I had just come back from space to earth, right after dealing with a few entities, before I went straight to the florist's shop

  Damn it. . . I didn't expect that many worms would appear.

  Hope I'm not late, she's actually scary if she's mad

  . . . She shouldn't right? This is still early in the night

  . . . Anyway, they'd better leave me some curry. . . Or I will riot

  My right hand now holds a banquet of mixed pink tulips, lavender roses, and white lilies

  As I walk closer to my home, I couldn't help but smirk a little at her achievement

  . . . I really couldn't help but be proud every time huh?

  Weird. . . I thought that after seeing her achieve the pinnacle of magic every single time, I would get used to it

  . . . Maybe because I didn't have her in the first place, that's why

  As I stopped in front of my house, I calmly took a deep breath before exhaling

  Please don't say I'm late for the celebration, I don't want to get scolded by my mom today. . .

  But, as soon as I open the door, what I thought the surroundings would be cheerful and loud, it's silent and filled with worry instead

  My parents and my sister were sitting on the couch but I didn't see my little sister around

  Farah and Adam were also not in sight, although clearly their shoes were outside

  Shit. . . Don't tell me the celebration was over. . . !

  "Gulp---I'm home "

  "Ah, Syed. Welcome home " My father said

  I then stepped inside and approached them nervously before clasping my hands together and bowing slightly in front of them

  "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to be late! There's just too many issues I need to handle and-"

  "You're not late, idiot " My sister said

  ". . . ? I'm not? "

  "You're not, dear. It's just that. . . we hold the celebration for a moment " My mother said, her lips curved up slightly

  "Huff, lucky me " I said, exhaled my breath out of relief

  "So. . . Where are they? "

  "Inside Suraya's room. They have. . . Some urgent thing to do right away"

  "Oh. . . What is it? "

  None of them answered me, my parents were looking at each other before their eyes darted down

  My sister just exhaled her breath, as if she's conflicted to tell me about it

  ". . . What's wrong? " I asked, my eyes were already slightly sharpened, preparing for the worst

  ". . . Your friend, Dani. He's missing for a while now " My sister said

  "Wha-?! Since when?! "

  ". . . Just recently, maybe almost an hour since "

  I clenched my jaw tightly, angry and disappointed at myself

  Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Why the hell didn't I come back sooner?!

  What if-

  "Dear? You ok? " My mother asked me softly, snapping me out of my thoughts

  ". . . Y-Yes. . . I'm fine, sorry. So, did the police start to search for him? "

  "Not yet, dear. I heard your friend said they couldn't do it before 12 hours since there's a chance he's back soon "

  ". . . I see "

  "Don't you worry, Syed. We all know how persistent that boy is. He will be fine " My father said to me

  . . . That's right Syed, have faith. Isn't that what he taught me before?

  ". . . Yeah, he sure is "

  "Anyway, dear. Could you go check on Suraya? Since she heard about Dani's missing, she instantly rushed towards her room and didn't come out "

  "Sure. But why didn't Aisyah do it first? " I asked

  My question struck her hard, before she looked away, embarrassed

  "Erk-! I. . . I'm just not sure how to comfort her. That's usually your job "

  ". . . What a bad sister you are " I teased her softly

  "Shut up! Just go check on her for us, ok?! "

  "Haha, alright, alright. I'm going "

  I then turned my head to Suraya's room before walking slowly and stopping in front of the door and heard a few murmurs along with scribbles inside

  "Did you get it yet bestie? "

  ". . . No, not yet "

  Was she in the middle of creating another spell. . .?

  I then opened the door slowly, making sure there was no creaking sound

  On the floor, there were a few papers that had been crumpled, before I picked up one slowly and uncrumpled it

  "---If a place has a binding rune at radius r?, then integer a is equal to the decay coefficient, resulting signal beyond r? is multiplied by e???---"

  So all of these are failed formulas. . .

  I then raised my head and took a look at them

  Adam just sat on her bed, his eyes were unfocused while looking down at the floor without saying anything, his body slightly slumped forward

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  Farah was leaning towards what Suraya was writing, while Suraya kept scribbling on the paper and murmuring about the formula she was making

  "Alright. . . How about m? fused with n? and it is not 0, then can m? allow probabilistic determination of n? location accurately. . .? "

  She fell silent for a while before crumpling the paper and reaching for a new one

  "E-Eh?! W-Why did you do that?? It sounds brilliant! "

  "It is. But for that to work, both people need to have mana, there's no way I could have detected where Dani is "

  "O-Oh. . . "

  Before she could scribble another, I suddenly blocked their view with the banquet, and they instantly turned their heads to the right

  "Hey " I said, smiling softly at them

  "Brother??!! "

