The young man of weak physical build and pale appearance was sitting near the small shop, holding a plastic bag in his hands. His skin was pale, and his dark eyes were drowned in exhaustion.
A person like him, from the poor of this neighborhood, had no chance of entering that candy shop. That place was reserved for high-status citizens only.
But… on this very day, Nox really needed it. After all… his life depended on it.
For this reason, he had no choice but to steal, and in truth, this was nothing new to him. He had been used to it for a long time, but this time it was a little harder, for he was known in the neighborhood as a big thief.
For this reason, he was strictly forbidden from entering any shop, and the shop owners had even posted his picture in all their stores… with a clear word beneath it: Thief.
Nox raised his eyes. A tall woman was about to leave the shop, wearing elegant clothes, and that alone was enough for him to immediately know that she was not from this neighborhood. He knew almost everyone living here. But her clothes confirmed his suspicion even more.
Nox smiled faintly as he saw her approaching the exit door.
"It's time. What I always do: steal and run fast. Simple… stop worrying, Nox."
Nox gave the woman a long look. Then he sighed slowly and forced himself to step toward her, whether he was caught or not… he was determined to get that candy from her.
Damn fear.
Then, with a faint smile, he crossed the street while covering part of his face with the plastic bag.
He stood in front of the shop and waited for the woman to exit.
And when she saw him… she cast a clear look of contempt at him, before turning her face and walking away.
Nox's mouth tensed a little.
"What's wrong with this woman…? I haven't even stolen from her yet."
"Damn… I might have felt pity for her. But now? No… now I don't want to steal from anyone but her."
He began walking quietly behind her, waiting for the right moment. He didn't want to steal from her here; the street was crowded with people, and if he tried now, he would be caught immediately.
So he continued walking behind her for a while, watching the bag dangling from her hand.
Nox breathed slowly.
"It's time… now or never."
Nox rushed toward her quickly, stretched out his hand, and snatched the bag from her hand forcefully before twisting and running away.
The woman was shocked for a moment.
Her eyes widened, and she froze in place as if her mind hadn't yet processed what happened. Then she screamed loudly:
"Thief!"
And pointed with her trembling hand toward the street.
"That bastard stole from me! Please, catch him! He stole my things!"
But she was too late.
At the moment she screamed…
Nox had already dashed into a dark alley and disappeared among the narrow alleys; no one could even see him clearly… so how could they chase him?
People began gathering around the woman as she gasped in anger.
One man shook his head and said:
"It must be that boy again."
"Yes… it's definitely him."
"That little thief can't stop stealing no matter what we do."
"You're right. Honestly… we should have left him in jail when we caught him last time. I thought he would stop after the beating he got back then… but it seems stealing has become a part of his life."
While the commotion filled the place, Nox continued running without stopping until he felt safe. He stopped, panting, and smiled as he stared at the bag he was holding.
He opened it.
Dozens of colorful pieces of candy sparkled before him, like a small treasure at the bottom of a plastic bag. His smile stretched almost to his ears.
Finally… my chance to survive has increased. I can now dream of living a little longer.
"Hey, you damn rat!"
Nox turned quickly toward the voice. He expected to see a policeman or someone who was chasing him.
But when he saw the person, he was slightly surprised.
A boy slightly older than him was standing a few meters away.
His clothes were tattered… and dirty, just like Nox's clothes.
And Nox knew him well, and he smiled faintly.
"Is that you, wipe-face? Want more beating? Didn't what happened last time suffice? Or did you enjoy it and want more? With pleasure."
"Shut up!" The boy's voice trembled despite his attempt to stay composed. Then he laughed nervously. "Do you think I'm stupid to come to you alone? Look around."
Nox looked.
There were five people surrounding him from different sides. He recognized them all immediately; some of them… he had beaten before, and others… he had stolen things they had stolen first. Nox clenched his teeth slightly.
'Damn… shit. What do I do now? Should I run? I can't. The place is tight. Seems I've really fallen into a trap this time.'
Nox was right; there was no way to escape.
The alley he was in was narrow and dirty, with piles of trash stacked on both sides, and the smell of rot spreading.
And it had only one exit… but those boys were standing there, blocking the way completely.
And going back? That would mean returning to the main street… where the crowd was still gathered.
