After a few minutes, Knox was in a great mood as he stared at the tattoo that covered his arms. Its lines were transverse and intertwined, intersecting with each other in a complex pattern, surrounded by black ripples interspersed with dark red spots, while light misty edges bordered it as if they were fading into the air. And at the top of the tattoo there was a strange shape that resembled an inverted moon.
"So… I possess the Shadow Tattoo, right? Well, there is no weak tattoo… there are only useless awakened."
The tattoos were divided into different forms, and each form determined the type of abilities that the awakened could obtain, according to the paths carried by the tattoo. Every tattoo possessed at least three paths, and through them the abilities of its owner were formed.
As for the Shadow Tattoo that Knox possessed, it was connected to three main paths: blood, shadow, and mist.
Because of this, it was not possible for the user to obtain abilities that were not related to those paths, as that was almost impossible. Each tattoo was distinguished from the others thanks to these paths, and they determined the nature of its power and the direction that the awakened would take in his development.
Also, every tattoo began at level one, and it was symbolized by the shape of the inverted moon, which was a sign indicating that its owner was newly awakened. This was among the basic information that Knox knew, as the governments had published for years all the initial knowledge related to the awakened, so that the public would understand the nature of this phenomenon and panic would not spread among them.
But after a few moments Knox furrowed his brows.
Suddenly his vision began to change gradually. Colors overlapped before his eyes; yellow, blue, red, purple, green, then gold, then black, then misty, and finally white. The colors flowed in his sight as if they were a slow whirlpool.
And yet, Knox did not feel panic.
He had actually expected this, because he had read about it before.
The phenomenon he was experiencing was known as the connection of the body and soul with the Space of Oblivion. It was a strange state that happened to every awakened at the moment of their first awakening. At that moment the awakened connected with what were called the Selves of Oblivion; possibilities of different versions of the person himself, paths he could have become but never walked, so they were forgotten and lost in an endless void.
And when a person awakened, a small door opened toward that void.
Through this connection those selves could communicate with him for a brief moment, and from that communication the awakened obtained his first ability; the ability that would make him unique even among people who possessed the same tattoo.
But the experience was not easy, for in those moments Knox began to feel a severe disturbance in his emotions.
At one moment he felt deep sadness…
Then suddenly a strange joy…
Then anger, regret, denial, then a desire for revenge, and after that a feeling of forgiveness.
The emotions flowed inside him without stopping, as if many souls were fighting inside his chest.
The matter continued for some time… until the storm finally calmed down, and Knox's vision returned to normal.
Which finally made him able to breathe with relief. Knox took several deep breaths until his breathing gradually returned to normal.
"That was really dangerous… I thought I would lose myself. But it seems that didn't happen in the end. Maybe I really should have gone to the police station, the matter was somewhat dangerous…" He paused for a moment then frowned. "Hmm… damn it, no. Let the police stations go to hell, my feet will never step into that place."
Despite what happened, Knox was in a fairly good mood. After all, he had now become awakened, and better than that he managed to get through it without having to go to the police.
Two birds with one stone.
"Really great…"
"Meow… meow…"
Knox quickly turned his head toward the sound, then extended his hand while smiling.
"White, Black… were you really worried about me? I appreciate that. But don't worry, I'm fine… in fact, I'm better than fine."
He bent down a little and began to pet them gently, then took out what remained of the candy and fed it to them. Only one piece remained, but he divided it between them without hesitation.
He watched the two kittens as they ate happily, then said with a wide smile:
"From now on things will change for us. We will eat candy as much as we want, and we will not have to search in the trash anymore. We will also find a much better home than this place… a place where we can eat and sleep without fear."
"Hah… isn't this a wonderful life? I'm really happy."
The smile did not leave Knox's face. After all, he had finally become capable of changing his situation. He could now register in the academy, where he would receive housing and food like the rest of the awakened.
He knew very well that becoming awakened was truly dangerous; death surrounded the awakened from every direction. But Knox did not care about that very much. Even if death came to him early, that was far better than the miserable life he had been living.
