Ren quickly went to the door and opened it. Standing outside was a grown man wearing what looked like the kind of clothes a teacher would wear, along with a Star Island badge—something only people who worked in important facilities or schools on the island had. He wore glasses, even though they seemed unnecessary, as if he didn't really need them. He had black hair and black eyes, but strangely, both carried a faint tint of blue.
"Hi. Are you Ren?" the man asked.
"Yes, sir. That's me," Ren replied.
"Oh, good. It seems like you just arrived. If you had arrived later, you would have gone through unnecessary trouble to get this."
He handed Ren a card. When Ren took it, he saw that it was a student ID with his information on it.
Name: Ren Dover
Age: 16
Home Country: Canada
There was also a lot of other information on it, like the school he would attend and various details, but Ren didn't really care about those. Instead, he looked back up at the teacher with anticipation. The teacher noticed the glint in his eyes and chuckled.
"You all have the same reaction."
The man then reached into his back pocket and pulled out a small box. When he opened it, Ren saw that it was filled with pills, though some of them were missing.
"So," the teacher said, "do you want one?"
The pill the teacher was offering was called New Life.
A long time ago, the way people gained powers was through unnatural accidents—being struck by lightning, exposed to radiation, involved in severe car crashes, or other extreme events. Whether those accidents were dangerous or seemingly impossible to survive, the people who gained powers lived through them, even when survival should have been impossible.
It didn't make sense, but it kept happening.
Eventually, a theory emerged suggesting that there was an undetectable gene in the human body. When triggered by these extreme events, the gene would awaken and grant the individual superpowers. Even though this theory is still popular to this day, in the year 2090, no trace of that hypothetical gene has ever been found.
In the year 2060, a hero—one of the most brilliant scientists of his time—gathered information from fellow heroes about how they had awakened their powers. Using that information and his own knowledge, he created the pill now known as New Life.
Anyone who takes the pill has a chance to awaken a superpower.
That hero was a close friend of Blue Light, and he didn't trust governments with something like this. Because of that, the only place allowed to produce and distribute New Life is Star Island. It is always offered to new students as an option.
Many students choose to take it, but not everyone awakens a power. Even if someone has that hypothetical gene, awakening is not guaranteed. The pill itself is based on how powers used to awaken naturally—it contains small, non-lethal, and safe amounts of radiation and other substances meant to trigger an awakening.
That's why the pill contains many components that normally should never be mixed together. If someone does have the theoretical gene, they have about a 70% chance of awakening a superpower.
Even after 30 years, that percentage has never increased. Any attempt to add more substances or alter the formula makes the pill unstable—and unstable means unsafe.
New Life is the safest awakening pill ever created.
That's why no one risks taking fake versions from outside Star Island.
Even though Ren believed he wouldn't awaken a power, why would he ever refuse taking the pill that people outside the island dreamed of getting their hands on? And what if—just maybe—there was a chance he actually could gain a power?
"Yes, sir. I would like one," Ren said immediately.
He reached out for a pill and turned around, about to get some water.
"Wait," the teacher said.
Ren turned back and froze. The teacher was staring at him seriously, his expression sharp and intimidating. Ren shivered.
"You need to take it right now."
Ren didn't bother complaining. He already knew this reaction was natural. Star Island was the only place where New Life existed, and countless people had tried to steal it. The teachers who distributed the pill always had to watch students take it.
So Ren swallowed the pill without water. It was uncomfortable, but he forced it down.
A second later, the teacher's expression softened. He smiled and nodded.
"Well, I think that's everything we need to do. Welcome to Star Island. I hope you enjoy your time here—however many years you choose to stay."
With that, the teacher walked to the next apartment. Someone else passed by the door, also wearing a Star Island badge. The teacher acknowledged him, and Ren didn't bother thinking about who the other person was. He simply closed the door.
Ren stood in the middle of the living room. Even after taking the pill, he didn't feel anything. He felt completely normal.
Well, that was fine. He already knew the pill's effects weren't immediate. If anything happened, it would be later.
He thought again about what he should do, then shrugged. He had stayed up late the night before, and the long flight to the island had exhausted him. He might as well sleep. When he woke up, he would know whether New Life had worked or not.
With that thought lingering in his mind, Ren went to his brand-new bed, lay down, and smiled.
Tomorrow would be his official first day on Star Island.
And he was excited to see what would happen next.
(P.S. Because everyone on Star Island comes from all over the world, it's expected that anyone who enters the island knows how to speak, read, and write in English. Also, Ren doesn't have an accent. In fact, very few people on the island do—that's how fluent everyone is in English. Those who still have an accent either didn't bother getting rid of it or simply keep it as a personal preference.)