Nova stared at the door with a confused look on his face. His hair was messy, and he felt somewhat curious to know what had happened. It wasn't the first time Miyu had done something like this, but it was always strange.
'...?'
He heard a couple of flaps beside him and looked in that direction, finding Poki. The little animal smiled at him while glancing back and forth between him and the door. It seemed as if the reptile was trying to communicate something.
"What? Do you want to tell me something? Even if you do, you know I don't speak the language of the Ryutanin."
Poki shook his head disappointedly, as if only he understood what had just happened.
Nova rolled his eyes and went back to his seat. He stared at the chair in silence.
'It's always so quiet when no one's around…'
He closed his eyes and allowed himself to rest.
'It's like the battlefields in the Calem mountain ranges.'
There were only thoughts this time. Well, Nova isn't really a person who is used to talking much, so he thinks most things instead of saying them.
It's a small flaw he's had since he was a child. He never spoke more than necessary. Usually, when he's around people, he's forced to talk, but that doesn't make him antisocial.
He was always a man of few words. However, because of that, some people consider him weird, although that never bothered him.
All humans are strange in their own way. From those whose Spectrum is Anger to those who use Serenity as a weapon.
No one in this world is normal. And that's not necessarily a bad thing.
When he opened his eyes, he looked at the yellow sun radiating its glorious life-giving light above the green leaves of the trees dancing to the rhythm of the wind's song.
It was a very everyday scene for Nova, as he was not surprised by the beauty of his own world.
'Okay. Time for a quick check.'
When he concentrated hard enough, looking at the landscape outside, a faint black glow formed in front of his face. Immediately afterwards, an ethereal rectangle appeared, displaying words in the current language of humanity.
'I finally learned it. Personal Information.'
Personal Information is a skill that Faction Masters teach their recruits so that they can keep an effective and orderly count of their own skills. It works perfectly because the skill uses the person's memories and experiences to catalog the information in a floating window.
The window displayed the following:
[
—Name: Nova Asmodai.
—Age: 21 chronological years.
—Rank: Seventh Level Empath.
—Spectrum: Serenity.
—Spectrum Skill:
❖Spectrum Enhancement: Ability to amplify other people's Spectrum skills.
❖Fluctuation of Serenity: Ability to imbue Serenity in other people. Has the effect of calming other people's Spectrums. Also grants some understanding of the target's emotions.
—Calem Energy Control:
❖Low control of Calem energy.
❖Medium manipulation of the Plantae Realm.
❖Low resistance to status effects.
]
'Huh. This thing is still the same.'
All the skill showed were things Nova already knew.
He learned all that over the years. However, Spectrum skills, unlike Calem energy control, which is based on manipulating the planet's energy, are something that appears over time based on a person's experiences, not something that is learned as such.
In total, there are eight branches of the Emotional Spectrum. Each branch descends from a primitive emotion: Ecstasy, Admiration, Terror, Amazement, Grief, Loathing, Rage, and Vigilance.
Each branch has its secondary and tertiary emotions. And among the primary emotions, there are intermediate emotions that arise from the combination of the primary emotions.
Serenity, the Spectrum of Nova, is the third emotion in the Ecstasy branch after Joy.
As such, the entire Ecstasy branch is extremely rare in humans. The same is true of the Loathing branch. This is because it is very uncommon for a human to feel these emotions in the first decade of their life. By that time, another emotion may have taken control.
'If I keep this up, I'll soon become a Sixth Level Empath.'
He smiled slightly, proud of himself.
'Three years fly by. There's a big difference between being Tenth Level and Seventh Level…'
He has worked hard for this for the past three years. He started in the Dimension Faction at age 18 as a Tenth Level Empath, and now he is in his uncle Viktor's rising faction as a Seventh Level Empath.
'If I want to climb even higher, I just need to work harder.'
Work makes the man, and Nova works hard.
"Hm?"
Because he was so distracted looking at the ethereal window, he barely noticed that there was something heavy on his lap.
"Poki?"
It was that little winged reptile, who had fallen asleep there.
Seeing how adorable his reptilian friend was, Nova scratched the scales on its head with a slight smile.
Poki smiled, snuggling closer.
"You sleep a lot, Poki. Let's go home."
Getting up from the sofa, he carried Poki as if it were a baby and left the room. The ethereal window vanished into thin air after that.
***
He walked through the busy streets of this city covered in nature. Cars moved orderly through intersections, and civilians chatted with each other as they swarmed toward their destinations.
Each person looked different in their own way. Some had colorful, feathered wings tucked behind their backs so as not to bother others, while others had ears and tails of different types and colors. Most, however, were ordinary humans with no special conditions.
This continent is a very diverse place whose sights and inhabitants Nova greatly enjoys. He was born and raised here. How could he not love such a beautiful and peaceful home?
This peace, leaving aside the Dimensional Portals and the Asteroid Aberrations, is something he appreciates with all his being. Because he had a very turbulent life and childhood, these small parts of life are precious.
Several hours had passed since noon. The sky began to turn crimson, staining the roofs and rooftops of buildings with its mysterious hue.
The clouds take on random shapes in the sky that sometimes coincide with things that exist in real life. The giant birds flying overhead made it seem as if the day was finally being covered by the blanket of inevitable night.
With Poki back home, this boy could finally meet up with his friends at the Lux Valley.
As for that specific place: The Lux Valley is the most famous bar and restaurant in Luminaris, the capital of the country of Nemoria on the continent of Calem, the continent where the asteroid crashed more than a thousand years ago. Many wealthy people often gather there to relax.
