•Kellin•

--Two days after the LUSCRA visit--

I looked up at the dark ceiling from my bed. I put my hand up and stared at it.

"I'm an Essence user, huh?" I whispered.

I looked for my phone on my bedside table, but the lights are down so I can't really feel where it is.

*Oh right, I can pull stuff now.*

I focused my mind to the image of my phone as I pointed my palms towards the bedside table. I pulled back my hand, and I felt my phone fly up to my hands. I let out a deep sigh.

Two days ago, I thought I was still a normal person. Just a guy working for himself, hoping his brother would pass his licensure exam. But ever since my visit in LUSCRA two days ago, I haven't stopped thinking about my Essence.

I opened my phone, and I saw a message from my brother, telling me to meet him for lunch tomorrow. But before I do that, I'm gonna have to tell my boss that I'm resigning. Sol told me that he'll send Chase to come get me when preparations are done at the Agency. For now, I go about my normal life.

I set my phone down on my bedside table. I think about what's gonna happen in the next few days. Little by little, my eyes drifted off to sleep.

-----

I did my usual early morning routine before I headed out to get myself resigned from work. Woke up, cooked my breakfast, took a bath, get dressed, stare at myself in the mirror, then I head off to my job. Or should I say, my former-job-to-be. I gave my boss my resignation letter, and gave me Pn100 as my final paycheck. After that, I headed to the train station to go meet my brother at Elenha City. I would've taken the bus, but that would mean I would walk from the bus station into the city proper.

When I arrived at Elenha City's Redrock Square, I immediately looked for the café my brother mentioned. I walked around the bustling city, and saw lots of different shops and restaurants. One, in particular, stood out the most. It was the Tower Diner. It literally is a restaurant atop a skyscraper. The other floors' function I do not know, and I don't wanna know.

*Geez, this place is huge. I wonder if they have any accessories shop in here.*

I took out my phone and searched for a map of the city. After a while, I managed to find the café. I looked inside, and there, sipping a cup of coffee, was my brother, Matt. I went inside, and he immediately saw me.

"You look good today. Did you do something wrong?" he said.

"Ha ha, very funny. I'm just well-dressed, that's all. You jealous?" I said, with a chuckle.

"I have better taste in fashion, thanks."

My brother called for a waiter to take our order. My day started out stressful, so I made sure I ordered a big platter. And my brother ordered his favorite. As usual. The waiter brought us our food around 15 minutes later. As we ate, my brother spoke.

"So, anything new?" he said.

"Well, I resigned from my job earlier this morning." I said.

"What?! Why the hell did you do that?! How the hell are you supposed to pay the bills if you don't have a job?"

"Relax, relax. I've already found a new one."

Matt put down his utensils, and scratched his temples. He always does that when he's stressed.

"And what is this new job of yours? And don't you tell me it's a bartending one."

*What the fuck?*

"What? Why the hell would I take a bartending job? No." I said.

I set down my spoon and fork on my plate, and began wiping my mouth with my napkin. What I'm about to tell him is probably gonna blow his mind so hard, a heart attack's gonna be the least of his problems.

"Look. This is gonna be a bit hard to take in, alright? But you gotta believe every word I'm going to say."

"What do you mean?"

I explained everything to him. What happened two days ago, what Sol told me, what LUSCRA is. Everything. After I ended, Matt just stared at me blankly.

"Matt? You okay? Having a heart attack or something?" I asked.

His mouth started twitching into a smirk. And he started to laugh so hard. The customers around us started staring at us. One couple even started taking a video of him, prompting me to cover my face.

*And here I thought I was the embarassing one in the family.*

"Oh, could you stop?" I said.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! It's just--" he said, while laughing.

He continued laughing and laughing as the customers kept taking photos and videos of him. I am so close to sucker punching him. After a while, his laughter died down and he's literally wiping off tears from his eyes.

"Sorry about that. It's just . . . . . You? An Essence user? You're more fit to be a circus magician, but an Essence user?" he said.

He chuckled at what he said. I get where he's coming from. But now I know that there are Essences in two of my bracelets. Mr. Sol proved it.

*If he doesn't believe what I'm saying is true, then I'm gonna have to show him what I can do. It's probably best not to use Archive in front of so many people.*

Matt took his spoon and fork and started to eat again.

"Look, you're gonna have to find a better job . . . . . You're gonna need it . . . . . Money . . . . . . . "

As he trailed off, I put down my utensils. I closed my eyes, and focused on Matt's fork. I put my hand up, and pulled. In a split second, his fork came flying to my hand. He jumped up in surprise.

"Wha--? H-how did y--?" he stuttered.

He looked at me, then he looked at my hands. Then he looked at me again, and back to my hands. He did this several times, until I branded him an idiot in my mind. But I think it's safe to say I finally got his serious attention.