Chapter 1

**RING* *RING* *RING**

"Mhmm... Is it already time to get up?" mumbled a female voice from beneath the covers, disrupted by the blaring alarm of her cellphone resting on the nightstand to her right.

Unable to tolerate the noise any longer, the figure emerged from her cozy refuge, revealing Agata Garden, a young woman with long blue hair and amber-colored eyes. She reached for her cellphone to silence the alarm, which displayed 5:30 on a Saturday morning.

"I hate Saturdays..." she muttered with a grimace on her face as she reluctantly climbed out of bed, immediately greeted by the chilly morning air.

"Brrrr... why is it so cold?" she questioned, rubbing her hands together to generate warmth. She then turned her attention to a small, outdated electric heater in the corner of the room. The device appeared to be held together by pieces of adhesive tape, with some rusty metal parts showing.

"Ah... right, the heater broke yesterday..."

Resigned to the situation, she shifted her gaze to the other side of the room where another bed was occupied, this time by her younger sister, Margaret, who had brown hair slightly shorter than Agata's. Margaret lay curled up under the blankets, clearly trying to escape the cold, muttering contentedly in her sleep. She seemed to be having a pleasant dream.

Agata smiled warmly at the sight and, noticing that Margaret was feeling the chill too, took her own blankets and draped them over her sister before giving her a gentle pat on the cheek.

Afterward, Agata fetched a change of clothes and left the room for the bathroom.

"Hey Iris, turn on the radio," she instructed her cellphone, which was placed on the edge of the sink. The screen lit up, and a somewhat robotic female voice responded.

/Sure, connecting to RadioSummut323.../

/Good morning, Summut! This is Robert Cassor keeping you company on this freezing Saturday morning of February 23rd. Speaking of cold, it seems that next week's weather forecast is predicting even colder temperatures, not only here but also in all the coastal Poleis of Thoele, with nighttime temperatures possibly plummeting below freezing point. So, I recommend bundling up with a heavy coat if you plan to go out and have fun this weekend.../

"And who has time to have fun? I'll be working tonight while everyone else is out partying..."

Agata finished dressing and applied a bit of makeup to conceal the bags under her eyes caused by working late into the night throughout the week. It had been an especially demanding week, and the stress, coupled with late nights, had begun to leave lines on her face. If this continued, she'd have wrinkles before she turned thirty. Additionally, her hair was showing noticeable regrowth, and she couldn't afford to redo the color.

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The only reason she had dyed her hair in the first place was as a birthday treat to herself, and she'd managed to get a discount from a friend-of-a-friend hairdresser. However, all the extra money she'd saved had gone toward the latest electricity bill. This winter had been exceptionally cold, forcing the sisters to keep their old electric heater running constantly to combat the chill.

"Well, now that that piece of junk is broken, the next bill will surely be lighter... that is, if we don't turn into ice statues in the meantime," Agata lamented to her reflection in the mirror, her voice tinged with despair and anime tears rolling down her face. Her complaints were interrupted by a breaking news report on the radio.

/... we remind you that Asclepius has opened enrollment for this semester for those interested in applying for the awakening procedures. In breaking news this morning, we have a report from the police department and the coast guard of Summut, along with an emergency bulletin. At 3 o'clock this morning, the coast guard intercepted a ship attempting to illegally enter our archipelago from the Dark Lands. The ship was promptly neutralized, and the crew was apprehended. Now, dear listeners, you might be wondering where the emergency comes in. Well, it appears that during the transfer to the mainland, one of the prisoners took a guard hostage and managed to escape to the port area of Summut, vanishing without a trace! Can you believe the audacity of this individual? I have a hunch that the Acropolis won't be pleased with our dear Archon, especially right before the Polis elections. Anyway, back to the news, the fugitive is still at large and reportedly armed and dangerous. According to the government's description, he's a male in his twenties with black hair and a black hooded cloak, armed with bladed weapons, including... wait, are you sure about this?... ah, okay... Apparently, he's even carrying a fucking axe! So, if you happen to spot him, keep your distance and call the police! /

"The port is barely 20 minutes from here..." Agata muttered with concern. Their neighborhood was already dangerous, situated in the poorest part of Summut, plagued by drug dealing and gang activities. However, it was the only place they could afford with their limited funds. Now, an armed fugitive was the last thing they needed.

Agata left the bathroom and left a message for Margaret, which she pinned to the fridge. In the message, she instructed Margaret to lock all the windows and doors due to the presence of a dangerous fugitive and mentioned that she would be returning very late at night, so Margaret shouldn't wait up for her.

Agata hoped that the police would capture the fugitive during the day, but she still decided to carry in her bag the taser gun she had bought from a friend for emergencies, just in case.

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Agata held two jobs, one during the day and another in the evening.

Her first job was as a shop assistant at Supper, a popular supermarket chain in the eastern polies of the archipelago. The only drawback was that the branch that hired her was on the opposite side of the polis, requiring her to wake up very early to catch the only tram that would get her to work on time.

Her second job was as a waitress at Jerico's Pub, located on the outskirts of Neos, Summut's nightlife district.

The morning passed relatively smoothly, with many of her coworkers discussing the events of the early morning. Agata had received several messages from her sister during this time.

-Maggy: You could have woken me up before leaving!!!

