The second Sin: New World Obstacle

“Have you heard the news?”

“Yes… what a disaster. They must intervene immediately, this threatens national security!”

Whispers spread among the people about the incident in Sector 21. Pale faces, terrified eyes, children crying behind their mothers. Some spoke in horror of strange monsters that appeared, and of a building that collapsed halfway in an instant.

Others swore the air pressure in the area had dropped frighteningly just minutes before the explosion.

But some voices downplayed it, claiming it was nothing more than a gas explosion.

And yet, the questions lingered in the air… until several powerful forces were pushed to intervene.

First among them: the Special Agency.

“Ah… my head… my whole body hurts… Where… where am I? Noah? Noah!”

Alex slowly opened his eyes, seeing a strange ceiling covered with a thin layer of dust.

He was lying on an old couch in a small apartment that resembled more of an art workshop; the walls covered with dark paintings and half-finished statues, as if the place were an incomplete museum.

He staggered to his feet, pain coursing through every movement, and began inspecting the place.

He spotted Noah in a nearby room, lying on a simple wooden bed.

Alex rushed to him in alarm, placing his hand on his chest.

His breathing was steady, his pulse normal.

Alex let out a long sigh, feeling his heart settle back into place.

Continuing his search through the apartment, he noticed the shelves were all empty, as if no one had ever truly lived there.

On the wall hung a cheap paper calendar.

He stared at it in shock

"today was the twenty-fifth. Three whole days… I’ve been unconscious!"

Before he could even process it, a strange sound echoed through the room… his empty stomach.

He headed to the narrow kitchen, finding only two lonely eggs in the fridge.

He took them out and lit the stove to prepare a simple meal.

Suddenly… the sound of the door opening.

His body froze, hand clutching a knife from the table.

Step by step, he moved closer, each breath weighing heavier in his chest.

The door swung open.

“Ah… you’re finally awake.”

The girl who had saved him earlier walked in.

Her features were calm, yet her eyes were as deep as a dark sea.

Strands of her black hair swayed with the faint light coming from outside, as if she carried a strange aura around her. She smiled faintly, inhaling the smell of the food.

“Mmm… smells delicious. Do you mind if I join you?”

She strode confidently toward Noah. Alex shouted, raising the knife in panic

“What the hell are you doing?!”

She calmly raised her hands, her voice steady

“Relax… I’m only checking on his body.”

Once assured that Noah was safe, Alex sat at the small table with Fiora.

He reached for the fork, trying to hide the faint tremble in his fingers.

Every bite was difficult to swallow, the food feeling heavier than stone in his throat.

His eyes stayed fixed on her; a strange mix of worry and curiosity pressing on his chest.

Fiora, on the other hand, ate with unsettling calmness, as if the events of the past days had been nothing more than a trivial incident.

She glanced at him with a fleeting smile and said

“Sorry… I never introduced myself properly. My name is Fiora.”

She paused for a moment, then added playfully

“You could say I’m a doctor… or something close to that.”

Alex’s grip on the fork tightened, though he stayed silent.

Confusion weighed heavily on his face, his eyes brimming with questions.

As if reading his thoughts, Fiora continued in a more serious tone

“I know you’re confused… who kidnapped you, what you were injected with, and why. Most importantly… what happened three days ago.”

She stopped, then met his gaze with a firmness that made his heart race faster

“I’ll tell you everything… but ...”

Before either of them could move, they froze.

The door creaked open slowly, and a man in a black hat stepped inside.

He sat down between them without asking, lifting his eyes to Fiora.

His pupils shifted from blue to a dark gray.

With a flick of his finger, invisible restraints released her, yet she instantly summoned her dragons, ready to strike.

He chuckled quietly.

“If I were you… I wouldn’t be so hasty, dear.”

Transparent blades materialized around his body, aimed at her and her dragons.

Then his gaze turned to Alex, as if he were the only one that mattered.

“It’s been a long time… since an incident of this scale. No wonder I came to see for myself.”

He reached out to touch Alex.

“Stop! Don’t touch him!”

Fiora shouted.

But he ignored her, placing his hand on Alex’s face.

Instantly, his power collapsed.

