The Next Morning,
TV screens mounted in various corners of the city—from coffee shops to small stores—were all displaying the same news broadcast.
"GOOD MORNING, I'M MAYA FROM CHANNEL 1 WITH THE LATEST NEWS."
"A MASSIVE FIRE OCCURRED IN THE JUNGLE FOREST AREA AT NINE PM LAST NIGHT. THE FIRE SUCCESSFULLY BURNED DOWN AN AREA OF TWO HECTARES—EQUIVALENT TO FOUR SOCCER FIELDS—ALONG WITH FIVE HOUSES LOCATED WITHIN THAT AREA."
"BASED ON FORENSIC TEAM ANALYSIS, THE TEMPERATURE OF THE FIRE THAT BURNED THE AREA IS ESTIMATED TO HAVE REACHED MORE THAN TWO THOUSAND DEGREES CELSIUS."
"THIS INDICATES A VERY HIGH LIKELIHOOD OF SUPERNATURAL POWER INVOLVEMENT!"
"SEVERAL SAGES HAVE ARRIVED AT THE LOCATION SINCE EARLY MORNING TO CONDUCT THOROUGH INVESTIGATIONS. HOWEVER, UNTIL NOW, NO CLEAR SPIRITUAL TRACES OR FORENSIC EVIDENCE THAT CAN BE ANALYZED HAVE BEEN FOUND."
"ALL PHYSICAL EVIDENCE APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN COMPLETELY DESTROYED—BURNED TO NOTHING BY THE EXTREME TEMPERATURE FIRE!"
"NOT A SINGLE CASUALTY OR HUMAN REMAINS WERE FOUND AT THE FIRE SITE."
"THE FIVE OCCUPANTS OF THOSE HOUSES—WHO ACCORDING TO OUR DATA WERE THE WIRAWAN FAMILY KNOWN AS HIGH-INTEREST MONEY LENDERS IN THAT AREA—HAVE DISAPPEARED WITHOUT A TRACE."
"SEVERAL SAGES ARE STILL WORKING TO UNCOVER THE TRUTH BEHIND THIS INCIDENT. WE WILL CONTINUE TO UPDATE WITH THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS."
"THAT'S ALL I CAN REPORT FOR NOW. THANK YOU FOR FOLLOWING CHANNEL 1 NEWS. SEE YOU IN THE NEXT UPDATE."
Inside the 7-Eleven Store
Nova stood near the cashier counter—a position he usually used while waiting for top-up transactions to complete. His eyes were fixed on the 14-inch TV mounted in the corner of the store. His expression was flat as usual.
"What strange thing is happening now?" he muttered softly.
"Do you care about that news?"
A woman's voice came from the counter direction. It was Ayana, a woman who worked as a part-time cashier at this 7-Eleven.
Nova himself didn't know her very personally—they only had transactional interactions whenever Nova came to top up or buy something.
"Not really," Nova answered while turning to face Ayana. "I'm already too used to strange supernatural things like this."
He put his hands in his pants pockets. "You also don't seem to care much about that news, right? Your face didn't even change a bit while watching."
"You could say that," Ayana replied while pressing several buttons on the cash register, completing the top-up transaction for Nova's phone. "I've seen too much news like this. Nothing's surprising anymore."
"Alright, it's done," Ayana said while looking at Nova. "You can check it yourself now. It should be in already."
"Thank you," Nova nodded briefly while taking out his phone to confirm—the screen showed the balance had increased by twenty Ringgit.
After making sure everything was okay, Nova began walking toward the exit.
Right when he reached the doorway—
The door opened from outside at the same time, and Nova almost collided with someone who was about to enter.
"Whoa! Sorry, sorry!" "Eh—Nova?! What are you doing here?"
Nova rotated his body slightly. "You can see this is a store, right? And you can see I'm wearing a school uniform, right? What do students usually do at stores in the morning like this?"
"Haha, yeah, true. I was just making small talk, you know."
"Hhh... because of answers like that, people find it hard to get close to you, do you realize that?"
"Whatever you want to say. I don't feel there's a problem with my communication style. If people can't accept the way I talk, well that's their problem, not mine."
"Yeah, you have a point."
Kazui walked past Nova toward the cashier counter where Ayana was still standing.
"Hello." "Please top up U Mobile twenty Ringgit, yeah. The number is—" He clearly stated his phone number.
"Alright," her fingers began typing on the cash register. "Please wait a moment."
Kazui leaned on the counter.
"Haha, you still look as beautiful as usual, yeah, Ayana."
Ayana didn't even lift her head from the cash register. Her face was flat, no change in expression at all.
"Yes, thank you for that superficial compliment." "But don't expect me to be happy or blush at what you said. I've heard similar praise from dozens of other customers."
"Haha, I had absolutely no intention of making you happy or anything!" Kazui laughed softly.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever." "Transaction complete. Top-up is in. Thank you for shopping."
