First Contact

His name is Zeyn Tendou Zaine, a young man who fell asleep at the edge of a cafe yesterday. His face is like that of an ordinary Asian with a pointed chin. He is 18 years old, quite tall, and a freshman at an institute. His hair is blackish-grey, styled in a comma shape, slightly messy, and intentionally never combed.

What makes him unique is his sharp and cold, ruby eyes. People often mistook his eyes for something supernatural. But the truth was far simpler… or so he liked to believe.

After class, he often wanders around campus without a specific destination. He walks along the corridors, gently caressing the window with his hand, so as not to disturb the passing students members. He can feel the surroundings, but it is not a guarantee that he will not bump into anyone. It would be a waste of time to apologize and explain his condition to others.

Not bringing his glasses today makes him a bit of a hassle. Forgetting things is his talent since birth.

For a moment, Zeyn stops and looks at his wrist. There is a bracelet given by his stepfather. 

"This bracelet… still as ordinary as ever. Julius probably just wanted to mess with my head. Believing in it won't make it special."

No matter how much he believes this bracelet is special, it's actually not. There has been no effect felt after years of wearing it. It seems to be just an ordinary bracelet. There is no feature to hold back energy or hide his abilities from anyone.

"And since this bracelet is meaningless, there's no point in me hiding my abilities. They were useless in the first place."

Zeyn takes a deep breath and sharpens his senses. Although his eyes cannot see his surroundings, a new vision appears, allowing him to see things that humans cannot. Abstract and metaphysical entities, such as ghosts, and the people around him moving like colorful lights with their auras.

Slowly, his eyes adjust to his new vision. He tries to act normal and walks without hesitation. However, suddenly he sees a figure running towards him.

A girl?

"Hwahh..." A high-pitched scream comes from his left.

*Bzzztth~ Whung!

Finally, they collide. But for some reason, the surroundings slow down after the collision. The movement of the world becomes very slow, as if in slow motion. It applies to both living creatures and inanimate objects.

The surrounding students walk slowly. A solitary mosquito hovers nearby, its wings beating in ethereal slow-motion, each flutter suspended in crystalline clarity. Even the foliage beyond the windows ceases its violent rustling, leaves frozen mid-dance as if captured in amber.

"Huff..." Zeyn grumbles, annoyed.

Once again, he bumped into something. Or someone, in this case. Just hitting a door today was enough to give him a headache.

Reflexively, he reached out to the girl's hip to prevent her from falling. He quickly picked up the scattered books and papers around them. Strangely, he was the only one unaffected by the slowing of time and able to move freely.

And then...

"Are you okay?"

"Huh?"

The world returned to normal. People around them were walking as usual, as if nothing had happened.

"Are you okay?" Zeyn asked again.

"Eh? Huh? I... umm."

It was the same girl who came with the student council president today. Aidera Tassania.

* *

Ten minutes ago,

In a long corridor on the second floor of Building B, a girl was casually walking back to her classroom. She carried various snacks like two ice cream, five packets of potato chips, and four glasses of soft drinks.

Along the way, he was greeted by passers-by and some even teased her. Strangely, no one was surprised that she was carrying so many snacks. They just didn't know that she wanted to eat everything alone.

*Brrrt~

Aidera's steps halted as her watch suddenly vibrated. She saw that someone very familiar was calling her. It was none other than the president of her organization. Carefully, she put down the snacks she was carrying on the nearest locker, then swiftly slid the animation on her screen to answer the call.

"Hello sweetpea, what are you doing?" Dellon asked.

"Hm! What's up? I have a good time, and you're bothering me," Aidera replied irritably.

"Calm down, there's no such thing as relaxing if there's a organizational affairs," Dellon retorted.

"Hmm, okay..."

"Oh, by the way, regarding the draft documents for the new students that got mixed up yesterday, they will be reviewed by the military history professor in the history major today."

"Oh, that list. For Ms. Grecia, right? When does she need it?" She asked.

"Um, now! By the way, she's teaching in Building A. Do you still have the documents with you?" Dellon explained.

"Wait! now? Like... right now?"

"Well, yes. If you can, please give her the documents immediately. I can take care of the soft-file along with the others later."

Without much thought, Aidera grabbed her snack and quickly returned to class. After this, she would immediately head to Building A, carrying the draft that her professor had requested.

"I'll be there, maybe even to the library to return some books."

"Okay, be careful."

* *

Aidera felt a little strange. She realized she didn't pay attention to the path. After climbing the stairs, she felt like she had bumped into someone.

Then why... didn't she fall? And what about the books she had to return to the library?

"Ah, the book?"

Zeyn casually handed over the stack of books he was holding. This made Aidera even more surprised. How could he have those books in his hands?

"Are you okay?"

"Um, sorry hehehe~ I just... ah~"

She clumsily took the books. It was then that their gazes met and connected for a while, silently staring at each other. The red shimmer of the redstone met the beauty of the blue ocean gem.

"Well then, excuse me."

Zeyn was about to leave without saying much. At least he didn't have to debate or deal with a girl who was talkative and quick to anger when bumped into.

"Wait!"

After seeing clearly who this guy was, Aidera remembered seeing him once during the student orientation program for the other department. It was only a brief encounter.

This young man was indeed a junior, as indicated by the "Newbie" badge on his right arm. He should have been listed in the new student registry book that she was now holding.

However... Aidera suddenly began to tremble when she saw his face. She didn't understand why this was happening all of a sudden. The tremors and tightness in her chest. The shock of feeling both relieved and unsure at the same time. It was like finding something that had been lost for a long time.

"Have we ever met before?"

Zeyn's steps halted and he stood still. Being asked such a strange question, he turned around and looked at the girl again. Well... he still couldn't see her face clearly because she was somewhat blurry to him. He might not even realize that he was standing in front of someone who was admired by many men.

And this girl's face felt foreign. He felt like he had never met her before.

"No, I don't know."

"Oh, I see. Umm~ then, sorry. Thank you for helping me," Aidera replied in awkward.

"Hmm hm..."

And once again, Zeyn intended to leave because he wanted to go quickly, as if he didn't want to know too much.

Aidera, left behind, fell silent. She stood still, watching him walk away from behind, while holding the book tightly. It was not usual for her to feel confused when talking to new people, especially guys. But what puzzled her the most was the awkward feeling. She felt familiar with this young man.

It seemed that they had met before but she couldn't remember when. It was as if there was some unfinished business, some kind of debt of gratitude that had never been repaid.

"W'wait. Are you-"

Just before the girl could ask, the young man had already disappeared from sight.

* * * *