Therefore, although awakening carried many flaws and dangers, its advantages for Knox were far greater.
"Well then… let's see the changes that happened to my body. I feel as if I have become a little lighter… also I should organize all this information that flowed into my head, so I know what abilities I obtained."
"But it really hurts… damn this pain."
Knox's mind was crowded with the information he had received during his connection with his selves in the Space of Oblivion. Those selves had transmitted to him preliminary knowledge about the abilities he had gained.
But when he began to sort the information, he felt confused.
"Wait… did something go wrong? Why did I get information about three abilities? Isn't the awakened supposed to get only one ability at the beginning? This is strange…"
He remained silent for a moment, then shrugged carelessly.
"Damn it Knox… why are you even trying to think about it? You are not that smart to find an explanation. Maybe I just got things mixed up."
"Anyway… who cares? Whether it is good or bad, I will find out later."
The connection that occurred with the Space of Oblivion granted the awakened one ability that distinguished him from others who possessed the same tattoo. When the tattoo later advanced to higher levels, the abilities obtained by those who possessed the same tattoo became largely similar.
That was why the first awakening was very important for every awakened, because it often determined the path he might reach in his life.
After that Knox stood up, moved the two kittens away from his lap a little, then gestured for them to move a short distance away from him.
"I should have chosen better names for you two… you probably do not like the names White and Black."
"But I am very bad at choosing names… so forgive me, White and Black."
Something like regret appeared on him, then he took a deep breath, and after that he threw a punch in the air, then he was surprised for a moment.
The punch was faster and stronger than he expected. He tried again, launching several punches and kicks in succession. His movements were lighter, faster, and stronger than he was used to, as if his body had become more flexible.
Knox's eyes widened slightly in astonishment.
"Oh my God… I thought I would become stronger, but not to this extent. So this is what the awakened feel…"
"Now I understand how that bastard managed to catch me. At that time it was like an adult fighting a half-adult. Damn that whore… his punches were really painful. I should thank myself that I got out of that without one of my bones breaking."
Knox had gotten into a fight with a newly awakened. At that time he was doing what he had always been used to: stealing. But to his bad luck there was an awakened close to the place, so he chased him quickly. And soon the matter turned into a fight between them.
Knox received a severe beating during the fight, but the other awakened did not come out safe either; Knox managed to break his arm and smash his nose before the fight ended.
However, the noise attracted the residents of the neighborhood. They gathered quickly and caught Knox, then rained blows on him. They did not stop until he shouted to them that he would not steal again.
When they saw his condition they finally stopped. His face was swollen and full of bruises, and his age was still relatively young. Therefore some of them felt pity for him and decided to release him, hoping that he had learned his lesson and would not return to stealing, all of that happened yesterday.
They had caught him at night, then released him in the morning… and after that Knox did everything that happened later.
After he finished testing the changes that had occurred to his body, Knox finally sat down and focused on the information related to his abilities.
"Shadow shaping… how the hell do I use this ability?"
He was silent for a moment, then scratched his head in embarrassment.
"Ah… damn it, I forgot to finish reading. But… how am I supposed to read in the first place? I don't even know how to read."
Knox did not know how to read. He had lived his whole life in these sewers and had never gone to any school. He had lived alone since he was young, and he did not have the money to learn like the rest of the children.
In the past a group of gangs had exploited him; they forced him to steal for their benefit. And Knox was actually skilled at that, quick in movement and clever at escaping. But when he reached sixteen, he finally decided to confront them.
A fight broke out between them, and Knox managed to ruin many of their operations. The gang tried to chase him after that, but every time they sent people after him, he was able to defeat them or escape from them. And with time they realized that chasing him was no longer worth the trouble, so they finally stopped pursuing him.
Knox sighed a little while thinking about his new ability.
"Maybe I should make the shadows as if they are part of my body… and with that I can shape them in the form I want… right? How genius I am."
