Sol Sulvian

New York, 2010

The city hummed with the low murmur of distant traffic, a mix of car horns, subway screeches, and the occasional shout of a vendor on the corner.

Manhattan stretched endlessly in all directions, steel and glass towers rising to meet the grey clouds, casting shadows across the streets below.

New York was alive, always moving, always pulling people along with its relentless pace.

Sol Sulvian stood on the steps of Roosevelt High, his backpack slung lazily over one shoulder, staring out at the horizon. The sun was beginning to fall. Although it wasn't quite sunset, the sun was casting the city in a layer of warm gold.

The school day had just ended, but the crowd of students rushing past him felt more like a blur, their chatter fading into the background noise of the city.

Sol sighed with a hint of fatigue.

He was currently 16 years old.

He was taller than most of his classmates, his lean 5'11 frame making him stand out, but not enough for people to really take notice. His dark hair, slightly messy from hours spent in class, brushed his forehead. He had sharp features that complemented his unusual, violet eyes.

He adjusted the strap of his backpack, shifting his weight as he glanced at the students still coming out of the school's tall iron gates.

As the autumn breeze swept down the street, blowing against his black jacket, Sol felt a strange sense of unease and restlessness today. However, he didn't know why.

"Hey, Sol! You coming with us to the place?" A familiar voice snapped him out of his thoughts. He turned to see a group of his friends waiting at the bottom of the steps, a few of them glancing back at him with raised eyebrows.

"Not today, guys. I need to revise some stuff." Sol called back, his voice steady despite the strange sensation that seemed to cling to him lately, like the city itself was watching, waiting. He would have gone with them, but this strange sensation was making him too on edge. He thought he was just tired and needed some rest.

His friends laughed.

Study? Sol?

They knew he just didn't want to come. After all, Sol was the smartest person in the school and had quite a laid back personality. He could be out partying all week and still ace his exams.

"Haha, you're such a nerd. Well, whatever, see you later!" One of his friends teased as they slowly left.

He smiled slightly before he took a deep breath.

Him being the smartest in the school wasn't because he was some one in a century genius. Sol Sulvian is his name in this life. However, he had lived another before reincarnating into this world. His first life was ordinary.

He liked watching movies, enjoying anime, reading novels, playing sports and other things most teens liked. However, he had died at the age of 15 due to some unknown disease.

But fortunately, he reincarnated into this world. A world around a decade to the past.

Growing up, he thought this world was quite normal, however, the unusual crime rate in this world was ridiculously high.

After getting access to the news, he even discovered how there were super villains with strange abilities in this world!

This revelation had stunned him. If there were super villains, where's all the heroes? Walking through the city, it wasn't uncommon to see a robbery or some kind of crime taking place!

As for Sol, if he could help he would. But he was just an ordinary person.

He had always wanted to be a hero, however, he simply did not have the capabilities.

Sol had grown up quite normally. Using his advanced knowledge of the future, he diligently studied requiring much less effort than others. Although he disliked most subjects, he found engineering, science, particularly quantum physics, rather interesting and enjoyable.

Walking through the city, Sol walked for 25 minutes as he arrived in front of his apartment. Roosevelt High wasn't far from his apartment, a place where his dad's job as a police chief kept their family rooted in the city's chaos. His mom, on the other hand, was much quieter — a homebody who spent her days managing things at home, working part-time remotely for a small publishing company.

Sol climbed the steps to his family's apartment building. It was one of those old, pre-war structures, solid and heavy, with a fire escape zigzagging up the side like some metallic skeleton. He pushed the front door open with a sigh, his senses immediately filled with the comforting smell of dinner simmering in the kitchen.

His mom, Nora, stood by the stove, her back to him as she stirred something in a large pot. She was in her usual home attire — a cozy sweater and jeans, her short hair tucked behind her ears as she hummed softly. She glanced over her shoulder as she heard the door, her expression softening when she saw Sol.

"Hey, sweetie. How was school?" Her voice was warm and calm, the kind of tone that always made him feel like he could relax.

Sol mumbled a response, kicking off his shoes near the door. His dad wasn't home yet, though that was normal. Chief Robert Sulvian often worked late, chasing leads and handling the ever-increasing crime in the city.

"I'm gonna head up to my room for a bit," he said quickly, avoiding his mom's curious glance.

She nodded absentmindedly, her attention drifting back to the pot on the stove. "Dinner will be ready in about an hour."

Without another word, Sol made his way up the narrow hallway to his bedroom. His room was small but comfortable, filled with half-dismantled gadgets, wires, and books stacked unevenly on shelves. Posters of his interests were on the walls. Scientific diagrams and rolled up blueprints could also be seen on the table.

Throwing his backpack onto the floor, Sol sat on his bed, staring at the ceiling. That strange feeling was still there, a weight pressing on his chest like something was about to happen, something he wasn't prepared for. He tried to push the thought aside, but it lingered.

...

As the hours ticked by, darkness eventually crept over the city. Sol had already eaten and was now reading a book called "The Fabric of the Cosmos."

However, a knock on his door interrupted his reading.

"Sol? Can you go grab a few things from the store?" his mom called from downstairs. "We're out of milk, and I need some eggs for tomorrow's breakfast. Maybe grab a loaf of bread too."

He sighed but didn't argue. It wasn't unusual for his mom to send him out at odd times. She often forgot things when she was cooking, too absorbed in her work to make a proper shopping list.

He stood, stretching his arms before grabbing a few things. It was cold outside now.

Sol threw on a pair of casual jeans and a simple long-sleeve shirt, then pulled on his favorite jacket — a warm, black coat with deep pockets, sharp-looking but practical against the bone-chilling New York wind.

As he zipped it up, he walked to the door.

"Okay, Mom, I'm heading out," he called, hearing her hum a quick response as she washed up the dishes. His dad still hadn't come home yet, likely another late shift.