Kazui and Ayana could get to know each other better because just like Nova, Kazui also often came to this 7-Eleven—almost every day to buy drinks or snacks or top up. The difference from Nova was that Kazui was far more talkative and liked to chat with Ayana. Ayana also lived in the same place as Kazui, but they almost never met each other there.
Meanwhile Nova had been standing near the door checking his phone.
Kazui turned from the counter and walked toward Nova while still checking his phone.
"By the way," Kazui suddenly said while walking beside Nova, "what happened at Jungle Forest... isn't that the area close to my old house, yeah?"
"I used to live in the area near there when I was little before moving to my current place."
"Did you ever live there?" Ayana asked from the counter.
"I used to, yeah," Kazui answered while staring at the TV screen.
"I'm not too shocked by supernatural incidents like this anymore. Strange things like this have happened so much in the world now."
He put his phone in his pants pocket. "Just let the Sages handle and solve this problem. That's their job, right? We just need to focus on our own lives."
"By the way." "I didn't expect you'd wait for me here, yeah. I thought you'd just leave right away once your business was done."
Nova shrugged. "At first I was going to leave right away without waiting. But then I thought, we're in the same class and our direction is the same—both going to school. So it's more efficient if we go together, right? There's no harm either."
"Haha, you're right too." "By the way, how do you get to school? Skateboard? Bicycle? Or walking?"
"Yeah, same as students in general," Nova answered.
"Energy skateboard?"
"Yeah, something like that. You're the same, right?"
Kazui laughed softly. "True, but I'm forgetful. I often forget to charge my skateboard and I have to go to school using my power!"
"Luckily today I didn't forget to charge." "So I can go by skateboard normally."
As both of them exited the store—
Suddenly Nova's eyes caught something in front of him.
About twenty meters from their position, across the street—
A small child around eight years old with a red backpack on his back was running fast without looking left or right.
He immediately crossed the main road right when the traffic light was still green for vehicles.
The driver looked like he was looking down, focused on the phone he was holding in his right hand.
"OH SHIT!"
"LIGHT MOVEMENT!"
FLASH! BZZZZZT!
In an instant—
Kazui's body was suddenly enveloped by light.
With his extraordinary speed—Kazui carried the child with both hands. One hand under the back, one hand under the knees—
FLASH! BZZZZZT!
They were back on the safe sidewalk.
NGIIIIIING!
The white sedan passed right through the spot where the small child had been standing a few seconds earlier.
If Kazui had been even slightly late, the child would most likely have died instantly or at least been very seriously injured.
Several of the child's friends who were already across the street—waiting on the sidewalk there—gaped with mouths wide open.
"What... what just happened?"
"How did he suddenly get there?"
"Was that... was that a Sage?!"
Kazui put the small child down on the sidewalk.
"Hey." "You know that was very dangerous, right? The light was green for vehicles, red for pedestrians. That means you're not allowed to cross. Next time look at the lights and vehicles around you before crossing, okay? You could die if you're not careful."
The small child's eyes sparkled with admiration.
"Brother..." "Are you a Sage?! Just now you were like flying! That was so-so cool! Like a superhero on TV!"
Kazui laughed softly and patted the child's head. "Haha, you have sharp eyes, yeah? That's good! But unfortunately I'm still underage to officially become a Sage and also, I wasn't flying just now, just running."
"Running...?" "WOOOAH! THAT'S STILL COOL!" "I WANT TO BECOME A SAGE WHEN I GROW UP TOO! I WANT TO SAVE LOTS OF PEOPLE LIKE YOU, BROTHER! WANT TO BE A HERO WHO PROTECTS ALL HUMANS FROM EVIL MONSTERS AND VILLAINS!"
Kazui smiled and squatted down a bit.
"That's a good ambition. The world needs more people who want to be heroes and protect others." "But you're still too young to think about that. Now what's most important is studying diligently at school, listening to your parents, and always being careful on the road, okay?"
"Now the light is already green—safe for pedestrians." "Go cross carefully. Your friends are also waiting over there, see?"
"OKAY, BROTHER!" "THANKS SO MUCH FOR SAVING ME, HERO BROTHER! I'LL NEVER FORGET!"
The child ran toward the zebra crossing—this time he looked left and right several times even though the light was already green while waving his hand toward Kazui with a wide smile.
His friends across the street immediately swarmed him with excited questions:
"What happened?!"
"Who was that brother?!"
"Was he flying just now?!"
"Is he a Sage?!"
Nova watched the entire incident with a flat expression.
*He didn't even think twice or hesitate for a second to immediately use his power to save a child he didn't even know.*
"Good thing I made it in time," Kazui said while sighing.
"You look a bit tired."
"Yeah, as I've said before." "This Light power is pretty tiring when used!"
"But not extremely exhausted." "Just similar to after sprinting a hundred meters. In a few minutes I'll be able to recover as usual."
