Bright Light Kingdom, Year 710 of the Holy Calendar, 31st Day of the Dark Moon Month…
The night sky was filled with brightly shining stars, illuminating the firmament that covered the entire world of Primordia.
Although the entire firmament was filled with countless radiant stars that should have illuminated the world despite the darkness of night, not a single speck of starlight reached the ground.
Alongside the shining stars, a black moon hung over the entire world, absorbing all the light that should have reached the ground and plunging the world into deep darkness.
Woosh!
Suddenly, in one of the slums of the Bright Light Kingdom, a scorching, sun-like fireball, nearly two meters in diameter, lit up high above the ground.
"Hahaha! Once you die, everything that is yours will belong to me. Your wealth, your companions, your woman, everything that is yours will be mine!"
A laugh filled with arrogance resounded from high above the sky as a muscular man, with both of his arms covered in tattoos, looked down while holding a giant fireball in his left palm.
As the man spoke, he did not hesitate even for a second and threw the fireball down without caring about anything.
"Fu*k you, bastard! If you are so fond of snatching, why didn't you go to your mother's wedding and snatch her there? That way, you could have become your own father!"
As the fireball shot toward the ground, a man holding a giant hammer cursed loudly and jumped up, reaching nearly ten meters high in an instant.
The man's body glowed with a metallic sheen, and he swung his hammer at the incoming fireball without hesitation, as if he were not afraid of its high temperature that was burning everything within a ten-meter radius.
The giant hammer and the fireball collided in an instant, and the next second—
BOOOOOOOM!!!!
A terrifying explosion engulfed everything in the sky. The night over the slums was illuminated as if it were day, and scorching heat waves spread out in all directions, destroying and incinerating everything in their path.
A few kilometers away from the fighting scene, more than fifty people ran in different directions.
The scene was chaotic, and some people were even attacking each other while trying to escape.
Among them, four people ran together while covering for each other to safely get away.
"Damnit! If the gang leader was going to fight that bastard, he should have at least informed us beforehand!" Gulu, a man with a lean build and red hair that looked as if someone had spat betel quid on his head, cursed loudly.
"We are just cannon fodder. Do you really think they care about our opinions?" Nero, another man running beside Gulu, shook his head with a grim expression. "Just focus on running for now. If those two suddenly change their fighting direction, we won't have anywhere to escape."
"Ha! Only if I had awakened a powerful Aspect, I would have shown those two bastards why roses are red," Peter, the third person in the group, muttered in a low voice as he looked at Ryan, who was running along with the other three.
Unlike the other three men, who all looked to be over twenty or even thirty years old, Ryan was very young, appearing to be around sixteen.
He was about 170 cm tall, but his body was somewhat lean, as if it had lacked proper nutrition for a long time.
"Speaking of Aspects, today is the final day of the year. Tomorrow is the New Year and the first day of the Month of Freedom…"
Peter suddenly spoke while looking at Ryan.
"Ryan, you turned sixteen a few months ago, right? Have you registered for the Awakening Ceremony? The first day of the Month of Freedom is the only day when you can take part in the Awakening Ceremony for free and awaken your Aspect. If you miss it, you'll have to wait a full year."
Ryan nodded at Peter's question as he continued to run.
"I already registered a few days ago."
BOOOOOOM!
Suddenly, a loud booming sound, as if tens of grenades had exploded at the same time reached their ears, followed by surging heat waves and a bright light that erupted from a few kilometers away from them.
Ryan and the others looked back and saw a spinning fire tornado rising high into the sky, reaching ten meters in height in an instant.
"Holy crap! Our cheap gang leader wouldn't have turned into ashes, right? If he died, we will also have a hard time in the future!" Gulu shouted in a voice filled with panic, his eyes showing lingering fear.
The rising fire tornado reflected in Ryan's black eyes, and a hint of longing flashed within them.
'If I succeed in awakening an Aspect tomorrow, I will have a chance to wield this kind of power…'
He thought to himself, feeling anticipation and nervousness at the same time.
Anticipation, because he had been waiting for this Awakening Ceremony for a long time.
Nervousness, because he was afraid that his awakening would fail, or even if it succeeded, he might awaken a useless or very weak Aspect.
'If only I had those guiding materials that people talk about…'
Ryan thought to himself and shook his head, focusing back on getting away from there.
