Mysterious Beggar

In a small apartment near New York's Commander Graham Military School, a young man named Gabriel Reyes stared out through the windows of his apartment, his expression heavy with concern as he watched the torrential rain beat relentlessly.

From the window, he could see a sparse number of people all wearing nose masks and gloves; some even went as far as covering their entire selves in a suit of Lylon. What was most noticeable, however, was the distance each person gave each other.

From time to time, a few men dressed in military attire would stop the civilians and place a mechanical device on their heads to determine if the person has contracted the strange nameless disease.

In the past 5 years, an unexpected disease had ravaged the globe, claiming the lives of one billion people. When infection struck, victims faced a gruesome fate: their skin deteriorated rapidly, leading to painful bloating and eventual explosion. Medical experts tirelessly sought a vaccine, but hope remained distant.

As if that wasn't enough, even the weather turned for the worst. Deserts turned into raging storms and polar ice caps into melting wastelands. Scientists struggled to explain the phenomenon, blaming it on environmental degradation.

But humans knew better. They were anticipating the arrival of something but were clueless about what it was. There were no longer any political propaganda. No longer did Israel battle Philistines, nor did America and Russia engage in confrontations. Perhaps most astonishing of all, North and South Korea had united, becoming one nation once more.

A dark storm was looming over their heads, and humans made the wise decision of ending any longstanding conflicts and working together to combat this common foe.

That being said, Gabriel put on his grey military uniform and stared at the world from his window one more time. "This weather is becoming worse by the day."

He knew he had to head to the Academy soon, and the stormy conditions weren't making it any easier.

Gabriel was an ordinary 21-year-old military student. His mother worked in the hospital as a doctor, and his father owned a Martial Arts dojo in downtown New York. There were no extraordinary circumstances in his life. He lived alone in this modest apartment, focusing on his studies and part-time job.

Although Gabriel could easily leach off his parents to finish his studies, he preferred to hustle and take care of his school stuff on his own because of his two sisters who were still attending high school. As the firstborn and an older brother, Gabriel firmly believed that it was his priority to take care of those girls and assist his parents, lessening their burden.

On his way to the Academy, Gabriel saw the familiar scene of a haggard figure in tattered clothing, standing at the corner of the bustling street. His clothes were torn in multiple places, and his shoes were a pitiful mess, riddled with holes that appeared to have been gnawed by rodents. Yet, despite his wretched condition, there was an air of otherworldly aura around him.

'What am I even thinking?' Gabriel thought.

However, no matter how you looked at it, the man was in an extremely miserable condition.

Currently, he was spitting his usual nonsense:

"The world would end soon! God is finally punishing us for our sins. Repent! Do you think this nose mask would protect you? This is our end, repent!"

His words were met with indifference by the passersby. If not for his wretched condition, the beggar might have received a few kicks from the passersby. The world was turning upside down, and this fool just had to constantly remind them of their situation.

Immediately, seeing Gabriel approaching, the beggar's eyes lit up. "Hey, Gabe, are you off to school?"

Gabriel displayed a light smile. "Yup, but I thought I should give you something before I go."

"Ha? You don't have to..."

The beggar attempted to refuse, but Gabriel already shoved a loaf of bread and a bottle of coke into his hands.

In the end, he happily smiled and began to devour the bread like a wolf. However, upon noticing Gabriel's stern glare, he flashed a crooked smile and began eating like a human.

On the sidelines, other homeless folks cast envious glances in the beggar's direction. Seeing those gazes that emitted shoplifting murderous intent, Gabriel decided to wait for the beggar to finish his meal before proceeding.

Otherwise, these folks here wouldn't hesitate to beat up the haggard man and snatch his bread away.

Yes, due to all this strange phenomenon, even food became scarce. It was a harsh reality; even the most basic necessities were now commodities of untold value.

After watching the beggar consume the junk meal, Gabriel decided to leave.

"Gabw...wait a second."

Gabriel hesitated in his steps. "What? You still want more bread?"

The beggar fiddled with his hands. "No, I wanted to give you something."

Withdrawing his hands from his tattered clothing, the beggar produced an old, worn book. Its cover was yellowed, and the cover had seen better days, much like its owner. The book looked as though it had weathered the storm of time and hardship, just as the beggar had.

Gabriel regarded the book with a curious look. "Why are you giving me this?"

"It's a way of me thanking you. Since I came to this district, you gave me food every morning and night. For your kindness, I decided to give you my most valuable possession."

The beggar's bony fingers fumbled with the book's cover, which threatened to fall off. With a delicate touch, he repositioned it, treating the book with a reverence that seemed incongruent with his ragged appearance.

An awkward silence settled between them before Gabriel cleared his throat and accepted the book. "Thank you."

Gabriel's emotions were tumultuous as he stared at the yellowed, wretched book. From the first day he had encountered the man in this turbulent district, he had harbored an inexplicable feeling that the beggar was anything but ordinary. However, he never paid much attention to this train of thought.

His instincts, which he had honed through years, screamed that this tome was far from ordinary. Placing the weathered book into his backpack, Gabriel expressed his gratitude once more before setting off to catch the nearest bus to Graham Military Academy.

As Gabriel left, the others exchanged mischievous smiles and began to approach the beggar. The man, however, wore a sheepish but knowing grin as he led them into a nearby alley.

"This fool," one of them whispered. "He just made our job easier."

Yet, to their astonishment, when they reached the alley, the beggar had seemingly vanished from existence, leaving no trace behind. It was as if he had never existed in the first place.

Graham Military Academy was enormous, stretching across a large area. It was so vast that students used vehicles to get to their classes. Gabriel found himself among thousands of students in the Academy campus, fumbling with the yellowed book in his grasp.

"Let's see what it is... Hope my intuition proved correct."

As he proceeded to open it, unexpected disarray overtook his senses. It was as if the air around him thickened. A deafening, ear-splitting ring echoed through his skull as he felt a foreign energy invade his soul forcefully.

At the same time, the Earth began to shake. The ground rumbled, and everything started to tremble. Trees swayed, buildings shook, and loud cataclysmic noise sounded all around as dust and small rocks flew into the air; the world suddenly felt unsteady for a moment.

But after a few agonizing breaths, the pain finally subsided and everything returned back to normal. 

"Damm! What is this!" Gabriel cursed and his eyes widened in shock; deep down his soul, he could now detect a white pulsing energy ball the size of a thumb.

Blinking rapidly, he discovered that he was not the only one who had experienced the pain.

All the students mirrored similar confused expressions on their faces. It seemed they could also see the energy inside them.

"What just happened...?"

"Did you also feel it?"

"What is this strange white thing I'm seeing? Wait. How on earth can I look into my soul?"

Although Gabriel was also greatly confused, he quickly retrieved the book from the ground, but then paused when he noticed green words obstructing his retina.

[Spirit qi has descended on earth. All humans would now go through a new phase called Cultivation...]