Chapter 5: The Letter from Grandfather

He unfolded it with care, the old paper crinkling in his hands. Rowen, If you’re reading this, you’ve just returned from your Awakening. If you awakened, then congratulations. I’m proud of you. Use the crystal I left you to grow stronger. It’s yours now, and it’s rare. Rarer than anything I could ever explain. If you didn’t awaken... don’t be disheartened. The crystal still holds value. Sell it. Use the money to buy a good home in the upper district. Live peacefully. Live comfortably. That’s what I want for you. The pendant, though—that belongs to you. By blood. I know you’ve suspected this... but it’s time I said it plainly: I’m not your real grandfather. I raised you as best I could. I never told you where you came from because the truth was... too heavy for a child. Maybe it still is. But someday you’ll learn it. And no matter what path you walk—awakened or not—you’ll always be my grandson. Live well, Rowen. Take care of yourself. Grandpa always loves you. Rowen stared at the page until the ink began to blur through watery eyes. The pendant sat in his palm, warm now. Comforting. He leaned back in the chair. He felt hollow—like the world had made its judgment and turned away. But now, staring at that letter and the strange items... It didn’t feel like an end. He picked up the mana stone. The moment it touched his skin, something unexpected happened—mana began to surge into his body. At first, he panicked. It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. He hadn’t awakened, and yet... the mana was being absorbed. But it wasn’t him absorbing it. Something inside him was pulling it in—something he was born with. He watched in confusion as the mana vanished inside him, as if it was being swallowed whole, leaving behind no trace. He clenched the mana stone tighter and sat down in a meditation pose, trying to sense where the mana was going. Minutes turned to hours. After two hours of rapid absorption, the mana stone cracked. But still, he found nothing. Then—something stirred deep within him. A sensation he had only barely felt during the Awakening ceremony. His soul shuddered. Something was awakening. Something... unlocking. Then it happened. As the last trace of mana was drawn in, and the cracked stone fell from his hand, something small and glowing began to float in the air in front of him. It looked... chubby. No bigger than a melon. A floating, glowing creature—with pointed, elf-like ears and a faint shimmer around its translucent body. Despite its form, it wasn’t solid—it hovered effortlessly, passing through the air like a ghost. Rowen’s eyes widened. The creature blinked, tilting its tiny head curiously, before phasing through the table and floating back up. His breath caught. A Soul Artifact. It wasn’t just mana being absorbed. There was something inside him all along—something that had been asleep, sealed, or forgotten. Something no Awakening Device was made to detect. He thought back to the moment when during the test. When he placed his hand on the device... he had felt something. Mana, yes, but it had been pulled through him, not into him. His theory formed quickly. When the device sent mana to scan his body, it was absorbed, not stored. Whatever was inside him devoured it instantly. So the device, detecting nothing in return, marked him as unawakened. But the truth? He had already awakened, just not in a way the system recognized. He looked at the glowing creature again as it hovered silently in front of him, eyes gentle and curious. This... was only the beginning. Rowen quickly grabbed his phone, heart still racing, and opened the mana network. He began searching. Soul Artifact. The results were few—and vague. Most articles or forum threads were filled with speculation. Only one credible report caught his attention: a Soul Artifact discovered during a dungeon raid two years ago. According to the details, that artifact had a physical form—a relic encased in metal, glowing faintly, containing the essence of a soul inside. It had been man-made through a secretive process of refining and binding a soul into an object. But what Rowen had... was different. Completely different. His artifact wasn’t found in a dungeon. It wasn’t forged or created. It was born with him. The floating creature was alive—conscious, curious, and bound to his existence. Not some artificial relic or weapon. He searched further, digging into obscure threads and speculative blogs. Some theorized that Soul Artifacts were created by ancient civilizations as tools to house powerful spirits or forgotten entities. But no one knew their true purpose. And not a single mention existed of someone being born with one. Rowen stared at the glowing creature, which now calmly circled the room like a small, weightless guardian. He didn’t know what this meant. But one thing was certain, He was no longer normal. And whatever was happening to him... wasn’t something this world had seen in a very long time. Now that he understood what had happened, what was inside of him, Rowen no longer felt the crushing weight of despair. He wasn’t broken. Just... different. But as the quiet settled in again, a new emotion crept in. Regret. His mind drifted back to earlier that day. To his impulsive decision to withdraw from school. Flashback: after Awakening ceremony, school office "I want to drop out," Rowen had said flatly, standing before the teacher’s desk. The teacher looked up, startled. "Rowen... are you sure? The Awakening isn’t everything." Rowen didn’t respond. "There’s still the written aptitude test," the teacher continued, trying to offer hope. "Your scores have always been high. If you pass, you’d qualify for the Research University. You could contribute to society through study and invention, helping us all push forward." But Rowen shook his head. Without an Awakening, without power, what was the use of living? "Thank you, sir. But I’ve already decided," he muttered. The teacher looked at him for a long time, disappointment shadowing his features—but he didn’t argue.