THE KING'S POWER

Chapter 1: Phenomenon

The bright sky illuminated the world, enrapturing it with warmth. The cicadas made their usual sound as it echoed across the forest. Somewhere within Earth, a group of youth can be seen gathering within a room.

The room was classy to the point that it looked really luxurious yet simple at the same time. Different bottles and wines can be seen at the corner, staying put within a cabinet.

"Hey, Yahiro!"

"You're rather early..", a man wearing a set of black formal clothes answered the voice. This man is Yahiro Samukawa. He was invited here because of their friend's' birthday, whom unfortunately passed away a few months ago.

"You're busy with work?", a man sitting within a chair while playing with the robotic puppies lying in the carpet said while looking at Yahiro who's slowly approaching them. Yahiro looked at the girl beside his friend for awhile before glancing back at his friend who's looking at him with an intriguing gaze.

"Kinda.. But, I left early today…", Yahiro answered while glancing at his friend namely Souta Tamadate. He briefly remembered their ordinary and peaceful days back then together with their friends.

"Can I sit here?", he approached a girl wearing a red piece of dress, emanating a youthful and attractive appearance who answered with a smile, "Sure!"

"Ayase, you're okay with an Earl Gray?", a black-haired girl wearing a white-themed cat ears approached them from behind and asked the girl sitting besides Yahiro.

"That's so nice of you, Tsugumi..", Ayase joked about Tsugumi's unusual kind behavior which earned a few chuckles from the people gathered within the room today.

"Just for today… Teacher exams are coming up, so I'll turn into a demon again at home.", Tsugumi joked around which lightened up the mood within the room. They all laugh and talked about their recent experiences prior to the apocalypse.

The fourth apocalypse which nearly made the humans around the world go extinct and die, forever trapped within crystals. Fortunately, it didn't happened as a man saved the world. Forever behind the scenes, an unknown man that would forever go down in history.

"He's not here yet?" Yahiro asked his friends who's laughing, enjoying themselves. Ayase looked at him, "He'll be here. He was looking forward to it."

"Ah. He's here!" Kanon Kusama shouted in surprise. She was the girl who was sitting beside Souta a while ago.

They all looked at the man approaching. He rather had a messy hair paired with his brown eyes, emanating maturity. Just from his eyes alone, you can tell that he already experienced the harshness of the world.

"Oh!"

"It's been a while, hasn't it?", Ayase asked the man who's approaching them with a smile plastered within his youthful face.

"Everyone, sorry for the wait.", the man looked at them with an apologetic look while holding his cane, a modern one. Unknown to the eyes of public, but known to a handful of people. This man was the reason why the world still exists to this very day. His name is Shu Ouma.

He sat on the sit as he exposed his robotic arms, made from advanced technology. The people involuntarily ignored it as they focused on the current event they attended.

Souta stood up from his seat and raised his glass, "Then, to this year! Cheers!" as they chinked their glass and drank the toast. They ate and had fun while celebrating their friend's birthday happily, free from any kind of worries…

…

After the event, Shu found himself sitting on a chair within a park, situated beside a medium-sized lake. Different bushes can be seen across him, a large tree stood behind him while not swaying.

Shu smiled at the peaceful scenery presented before him. He unhesitatingly put an earpiece on his ears, isolating his sense of hearing, only focusing at the approaching song that he usually listens to.

He closed his eyes as he felt the wind rustle across the park, making the bushes sway and the tree leaves make a sound. He felt a sensation caress his skin, it was familiar and nostalgic.

*You said, "Don't let go, hold onto my hand"*

Shu heard the song, a familiar and nostalgic song. He felt something hug him intimately, as if expressing her care and love towards him. He knew internally that it was the girl he loved, and will forever love.

*and, "We will always be together"*

In that instant, he recalled different kinds of memories he made for the past year. It was short but meaningful, sometimes it was sad, sometimes happy, sometimes complicated. But all in all, this memories made him complete. He felt happy as a pure smile escaped his lips.

He recalled the girl he wholly loved. That beautiful face that seemed to be carved out of jade, that smile that contained warmth, and that eyes filled with determination to protect the ones she loves.

He remembered her smiling back at him, expressing her desire for him to be happy. An unnoticeable drop of water escaped his eyes as it struck to the ground. He felt something within him slowly surface, it was regret and unwillingness. It was the desire to see that face once again.

[Power, is it?]

"H-huh?", Shu felt his body shudder as he heard an unfamiliar voice resound within his head. He turned his gaze around the park, only failing to see a single person roaming.

"Who are you?", Shu stood up from the chair as he looked around with cautiousness. He removed the earpiece placed at his ear. He then trembled as he realized that he was wearing a set of earpiece. It should have isolated any kinds of outside noise. Shu thought of something he did not dare to think back then.

[You are right..]

"!!!", Shu got startled as the mysterious voice within him agree to his views, as if it was able to read his mind. He then felt his left hand throb in agitation, soon his heart throbbed too. He saw a strange blackish-white mark glowing within his hand.

"T-this is!"

[I am your power..]

[I exist to grant your desire..]

[I will help you accomplish it..]

Then, Shu felt his mind go blank as he realized everything around him getting distorted. He had so many questions to ask but realized that he was unable to use his voice to do so.

[I will grant your desire!]

The voice became more powerful as Shu saw the world before him vanish. The world became dark, everything in existence seemed to have slowed down.

The walkside where Shu once stood at became eerily quiet. A cane then fell down from the air as it dropped to the ground.