Chapter 17

Southern Hemisphere.

Southern Helia.

A certain abandoned factory.

If one knew how to die. No doubt they would know how to live.

And if one knew how to live, no doubt they would know how to die.

"Gargh!"

The man continued screaming as the flames burnt his cut-off arm. Even the blood pouring out was drying insanely fast.

Rather, it was getting burnt up.

The metallic smell of iron mixing up with something he couldn't quite describe.

Additionally, the foul smell was too much. The stench was unbearable.

"Kuh—! Fine! Fine! I'll talk, I'll talk."

Ren, who would hear that, finally lowered the longsword he held in his hand.

"And?"

"We—we are an… ghk—organisation that… works in cooperation… with Genesis."

The man spoke then, a pause. Then the man paused.

However, as if such a pause had irritated him, Ren raised his blade once more.

"I'll continue! I'll continue!"

"Khgh! Most of our operations consist of kidnapping people. And dealing with them—cough, cough."

"Why? Why the ordinary people? Why target them?"

"Ghk—! Hahahaha! Why not? It's thanks to them our dreams will finally come true, is it not? This world, tainted by people like you, would—ARGHK!"

Before he'd continued, Ren had already caught down his second arm, sending an unbeatable pain coursing through his body.

The man coughed, clenched his teeth, and gritted them in agony. And it wasn't that Ren was simply cutting them alone.

Nay.

He was sealing the cut by burning it with flames. In an extremely cruel way.

Yet, despite doing this, there was no expression on his face, only that expressionless face of his as though he were playing with an ant.

"You mentioned people like me, didn't you? Do you mean—"

"Cough, cough, damn Awakeneds. All of you be damned, cough, the day our wishes get fulfilled, that day, this world shall be doomed!"

Having gotten tired of his fanatic mumblings, Ren silently pierced his thighs using the longsword he held in hand.

"GAAARGH!"

"That was not what I asked for, was it? At this rate you'll be wasting my time. What and who are Awakened?"

He had been screaming in agony, but when he heard that, his tone had already changed, as it turned into laughter.

"Gahahaha. You fool, though you hold this much power, you're clueless about the world, aren't you?"

But this still didn't change the pain he was feeling.

The reason why they targeted the unawakened was because, unlike those who had awakened, they had less willpower than them.

Willpower was also another factor for those who have awakened.

A normal person might have strong willpower; however, in the end, compared to those who can turn their willpower into energy, those mundane people are lacking.

And what better people to target than powerless people?

"Nice taunt. It made me irritated for the slightest."

Ren had said that before lowering his blade, and then slowly, he raised his head to look at him.

His crimson eyes began wrapping against themselves, seeming as if his pupils were inwardly curling against themselves as his eyes glowed even more ominously.

"Very well then, as you wish, I'll grant you a worthy death."

Something bizarre happened.

Obviously, he'd been able to see the corpses of his men who Ren had struck down.

But when Ren had said that, Ren had slowly parted his hands, and he didn't miss that action.

So, why? Why was he seeing his men disintegrate into dust?

Wait… his memories of them too…

As they were slowly getting erased from existence, he was also slowly losing his memories of them.

"Wh-wh-wh-what is happening?"

The agony and pain he had suppressed suddenly started to well up.

What had accumulated inside him suddenly burst out.

"No—NO! NOOOOO! This! This is—!"

"Hahahaha! I understand now! You are the one, aren't you? Hahaha! The one they spoke of! No doubt! It's you!"

The man slowly began to descend into hysteria as he looked at Ren. Seeing this, Ren wasn't in the slightest surprised.

They were fanatics. So, their words couldn't be taken seriously.

Awakened.

They're those who have awakened due to their strong desires and can perform extraordinary feats by manipulating their will to perform supernatural feats.

Of the billions who trudge through their mundane existence, less than a mere one percent possess the qualifications to ascend—to become awakened.

It is not a right, not a reward, but a privilege.

A privilege bestowed upon the worthy, the exceptional, the chosen.

To awaken is to have one's obsession acknowledged by the world itself.

A straightforward concept, yes?

Oh, but if only it were that simple.

Mere passion for something is insufficient.

Love, dedication, and even raw talent—none of these alone will grant ascension to a new height.

No, it requires something greater. But the details are unknown to most.

The precise mechanics of awakening remain elusive, an enigma even to those who have awakened themselves.

Most achieve it through relentless pursuit, sheer willpower… or sheer luck.

Luck, of course, is the rarest path of all.

Only two in recorded history have awakened by mere birthright—an anomaly beyond explanation.

How special of a people were they for them to hold such power from birth?

Those two who had been granted powers even without wishing for it.

Was it luck? People called it luck. But no, it was not luck. It's far different.

Yet. That wasn't all.

Even after one awakens, there is a hierarchy to awakening to being an awakener.

The Stages of Awakening.

They are mostly known to be the measure of one's true strength. They go from:

Awakened.

Enlightened.

Enlightened-Above.

True Awakened.

Many may claim strength, but only those who have ascended these ranks, rather, those who have climbed up to the ranks of an Enlightened-Above, truly deserve to be called powerful.

Awakened:

The first step on the grand path.

Those who awaken through sheer force of will gain the ability to manipulate their own life force, performing feats beyond the capabilities of lesser beings.

Their lifespan extends beyond the ordinary, ranging from one up to two centuries.

A small mercy, considering how brief the lives of the unawakened truly are.

Next would be the Enlightened:

Those who reach this stage do not merely control their will—they manifest it into tangible energy.

Their presence alone can impose dominion over the weak.

At this stage, one's existence stretches across three or four centuries.

But if that were impressive, then there are those on this level.

Enlightened-Above:

Here, one ceases to be a mere individual and becomes a force of nature.

A living catastrophe.

Those at this stage wield enough power to reduce cities to cinders without exertion.

Their peak lasts for over a hundred years, and only in the final year before death do they begin to wither.

That, above all, is what truly matters.

But we digress.

That is all that is mostly known.

As for the remaining stages beyond most's knowledge.

Even among the most elite—those within the top 10% of those who can be classified as awakened.

—There are scarcely more than thirty individuals who have reached the stage of True Awakening.

Such beings are anomalies, legends in their own right.

"And, cough—! That is all I…—*cough*! Know."

"..."

As the man had eventually spilt all he knew about that world, Ren had stared off into space, uncharacteristically silent.

"Cough. Oh, child of death… Cough, P-please. End my suffering… Make me… your undying servant. Cough."

Once again, the man had said such.

Having witnessed the prowess of this youth, he couldn't be more sure.

Just as that abomination, the female Aristella, had said.

What more joy was there than for him to leave his mortal flesh and serve this being as his servant?

Finally, he can finally shed his mortality and transcend into something that is far beyond his mortality.

He had always been jealous of the more privileged. However, should what he'd hear from that abomination work, then it would prove that as long as the male Aristella wishes.

He could—

What greater joy could there be than shedding his mortality and serving this being?

Finally, he could transcend.

He had always envied the privileged, but if what Aristella had spoken of was true, then perhaps…

"Odd. Though you say that, I know not the means, nor do I wish for your servitude. I have no need for someone like you."

"Hahahaha… I failed, huh? Fine then. I digress."

"Don't worry. I sent your men to paradise—a paradise where they will be judged for their sins. And surely, even if I were to die, I'd be no more exempt from that place than you."

"Rest well."