Alex fell to the ground, writhing in pain. The man flinched, confused, as if some strange force had repelled him with a violent backlash.

“Alex don't resist him just let him circulate inside your body "

Fiora cried.

Agony tore through every nerve in his body.

All he could do was cling to her voice. A white steam began seeping from his pores, a strange energy pushing its way out.

Bit by bit, the pain receded.

The man smirked.

“Ohh… interesting I want to gamble, too. Resist, boy—give us a show worth watching! Resist !!!"

He grabbed Fiora as a hostage, forcing Alex to push himself further.

The pain roared back, tenfold, burning him from the inside.

“AAAAH!!!”

Alex screamed.

For five long minutes, his suffering continued. Then he rose, staggering, leaning against the wall. Blood dripped from his eyes, yet his pupils had shifted to a deep blue. He gave a defiant, ragged smile.

“I… overcame the pain. Heh…”

Fury twisted the man’s face.

His aura crushed Alex against the wall.

“Then resist this, you little shet !!!”

Fiora trembled, tears welling up as she whispered in despair

(No… I don’t want to see this again…)

Suddenly, sharp knocks thundered at the door.

A man with ash-gray hair stepped in, wearing a sleek suit and walking with unshakable confidence.

He faced the man in the hat and spoke calmly

“I came politely… to take these two. They belong to us now.”

The man in the hat erupted in rage, unleashing his full power.

But in an instant, the apartment’s windows and doors burst open.

Yellow sparks—like lightning—flooded in, shocking his body.

He faltered, hearing a strange voice echoing in his head.

His powers drained away, forcing him to retreat. Dropping Fiora, he staggered toward the exit.

Before leaving, he growled

“This humiliation… I will never forget it.”

The door slammed shut behind him, leaving the room drenched in fear and tension.

Fiora checked Alex’s—his head was bleeding nonstop.

Before she could act, the silver-haired man extended his hand and pulled out a first aid kit from seemingly nowhere.

(Impossible… he wasn’t carrying anything when he walked in!)

Despite her shock, Fiora grabbed the kit and began treating Alex’s wounds. Meanwhile, the man’s gaze wandered, fixating on the couch nearby as if something had caught his attention.

“Did… we win?”

Alex muttered, coughing, his hand clutching his aching head.

The man wasted no time.

He coldly ordered them to follow him willingly, warning that this was their only chance.

They were now wanted by multiple factions.

After a moment of hesitation, they agreed, carrying Noah’s body with them. But before leaving, he told them to walk ahead.

Left alone, the silver-haired man pulled a slip of paper from his suit and waved it in the air.

“The contract… you don’t want to see it torn. He belongs to us now.”

The apartment shook violently the moment he spoke, then fell silent.

As he turned to leave, his eyes landed on a word scrawled in blood across the exit door

JASHIN.

He stepped out calmly, tore the paper, and set it ablaze.

Horrific screams erupted from inside the apartment, followed by a blazing inferno that devoured everything.

Yet through the chaos, he strolled coolly toward the elevator.

He led them to a building on the outskirts of the city.

There, Alex was allowed inside alone to meet the Director.

As Fiora and Noah remained behind, Alex walked down a long corridor.

Each step grew heavier, the decorated walls watching him with silent, painted eyes.

Suddenly, a door burst open. A young man stormed out, eyes cold, seething with suppressed rage.

“Don’t control me damn you!”

he shouted, storming past without a glance.

Alex froze in place, then forced himself forward until he entered the office. There, a man in his late forties greeted him. Medium height, yet his aura was suffocating.

He smiled unexpectedly.

“You must be Alex. Please, come in. Forgive what you just witnessed.”

Alex sat down, his eyes burning with questions.

“I need to know… what’s happening to me? What happened to Noah? And what do you want from us?”

The Director’s smile faded into a faint grin as he began explaining.

After Noah’s rejection from the Agency, he sold his powers to a syndicate dealing in something called Ezra—dormant cells inside human hosts, activated only in those with abilities. But what made it worse: the syndicate had also acquired Void Bacteria, a lethal substance that triggered Noah’s rampage and the chaos that followed.