  "E-EHH??!! Since when are you here?! "

  "Long enough to hear my adorable little sister murmur a new formula "

  I then nudged the banquet to Suraya, before her lips curved up a little and took it

  "Thanks, brother. Sorry that the celebration-"

  "Don't worry, I know already. It's because Dani was missing, right? "

  ". . . Yeah "

  "---! Wait, Syed! Now that you're here, can you use your blessing to-"

  "Don't worry, I already did "

  My answer instantly took their attention to the fullest, including Adam who's now raising his head slightly to look at me

  "Wha-When???!!! " Farah asked me, shocked

  "30 seconds ago "

  "30 secon-! Then why didn't you use it sooner?! "

  ". . . I had too many blessings to track down people, so I had to choose the most suitable one. My fault " I said, rubbing the back of my neck out of embarrassment

  "But. . . How? You couldn't detect him since he doesn't have a gate " Suraya asked me

  "Simple, I tracked his phone. After all, his phone now has a bit of my presence, so I just need to sense it "

  "I see. . . So, where is he now, brother? "

  "Oh, he's at Aloren as we speak "

  "---! "

  "Aloren?! How?! Is he ok??!! " Suraya asked anxiously

  "Dani is fine. He was teleported by someone, but I couldn't figure out who "

  They exhale in relief before Farah's eyes jolted up and asked me in a dumbfounded tone

  "Wait, what did you mean that you couldn't figure out who? "

  ". . . When I try to detect the culprit, for some reason my blessing feels. . . Distorted "

  "Distorted? "

  "Yeah, I couldn't pinpoint who it is. Every time I try to do so, my blessing will point to another person, and it's not consistent "

  "Eh. . . Are there more than one culprit? Weird. . . " She murmured to herself softly

  ". . . So, what now? " Suraya asked me

  "Simple, I will go to Aloren and bring Dani back here before anything happens to him "

  ". . . Syed, please let me follow you. I need to make sure he's fine with my own eyes "

  "No need, you just stay here and take care of our family "

  "But-"

  "Suraya, follow what I said "

  She was about to argue back with me before she held herself and just sighed, forcing herself to follow my order

  ". . . Fine "

  ". . . I know that you're still grieving for him, but if you follow me, who will take care of our family if anything happens? " I said to her softly

  ". . . Sorry, I just. . . Don't want anything to happen to him "

  The warmth between us stayed around for a while before she finally caught what I said earlier

  "W-wait, g-grieving??!! I'm not grieving, I'm worried for him you stupid! " She shouted at me, her cheeks became slightly pinker

  "Haha, just kidding on that part. Finally, you caught it "

  "You-! Urgh. . . How do I even have a brother like you. . . "

  "Hahaha, you should be thanking the constellations above for making me your brother "

  "Hmm. . . " She looked at me, pouting

  ". . . Tch, if it wasn't for my mana depletion, I would have followed you as well " Farah said, crossing her arms at her chest

  "Should I heal you, Farah? " I asked her

  "Huff. . . No need, I should be fine by tomorrow, as my doctor said. Just make sure you bring Dani back in one piece "

  "I will, who the hell did you think I am? " I said smirking smugly at her

  "Yeah yeah, I know. You're the chosen one and all of that, sorry for even doubting you " She mocked me before sticking out her tongue

  I then turned my head to Adam before calling him out softly

  "Hey Adam, I suggest you come with me "

  ". . . "

  "Adam, you ok? "

  ". . . "

  ". . . You're blaming yourself, aren't you? "

  ". . . I should have arrived at his house sooner, it's my fault "

  ". . . No, you're not at fault for this "

  He then gritted his teeth before covering his face with his hands

  "I vow myself not to let what happened to my little brother happen to any of you guys, especially Dani. . . But now. . . "

  "Oi, Adam! " Suraya shouted at him suddenly

  "---?! "

  "If you want us to scold you, we will do it later! Right now, we want you to stop blaming yourself and get Dani back here no matter what! "

  "Suraya. . . "

  "If you didn't, I will not hesitate to shoot hellfire at your sorry face. For motivation " She threatened him softly

  "You owe all of us a lunch for this, just get your ass up and stop being all gloomy " Farah said, smirking at him

  "Well, I personally will ask Dani to spank you this time around if you refuse " I said, smiling softly at him

  "You guys. . . "

  His eyes were getting watery from all the weird but comforting words from us before wiping them with his sleeves

  ". . . Damn it. . . I thought only Dani was the one who used this technique "

  "Hehe, that's how he calms me down all the time. Aggressive comfort " Suraya said while giggling softly

  "Tch, still can't believe this technique works, " Farah said, mock-angry about it

  He then laughed softly about it before getting up slowly and stretching his shoulders

