When Lucien returned to the apartnt, Evelyn was already waiting inside the living room and the mont she saw him enter, she stood up.
"Did you see that?"
Lucien nodded, not explaining much.
"What was it?"
For a mont, he remained silent before slowly shaking his head.
"I don’t know."
Evelyn frowned as even she could hear the uncertainty in his voice.
That alone was unusual.
Ever since she had t Lucien, he always seed to know more than everyone else and yet now, he genuinely appeared unsure of sothing for the very first ti.
"The world is changing in more ways than we imagined."
His gaze drifted toward the window.
Outside, black water stretched endlessly beneath the evening sky. Awakeners, mutated beasts, talents, the Black Water, and now that bird.
Every day brought sothing humanity had never seen before, as if trying to convey that the old rules no longer existed.
The world they once knew was disappearing piece by piece or perhaps it had already vanished completely.
Evelyn followed his gaze toward the dark horizon and neither of them spoke again.
There was nothing left to say.
...
At the sa ti.
Several floors below, Snowy suddenly jumped from the sofa followed by a twitch of its ears.
Its eyes focused on the balcony.
Without warning, it sprinted toward the window.
"Snowy!" Emily imdiately chased after it as her eyes landed on Snowy.
The ferret slipped through the partially opened balcony door before jumping onto the railing.
By the ti Emily reached near it, Snowy was already staring a little ahead, into the Black Water.
"What are you looking at Snowy?" She followed its gaze.
Her body froze as her eyes landed upon a dark silhouette that passed right beneath the water’s surface.
Emily blinked.
Her eyes widened and just as she called for her father to see it, the creature was already long gone.
For a brief mont, she thought she had imagined it as even seeing beneath the Black Water was technically impossible for it nearly absorbed all of the light falling upon it.
...
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The sudden knocking sound shattered the morning silence, awakening Lucien from his sleep.
For a brief mont, he thought it was Evelyn knocking on her door. Then his heightened senses picked up the hurried footsteps outside the apartnt. Lucien woke up with a slight frown before pushing the door open.
Andrew stepped inside.
His breathing was slightly uneven, paired with an unusual urgency on his face as he gasped for air. "He’s here."
"Who is here?"
"The King Aiden talked about. He’s on the rooftop waiting for you."
The words instantly drove away the remnants of sleep as realization struck him.
Of course he would be here.
The thought appeared so suddenly that he almost laughed at himself for overlooking sothing so obvious.
Ever since the black water had swallowed the city, he had unconsciously viewed the world from the perspective of soone trapped within a cage. Confined in a small place with a limited area for movent.
But why would that apply to everyone?
Not all awakeners were confined by the water, people capable of flight could travel freely between buildings. They could search for resources, gather followers, establish territories, and contact other survivors without half as much worry as those who couldn’t.
The more Lucien thought about it, the more foolish he felt, but it wasn’t the ti for that.
Without wasting another second, he stood up before advancing towards the rooftop.
Evelyn, who had overheard the conversation from the living room, followed behind him without saying a word, and the three moved quickly through the building.
As they approached the upper floors, the atmosphere changed.
Survivors crowded around the staircase leading to the rooftop, so standing on tiptoe while others tried to peek through the gaps ahead.
The news had clearly spread already.
Fear and nervousness mixed together on their faces for this was also an awakener who could decide the worth of their lives on whim.
Then soone noticed Lucien. And others followed too.
The crowd imdiately parted, opening a narrow path and allowing him to move.
Nobody attempted to stop him nor did they complain, all they did was simply watch him act. That’s what they always did.
Lucien erged onto the rooftop, with Evelyn and Andrew right beside him on each side.
It was slightly crowded.
Dozens of survivors had gathered there already, with so of the newly awakened individuals standing among them, yet an empty area existed near the edge as if everyone had unconsciously decided to keep their distance from the person standing there.
Lucien’s gaze landed on him.
The man stood alone with neither any followers nor any guards.
Just himself.
Yet sohow, that only made his presence more noticeable. He appeared to be in his late twenties, perhaps early thirties with light-blue hair that swayed gently in the wind while a matching pair of blue eyes calmly observed the surroundings.
His fra was tall and sturdy without being bulky, carrying the sort of refinent that suggested confidence and discipline rather than arrogance.
Most importantly, he looked completely calm and relaxed.
As though standing atop a flooded city filled with mutated creatures was no different from taking a morning while breathing fresh air.
The mont Lucien had stepped onto the rooftop, the man’s eyes had already locked onto him.
A smile appeared on his face.
"So you are Lucien, huh?"
The familiarity of the greeting surprised several people nearby as none of them had ever told his na.
Lucien narrowed his eyes before asking, "And how do you know ?"
"Through group chats that my people obtained from so secret thods." The man shrugged casually.
"You know, word travels surprisingly fast. Especially when soone manages to take control of an entire building after defeating a tyrant. Well, I have to say, you did well."
His tone was friendly. Too friendly to be believed and too casual to be guarded against.
Yet the man only extended a hand.
"People call the King of the wind."
Lucien ignored it and asked without beating around the bush, "What do you want from that you had to travel here all by yourself?"
For a second, the rooftop beca completely silent.
And then the smile on the man’s face widened into sothing indescribable.
"Humans."
The answer was so unexpected that several survivors simply stared at him before realization made their eyes widen in astonishnt and disbelief.
A slave in the modern world? Had he gone mad from the endless power coursing through his veins?
That’s what many thought, but none dared to speak to his face.
His gaze swept across the crowd as he continued further, "Workers, followers, subordinates. Call them whatever you want, but they are the people I need to beco the true King of the new world."
The amusent slowly disappeared from his face as he grew serious.
"The old world you once knew and lived in is gone. The sa is the case for the governnt, the military is gone, and the law itself. I believe everyone has already seen the proof yesterday."
He spread his arms slightly.
"So, what do you say?"
His voice wasn’t loud, but everyone heard it clearly.
A ripple spread through the crowd as everyone found themselves immobile and unable to react.
"And why do you need more people?" But that wasn’t the case for everyone, not everyone was scared of his words. And Andrew was one of them.
The Wind King looked toward him.
"Influence. In a world like this, people gather beneath those with strength and that’s how societies are ant to be built, from a ruler who could protect his people and manage them."
anwhile, Lucien activated his talent and a translucent panel appeared before his eyes.
His eyes narrowed as he read the words — dual talents.
Just like , he too has dual talents.
A man capable of flying freely across the city while possessing two A-grade talents wasn’t soone he could casually dismiss.
And what good was lightning when soone could just fly away out of his spiritual range? Still, he wasn’t entirely helpless for he also possessed two Overclock Serums.
"How many people do you need?"
Why should I care for the lives of these idiots who take everything provided to them for granted?
Shaking his head, he agreed to the King’s demands.
Or did he?
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