happy birthday part 2

The Night Was Filled with Warmth

March 1, 3022 – 10:30 PM

At the front door of Odd and Aunt Tia's house, David opened the door to leave, with Odd accompanying him to say goodbye.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye for tonight. I wanted to stay longer, but my parents would worry if I stayed out too late," David said with slight regret in his tone.

"It's fine. See you tomorrow," Odd replied, bidding David farewell before closing the door.

Odd helped his aunt clean up the dinner table. Tia looked at him for a few moments, her thoughts occupied by something.

"I have to admit, this might sound rude of me, but I didn't expect David to be such a nice person. I'm glad he's your friend," Aunt Tia said happily. Odd hadn't had many friends before David appeared, so she was truly pleased with his current situation.

"You didn't expect it?" Odd was surprised by her words. He tried to figure out why she would say that, and there was only one reason he could think of. He smiled helplessly. "What made you think that? Was it because of his appearance?"

"What? Of course not… Well, actually, it's one of the reasons," Aunt Tia admitted. She didn't want to sound like a shallow or judgmental person, but who wouldn't assume David was a delinquent at first glance, with that hairstyle? "But that's not the main reason. It's because of his family," she quickly added, trying to steer the conversation away.

"His family?" Odd was puzzled. As far as he knew, David's family was just an ordinary one. In recent years, David's father's health had declined to the point where he could no longer work, leaving them in poverty. David had been working part-time to support his family and cover his tuition at Silo Academy.

"Yes. As you know, David's parents are devoted followers of Emperor Lazarus. They were also former soldiers in Lazarus' royal army. So, I expected him to be a bit… difficult," Aunt Tia explained.

Odd was shocked by this information. Of course, he hadn't known that, but it seemed she was referring to the Odd of this world.

He had heard this name many times before. Apparently, this person named Lazarus was some kind of emperor with his own army.

"Is that why David wants to join his army? It seems his parents want him to follow in their footsteps… But doesn't that mean my parents were also part of Lazarus' army?" Odd wondered.

"Strange… What makes everyone want to become followers of this guy named Lazarus? What's so great about serving under someone?" Odd said absentmindedly.

A brief silence filled the room before Aunt Tia responded.

"Odd, be careful when you say things like that. Sure, we're alone, but that doesn't make it any less dangerous if someone overhears us."

Odd was momentarily stunned. He didn't want to make Aunt Tia more worried, so he simply nodded, causing her to sigh in relief. But in his mind, thoughts kept swirling.

"It seems like everyone fears and respects this person. I need to learn more about this Lazarus," Odd thought.

---

After finishing the cleanup and washing the dishes, Odd returned to his room, still thinking about how to gather more information.

He lay down on his circular bed, then reached under it and pulled out his Synchro Network device.

Earlier that day, when he left for the academy, he had left his Synchro Network device behind because he didn't know how to operate it. But after watching the students use theirs, he now understood how to activate it.

Synchro Networks operated using Claudio Energy, which was invented by the legendary scientist Claudio GR. It was a type of Synchro, but instead of being a power that individuals harnessed personally, Claudio Energy was a Synchro energy that activated machines and devices. If Synchro was the power that resulted from harmonizing the soul with the sky, then Claudio Energy was the power of harmonizing mechanical machines with the sky.

Thanks to this energy, not only had the world recovered from past energy crises, but technology had also advanced significantly, relying heavily on Claudio Energy for things like planes, cars, and more.

From what Odd had seen at the academy, all he had to do was gently press the upper edge of the white star, and the device would activate.

He pressed the upper edge, and the star split into two halves, revealing a blue screen. However, there was only one message displayed:

"Please enter the password."

Below the message were five empty slots.

"Damn it, a password? How am I supposed to know it?" Odd thought in frustration. But then he remembered that in his previous world, he had also set a password for his smartphone.

"Could it be the same? Well… We're technically the same person, so maybe he thought like me, right?" Odd pondered what the password could be.

He tapped on the virtual keyboard and entered a six-letter name: "Anorge."

Fortunately, the password was correct, and the screen changed to the main interface.

"Phew, good. Looks like that was right," Odd sighed in relief, unable to stop a small smile from forming.

"Anorge" was derived from the words "Uncle" and "George." His uncle had always called himself that in front of him, and as a child, Odd had frequently used it as a nickname for Uncle George. It was even the password he used for almost everything.

Shaking off his nostalgic thoughts, Odd began interacting with the Synchro Network interface. He navigated to the search bar, typed "Lazarus," and hit the search button.

Now, it was time to see what information would appear.

Emperor Lazarus

The great emperor who rules over the Royal Empire and the first human ever to be granted the power of Synchro.

In December 2043, a year after the emergence of Higher Dimensions and the appearance of various new races, the world fell into chaos. Four hostile races sought to exterminate humanity, and by the end of that year, the human population had dwindled to just 100 million.

During that time, the Supreme Beings appeared and chose the first man to receive the great power of Synchro—Lazarus. He was granted this power in January 2045.

A few months later, in November 2045, after discovering the true potential of Synchro, Lazarus requested the Higher Beings to grant this power to his eight comrades. These eight later became known as the Nine Emperors of the Royal Empire alongside Lazarus.

They achieved the highest level of Synchro power that anyone could attain—the 'Emperor' level. Anyone related to them by blood or injected with their blood could use Synchro without needing permission from the Higher Beings. These individuals were called 'The Emperor's Descendants'.

Thanks to this power, the Nine Emperors were able to save humanity from the invading races within just a few years. They were hailed as humanity's greatest heroes.

Lazarus was the most powerful and revered of the Nine Emperors. Known for his strength and dominance, he rebuilt the world from scratch, earning the respect of all and becoming known as "The Symbol of Justice."

To maintain his role as a pure symbol of justice, he never fathered children nor shared his blood with others, ensuring that his power could not be exploited for evil.

Unlike the other eight emperors, Lazarus did not build his army based on bloodline or noble lineage. Instead, anyone—regardless of background—could join his army. Even ordinary citizens, descendants of other emperors, or peaceful non-human races with a legal residence in the empire could enlist, as long as they proved their strength and competence.

---

"…Well, considering what I just read, it makes sense why people admire him so much," Odd thought to himself. In truth, a person with such an achievement deserved this level of respect.

"Is there more about him and the other emperors?" Odd dug deeper into the Synchro Network, but he found countless articles and newspapers about them.

"…Forget it. I'm not reading all this nonsense."

He turned off the Synchro Network.