  "Oi, Syed "

  "Hmm? "

  A smile curved on his lips

  A genuine, confident smile

  "Let's get that dumbass back home "

  As I walked through the streets, I took out my phone and checked my phone

  No signal. . . Guess different countries use different phone signals

  As I continue walking, my mind can't help but remember what he was talking about

  ". . . What does he mean by power. . .? "

  5 minutes ago

  ". . . Why did you bring me here? " I asked, clenching my jaw

  "Now, now. You should be thanking me, I gave you a chance to kill the reason for your sad state "

  He then walked slowly to me before crouching and staring at my face

  "Think about it. You kill him, and you will finally feel that you deserve to talk with your parents again. Am I not a nice. . . Entity? "

  "Just tell me what the hell you wanted "

  "It's simple, really. While you're on your revenge mission, develop the power that you have "

  "---?! What are you talking about? "

  "Hmm? Wasn't I being straight enough? Oh, my fault. Not the power you have, but the power I gave you "

  ". . . Don't you say such bullshit to me. I didn't have any of this 'power' that you said "

  He then fell into silence for a moment, before he started to laugh again at me

  "Hahaha. Well, seems like you didn't notice it yet, huh? I thought you already did "

  "---?! "

  "It's fine, you will know it soon. But once you did, try to master it, won't you? "

  He then got up and started walking away from me, saying his last words to me before I saw him disappear, leaving shadow fragments in his trail

  "Have fun "

  . . . If what he said is true, shouldn't I feel anything on my body?

  "But, I'm pretty sure I didn't feel any difference. . . "

  As I continued walking, my mind thought about one sentence that came out of his mouth

  A sentence that shouldn't have made any sense

  "Sharp instinct as always. Just like I know you "

  ". . . What does he mean by that? "

  Have I even met him before? No. . . That shouldn't be possible

  As my mind wandered around that question, my ears caught two different people talking with each other

  "H?y, y?? h??rd ?v??t th? r?k?nt dh?m?nshtr?t??n? H??rdh th?t th?ye dh?dh ?t ?n th? m?ll n?wy "

  ("Hey, you heard about the recent demonstration? Heard that they did it on the mall now")

  "?h, ?t'sh ?n th? n?wysh ye?sht?rdh?ye, r?ght? ? shwy??r th?ye r??llye ?kt?dh l?kh? m?nkh?yesh, dh?dh? "

  ("Oh, it's on the news yesterday, right? I swear they really acted like monkeys, dude ")

  "Sh?r???shlye, ? dh?nt ?ndh?rsht?ndh wyhye th?ye wy?nt th? n?wy pr?s?dh?nt t? r?sh?gn. ?sh ?t vek?ush? h?'sh ? ph?re?ghner phr?m ?l??m?sh? "

  ("Seriously, I don't understand why they want the new president to resign. Is it because he's a foreigner from Eloimas? ")

  "?ph th?t'sh tr??, th?n th?ye dh?sh?rz? t? v? k?ll?dh kr?m?n?lsh. ? m??n, h?wy n?rr?wy-m?ndhedh ye?? ?r? t? sht?ll v? ? ph?kkh?ng r?k?sht? "

  ("If that's true, then they deserve to be called criminals. I mean, how narrow-minded you are to still be a fucking racist? ")

  "Not sure what they're talking about. . . But I guess there have been a few protests here " I murmured to myself

  As my mind tried to figure out what had happened here, I quickly reminded myself of the most important thing

  Right. . . I still don't understand much about this country's language. So I should focus on at least understanding their language

  However, from what I've heard, I think their language is almost similar to mine. So, it shouldn't be too hard

  I then stopped in front of yet another one of those posters and observed it carefully

  In the centre, there seemed to be a male figure, smiling while reaching his hand, as if trying to reach and convince whoever was reading this poster

  "Must be the president they were talking about earlier. . . "

  . . . His smile is not a genuine one, his eyes are unnaturally soft, like an actor trying to act as a saviour

  I then try to read the propaganda lines on the poster, trying to understand and translate them in my brain

  ?ll wy? dh?dh wy?sh ph?r ?l?r?n!

  (All we did was for Aloren! )

  "A. . . Ell. . . Weye. . . Probably it means 'all we'. . . I think 'phor' is 'for'. So the first line is trying to say 'all we did was for Aloren' "

  Ye?? wy?nt zh?sht?ke, ?rdher. Sh? dh? wy?

  (You want justice, order. So do we)

  "Zhustike. . . Sounds similar to justice. . . 'You want justice, order. So do we'. Huh, sounds like bullshit "

  Most of the alphabet wasn't much different than the one I know, the rest I can fill in with words that make sense with the context

  . . . Huh, not that hard to understand honestly. Just need to have some common sense

  I then tore the poster from the wall, folded it, and kept it in my pocket

  Might be useful later. . .