And if he went there, he would be caught immediately.
So Nox had no choice but to grit his teeth and curse his luck. He raised his head and looked at them with disdain.
"Come then… you scoundrels. Or what? Do you want me to come to you myself?"
But Nox didn't wait for their response before finishing his words…
He rushed toward them quickly.
His body moved like an arrow inside the narrow alley, which surprised them for a moment; they did not expect him to attack while Nox immediately seized the moment.
He turned his body and threw a quick punch toward the nearest one of them.
Thak!
His fist hit the boy's nose with force, breaking it instantly, and blood gushed out as the boy staggered backward, screaming in pain.
But the rest did not remain frozen for long; they quickly rushed toward him together. Nox's expression changed slightly as he saw them charge at once, he stepped back quickly, then bent slightly and swung his leg.
A fast low strike, while he kicked the legs of two of them forcefully.
The two lost their balance and almost fell on each other.
But at that moment… Wipe-Face rushed from behind. He jumped on Nox and grabbed him tightly from behind with his arms.
He pulled his body forcefully until Nox could no longer move freely.
And before Nox could get rid of him—one of them advanced quickly.
Then he threw a strong punch directly to Nox's stomach.
Boom!
Nox's eyes widened as he felt a sharp pain spreading through his abdomen.
"K-Kh…ugh…"
His body bent slightly even though he was still held from behind, but the boy who hit him didn't stop.
He raised his fist again, smiling mockingly.
"What happened, big thief? Where's your courage now?"
"Damn… it hurts. I need to find a way to break free, or my end will come."
Nox looked around quickly, panting, but before he could do anything, he received another punch that ignited pain throughout his body. And as he staggered a little, his eyes fell on an iron pole lying on the ground not far from him.
But before he could move toward it, he received another punch that made him feel even more pain. Nevertheless, he suppressed his pain between his broken breaths and lifted his head to look at the boy who was smirking, about to strike him again.
But this time, before the punch reached him, Nox suddenly lunged forward and struck his head forcefully.
Thak!
His forehead collided with the boy's face, making him stagger slightly from dizziness.
And at the same moment—Nox raised his knee quickly.
Then he delivered a hard strike between his legs. The boy's eyes widened immediately. A muffled sound of pain came out of him before he collapsed to the ground holding himself.
Nox seized the opportunity immediately. He threw his body backward violently, causing both him and Wipe-Face, who was holding him, to fall to the ground. Wipe-Face was not prepared for what happened, hitting the ground hard, and his grip loosened for a moment.
And that was enough.
Nox freed himself immediately, rolled a little, and then quickly reached for the iron pole.
He grabbed it firmly and in one motion jumped back to his feet.
He didn't hesitate for a moment, but charged directly at Wipe-Face, raised the iron pole, and struck him on the head.
Thak!
Thak!
Thak!
Thak!
Thak!
The sounds of the blows echoed in the narrow alley, while blood began to flow from Wipe-Face's head and fall onto the dirty ground.
The other boys stood in their places, watching the scene with clear shock on their faces. None of them moved.
Nox continued hitting him mercilessly, as if everything around him had disappeared.
And slowly… the ground beneath his feet began to fill with blood.
"He has… died."
One of the boys stepped back, his voice trembling:
"He killed Craig… impossible, did he really die?!"
Another screamed in panic:
"Stop! Don't you see he will die if you keep hitting him?!"
But Nox did not stop. He lifted his head slowly and looked at them with a cold stare, and the drops of blood smeared on his face made his appearance even more terrifying. The boys froze in their places for a moment, then began to retreat slowly. Even the boy who was writhing in pain suddenly got up when his eyes met Nox's gaze, as if he had completely forgotten his pain, then turned and ran away.
The rest looked at the body lying on the ground, then at Nox, and felt fear creeping into their hearts. They did not want to end up like him, so they turned one by one and fled from the alley.
Nox was left alone. He slowly wiped the blood from his face, then bent down and picked up the bag that had fallen during the fight. He cast a short glance at the corpse, but his expression did not change. There was no regret or hesitation, only cold calm.
He muttered as he turned his back and left:
"This is the law of nature… either you kill first or you are killed, either you steal first or you are stolen from. This is how life goes; either you take from it before it takes from you. Thus continues the cycle… an endless loop."