Agata chuckled at the message; Margaret insisted on being awakened before Agata left for work, just so she could say goodbye, despite the early hour.

-Aggy: I didn't want to disturb your nice dream.

-Aggy: Was it about that Michael??? :P –

Agata's message prompted a flurry of notifications.

-Maggy: WHAT?!

-Maggy: WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!

-Maggy: I'M NOT EVEN GOING TO RESPOND TO YOU!

-Maggy: AND ANYWAY, IT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS WHO I DREAM ABOUT!

Agata couldn't help but laugh at her sister's embarrassed responses. Margaret was now fifteen years old, and it was quite normal for a girl her age to start thinking about boys and having crushes.

Meanwhile, Agata noticed several of her colleagues gathering in front of the staff

  room's television, so she joined them to see what was happening.

/... it seems that the fugitive who attempted to illegally enter Thoule's territory last night has been spotted by a police patrol again in the Summut port area, near the popular district... /

'He's in our district...' Agata thought, worried, and she sent another message to her sister, asking her to double-check that all the windows and doors were locked.

-Maggy: Don't worry, big sis, I've locked everything up tight!

-Aggy: Good, I have to get back to work now. Love you.

-Maggy: Love you too, big sis 😊

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Late in the evening, Agata had already been at Jerico's for a few hours.

The place was old and run-down, with ancient wooden tables and a pervasive smell of smoke. At least the food and beers were good. The clientele consisted mostly of shady characters, and some customers regarded Agata more as a piece of meat than a waitress. During her initial weeks, she was utterly terrified.

The only reasons she continued to work there were the high pay, significantly higher than in trendier places, and aslo the presence of someone sitting at one of the tables, drinking beer while looking looking her phone. This person was a woman, tall,  athletically built and killing curve. She has long, untamed dark brown hair and golden eyes. She was Dorea Farlok, also known as the Lioness of Nemea.

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Dorea had a fearsome reputation in Summut's underground scene, with stories circulating about how she single-handedly defeated an entire gang of over 60 men because they tried to steal her motorcycle. Many of them ended up in the hospital while she emerged mostly unscathed. Rumors persisted that she was a Class 4 or even 5 Awakened, although it was neither confirmed nor denied by Dorea herself.

It was Dorea who had arranged for Agata to get this job. Evidently, she and the pub's owner were acquaintances, and thanks to Dorea's persuasive influence, no one dared to harm Agata. They had met during a low point in Agata's life when she had to seek a second job to make ends meet. She had been rejected by numerous places because of her existing full-time job. One evening, after yet another failed job interview, Agata sat on a bench crying. It was then that Dorea appeared, claiming it was her usual spot.

As Agata knew Dorea's reputation, she initially panicked, thinking she might have upset her. However, the woman calmly approached and sat next to her, offering her a beer and asking why she was crying. The two surprisingly became friends from that moment on, leading up to today.

At around two in the morning, Agata's shift ended, and she prepared to return home. However, she was stopped by Dorea, who handed her a helmet.

"Put it on; I'll take you home," Dorea said before heading toward her motorcycle.

"Um... Thanks, Dorea, but it's not necessary. I can walk home," Agata replied, not wanting to trouble her friend.

"Stop complaining and get on. I know you want to get back to Margaret as soon as possible, and it's not safe for you to go alone at night with that guy on the loose," Dorea insisted, mounting her motorcycle.

"Yeah... You're right." Convinced by her friend's words, Agata hopped on the motorcycle with her.

As mentioned earlier, Dorea tended to navigate her motorcycle with little regard for traffic rules, making Agata fear they would crash several times. Fortunately, nothing untoward happened, and both arrived safely in front of Agata's apartment building.

"I have to go to work now. Goodnight, and say hi to Margaret for me," Dorea said before speeding away on her motorcycle after letting Agata off. Agata bade her farewell.

"I wonder what kind of work she does at 3 am..." Agata mumbled as she climbed the stairs and reached her apartment, number 13.

Upon opening the door, Agata immediately sensed that something was amiss—all the lights in their apartment were on.

Her heart raced as she noticed the sliding door leading to their small balcony was open, and there were traces of blood on the floor. Agata stood frozen, breathless for several seconds, when she heard a noise coming from the bathroom.

Fearing the worst, Agata grabbed the taser from her bag and hurried toward the bathroom, her adrenaline surging. She flung the door open, pointing the weapon ahead of her.

"AHHHHHH!... Oh, it's you, big sis! You scared me to death!"

Before her was an utterly bizarre scene.

Margaret, her beloved little sister and the most important person in her life, stood in the bathroom with her hands covered in blood, clutching a first aid kit. But, most astonishingly, seated beside her on the toilet was a young man, perhaps slightly younger than Agata and shirtless.

His hair was as dark as the night, and his eyes were an intense blue with hints of aquamarine, resembling precious sea gems. His chest and arms were well-defined, and his fair skin bore several scars and a exotic tattoos on is chest.

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Normally, Agata might have blushed at the sight of someone who seemed to have stepped out of one of her fantasies, but there was an unmistakable gunshot wound, still bleeding, on his left shoulder!

At this point, Agata did what seemed most logical to her at that moment—she pointed the taser at the boy and pulled the trigger.