Arka stood in front of the cracked mirror in his cramped room. The dim oil-lamp light made his reflection look darker. He raised his arm, staring at muscles that had still been scrawny yesterday but now felt denser. Not bigger, but something had changed. His skin was slightly warmer. The pulse in his wrist beat harder than usual.
He drew a deep breath. The jade pendant around his neck was cold, as if it had never lit up the night before. But his body didn't lie. That power was still inside him, hidden beneath his skin.
“Hide it,” he whispered to himself. “Don't let anyone find out.”
That morning, he put on the same uniform, the same shoes, and the same expression. He walked to school cautiously, holding back every gust of wind that seemed to want to follow him. Reno was already waiting at the gate.
Reno wasn't alone. Two of his friends stood behind him, snickering. Reno stepped forward, his eyes narrowing. “You pushed me with the wind yesterday, Arka. I'm not blind.”
Arka lowered his head and tried to walk past. But Reno seized his shoulder roughly. “I know you're hiding something. A poor kid can't suddenly get strong.”
Arka held his breath. The muscles in his shoulder tensed reflexively. He almost shoved Reno again. The air around them trembled softly, as if waiting. He bit his lip until it hurt, forcing the power back inside.
“Let go,” he said quietly.
Reno laughed. “Or what? You're going to make the wind again? Come on, show everyone.”
Several students stopped to watch. Arka could feel their eyes on him. He pulled his shoulder back, carefully breaking Reno's grip. There was no wind. No light. Only his trembling body, restraining something that wanted to get out.
Reno stared at him for a long moment, then grinned. “Fine. I'll wait. One day, you'll make a wrong move.”
All day, Arka tried to act normal. In class, he sat in the corner with his head lowered, writing notes he never read. Every time Reno passed by, he held his breath. Every time wind blew in through the window, he gripped the jade pendant beneath his shirt, forcing that pale green light to remain asleep.
That afternoon, he went home early. The small house on the outskirts of the city felt quieter than usual. His mother hadn't returned from work yet. Arka sat on the cracked wooden floor, staring at the pendant in his palm.
“What happened to me?” he muttered.
Night fell without an answer.
Arka lay on his thin mattress. Moonlight entered through the small window, falling directly on the pendant still looped around his neck. The night wind blew softly, carrying the smell of wet earth from outside. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep.
Then the voice came.
Not from outside. Not from his thoughts. The voice emerged from inside the pendant, soft, deep, and very close.
“Arka…”
His eyes flew open. His heart pounded. The room was still dark. There was no one there.
“Arka… listen to me.”
The voice was female. Warm, but carrying something strange, like wind from a distant place. The pendant around his neck began to warm again. Pale green light slipped between his fingers.
Arka sat bolt upright. “Who…?”
“I've been waiting a long time,” the voice continued, as if it hadn't heard his question. “Your blood has awakened. The other world is beginning to open its doors.”
Arka gripped the pendant tightly. “Stop. I don't want this.”
The wind inside the room began to circle slowly. The thin curtains swayed. The green light grew brighter, reflecting off the cracked walls.
“You can't refuse, Arka. That power is yours. And someone in that world… is looking for you.”
The voice drew closer, as if speaking directly into his ear. Arka felt something in his chest—not fear alone, but a pull. As if an invisible thread were drawing him toward a place he didn't know.
He stood up. His bare feet touched the cold floor. The pendant was now shining brightly enough to illuminate the entire little room. The furniture's shadows shifted across the walls.
“Who's looking for me?” he asked, his voice trembling.
There was a brief silence.
Then the voice whispered again, softer and deeper.
“A girl who has been waiting since before you were born. And… someone who wants to take what belongs to you.”
Arka swallowed. The wind in the room grew stronger. Papers flew from the desk. The green light pulsed in rhythm with his heartbeat.
“Come,” the voice called. “Tonight. Follow the wind.”
Arka stood frozen in the middle of the room. The pendant around his neck was now hot, nearly burning his skin. Outside the window, the night wind screamed, as if answering the call.
He stepped toward the window. His trembling hand gripped the wooden frame. In the distance, above the rooftops of the poor houses, something moved across the night sky—the same shadow as the night before, but farther away, larger.
The voice inside the pendant whispered one last time, gentle and impossible to defy.
“Arka… heir. The time has come.”
And before he could decide, green light burst from the pendant, enveloping his entire body.