The door slid shut behind me with a soft click, and I took a moment to take in my surroundings.
The room was small, almost suffocating in its simplicity.
The gray walls were bare, save for a few scuff marks that shows a history of restless nights and fists thrown in frustration.
The first thing that hit me was the smell, it was not unpleasant, just stale, like worn clothes which is not washed for a long time, and dust all around.
Did this guy even bother cleaning his room.
His home looked more like a prison cell than a home
It was the kind of space that showed loneliness, the home of someone who is totally empty on the inside.
"So this is what sky's life was like, not much to show for it"
There wasn't much to see.
A narrow bed pushed up against one wall, the blanket neatly folded but worn thin from use.
A small shelf beside it, my fingers brushed against the small collection of books on a makeshift shelf.
Martial arts manuals, some survival guides,
I picked one up.
"Martial Arts: The Basics."
I let out a bitter laugh.
No wonder Sky was still weak, he was clinging to the basics when the world was demanding so much more.
I picked up another book, oddly enough, it was a comic with worn covers.
I flipped through one, the pages slightly crinkled.
The kind of stories where heroes won, where the world made sense in the end.
It made sense why Sky would keep those around.
Maybe he dreamed of being the hero once.
A small desk stood beside it, piled with notes and papers that seemed to have been used so many times, because they were straight.
I walked to the desk and sat on the lone chair.
Papers lay scattered notes about missions, a few unfinished letters addressed to no one in particular.
Loneliness practically seeped from them.
A small TV was bolted to the opposite wall, and beside it, a mini fridge.
Out of curiosity, I got up, walked up to it, and swung the fridge door open.
Inside were a few bottles of water, some protein bars, and half a sandwich wrapped in plastic.
Bare essentials. just enough to survive.
I shut it with a quiet sigh.
The room had no kitchen, meals were taken in the cafeteria.
It didn't surprise me.
Why bother cooking when you're constantly fighting to stay alive and when the base provided just enough to sustain the soldiers?
I moved to the small pile of gym equipment tucked into the corner.
Weights, a jump rope, a mat for exercises.
They were the kind of things someone would use if they had hope, hope to become stronger, better.
But the dust gathering on them told me the old Sky probably gave up a long time ago.
Or just couldn't bear everything for a while.
I sank down onto the bed, its springs groaning under my weight.
The mattress felt as worn as the rest of the room, but it was a place to rest, even if only for a moment.
This was his life.
This was the life of someone who was pushed aside, overlooked, ignored.
And now it was mine.
The silence pressed down on me, heavy and suffocating.
My thoughts drifted back to my old world the life I left behind.
I could picture the bland funeral my parents might have held for me.
They wouldn't have shed tears, they barely tolerated my existence.
Our relationship had been a broken thing for as long as I could remember.
That was why I'd left them, hoping to carve out a life that wasn't defined by their failures or my own.
But now, in this strange new world, it felt like I'd only traded one form of isolation for another.
A wave of sadness washed over me, dragging me down like an anchor.
Would anyone even miss me?
If I can remember I wasn't really a friendly type in my workplace.
I was just normal.
So none.
Suddenly, a flash of light interrupted my thoughts, and a translucent window appeared before me.
The familiar system interface glowed with a message that made my heart leap:
[The Seal is Successfully Broken]
[The Spawn Of A Fallen Lord Has Awakened]