Alaska, United States.
City of Evernight.
Inside a ten-story apartment, a young man lay asleep in bed. His skin was extremely pale like a dried corpse. His body looked fragile and thin, like a malnourished child who hadn't eaten properly in weeks. Beside the bed sat a wheelchair.
Suddenly, the young man opened his eyes, revealing his unique red eyes.
He was Noah Crane.
Turning his head toward the window, he noticed the sun had vanished from the sky, replaced by the cold glow of the silver moon.
"Tsuki ga Kirei," he couldn't resist quoting a famous Japanese phrase after a moment of admiring.
For some reason, he felt the moon tonight felt especially calming, gentle, almost comforting.
"I've got a weird feeling something's going to happen today," he said to no one in particular, then chuckled to himself.
"Bah, what am I saying? I'm not a fortune-teller, nor do I trust one. Is this the effect brought by that strange dream? I'm slowly starting to believe more and more about mysticism and the related stuff just because I can fly, shoot energy blasts, spew dragon breath, and much more illogical stuff."
Having broken the tranquil mood by himself, he sighed and stretched, letting out a small, satisfied groan.
"Thank God I only lost control of my lower half, starting from my thighs. If the paralyze affected everything below the belt, including my little brother, I'd really be screwed and cried a river."
Noah was used to his thoughts running wild and random right after waking up from the strange dream. He shook his head and reached for his phone on the pillow beside him.
4:52 p.m.
He wasn't surprised by the time and the view outside.
Here, in the City of Evernight, the days were short and the nights long.
Particularly in winter, the sun will not rise at all throughout the season. Even in summer, the sunlight barely penetrates through the fog around the city, offering only a faint warmth. As such, the temperature stayed low year-round, never quite reaching the level of a true summer.
Still, the city had a growing population, and every month, Noah would notice new faces moving into his apartment building.
From what he knew, the city was founded in the late '90s and started out small, with an economy that relied heavily on fishing. But in the early 2000s, everything changed. Investors suddenly poured in, and development took off at an incredible pace.
What began as a modest fishing town quickly transformed into one of the fastest-growing and most prosperous cities in Alaska—and even in the entire United States.
After a few moments of blankness, Noah carefully shifted himself into the wheelchair beside his bed. Once seated, he rolled toward the bathroom for a hot shower.
Even though everything he'd experienced earlier was just a dream, it still left him with a lingering sense of grime. Like the blood, ash, and rust of that ruined world had somehow clung to his skin. He felt the urge to wash up as soon as possible.
Because of his condition, many simple things became inconvenient and took more time than usual. What was supposed to be a quick hot shower, ended up costing him nearly an hour.
When he finally wheeled himself out of the bathroom, not much had changed. His face was still pale, his body thin and frail. The only real difference was the slight flush in his cheeks, thanks to the heat brought by the hot water.
In the living room, he immediately spotted his sister, Audrey, slouched comfortably on the couch, her arms raised, holding her phone. However, her eyes looked slightly absentminded.
Even from across the room, the noises blaring from her phone reached him. They sound familiarly annoying.
"Tralalelo Tralalala."
"Tungtung Sahur."
Noah's mouth unconsciously twitched. He then coughed to attract her attention. "Ahem!"
"Ah!"
Startled, she lost her grip on the phone, which promptly dropped onto her face with a loud smack.
Noah burst out laughing. "That's what you get for always playing with your phone."
She groaned, peeling the phone off her face. "How is that my fault? You snuck up on me! I'm blaming you, brother."
"Maybe try paying more attention next time. Anyway, are there any drinks in the fridge?"
Still tying her hair into a quick ponytail with a rubber band, Audrey responded lazily, "Go check for yourself."
"Is that really how you talk to your disabled brother? So heartless." Noah pretended to sound pitiful.
Audrey gritted her teeth and finally got up from the couch, her ponytail bouncing slightly. "Fine, fine! Since you still need my help, maybe stop making fun of me every chance you get. Sound fair?"
"Hmmm... no,"
"Fuck you!"
Though she made a lot of fuss and sounded reluctant, her steps never stopped. She walked over to the fridge, opened it, and crouched in front.
"What exactly are you looking for? Cola? Monster? Coffe? Milk tea?" she asked, listing the options off one by one in a deadpan tone.
Maybe because they were home and the heater was always on, Audrey dressed casually and openly, revealing a lot of her skin. She wore a simple white tank top and pink short pants.
Whether Noah liked to admit it or not, Audrey's appearance precisely fit the textbook image of youthful beauty. Her skin was fair, slightly rosy, and looked healthy. Her facial features are smooth and clean without a trace of acne or blemishes.
For a woman, Audrey was fairly tall, around 1.75 meters or 5'8 feet, which was above average.
