepped in, and the jet lifted smoothly into the sky, slicing the air toward Hawkins.
Inside, the cabin held only four souls: Reinhard, Elizabeth, Kael, and the pilot, separated by an anti-sound barrier. Neither the trio nor the pilot could breach the silence that divided them, a quiet maintained by design rather than malice.
Elizabeth glanced at Reinhard, voice soft yet probing.
"Have you done your manifestation today?"
"Right here, right now," Reinhard said, his tone steady. "Four hundred thirty-eight days remain until the first step of unifying all species—and it will be done by me, Reinhard HayGram. I, the king of YangPass, will grant peace and unification to all."
Kael snorted.
"Corny, ahh."
"Shut up," Reinhard muttered, though his irritation barely dented his calm.
Kael leaned back, voice shifting to calm, analytical sarcasm.
"You never ask questions, so I'll ask for you. How will you accomplish it? The answer is simple—you can't. Dozens of species surpass humans in capability, and they do not cooperate. Each has evolved body and mind in ways that make alliance impossible. Even your millionth predecessor, classified as human, would differ from me so completely they might be called another species entirely. You chase unity over dozens of continents, controlling barely two, facing extinction at every passing second. And still, you hope to unite them all?"
Reinhard's attention wavered. The rational, layered explanations lost him; the sprawling ocean beyond the window drew his eyes, his thoughts surrendering to the vastness for the first time.
"Are you even listening?" Kael's voice probed.
Subconsciously, Reinhard heard him, but the ocean was irresistible. Kael's words might return later, when timing aligned with his mind's readiness.
Elizabeth, silent until now, felt a different thrill: insignificance against the vast world, her village and island suddenly small beneath the endless sky and stretching waters.
---
The continent of Hawkins appeared as the jet descended. At the entry verification point, a gorilla-like creature, dressed in human garb, awaited them, clipboard in hand. Its eyes were careful, intelligent, and cold in the way of one accustomed to authority.
Reinhard's gaze traveled beyond it. Towering trees reached into what seemed like the very sky, thick grasses rolled endlessly, fruits hung heavy on vines—but the jungle held almost no insects or smaller animals. The silence was alive.
The paperwork completed, the gorilla offered a cautionary word.
"Good luck on your tour. If you encounter the ruling species of this continent, do not linger near them. Humans maintain treaties, but even they cannot always restrain their impulses. A distraction, even a study, may be preferable to survival. Enjoy your time, as best you can."
Elizabeth blinked, unease brushing her features.
"That wasn't exactly reassuring."
The gorilla lifted an eyebrow.
"Am I supposed to say things just for you to hear?"
Elizabeth opened her mouth, but the pilot's cold glare silenced her companion. The gorilla inclined slightly.
"I apologize."
---
As they moved toward the Oryn, Reinhard murmured, awestruck.
"This isn't a world like our own."
Kael's device buzzed.
"Oryn is four kilometers ahead. We'll reach him in no time. Aura combined with ours—the YangPass specialized force—will display its strength today in Hawkins."
"You bet," Reinhard and Elizabeth replied in unison.
Five hundred meters away, the Oryn's aura pulsed. Elizabeth's brows rose, eyes widening with fear and focus.
"His aura… it's massive. Far beyond anything we've seen. This isn't what I expected."
Kael's voice tightened with reassurance.
"Don't worry. It's just a display—he can't specialize his aura. Oryns are dumb; humans surpass them in thought. That's all."
---
They advanced, readying their ambush. Yet the Oryn sensed them first.
Before Reinhard, a creature towered twelve feet high, six times his width, its last six legs crawling for stability while the front two ended in massive, clawed nails. The Oryn lunged; Reinhard jumped, narrowly evading a swipe that could have ended him.
Elizabeth's scream cut through the chaos.
"Are you all right?"
"Yeah," he replied, voice steady.
They assumed a T-formation, aura flowing through arms, intertwining, locking the Oryn inside a shimmering cage. The creature thrashed, legs caught by Reinhard's focused aura, immobile.
"Kael, now! I can't wait!" Reinhard shouted.
Kael's aura extended, forming a line over half a square meter. Within it, an injection struck the Oryn. Roaring, the creature collapsed, paralyzed, then unconscious.
Elizabeth smiled, triumphant.
"We did it—the YangPass specialized trio succeeded!"
Reinhard sank against a tree, exhausted.
Elizabeth teased from below.
"Are you up there so you can see the gap on my chest clearly?"
Reinhard's tone was flat.
"Who would want to see the bozzanges of his own sister?"
Kael interrupted.
"Let's move."
"Yeah. Yeah. No breaks, huh?" they replied in unison.
Before leaving, Kael turned to Reinhard, voice measured.
"Some details. You never ask, so I will. Hawkins, this continent, is ruled by the Hawken species. Humans made a treaty with them. The world splits into three aura levels: Azytes—like us, lowest; Vertibes—medium, this island; Catyns—the highest, most dangerous. Species cannot survive outside their aura level, except for two families: ours, mutated to control other aura levels, and the Oryn. That's why we can bring him safely to Noren Island, where he'll survive peacefully."
Reinhard as usual lost his attention when things gets logical
Together, they departed, heading home, Noren Island awaiting them.