“The thing that confuses me ”

the Director said, eyes narrowing on Alex

“…is how someone ordinary like you survived. You should have died. Your body has no Ezra.”

Alex faltered, unable to respond.

Just then, the door opened.

Fiora walked in confidently.

“I transferred Noah’s cells into him… using my ability.”

The missing piece of the puzzle clicked into place.

The Director’s eyes lit up with intrigue.

“A rare technique… fascinating. But you’ve lost it now, haven’t you?”

Fiora nodded sadly.

“Completely. I can’t do it again.”

The Director sighed with feigned regret before turning back to Alex.

“Alex… would you consider working for me?”

Alex hesitated, but the Director pressed on

“With Noah’s cells inside you, your Ezra has awakened. You no longer belong to your old world. The choice is yours… but there’s no going back.”

Alex glanced at Fiora, who silently agreed with the Director.

“…And what exactly would my work be?”

The Director explained: a small office in the city, and a weekly list of suspicious individuals to monitor and report on. Still hesitant, Alex wavered—until the Director added

“Among those files, you may find something… that could help cure Noah.”

Alex froze. Then he nodded in reluctant agreement.

Before leaving, he asked

“That man earlier… who was he?”

The Director replied coldly

“A petty rebel named Theo. Don’t waste your thoughts on him. But there’s someone else… If you ever see him, run immediately. He wears a crimson cloak and carries twin iron rods. He’s dangerous… and has caused me far too much trouble.”

Alex left the office, fear gnawing at him… but also a fragile spark of hope. Hope that one day, he might find a cure for his friend.

Outside, the Fiora whispered

“We’ll find a cure for him… this world is far wider than you think.”

Her words sparked a faint light of hope inside him.

She handed him a slip of paper.

“This is my address. I’ll keep Noah’s body with me for examination.”

She hailed a cab and left, leaving Alex staring at the paper with a small smile.

“Fights of some kind , a mysterious job, and a beautiful girl gave me her address… yeah, this world isn’t as bad as I thought.”

On his way home, Alex spotted Theo standing on a rooftop, gazing at the sunset.

He approached, trying to strike up a conversation

“Beautiful sunset, isn’t it?”

Theo ignored him completely.

Alex smiled awkwardly, then pointed to the camera in Theo’s hands.

“It’d make a great picture if you took it now.”

Theo finally spoke, his voice cold as ice

“I hate sunsets.”

Alex shivered at the tone—strangely familiar.

Theo continued

“Sunsets are an omen… the last wall that keeps the beasts in check. And when it falls, they’re unleashed… they prowl under the night’s cover to indulge their urges, their cursed deeds.”

Before Alex could grasp his meaning, Theo pointed downward. Alex turned—his heart froze.

A woman was standing on the ledge, ready to jump.

He sprinted, shouting for her to stop, but too late.

Her body crashed onto the pavement, skull shattering instantly, blood splattering across the ground in a grotesque scene.

Alex stood frozen, eyes locked on her broken form as death erased every trace of life from her face.

Theo stepped closer, whispering into his ear with a voice like frost

“This… is the darkness of reality.”

Then he walked away, leaving Alex staggering in shock and despair.

For a long while, Alex remained rooted to the spot—until his pocket buzzed.

A phone was ringing.

He pulled it out in disbelief—it was Noah’s phone, the one he had taken from him.

Hospital – Southern District, Rojo City.

---

In Room Seven, Alex stood behind the glass, staring at a little girl tethered to machines keeping her alive. He stepped inside quietly, approached, and held her cold hand.

The tears came unbidden.

“I… I’m scared… This world was never mine, and it never will be…”

Suddenly, the girl’s small hand squeezed his.

A strange warmth surged through him, pushing away a fraction of the darkness choking his chest.

The door swung open.

A doctor entered

. “Are you her guardian? A relative perhaps?”

Alex hesitated, then answered firmly:

“Yes… I’m her brother.”

The doctor handed him a file containing the hospital’s overdue bills.

“Please settle these payments as soon as possible.”

Alex clutched the girl’s hand tighter and closed his eyes.

(I’ll protect you… with everything I have )

To be continued

Tomorrow I will post a short explanation of what the director said about Ezra, just the content of what he said.