"I'm curious about one thing... why did you immediately decide to save that child if you already knew using your power would make you tired?"
"I mean, I'm not saying your action was wrong or anything. In fact that's the morally right thing. Just... I don't understand the logic behind it."
"In my opinion, people who don't have power—or whose power is limited—should prioritize their own safety first over strangers. That makes more sense, right?"
"My words are meant for people who truly have no power whatsoever to protect themselves, not for you who clearly have ability. But still... why act immediately without thinking long?"
"Why do you think that way?"
"Humans are born with different hearts. There are those who are arrogant, those who are kind, those who are envious, those who are evil, those who are innocent, and many more varieties. Everyone has a unique combination of traits."
"Now, although our brains can think in various ways—weighing pros and cons, calculating risks, logical considerations—there's something called a 'pure heart movement'."
"If someone has a clean and pure heart—not yet too contaminated by cynicism or selfishness—their body will move on its own to help people in danger, even before the brain has time to process and think about the consequences."
"You mean the body moves automatically without conscious command?"
"Exactly," Kazui nodded. "But if someone's heart is no longer pure—already too influenced by selfish thoughts or traumatic experiences—their body won't move on its own like that."
"For example: You see someone in danger—say drowning in a river or about to be hit by a car. Your brain immediately does a quick calculation: 'If I save them, I could get hurt, could die, could lose. But if I don't save them, they'll die or be seriously injured.'"
"Now, at that point there are two possibilities." "If you end up choosing to leave and not follow your heart's voice screaming 'help them!'—in the end you'll always feel guilty. Every day you'll keep thinking: 'Why didn't I want to save them that time? Why did I become such a selfish person? Am I really a good human?'"
"Thoughts like that will continue eating away at your soul and mental state from within, until eventually they make you a different person."
"But that doesn't mean people who think like that are bad people," Kazui quickly added, not wanting Nova to misunderstand. "If you've ever thought selfish or negative things, that doesn't mean your heart is evil or you're a bad person. Almost all humans have thought things that aren't ideal—that's very normal and human."
"What differentiates good people and bad people isn't their thoughts, but their actions," he continued. "If in the end your body still moves to save others even though your brain is screaming danger—that shows your heart is still pure. Just follow the direction of your body. Don't block your body that wants to do good with excessive overthinking."
"If we choose to follow the right path—the path of goodness and altruism—our lives will indeed be filled with many challenges and problems that keep coming one after another. That's a fact that can't be avoided. Good people often experience more difficulties than bad people."
"And we must be ready to accept and face all those challenges with our heads held high."
"But on the other hand." "There are also people who choose the wrong path—the path of evil and selfishness—but feel their lives are just fine."
"What do you mean by that?"
"People who do evil indeed often look like they're not experiencing any problems in their lives. But that's just a temporary illusion."
"Why don't they immediately experience consequences?" "Because they've been on the dark path from the beginning. Challenges and difficulties only come to people who try to do good—as a test to see whether they'll remain consistent or give up halfway."
"So you mean, bad people actually have easier lives?"
"THAT'S NOT IT, STUPID!" "Listen until the end first!"
"That's just a temporary illusion," Kazui emphasized clearly. "All the evil deeds they've done will get repayment—karma will come—and the repayment will be multiplied!"
"And when the time comes—could be tomorrow, next week, next month, next year, or even decades later—they'll start feeling very deep regret and tremendous suffering. They'll die in a way that's not peaceful at all, but there are also those who don't feel any regret at all! People like that, aren't fit to be called human even though their bodies are human!"
"I've often seen this pattern happen repeatedly." "People who are disobedient to their parents, who commit corruption and steal people's money, who hurt others for personal gain—in the end they all get their comeuppance. Maybe not immediately, but it definitely comes."
"If they realize their mistakes sincerely, truly regret from the heart, and are committed to changing to become better—their lives can still be fixed. I feel very stupid about people who say this world is cruel!"
"But." "I'm not saying you have to become a superhero who must save everyone in the world. That's not realistic and will make you burn out. I'm just saying something simple—"
"If someday your body moves on its own to help someone in danger—without you realizing, without you planning—don't hold it back or stop it with overthinking or fear. Let your body move following the heart's command."
"Because that spontaneous movement comes from the purest part of yourself—the part that hasn't been contaminated by cynicism, selfishness, or excessive fear. That's a manifestation of the inherent goodness that exists in every human."
"You don't need to be a Sage, don't need to be a hero, don't need to save the world. Just follow your heart's voice when it speaks. That's all I'm saying."
Nova stared at Kazui with an expression still difficult to read.
"You..." Nova paused for a moment. "You talk like someone who's experienced a lot in life, yeah?"
Kazui smiled slightly. "Maybe yes, maybe no. Everyone has their own stories and experiences that shape their way of thinking."
"Oh shit..." Kazui suddenly said while glancing at his digital watch showing 07:28.
"What's wrong?"
"It seems we're very late now!"