Present:

When 2709 opened his eyes again, he was greeted by the sight of his sister sitting on the chair beside his bed. He saw her amber eyes were now red with dark circles below them, and seeing that broke his heart. The discomfort he felt went beyond the loss of his own eye.

“So you finally woke up.” She spoke in a gentle tone and ruffled his silver hair. She had a round face and wheat colored skin a shade darker than him, but that’s all they had in common.

2709 was the only one with silver hair in this underground mine, a majority of people having black hair just like hers.

“Yup, sorry for making you concerned.” he didn't like her worrying for him, so he decided to change the subject.

“Can you tell me what happened yesterday?”

“You don't remember? I was about to ask you the same thing” she replied in a puzzled tone

“How did I end up in my room?”

“It was Rolf who found you and carried you here. He said you were knocked out in the middle of the cave, you fainted and didn't mine any vidre stone.”

“Is that so?” replied 2709 with a vacant gaze.

“You probably lost consciousness due to lack of food or sleep. But that still doesn't explain how you lost your right eye, did someone attack you?” she asked with a sharp gaze, her voice filled with anger and frustration.

“I don’t think so, but I never thought Rolf would carry me back. How surprising!” 2709 said in a laughing tone to lighten the mood.

“Well... He isn't that bad of a person, he just acts like a rascal sometimes.”

“Huh maybe.” Replied 2709 and thought, It’s definitely not just ’sometimes’

“Enough about that. Tell me what actually happened to you. I don't believe that you just fainted in the middle of the cave. Don’t change the subject; I’ve known you since you were a baby brat”

He had nothing to say as she chided him, so he replied with a half truth.

“I really don't remember anything. It feels weird to explain, but I have a gut feeling that it'll only take some time before I remember everything.”

“Alright then. I will bring you some breakfast and approve for leave for the next few days. I will just tell the supervisors that you are sick and give you 2-3 days to sort things out. But you'll have to start working afterwards.”

She looked very sad as despite losing an eye, he had to work so soon.

“Thank you,” he said with gratitude. Such was the life in the mine. Even if you lost a limb, much less an eye, you'll still have to work if you don't want to sleep with a grumbling stomach.

Getting this break was the best she could do.

“It's alright as long as you are fine.” She glanced at him one more time and left the room.

Now left alone on his bed, 2709 started thinking about what happened yesterday. Slowly but surely, bits and pieces of memory fragments started floating around his right eye. He remembered the Silhouette of a person, someone who was close to him.

It was a queer experience, he felt like he was watching someone else's memories and not his own.

Even after multiple attempts at jogging his memories, he couldn't remember anything other than that.

He knew that he had some type of object in his right eye, and it would take energy from him to synchronize. At least in the first phase.

‘And it’ll make me stronger’

He could still see the mission floating in the air whenever he thought about it.

[Mission: Gather more energy to finish Synchronization]

2709 gulped down the breakfast his sister brought and went back to sleep. He was feeling drowsy despite yesterday's long sleep.

It made sense since his body needed some time to handle the changes that were happening.

When he woke up in the afternoon, he was surprised at the changes his body had undergone.

Vitality flooded from his right eye, a strange phenomena considering his injury. It invigorated every cell of his body.

He once again concentrated, and bits and pieces of memories started flipping around in his right eye like a broken image getting together. He remembered some of the things that happened yesterday.

‘The Wanderer, tome of ominira... that's a lot of information to take in. I guess that’s the reason he reset my memory.’

He thought about ominira and saw the progress message floating in the air.

[Synchronization 10..11..11.5%]

Leaning back on the comfortable pile of his pillow and blanket, he started to think about what he should do next. At this rate with just the energy from food, it would take months to complete synchronization.

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'The first few percentage should be from my blood, but that's a one time thing'

He wanted to know what would happen to his right eye. He had a realization that if he meditated he could get answers to many of the questions. He felt like he had an infinite amount of knowledge stored in his mind, but it was shrouded by a barrier.

‘If my guess is correct, only when the Phase 1 of ominira is unlocked that my time spent meditating will be worthwhile.’ All he had to do for now was to gather energy and finish synchronization.

As 2709 was thinking, he discovered that the biggest change that occurred to him was neither the tome called ominira in his right eye nor the strange things occurring in his body, it was something completely different.

It was, to his surprise, his name given by the wanderer. The thing he thought was something so trivial.

Never in his wildest imagination had he expected that a name could have so much power.

It was written on the first message, which he didn’t pay much attention to before.

[You have been given the name ‘ODIN’]

'Is that why we aren't allowed to have names?' He wasn't sure himself. It could be due to the Wanderer and not the because of having a name itself, but he couldn't deny any other possibilities.

He felt a sense of liberation that was hard to put into words.

It was as if someone had removed a boulder from your head, but only after it was removed did you realize it was weighing you down.

He didn’t have any emotion towards a name, as people living here are used to not having a name as per the rules. Of course, there are some exceptions to that, like Rolf and Darrick.

'Lucas as well,' he thought as he recalled the scene from a couple days ago.