Well he was able to know that thanks to the information about the ability, he did not need reading because it had formed inside the mind which made him as if he had known it since a long time, while Knox was focusing. He began to imagine himself as if he were a shadow without a body. This was the best method he reached after he tried to understand the information he had obtained about the ability of shaping shadows.
The idea was simple in appearance:
To control the shadows like your body, you must act like a shadow, without a body.
But executing that was not easy. He had to empty his mind from thoughts, and let his body move without a clear will, as if it were something moving by a non-existent motive.
For most people this was something difficult but Knox… was not like them.
The life he lived made him accustomed to this feeling. The feeling of being without real freedom, and moving according to what circumstances impose on you.
So he began to imitate that feeling, he acted as if he were just a shadow following the body, something without will, without choice, and with time his understanding of the ability began to increase little by little… until he finally realized its real meaning. Make your body like a shadow, that is abandon the feeling of full control… and let the shadow move with you.
Knox smiled a light smile.
In truth, this ability suited him perfectly.
For he, since a long time, had felt that his whole life… was nothing but a shadow without freedom.
"Let's see what I can shape now… hmm, I think the matter will not be easy."
Knox looked at the nearest shadow in front of him; it was the shadow of the wall extending long. He closed his eyes a little and focused, then tried to imagine the first thing that came to his mind: a rocket.
But of course… nothing happened.
He opened his eyes and lightly hit his forehead.
"Where did your mind go? Did it stick to your butt? Let's start with something simple… a dagger for example."
He focused his gaze on the shadow again. This time he did not try to impose a complex idea, but only imagined the shape of a small dagger. Slowly… the shadow began to move.
At first its edge trembled slightly, as if water had been stirred. Then dark threads began to separate from the main shadow and stretch forward. They were like thick black smoke flowing over the ground.
Those threads gradually gathered, twisting around each other, until the features of a dark blade began to appear in the air in front of Knox's hand.
The dagger was forming slowly, as if the shadow itself was condensing and solidifying until the shape was finally complete.
Knox extended his hand and held it. He felt something strange…
It was as if he was holding something extremely light, almost weightless, but it was still solid enough to maintain its shape.
He raised the dagger slightly and looked at it with admiration. Then, out of curiosity, he scratched the palm of his hand with it. A drop of blood appeared immediately.
Knox's eyes widened slightly.
"It looks exactly like a real dagger… does this mean that I can shape anything that comes to my mind?"
A wide smile appeared on his face.
"What a truly wonderful ability, wait… it must have a flaw."
"Every ability that an awakened possesses… has a weakness. My ability is shaping shadows… and that means its weakness… is the same weakness of the shadow… the sun."
Knox stood under the sunlight, staring at his hand where he was holding the shadow dagger. The dagger remained for ten full seconds, then evaporated into the air as if it had never been.
"So… only ten seconds under the sun and then it disappears. Well, not bad. I expected worse. Ten seconds is acceptable."
After that Knox conducted several experiments, testing the limits of his new ability.
"I cannot create more than ten daggers at once… after that I feel as if my head will explode. That must be the maximum limit now. It's good that I know that."
He sighed and relaxed his shoulders.
"I must discover the other two abilities, but I am tired now. I will do that later. The important thing now… how do I collect the money to enter the academy? I cannot give up on this goal. I have no one who will give it to me for free."
Every awakened who wanted to enter the academy had to pay an expensive fee— for Knox it was enough for him to live his entire life, while most awakened from the poor like him borrowed from banks and paid it later. But Knox… did not want that.
His smile suddenly widened, while he was thinking.
"Yes… this is what I should do. Collect the debts that I formed over the years. I would not have thought that I would be happy because they exploited me all this time. Now I can steal what I want… no, no, I do not steal. I only take what is mine, right? Isn't that right, White and Black?"
"Meow!"
"Yes, you are right. How can an innocent person like me steal? I am not a thief in the end… I am just a shadow searching for his livelihood."
He laughed a wide laugh, then called his two cats:
"Come on… it is time for stealing."