When Comet returned home, the air was festive, but something felt... different. When his father, Medan, shared the news of the successful awakening, the reaction from his mother, Jan, was not what Comet expected.

  ?For a split second, Jan’s eyes snapped open with a terrifying, primal intensity. A wave of pressure erupted from her, heavy and suffocating, like a legendary beast suddenly stirring from a million-year slumber. Her face, usually kind, twisted into something ferocious and ancient.

  ?Medan acted instantly, placing a steadying hand on her shoulder. "Jan... calm down," he whispered, his voice laced with a hidden warning.

  ?Jan blinked, the terrifying aura vanishing as quickly as it had appeared. She took a deep breath, smoothing her apron, and once again became the simple, honest woman the neighborhood knew. By the time Comet walked into the room, unaware of the cosmic tension that had just flared, the celebration was already beginning.

  ?The house was filled with laughter. Jackie and Robin were there, along with the neighbors and a quiet, observant Tenu.

  ?"Look at us, Comet!" Robin declared, his red eyes shining with ambition. "I’m going to make a name for myself that shakes this world!"

  ?Comet looked at his friend with a gravity that didn't match his five-year-old body. In his previous life as Comsen, he had walked a lonely path. He had never known the warmth of a true bond. "Yes," Comet replied softly. "I’ll see you at the top, Robin."

  ?But the path to the top was a lonely one. As per the laws of Green Orio, the boys were assigned to different academies. In this world, the training was absolute. For twelve years, students were forbidden from seeing their families. They were to be forged in isolation, preparing for the day they would be dropped into the Black Fog to survive on their own.

  ?Tenu watched Comet from the corner of the room, her expression unreadable. She didn't say goodbye. She simply turned and vanished into the night.

  ?The next morning, with his bags packed and his heart steeled, Comet stood before his parents. "Don't worry," he promised, looking up at Medan and Jan. "I’ll write letters. I’ll be back in twelve years."

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  ?He boarded the transport, waving until his parents were mere dots on the horizon.

  ?One day later.

  ?Back in the village, something impossible happened. The house where Comet had spent his childhood—the home of Medan and Jan—simply... ceased to exist. In its place was an empty, overgrown lot, as if no building had ever stood there. The neighbors walked past, their memories wiped clean by some unfathomable power. To them, the plot had always been vacant.

  ?Tenu, too, had vanished from her home the moment Comet’s transport cleared the city limits. The past was being erased.

  ?Eleven Years Later: The Divine Rulers Academy

  ?Perched upon a jagged mountain peak, surrounded by a lake so blue it looked like a fallen piece of heaven, sat the Divine Rulers Academy.

  ?A young man walked through the corridors, his presence drawing the eyes of every student he passed. He was tall and lean, with sharp, intelligent eyes and hair as black as the void. He wore a crisp, tailored suit that marked his status as a senior student. This was Comet, now seventeen, and months away from his destiny.

  ?"Yo, Comet! Ready for the final stretch?" a classmate called out, grinning.

  ?Comet offered a short nod. He had spent eleven years devouring every scrap of knowledge this academy offered. He now understood the true nature of their world.

  ?Green Orio was a planet of two halves. The 5% "Safe Zone" where they lived was the original land, while the 95% engulfed in Black Fog was the "Mutated Zone"—the area expanded by the mysterious cosmic power.

  ?The Village Token was the key. When an Awakener placed their token in the Fog, it created a sanctuary. By leveling up the village, the Awakener could "cleanse" the fog, expanding the livable land of the world. But it wasn't just about survival; it was about war.

  ?Green Orio was a "Newly Promoted World," and hostile realms like Black Crowl were constantly trying to slip through the fog to claim it. The world’s Will gave the young Awakeners a chance to grow, but the competition was brutal.

  ?The hierarchy of power was etched into Comet's mind:

  ?Settlement Grades: Village \rightarrow Town \rightarrow City \rightarrow State \rightarrow Kingdom... (Grades beyond Kingdom were classified as "Top Secret").

  ?Quality Ranks: Normal (N), Rare (R), Super Rare (SR), and Special Super Rare (SSR). (Ranks beyond SSR were restricted to the elite).

  ?Everything—from the strength of a soldier to the durability of a wall—followed this grading system.

  ?“Six months,” Comet thought, staring out at the mist-covered mountains. “Six months until the Second Awakening. Six months until I am dropped into the Black Fog to build my own empire.”

  ?A shadow of a memory crossed his mind—the glowing Lotus he had seen as a child. He still didn't know what it meant, but he knew one thing.

  ?“Before I head into the darkness, I have to go back. I have to see my parents one last time.”

  ?Little did he know, there was no home left to return to.