She was only three years younger than Noah and had just started high school. From what he'd heard, she'd already caught the attention of her peers thanks to her striking looks.
At least, that's what his friend, whose sister went to the same school said.
"The milk tea please," Noah said after a moment of hesitation.
He had considered asking for coffee but changed his mind. He hadn't been sleeping well the past few days, and with his body already so fragile, he didn't want to risk getting sick.
"How rare," Audrey raised her eyebrows in surprise.
"I suddenly craved for something sweet." Noah shrugged.
Audrey immediately went up to him to deliver the milk tea and returned to her favorite spot on the couch again, slouching like a sloth.
"Aren't you cold?" Noah asked as he sipped on his milk tea.
"Hehe, you remember my Japanese friend, Mikasa, the one who saved me from those despicable seniors?" Audrey grinned.
"Yeah… I remember her," Noah replied.
'That ball-destroying kick of hers is still fresh in my mind. I swear even through the screen, I can feel the pain her victim experienced. It must be hella a lot of pain! But served him right! Who told him he could lay his oily hands on Audrey? How dare he?! If only I was healthy, I'm sure I'd kick his ass too!'
Noah secretly added in his mind.
"But what does she have to do with my question?" he continued before she could respond.
"Well… I became her disciple!" Audrey said happily. "Naturally, my strength and endurance have improved. So now I don't have to worry about the cold. I can wear whatever I want."
"You became her disciple?" Noah gave her a confused look.
"You know she's an amazing martial artist, right? I've always looked up to her. So, I started pestering her to teach me," Audrey said.
"And guess what she said?"
"She agreed?" Noah tacitly asked, already knowing the answer based on Audrey's expression.
"That's right!" Audrey lifted her chin with pride. "I must've impressed and moved her with my kind-hearted nature, pure conscience, and persistence. You should know, she's really popular at school. Not just for being strong as a woman, but also because she's gorgeous. Tons of girls have begged her to teach them, and she turned them all down. Except for me!"
"Huh… aren't you the optimistic one? Hasn't it ever crossed your mind she only agreed because she got tired of your pestering and just wanted you to stop bothering her?" Noah pointed out.
"No way!" Audrey denied outrightly.
"I say pestering, but honestly, I only asked once. Compared to the other girls constantly begging her, I was practically a saint. I'm definitely the most considerate one out of all of them!"
"Is that so? Then what kind of condition did she give you? Money? Or did she just ask you to keep it a secret?" Noah smirked.
"How did you know?!" Audrey shot up from the couch abruptly, her eyes revealing her shock.
"Isn't it obvious?" Noah spread his arms.
"If she refused everyone else and only accepted you, it'd stir up drama if anyone found out. So unless she wanted both of you to become public enemies, keeping it secret is the most reasonable action."
"So that's how it is," Audrey had a look of realization just dawned on her.
She then snorted.
"Hmph! So it was just a simple deduction. What are you acting smart for?"
"But I still caught you off guard, didn't I?"
Before she could answer, Noah pressed on, grinning. "Though I still don't get why she picked you. I mean, she rejected everyone else. What did she see in you? You're not exactly a genius, or all that hardworking. And let's be honest, you're not athletic either. Your talent in martial arts clearly is lacking. You're more of a-"
"Hey, hey, stop right there! Why are you starting to slander me out of nowhere?! Did I offend you just now?"
"What slander? I'm just stating facts!"
"What about my perseverance? My kind-hearted nature? My looks? All that doesn't count?"
"That's not fact. That's just your opinion."
"Damn you!"
The two continued bickering back and forth for a few more minutes before eventually circling back to the original topic.
"Well, as far as I can tell, Mikasa hasn't done anything strange," Audrey said, sitting cross-legged with a thoughtful look.
"For the past few weeks, she's been training me exactly like she promised. And honestly, my body's never felt better. It was painful and exhausting at first, but over time, I could clearly feel the difference. The improvement is like night and day, like the gap between earth and heaven!"
"If I'd been this strong back when those despicable seniors tried to mess with me, I could've made them kiss the floor in seconds." Audrey declared, clenching her small fist and trying her best to look serious.
But no matter how hard she tried, she still appeared silly in his eyes.
"Yeah, yeah, and I definitely could've made them kiss the floor in under a second."
"Curse you! Can't you go one conversation without mocking me?!"
After some time, Audrey headed to the kitchen to start preparing dinner. It was a bit early, but she explained that she had plans later and didn't want her brother to starve.
While Audrey busied herself in the kitchen, Noah turned his attention back to his phone.
As he scrolled through Facediary, a headline of news caught his eye:
"Twenty Years Later: Remembering the Meteorfall That Destroyed Nubis City"