The black car glided quietly through the streets of the capital paved with dark marble. Neon lights splattered on her shaded glass like broken cracks in an endless night. Inside, a heavy silence has fallen, in which only the deep hum of the engine is heard.
Adam sat by the window, his features as rigid as a rock, his black eyes staring into nothingness as if swallowing everything around them. Behind him sat Talia, looking at him through the reflection of the glass, her heart burning with burning questions that she did not dare to utter publicly.
---
Next thoughts
This day is... different. Since he woke up, he is no longer the Adam I know.
Her fingers trembled over her stone, and then her voice came out as a frightened whisper:
- "Sir... what happened to you?" I've never seen you smile before... but you did. Your eyes have changed, they have become deeper, like an abyss for which there is no decision. And even what I bought at the auction... was not from what we know. And then the letters..."
She gasped as she recalled how the auction host panicked after reading Adam's paper:
— "That man almost lost his tongue from horror . What did I write to him"
No answer came. Adam's reflection in the glass remained cold, swallowing her words without a trace.
She swallowed her throat and replied in a more nervous voice:
— "Then... the letter is from Mrs. Elise. About the Mana hole. You know, sir, waking up through the hole is... suicide. Why did you choose this path"
Her voice broke against her will:
- "Leon didn't stop you... as if we were all just happy that you could live like a normal child, away from the cruelty of the waking world. But you refused it. Yes, we wanted you to wake up so that other people wouldn't see you flawed... but not through the hole."
She raised her gaze, and his image in the glass looked frightening, his features distorted by shadows, as if the night swallowed his face.
---
The reality of this cruel world
Weak people have no place in this world.
A phrase they all heard, and believed it. The Awake are the gentlemen. Those who are late to wake up become dependent... and an easy sacrifice in the war of survival.
However, there was a hope that Adam would live as a normal child. But fate did not give him that right.
---
Flashback-about Adam's childhood
When he was born, he was the most beautiful thing in the palace. Hair as black as Silk, an innocent smile that melts hearts, and eyes as deep as the blackness of the night. His laughter filled the corridors like a heavenly Bell, and the maids raced to carry him.
But over the years, the smile disappeared. Silence replaced laughter. And little by little... cold became his only language.
Talia, staring at him now, whispered with a sadness that no one heard:
- "I'm sorry... where did that kid go?""
---
In the front seat, the guard gripped the steering wheel until his knuckles blanched. Curiosity overcame him, he raised his eyes to the rearview mirror.
And he almost lost his mind.
There, Adam's image was reflected, his eyes staring into nothingness... but a silent tear descended from his left eye. A cold tear, slowly falling on his cheek like a stone in a bottomless well.
The guard gasped in a muffled voice, his heart froze:
Is this an illusion?" Is the devil washed awayكي crying"
He shook his head violently, swallowed:
"No way... if I told anyone what I saw, they would think I was crazy. Yes... and they are. Just an illusion."
But his heart knew the truth: that tear was not an illusion.
---
While the world around him was silent, Adam's mind was sinking into a whirlpool:
"At that time, before I stepped back in time, I didn't know why I was different. I didn't understand what feelings meant, I didn't realize the value of those around me. I didn't know... ."
"Why were you different?" Why, when my mom died... I didn't feel anything No pain, no sadness, No Cry. Just a complete vacuum. A vacuum swallows everything."
---
Flashback
The room is soaked with the warmth of the lamps. She sat down next to him, put a glass of warm milk in his hands, smiled tenderly and patted his hair.
- "Adam... you are my son. Even if I don't give birth to you... you'll still be my son. All I want is to see you happy."
For a moment, her words pierced the wall of his heart, ignited a small spark looking for life.
But an ice wall inside him knocked her down. The void is back, swallowing everything.
He raised his head to her with empty eyes. Her smile froze, and her voice softened:
- "Adam...?""
He didn't. Nothing made sense anymore. Only the echo of silence remained in the room.
---
Flashback
In one of the lonely corridors of the palace, she met him. Her footsteps are barely audible, but his black eyes are embedded in her.
He said in a cold voice:
— "You're the only one... that I don't see as worthless."
For her, those words were more expensive than any oath. She smiled lightly, and a tear glistened in her eyes:
— "And you are the only one... whom I trust that I will not lose his existence."
At the training ground, at sunset, Adam sat on an old wooden bench. I approached him with cautious steps.
- "Adam... I knew you would come."
He didn't turn around. He remained sitting like an iron wall. I sat next to him, whispered:
— "Sometimes I feel like we're just leftovers. It's like the family never existed."
After a long silence, he said:
- "The remains are enough. Your presence is enough."
I shuddered:
— "Is this... a confession that you care about me?""
He raised his head a little, his eyes like night:
- "No. You're just the only meaningful survivor. All except you... it doesn't matter."
She laughed bitterly, smiled as if she had found her solace:
— "This is your way of saying that you don't want to lose me, right?""
His silence was the answer. His look was truer than any department.
I got closer, whispered:
— "Even if you can't love... for me, you are my last family. I won't let the world take you."
He looked at her with fixed eyes, and then he said:
— "The whole world can burn. That won't change anything. But... as long as you're around, I won't fall."
They then sat in silence. He is coldly, and she is with a sad smile. There is a hidden bond between them... stronger than any blood or covenant.
---
Back to the present
Adam, inwardly, did not know at that time the value of feelings, and did not understand why he was the only one who felt something different about Amira.
But before plunging further, the driver broke the silence:
— "We arrived at the Palace, Sir."
Adam raised his head towards the huge gate decorated with ancient symbols. The shadows swallowed his features, and Ice returned to his eyes.
He muttered with deadly coldness:
"This time... I won't make the same mistake again."