Although the type of Aspect a person awakened was always random, there were still certain guiding methods and materials that could help a person awaken a decent Aspect.
However, people like Ryan and the others, who lived in the slums, had no way of obtaining such things.
Forget being able to afford them, they didn't even have enough money to undergo the Awakening Ceremony in the first place.
If it weren't for the kingdom holding a free Awakening Ceremony every year on the first day of the Month of Freedom, people like Ryan might not even have had the opportunity to awaken an Aspect during their entire lifetime.
During the Awakening Ceremony, if no guiding material was used to assist the awakening, there was a very high probability that a person would awaken a low-level Aspect or even fail in awakening.
Although there was still a possibility of awakening a good Aspect without using guiding materials, the chances were extremely low.
Of course, even after using guiding materials, there was still a possibility that a person would awaken a low-level Aspect.
But using guiding materials was always better than not using any at all.
Gradually, Ryan and the others ran farther and farther from the fighting place, and soon they were far away from the battlefield.
The other people running alongside them had already scattered in different directions. As such, only the four of them remained together.
"Finally safe…" Gulu exhaled as he panted heavily, trying to catch his breath.
Ryan and the other two were the same, drenched in sweat as they struggled to breathe properly.
"Let's leave quickly. If we encounter those people from the Blood Wolf Gang, it will be troublesome," Nero spoke in a low voice, and all three of them quickly moved away.
They walked along a muddy road littered with black water and garbage. The air was thick with the nauseating stench of old trash that had been soaked in filthy water for a long time, making it difficult to breathe.
As they walked through the streets of the slums, they saw many small groups of people, with very few individuals walking alone, as it was extremely dangerous to go out alone at night in the slums.
Most of the people Ryan and the others came across were either smoking, taking drugs, or engaging in other shady activities.
After living here for sixteen years, Ryan was already used to such sights, so his expression remained unchanged when he saw them.
Around fifteen minutes later, a familiar street came into Ryan's sight, and he finally sighed in relief.
"Be careful on your way. I will be going now," Ryan said to Peter and the others as he turned toward a different street.
"Let us know the result of your awakening tomorrow," Peter said as he watched Ryan leave.
Ryan did not reply and simply waved his hand.
Seeing his response, Nero and Gulu clicked their tongues but didn't say anything.
A few minutes later, Ryan stopped in front of a small, dilapidated house.
He opened the lock on the old, chipped wooden door and stepped inside.
A moldy smell assaulted his nostrils, but he was already accustomed to it, so he simply closed the door behind him.
Turning on the light, a small room with a wooden bed came into view.
There were only a few daily necessities in the room, some clothes, a few bowls, and a handful of other items.
There was no kitchen, only a gas stove placed in one corner.
A small bathroom was connected to the side of the room, containing a narrow bathing space and a small cubicle as well.
Ryan walked toward the bathroom and took off his clothes.
Throwing aside the full-sleeved black shirt he had been wearing, he looked at the bicep of his left arm and noticed that it had turned somewhat purple and was terribly swollen.
'I really need to do something about it…' Ryan sighed inwardly as he looked at his injured arm.
'With the current tense situation between the Blood Wolf Gang and the Lion Gang, cannon fodder like me will be beaten to death sooner or later if I can't even use one of my hands properly.'
Ryan looked into the small mirror attached to the wall and stared at the reflection of his face.
His slightly long black hair was messy, and his bangs reached just above his black eyes.
There were several shallow scars on his face, marks left behind by the many fights he had taken part in.
Walking into the bathroom, he turned the valve to fill a plastic bucket with water so he could take a bath.
Ten minutes later, Ryan walked out of the bathroom.
He dried himself with a towel and put on a sleeveless T-shirt that wouldn't irritate his injured arm, along with a pair of black pants.
The color of both the T-shirt and the pants had faded considerably, and they were stitched in several places, indicating that he had been using them for a long time.
After putting on his clothes, Ryan turned on the gas stove and placed some rice in a pot to cook and fill his stomach.
After finishing this, he looked at the clock and saw that it was already past eleven thirty.
Less than half an hour remained before the Dark Moon Month ended and the Month of Freedom began.
"Aspect… I don't have much hope when it comes to an Aspect, but…"
Ryan turned his head and looked toward one corner of the small room, staring intently at the cement floor that looked as if it had been repaired long ago by someone.
'As long as that thing works… I will still have a chance to leave the slums and make a living outside.'