  I then continued walking before my eyes caught sight of two people wearing brown uniforms. One of them was dragging a crying teenage boy while the other escorted them

  . . . That uniform looks like it's showing off authority and power. Are they the police in this country?

  That's when I saw a woman run towards them before holding the boy's arm while crying

  "Pl??sh?! Pl??sh?! Mye sh?n ?sh n?t ? kr?m?n?l! "

  ("Please! Please! My son is not a criminal! ")

  One of them turned his head at her, annoyed before slapping her face, making her fall on the ground while covering her cheek in pain

  "Sh?l?nk? wy?m?n! Ye?? dh?r? ?pp?sh? ??r ?rdh?r?! "

  ("Silence woman! You dare oppose our order?! ")

  The boy then instinctively tried to reach her mom, before the person tightened his grip on his arms

  "M?m! "

  ("Mom! ")

  As I watched the scene, I quickly turned right, trying to walk away from the scene, and ignored them

  . . . Alright Dani, there's no need for you to go and help them

  You better not, once you do, you will be seen as part of the 'criminals' here for helping a 'suspect'

  You're alone here, don't make things worse for yourself

  The mom then holds her son's leg, clinging to her son while crying. Before the police pulled her hair and pushed her away

  He then turned his head and looked at both of them with pleading eyes, begging them

  "Pl??sh?, dh?nt h?rt mye m?m! Zh?sht t?kh? m? ?wy?ye! "

  ("Please, don't hurt my mom! Just take me away! ")

  ". . . Huff, damn it "

  I then quickly ran towards them before punching the officer's face who was holding the boy, causing him to stumble back

  "Wy? th? h?ll-! "

  ("Who the hell-! ")

  Before he could finish asking, I swiftly drove my knee to his stomach and slammed my elbow to his neck, causing him to lose consciousness

  One down

  The other officer then ran to me while raising his electrical baton, his eyes wide open while gritting his teeth

  "Ye?? v?sht?rdh! "

  ("You bastard! ")

  Before he could swing the baton at me, I quickly grabbed his wrist and swiftly kicked his knee, breaking it

  "?rgggghhh-! "

  ("Argggghhh-! ")

  I then quickly covered his mouth with my hand before I smashed his head through the car window beside him, making him fall unconscious

  I then dusted off imaginary dust off my hands before I could see the mom quickly reach her son, crying happily while cupping his cheeks

  "Sob. . . ?h, th?nkh ye??, th? k?nsht?ll?t??nsh ?v?z?

  ("Sob. . . Oh, thank you, the constellations above ")

  Her son didn't say anything, except smiling softly and letting out a few of his tears before hugging her mother

  . . . Good for them I guess

  Before I knew it, the mother quickly stepped towards me and tried to kneel in front of me, and I quickly grabbed her arms and helped her to stand up

  "Th?nkh ye??, th?nkh ye?? z?ry? m?kh, m?shter. . . Ph?r h?lp?ng mye sh?n "

  ("Thank you, thank you very much, mister. . . For helping my son ")

  . . . Ah shit, I didn't know how to talk in their language yet

  How the hell do I say 'you're welcome'?

  "Ye. . . Ou're. . . Weyel. . . kome? "

  Ahh, dammit. . . What the fuck are you trying to say, Dani?

  The mom seems not to notice how bad my pronunciation is, as she's still crying with both happy and grateful feelings

  Her son however, was looking at me while tilting his head. Probably dumbfounded by how bad my pronunciation is

  If he were smart enough, he could probably guess that I'm not from around here

  Just then, a few shouts could be heard not too far from us, my eyes quickly caught a few officers who were wearing the same brown uniforms running towards us from miles away

  Before I could prepare myself, the boy quickly grabbed her mother's arm and mine and dragged us to a quiet and dark alleyway

  "Wyh?r? ?r? th?ye?! "

  ("Where are they?! ")

  "Ph?n ??t ?ndh ph?ndh th?m! Th?ye k??ldhn't h?z? g?tt?n th?t ph?r! "

  ("Fan out and find them! They couldn't have gotten that far! ")

  As the surroundings around us slowly turned into silence, I took a quick look at both the mom and her son

  The boy was still shivering in fear, on the verge of crying even. Before her mom tried to calm him down by caressing his hair

  . . . That boy couldn't have been a criminal. Judging by his face, he wouldn't even dare raise a knife to kill an animal

  Which means, the government here is too corrupt, they are willing to catch an innocent person for whatever agenda they have

  ". . . Know it, those posters are bullshit "