Celestial Year 786
In the Cybernetic Region of Aetherion...
The clock read 7:45
The building was surrounded by people chattering, coffee machines pouring, and people running to their higher-ups to give them a daily report of crimes.
Yes, we were in the ADI official building, which means the "Aetherion Department of Investigation." Only a select few were allowed to work here, by taking one of the hardest tests in our world, the National Detective Crime Test, where participants would take a test accompanied by fifty of the toughest mystery questions, and to pass, you need to get at least 40 of those questions right.
"Wayne, report to the head office" as the loudspeaker buzzed at everyone's ears.
I put down the file in my hand and headed to the head office, where I had to speak to the best detective in Aetherion.
As I was walking down the hallway, everyone looked at me. See... I was different from the rest of the people in Aetherion. Most people are powered by the source of Aether energy cores. They were all stronger and faster than me. But then, there are a select few in the world where they aren't born with a core inside them, just like me.
To the world, we are just regular humans...
The people glared at me making a disgusting look on their faces, mainly focusing on my purple-colored silky wavy hair and my piercing golden eyes, facial features you wouldn't regularly find in Aetherion.
On my way to the head office, I end up meeting Charles Ace, known here as the best recruit we've gotten in ages. He was the same age as me, 17 years old. But in terms of strength and feats, he excels in everything. Another reason why people hate me is because I didn't take the test to get in. Yea... I sort of just got in because of my cleverness.
"Look what we have here," a daunting voice chuckling at me.
I turned back to see a man with short spiky red hair, his red eyes looking straight at me. Shit, it was Charles trying to gain my attention, and so he did.
"What do you want Charles? I have somewhere to be," I said to him in a polite tone.
He came closer and grabbed a bundle of my hair. "Ugh, you're such a disgrace to the organization, why do you have to be here?" he said mocking me.
I smirked at him, "Not my fault I was too smart to get in here without taking a test," I teased him.
"Screw you, I'll deal with you later," as he puts me down and walks away in the opposite direction.
I get back up, fix my hair and collar, and head my way to the head office. I knock on the door, and I hear a deep, menacing voice projecting on the other side of the door.
"Come in..."
I opened the door and was presented by the menacing aura of the guy sitting down on the chair turned away from me. There he was, one of the five Neophytes in all of Aetherion, Nyx, and Solvex. The name card on the table read "Arthur Knight." Neophytes are the highest and richest people in these three regions, basically meaning they control all of the lands. Every 5 celestial years, new Neophytes are chosen, and so in 4 more celestial years, 5 new Neophytes will be chosen. To become a Neophyte, you need to have all four of these requirements...
↳ Have an Aether core consisting of more than 10,000 pixels (an average citizen has around 3,000 to 5,000 pixels)
↳ Have earned at least worth 5 stars of feats (You earn feats by completing mysteries, inventing something new, or fighting alongside battles that are all worth stars)
↳ Be under 21 when you admit yourself to compete in the Neophyte Admission Tests (Ceremony to decide who will be the 5 next Neophytes)
↳ Be in the Top 5 of the Neophyte Admission Test
"Wayne! Wayne! Wayne!"
"Ahhh yessir, my bad, I accidentally blacked out"
"Hahaha, no problem," with a rich laugh,
"Well, I wanted to talk to you about something...," he leaned forward, "I need you to go on a mission, a very dangerous one," he said with a serious look on his face. He wasn't joking around. I could tell he meant this.
"Well if it is that dangerous, why can't you just go on it yourself?" I asked.
"This mission... It's not suitable for me. I did my research and the person who was most compatible with this mission, is you... Wayne."
I wondered, "What, Why me? He could have chosen Charles." Well, it's too late now, I couldn't refuse the mission and gladly accepted the mission, putting on a fake smile. He handed me over the case files.
I went back to my office, sat down, and stretched my arms. "Yawning... What a tiring day," while it was only 10 in the morning. With nothing else I had on my agenda, I opened the case file and quickly briefed through the information.
It said something about a radioactive blast appearing in the vast deserts of Solvex. Appears to be maybe an overflow of Aether energy. But why in Solvex? Solvex is the least developed out of the three regions, so it's rare for an outburst of energy to happen there unless someone manually triggered it. But who?
To manually trigger an outburst requires a lot of Aether energy to be used, something not possible, unless you are a Neophyte. But even the Neophytes I know of don't have that kind of energy. So combining all the things I know so far, the most realistic possibility I can think of is a malfunction in the Aetherion Spire.
Narrator's POV
The Aetherion Spire, the long-lasting source of energy for the Aetherion cores, was first created in the Celestial Year 124 by the first Neophyte, William Knight. Its intricate design of 202 towering floors, each consisting of millions of pixels of Aether energy, is still a mystery on how William created this everlasting monument.
Wayne's POV
2 Hours Later
There it was, the magnificent black-colored towering spire standing right next to me. No one can come close to the spire, as the citizens with cores, will overheat with energy, causing them to burst and overflow with Aether energy. But I don't have a core, so I should be safe standing at any distance of the spire.
I've read a lot of books on the interesting tower, studying the design and functions of the spire, and from the outside view, nothing looks wrong. I carefully go inside the radioactive inside of the spire, where all the energy is located. The energy starts as a blue liquidly substance, then immense heat evaporates the liquid and turns it into rays of Aether, which can then be directed to the cores of the citizens.
I looked at each of the levels, but nothing seemed wrong. It didn't seem to add up. I was running out of ideas, and I had to call it quits. It was 4 PM, and I went back to the office and made a quick coffee for me to drink. I suddenly hear a knock on the door.
The door opens, "Hey Wayne, I heard you got a big case, did you find anything yet?" It was Charlotte, the girl sharing my workspace. She was also the same age as me, and also a recruit in the organization. I didn't know much about her, but she was the only one here who cared for me.
"Well... the case isn't going great. I tried finding some possibilities, but they didn't match up."
But I wondered, what if the outburst of energy was actually caused by someone? Is there really someone who has that much energy to produce a shockwave of that radius to be heard in a whole region? If that's the case, the whole world could be in trouble with someone having that much power.
The only option for me was to find out myself... in Solvex, a place where mankind hasn't ever stepped foot. Yeah, this place is banned for everyone, even the Neophytes.
"Alright, thank you Charlotte for checking in on me, but I have a place to be, take care," as I throw away my empty cup of coffee and head out to...
Solvex
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"What if the truth we're searching for isn't the one we're ready to find? Some mysteries leave scars deeper than the answers they offer."