The road was stretched endlessly ahead, covered with darkness of the night.
Rain was over, the road was reflecting pale rays of light coming from the car's headlights. The engine was hummed steadily.
Kael was sitting on the passenger seat, stiff and silent.
Dried blood crusted his sleeves, his collar and his hands. And his face was tight and skin was pulling where the blood had dried. Every movement ached. And his head throbbed dully.
Jake Clinton drove without even looking at Kael.
His one hand rested on the steering wheel and the other hand was relaxed on his lap.
Several minutes passed.
Kael swallowed. His throat felt raw. "So…," he said quietly.
But Jake didn't respond.
Kael hesitated, and then he tried again. "Where are you taking me?"
Jake kept his eyes on the road. "Somewhere safe, where you won't die."
Kael frowned. "That doesn't exactly look like an answer—"
"You want answers already?" Jake cut in calmly. "You just watched something that devours reality and screams in your head. Maybe let that settle first."
Kael clenched his hands together. "You said I had a choice."
"You chose," Jake replied. "And that part's already done."
Silence returned.
Kael glared at Jake from the corner of his eye. "That thing… the monster. There are more of them, aren't there?"
Jake nodded once. "Many."
"And people like me—" Kael paused. "—people who can see them. How many are there?"
Jake exhaled through his nose. "Not enough."
Kael absorbed that quietly. "You called me that I'm not a normal human. So, what am I?"
Jake finally glared at Kael. " An Aeri."
"And what does that mean?" Kael questioned again calmly.
"It means," Jake said flatly, " A being which has the power to defend himself and the world against, The Seven Sins."
Kael opened his mouth to ask something else—
Click.
Metal shifted.
Before Kael could react, Jake's right hand moved in only one smooth motion. He lifted a pistol from his long coat and pointed it directly at Kael's neck.
Kael froze.
"W–wait," Kael stammered, panicking surging in him. "What are you doing?! Don't, don't do this!"
But Jake's expression didn't change. His grip was steady and eyes were calm.
"Relax kid," Jake said. "If this one kills you, then you aren't worth bringing in."
Kael's breath became sharp and fast. "You said you would help me!"
"I am."
The gun fired.
The sound was loud and deafening in the small space.
But pain never came.
Instead, Kael felt something was tearing through him, it was not flesh, but it was awareness. His chest burned cold, like air rushing into a hollow space. The darkness swallowed him.
But then voices came.
Which were soft and distant.
Kael floated somewhere between sleep and waking. His body was feeling heavy and numb, like it didn't fully belong to him.
"…the pulse is stable," a voice said.
"Breathing's steady too," another replied.
Light were faintly against his eyelids.
Kael tried to move.
He tried to move his fingers. But that alone felt much exhausting.
So he slowly and painfully, tried to open his eyes.
The first thing he saw was white ceiling, which was too clean and too bright.
He turned his head—barely—and realized he was lying on a bed. Not his bed. The bedsheets were smooth and unfamiliar. And the air smelled like antiseptic and metal.
His body felt him lighter than before, it was different.
And as he looked down.
He saw that he was wearing new clothes—soft fabric, a deep blue color, fitted but loose enough to move. No blood. No dirt.
And on his right, there was a wide table hovered slightly above the floor, its surface was alive with translucent holographic screens. Symbols, graphs, scrolling data—things Kael had never seen before.
There, a man in a white coat stood beside it. His fingers were moving through the projections with practiced ease. And a nurse stood nearby that man, arms folded and watching Kael intently.
"Doc," the nurse said quietly, "do you really think that boy has Rin?"
The man didn't look up. "Mr Clinton doesn't bring in a child without reason."
"I know," the nurse replied, lowering her voice. "But when Mr Clinton arrived with that kid in his arms… that kid... was fully covered in blood. And also he's so young and weak too. Awakening Rin usually takes months. Sometimes even years."
Kael listened, heart pounding.
The doctor hummed thoughtfully. "Exceptions exist."
The nurse hesitated. "Still… he's only fourteen."
The doctor paused his hands.
"Do you remember Clare Pearson?" he asked.
The nurse's expression softened. "Of course."
"She awakened Rin at twelve," the doctor said. "After her mother... Rebecca died."
The nurse nodded slowly. "I remember. Depression-triggered awakening."
The doctor glanced toward Kael. "Pain accelerates things."
The nurse turned—
And froze.
"…Doctor," she said carefully.
"Yes?"
"The kid," she whispered. "He's awake."
The doctor turned fully now, eyes sharp and assessing.
"Go," he said calmly. "Call Mr. Clinton."
The nurse hurried out.
Then the doctor approached Kael's bed, and pulled a small scanner from his coat pocket. He checked Kael's pulse, eyes and breathing.
"All stable," he murmured. Then he gently helped Kael sit up, supporting his back.
Kael winced. "Where… am I?"
The doctor smiled warmly.
"Welcome to Aerin, Kael."
Kael blinked. "Aerin…?"
"My name is Doctor Ethan Looms," the man said. "I oversee medical evaluations here."
Kael swallowed. "Am I… alive?"
Ethan chuckled softly. "Very much so."
Footsteps echoed from the corridor.
The nurse returned and a familiar figure was walking beside her and entered the room.
Jake Clinton.
His left hand in his long coat pockets and another holding the metal staff. Expression unchanged.
He looked at Kael and raised his eyebrow.
"Well well," Jake said, "you woke up earlier than I expected, kid."
The room fell silent.
And Kael realized his life had truly begun.