When he pondered about his name and truly accepted it, he felt his body become stronger without even doing anything. From the knowledge in ominira, he understood this was due to the evolution of his life form. Unfortunately, he had another problem thanks to this as well.

[Evolution initiated]

[You have gained the key to the dungeon “The Ironclad keep” (Outskirts)]

[Note: the key can only be used before class selection]

[Insufficient energy]

[Evolution halted temporarily]

[Select one from below]

As he read the message after that, Odin felt like crying.

[1. Enter hibernation (300 days)]

[2. Gather enough energy within a month]

[Failure in Option: 2 will automatically trigger Option: 1]

'Damn it! if I don’t complete this, then I really will die this time,' he mumbled in frustration after reading the absurd options.

Odin knew better than anyone that if he were to go into a comatose state, no one would feed him for a year. Even if his sister wanted to, there is no way her superiors would allow his ‘Pointless’ existence.

He then sat cross-legged on his bed with resolution and started thinking about what he should do now.

Efficient or not, the only option he had was to mediate as instructed in ominira.

…

Past:

Countless light-years away in the southern region of Svemir, outside one of the planets in the Zen star cluster

"It's great that I found the first one in the south, looks like luck's on my side after all, huh."

'Now that I think about it, I should probably stop talking out loud to myself, in case someone thinks I'm a weirdo.'

The man strutted around in space with his narsistic thoughts.

'It'd be great if people think of me as some sort of a mysterious being with unfathomable power, Which, by the way, I rightfully am.'

He moved thousands of miles with each steps, but what he saw one the way was far from pleasent.

'Although I don't care what happens to this civilization, which I doubt it can even be called one, but Anyway, The way I see it, there isn't much that can be done by the owner of the vessel on this planet.'

The faint outline of a gigantic city appeared in his vision, and the man decended on the land with a grace that defied gravity.

'Though I would be lying if I said I'm not interested in which path will he tread upon'

The man walked ahead with an amusing glint in his eyes.

...

After the apocalypse that destroyed most of the planet, Mankind gathered together in the remaining land and established four cities in the Noah Empire, One of which was Mizar.

As the sun slowly rose over the city, residents began their day and moved out from the city gates. Workers headed towards the farms and some brave hunters ventured towards the wilderness in the southwest.

Mizar was the safest place in the Noah Empire, even more so than the capital city. Compared to the mighty behemoth known as the "Wall of Nada" in north, this southern border of the empire was akin to a toy castle.

The reason why there were only four cities on this continent was because survival was very difficult after the apocalypse, and so for the ease of protection, humanity gathered in large groups.

The result of that was the cities of the present which are similar in size of a small kingdom.

Contrary to the days of war, when knights and warriors stood guard with unwavering vigilance and emitted boundless bloodlust, the soldiers who now stand by the gates give off a more relaxed presence.

No longer sharpening their weapons on a whetstone or cleaning their armors in preparation for war, they engage in friendly banter and exchanged greetings with the citizens passing by.

From the soldiers that once fought for the survival of the Mankind to the neighborhood bullies in present, the army of the south has degraded beyond redemption.

The city walls are now deteriorated by the passage of time rather than the ravages of war. From once bloodied and tattered soldiers returning home after fighting with otherworlders to the present, they have stood witness to the laughter of children returning from the countryside, their arms full with fruits and flowers.

They have seen mighty warriors bid farewell to their loved ones, heading out on the battlefield to never return, They have welcomed the heroes who saved the continent and preserved the mankind, heroes forgotten by the tides of time.

Giving the vast populace a peaceful environment, the city gates are more than mere iron barriers. They are an observer who witnessed the change of eras, for better or for worse.

“This place isn't too shabby, I will most likely find him here.” spoke a man as he looked at the bustling city gates.

“Oyi beggar! outta the way before I whip ya.”

Yelled a soldier at the city gate when he saw a black hooded person talking to himself. Though he was drunk himself so there's that

be-beggar! what the actual hell!!

'Although I was accidentally talking to myself just now, it takes time to get used to seeing people after eons you know!'

“Alright, alright I'm moving.”

'Tch..If not for the fact that I want to find a vessel here, I would've shown this clown who I am, hmph!'

'Well, I'd better get dressed differently if I want to be taken seriously and have a mysterious charm; from the looks of it, this civilization's sense of aesthetics is rather lame, so anything will do just fine.'

Anything other than his current tattered robe which dutifully lasted through eons in the passageway.

'It’s quite ironic that what the soldier thought as beggar’s attire is worth more than hundreds of Zen star clusters,' thought the man as he passed through the gates.

As he gazed upon the city, something interested him in the commoner district. Actually, he could’ve observed this place from far away but he deliberately limited his vision and senses to enjoy this sensation.

For someone as strong as him, it would be very difficult to find interesting things otherwise. Passage of time will make even the most cheerful person cold and detached over an eternity of existence.

He, however, enjoyed the lives of mortals and loved them.

'Countless civilizations leave behind untold legends and rich heritage, and there's nothing more interesting than that!' the man thought as he observed the scene miles away.