Revive

Soon, other students from different classrooms had gathered around. The principal came to the field with other teachers.

“Ah, he finally kicked the bucket.”

“Isn’t he Nyx’s younger brother?”

“Yes, but he didn’t awaken any special abilities, right?”

“Wasn’t he the student who was used as a living target by the whole class not long ago?”

“Ah, you mean during the shooting exercise? He had many of his bones broken because of that incident, right?”

“How come there’s no healer who healed his injuries now? Most of his broken bones before weren’t fatal because there was a healer who took care of them.”

“How did he die, anyway?”

“One of his classmates boiled him to death.”

The murmurs of the students were particularly distinct. Some conversations were drowned out by the ambulance that came to collect Axel’s dead body. The atmosphere was solemn, but no one felt sorry for Axel. Their expressions were sympathetic, but their thoughts did not have any space for Axel.

‘Ha, so the weakling finally kicked the bucket?’

‘It’s better he’s dead.’

‘Finally, no more unawakened person in the school.’

The principal then took action. Without hearing the details from the students or the instructor, he forbade anyone from leaking the news about Axel’s death. They would release official news later after collaborating with the Challenger’s Association about the incident.

The instructor was stunned at the principal’s words, even more so when he convinced him he was not at fault, that the student’s death was only because of an accident. Because he didn’t have abilities like his peers, when they practiced and accidentally hit him, he died. It was an accident through and through.

When a representative from the Challenger’s Association came to visit, his only reaction was:

“So the sole relative of the legendary Nyx Hart is now dead, huh? If only he had the awakened abilities like his brother, he wouldn’t have ended up lying in the morgue now.”

Axel didn’t have any more relatives. So no one was there to visit him in the morgue or to claim his body. Nobody mourned for him. Nobody paid attention to the suffering he endured at the hands of his classmates. No one bothered to check the heavy bruises, scars, and unhealed injuries on his body. No one cared to ask how he had lived his life without his brother. It’s like the world was relieved because he, an unawakened individual, had finally died.

C City Hospital. 11:25 PM.

In the basement, Axel’s cold body was covered with a white cloth. He was placed on a long metal table together with the other bodies inside a huge white room. The room was locked and could not be opened unless the person trying to get in was an unauthorized person with both their fingerprints and irises registered. But in the hands of magic, technology is powerless.

The corridor leading from the elevator to the morgue was gloomy and dark. In the silence, a series of soft footsteps echoed throughout the corridor. Soon, a petite woman emerged from the shadows. It was like her whole being was the shadow itself. The faint light from the fluorescent bulbs went out every time she passed by a room.

Soon, she stood in front of the locked door where Axel’s dead body lay. With a flick of her fingers, the door swung open, not even triggering the sensors for the door security. She strode with her long legs until she found Axel’s body. Her beautiful face loomed darkly. She slowly removed the blanket covering his body.

Her eyes narrowed at the blisters and obvious third-degree burns that exposed his muscles and flesh beneath the skin. At his abdomen, some of his white bones formed his ribs. Her long fingernail touched his chest, right where his heart was located. Soft murmurs came out of her mouth. Soon, a yellow sparkling light emerged from her fingertip, and it traveled down to his chest. With a lightning bolt, it struck Axel’s heart, causing his whole body to convulse uncontrollably.

With a jolt, Axel opened his eyes, wide. His eyes were greeted by the unknown stranger smiling creepily at him. Before he could ask who she was, strong intense pain of his internal organs being crushed and destroyed smacked him in the face. He grew dizzy from the pain, his hands gripping the sheets.

“Shhhh, stay still. I will heal you,” she murmured. Her long slender index finger ran from his chest down to his abdomen. At this instant, Axel’s internal organs mended themselves after being burned. His skin repaired itself. Soon, Axel no longer suffered the unbearable pain of his body being wrecked.

Axel’s eyes widened as he stared at his pale white skin and naked body.

“W – Who are you?!”

The woman just slightly tilted her head, her lips still bearing that lopsided smile.

“I chose your brother because I knew he was strong. He was supposed to be my Chosen One. But he failed. He relied on and put his trust in his guildmates, which resulted in his death.

“Remember this, human. I willingly came here and revived your dead soul because I expect you to succeed. So don’t fail me.” The woman’s commanding tone and oppressive aura made it hard for Axel to breathe normally. It wasn’t because his lungs weren’t healed. It was because this woman’s power was so strong that she could oppress the atmosphere just by her presence.

“Y – you knew my brother?” Axel managed to utter despite his weak limbs and cold sweat soaking his back.

The woman did not answer. She snapped her fingers, and a book covered with yellow glowing light suddenly floated in front of him.

“Grow stronger. If you want to know what happened to your brother and who’s responsible for his death, grow stronger.” After saying these words, her figure disappeared, leaving Axel alone with the dead bodies surrounding him.

But it wasn’t this fact that rendered Axel speechless. It was the glowing book that was floating in front of him. 

‘For my brother, Axel’.....is what it says.