A short time later, Nox reached the sewer opening he had taken as his home. The place was not suitable for living; the smell of mold filled the passages, the walls were damp, and darkness enveloped everything, but for Nox, this place was precious because his friends were here.
He ran toward the entrance, calling out loudly:
"White! Black! I'm back home!" He raised the bag slightly, smiling, and said:
"Come on, come out quickly and see what I brought for you. Yes, as you expect… your favorite candies, so don't make me wait long, or I'll eat them myself."
"Meow."
Two small cats emerged from the sewers; one black and the other white. They ran straight toward Nox and jumped into his arms. He laughed as he hugged them, saying:
"Did you miss me that much? Well… I missed you too."
In truth, Nox had been away from them all day; some neighborhood residents had caught him in the morning, and he only managed to escape later, so he had spent a whole day without seeing them.
He took the candy out of the bag and placed it in front of the cats, and they began eating happily. Nox watched them with a faint smile, but his smile gradually faded when he lowered his gaze toward his right hand. A tattoo was slowly appearing on his skin, dark lines forming little by little.
"It seems I am going to become Awakened… I think I will reach seventeen tonight."
….
Tattoos first appeared in the world several decades ago. At that time, the planet had just begun to recover from a series of disasters that accompanied the emergence of the Western continents from nothingness.
That event attracted wide attention around the world and made billions of people talk about it endlessly.
Scientists tried to explain what happened; some assumed it was a phenomenon they called "Rising from Oblivion," where they concluded that these continents might have existed millions of years ago, but remained submerged under the oceans until the water level began to drop and they reappeared.
But that was not the only explanation.
Others claimed that ancient civilizations had been hiding from the world, and they possessed means to conceal themselves for long centuries, but those means were destroyed when wars broke out. This explanation seemed logical to some, especially since the continents that appeared were connected and destroyed.
However, none of these explanations were more than mere theories. Even today, no one knows how those continents appeared from nothing.
But it didn't stop there. After the continents appeared, what happened was much worse…
Creatures began emerging from there, and the world was not ready for it. Soon, monsters overwhelmed national armies, and even when countries used nuclear bombs, nothing significant changed. It seemed as if the world was slowly heading toward destruction.
And in the end… the Awakened appeared.
They were the first to have tattoos engraved on their bodies, and through those marks, they gained superhuman abilities.
With the power of those abilities, they were finally able to stop the monsters' rampage and restored some peace to the world, establishing something like a new order.
Of course, these events marked the first disaster the world had known since the emergence of the continents.
But for Nox… none of that mattered.
Not… until a few days ago, when a strange mark first appeared on his hand.
…
After a few hours, Nox began to feel intense pain in his hands, as the tattoo appeared rapidly on his skin, stretching little by little until the pain extended with each new line engraved on his arms.
He gritted his teeth, panting heavily.
"Damn… I didn't think it would be this painful. Seems they weren't joking when they talked about this."
When a person awakens for the first time, it is natural to experience extreme pain. The pain begins in the hands and gradually spreads to the rest of the body, sometimes becoming so severe that it could kill the person. That is why the authorities always warn: when awakening marks appear on someone, they must immediately go to the nearest branch or even the nearest police station.
But Nox could not do that; he was wanted by justice, and many complaints had been filed against him for thefts and fights, so entering a police station for him was akin to suicide.
However, pain was not the only phase of awakening. After the pain spreads throughout the body, the body begins to absorb all the sugar in it at a terrifying speed.
That is why everyone going through awakening must keep a large amount of sugar beside them.
Nox stretched his trembling hand and clenched his teeth tightly from the intensity of the pain, while his vision began to blur slightly.
"Where is that damn piece…?"
He nervously searched the plastic bag until his fingers finally touched a piece of candy. He grabbed it immediately and put it in his mouth, then ate another right after.
And slowly… his vision began to return to normal.
Also, the pain that had been tearing his body just moments ago eased.
He then lowered his gaze to his arms.
There was a long tattoo extending from his fingers to his shoulders, dark and intricate lines forming a strange pattern on his skin.
He stared at it for a moment before murmuring quietly:
"So… I have become Awakened."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
From this moment… he was no longer just a small thief living in the sewers. From this moment… he became capable of changing his reality.