Nova heads to that place.
'Hm... Where did you get those stickers?'
He looked amused as he walked down the sidewalk, looking at the communicator in his hand. Miyu's messages were pouring down like torrential rain in the group chat. Repeated sounds of drops bounce off the speaker.
MiyuMiyu:
[Where are you guys?]
[I'm dying of loneliness...]
[Nova? Are you still alive?]
[Elara!]
[*Sticker of Poki impatiently biting his tail*]
Nova Asmodai:
[I'm on my way.]
[Anyway, why did you arrive so early?]
[*Sticker of Poki with a question mark above his head*]
Ellie:
[I'm going to be a little late. Sorry. Start without me.]
MiyuMiyu:
[Hurry up!]
[Some weird guys want to hit on me!]
[It's getting hard to get rid of them!]
[*Sticker of Nova with a poker face*]
"Seriously... where do you get those stickers?"
Nova couldn't remember anyone ever taking a photo of him where he looked less than attractive.
To hurry, he put the communicator in the pocket of his clean, dark trench coat, jumped to land on top of a traffic light, then jumped again and reached the roof of a two-story store.
'Here I go.'
He ran as fast as his legs would carry him, leaping between buildings as night colored the scene alongside the beautiful light of the full moon breaking through the silvery clouds.
***
The Lux Valley is always crowded. It is a large three-story establishment that stretches from one corner of the street to a quarter of the block. It was made of black bricks, with floral trees on the sidewalks. The three large doors on the first floor were open, revealing dozens of tables filled with people of all kinds inside.
At the entrance, three people dressed in black uniforms guarded the establishment.
One of them was a burly man with two large pointed horns on his head and a gold ring in his nose. He was the man guarding the central door.
On either side were two men who looked very similar in appearance; twins, surely. Both had yellow, tousled, very long hair. Both had thin tails with unkempt hair at the ends.
Their eyes showed an unnatural ferocity.
'Just look at that. The cave of drunken people.'
He approached the central door after seeing the sign on the street. The place was crowded, certainly, but those with a powerful reservation could skip the line.
The man with the horns looked at Nova and recognized him immediately.
"Oh, boy. How are you? Do you have your reservation?"
He was very friendly despite his large stature and face that looked like he wanted to punch something at any moment.
"Miyu is already inside. She's supposed to be the one with the reservation."
"Oh, of course. That's right. Come on in and have fun."
"Sure. Thanks, man."
Thanks to the intimidating man's unnatural friendliness, Nova felt relaxed.
He had been to this place many times before. From time to time, he would meet up with his friends to celebrate and have a good time.
As soon as he entered, someone appeared and grabbed his hand tightly. It was Miyu, obviously.
"You took too long, Nova. I was about to get drunk all by myself."
She complained with her cheeks puffed out. It made her look like that extinct animal that hides its nuts for the winter in a tree hollow.
"Getting drunk all by yourself? How sad..."
"It's sadder that you're late."
Nova lamented silently. Trying to win an argument against a woman would be like finding a Category 0 in the corner of the bathroom. It was theoretically impossible.
Besides, he looked at the time on his communicator. It was seven o'clock, damn it! That was the agreed time! Nova is always on time, and if he's not on time, it's because something probably killed him.
But apparently, Miyu didn't care.
'I don't want to be so childish. I'll let it go.'
Says the guy who scratched his friend's face with a marker in revenge.
People weren't wrong when they said Nova was weird. He is. Very much so. He almost always seems extremely calm. Even if someone is torn to pieces in front of his eyes, he will remain cold and serene as always. That was the flaw in the emotion that dominated his heart.
Even though Nova is Serenity, which leads him to always be calm, he was also capable of feeling other emotions to a lesser extent. That's what made him strange. Something that would be very funny or tragic to someone else would be no big deal to Nova.
He was dragged over to one of the tables and forced by Miyu to sit down.
'God. What a fierce woman.'
"All right. Now we just need Elara. Shall we order something until she arrives?"
'And as always, her mood is as changeable as the weather,' he thought, too tired to run away, too calm to complain.
"I'll have a Dark Flame, how about you?" said Nova, with all the confidence of someone who knows how to drink alcohol.
"I'll have a Scarlet Flower. I'd order the same as you, but that stuff is practically poison to me."
"Okay, I guess."
A few minutes later, Elara arrived in a bit of a hurry, as she was running late. What stood out most about her arrival was her outfit. She wore a long, elegant black dress with a low neckline, with a white coat over it to cover the neckline.
She also wore heels. This made her appear taller.
Elara is the tallest member of the team, and also the most gifted. With her blonde hair elegantly tied back, she looked like one of those princesses from ancient tales. Her mere presence attracted the attention of many people in the restaurant.
"Show-off," Miyu muttered when she saw her friend arrive.
But she was the one who told Elara to bring nice clothes. Elara was simply dusting off a dress she had in her closet.
Nova raised her eyebrows slightly.
'You look great. You pass.'
Putting aside that slightly out-of-place thought, Elara pulled up a chair and sat down while apologizing.
"Good evening. I'm a little late. I'm sorry. I had to drop my sister off at my mother's house."
Miyu shook her head, swallowing her envy. Nova noticed this, but shook his head, hoping Miyu hadn't noticed his glance.
"It's okay. I'm sure you were busy with your family. It's normal. Don't be embarrassed about being a little late."
'What...? What about me?! Can't I be late or early?!'
Women. Even after the impact, they remain a mystery.