THE STRONGEST NEXULYTE

An old man sat inside this living room on a couch while reading a file, a massive chandelier hung from the ceiling and perfectly lit up the living room.

This old man looked like he was in his nineties and had a very long white beard, his face had turned skinny with age and his head was fully covered in gray hair but his eyes were as sharp as those of fierce predators.

He wore a one-piece robe that covered almost every part of his body, leaving only his skinny hands that were holding onto the file as he read in silence.

The peaceful silence of the living room was interrupted by the sudden sound of the door being opened, followed by hurried footsteps and a voice filled with urgency.

"Father, father! I have something to report!" James Owen, the Tower master of the Owen Tower rushed to the side of the old man with a small pile of files in his hand. His present demeanor was vastly different from his bearing earlier today as he appeared to be almost panicking.

The old man who turned out to be James\' father slowly raised his head and gazed at his son with a pair of calm yet scary green eyes, he did not appear bothered by his son\'s lack of composure in the slightest.

"What is it that makes you behave so out of character and why do you need to inform me? Is it about the failed mission to the soulless garden? Don\'t worry about it since I had expected such an outcome, whatever it is that happens in the tower should be regulated by the tower master. Now leave and stop bothering me" The old man calmly said before returning his attention to the files in his hands.

James was temporarily stunned by his father\'s words, the old man had learned of the failed mission so fast yet he claimed to have left James in charge of everything! But that did not mean he was going to leave as that wasn\'t what had brought him here.

Without sitting, James impatiently said…

"It\'s not about that, I came to report about a recruit I recruited into the tower today, " James said and stretched his hand that was holding the files toward his father.

The old man once again raised his head to look at his son, a slight frown could be seen on his old face this time.

" You, the tower master of the Owen Tower main Branch, personally recruited a newly awakened Nexulyte. Not only did you make such a degrading act, you even dare to come to inform me about it?" The old man questioned coldly.

Still not shaken, James waved the files in front of the old man and added

"You will understand once you read these"

The old man stared at James intently for a few seconds, observing his confident expression before taking the files and opening them.

Just a few seconds after he started to read it, the eyes of the old man widened after reading the first page. He quickly began to flip through the rest pages as he read faster, he had finished reading everything in less than thirty seconds.

The information contained in these files were details about Ivan\'s ability, talent level, and background, as well as similar details about Ralph and Glen. Not only did James have someone compile a file about the results of their awakening, but he also investigated their backgrounds in less than 10 hours.

Ivan was an orphan who had been living badly for years, Glen was from a family that grew up in the outskirts and his parents worked hard to take care of him and his sister, Ralph had been more fortunate at the start. His mother was a Nexulyte under a small Tower but was discarded with a little money after she got gravely wounded, they had lived in the outskirts since then.

" A talent that has no record of it and such a high level at that, I suspect that you\'re the only one who might know about it" James voiced out from the side, his voice pulling the old man who had suddenly fallen into a daze from his thoughts.

The old man handed the files back to James before standing up, his back was slightly hunched and both hands were placed above his waist.

"Indeed, his talent has no record of it throughout the long history of Nexulytes. Even I have not heard of such a talent or talent group before" the old man said in a low voice and began to move towards a door on the side of the living room, James followed behind him.

"Does that mean this is a first?" James asked as his eyes widened in realization.

The old man replied without turning around.

"Don\'t get me wrong. I did say that his ability has no records of it, I didn\'t say he was the first"

James\' face contorted in confusion "What do you mean" he asked.

"What I mean, is that…he isn\'t the only one with an unrecorded talent in the long history of humanity.  A long time ago, there was someone who also had a talent that held no record. He was a monster amongst men, a prodigy to look up to. Sadly, he disappeared without anyone finding out what his talent was; his talent remains a mystery to date" explained the old man.

" Who is that person that even you praise so much?" James could not help but ask. His father, the head and founder of the Owen Tower, was a very picky person. And throughout his long years, the number of people he had acknowledged could be counted on one hand.

The old man stopped in front of an iron door, he responded to his son while placing a hand on the door.

"You said that you had investigated their backgrounds and found out he was an orphan who did not even know his family and had lived in misery for many years, but you know that the awakening is able to bring out the truth about such matters"

James showed a thoughtful expression at his father\'s words while nodding "Of course, I know that. But what does it have to do with this?"

The old man paused and turned to look at his son with a meaningful gaze before asking.

"What did his name show?

James stared back at his father with looks of confusion as to why his father would ask him that, but he still answered regardless.

" According to his awakening, his full name is Ivan Von…Charles"

James\' eyes widened as he mentioned the last part of Ivan\'s name, realization hitting him like a truck of cold water.

At the same time, the old man opened the iron door, and a grand room was revealed with a single statue inside.

This statue was that of a middle-aged man in plate armor and a long cloak on his back, at the foot of the statue where the words

\'Charles Von Ethan, savior of humanity\'

James stared at the statue with wide eyes, as if unable to believe what he was thinking.

His father looked at his expression and shook his head before approaching the statue and standing in front of it.

"I believe you should have figured it out by now," he said, pulling James from his state of shock.

James looked at his father as he slowly calmed down.

"But how is that possible? Ethan disappeared over eight hundred years ago and you all could not find traces of him even after trying for years!" He argued.

The old man shook his head gently.

"I do not know how either, but their names are too similar to be a mistake. The results of one\'s awakening don\'t lie. These two are the only two in history to possess two family names along with theirs, others who had tried to imitate this act had all died mysteriously.

In addition to that…Ethan is the other person who possessed a talent that had no record " the old man said with a sigh and a hint of unknown emotion in his voice.

"Then, if this kid really is Ethan\'s descendant…then" James mumbled, cut short by his father\'s voice.

" It\'s a good thing that you managed to recruit the kid into our tower, I wasn\'t able to help Ethan back then when his family was murdered. If he really did have descendants after disappearing, the least that I can do as an old comrade is to take care of them when I find one" the old man said emotionally.

It might not look like it but this old man, Karl Owen, the head and founder of the Owen Tower, was a powerful Nexulyte who was over 800 years old and he had been present when Ethan saved humanity from annihilating itself with his strange and unknown talent.

"Did you send someone to watch over them?" The old man asked and James nodded in response.

The old man, Karl Owen, smiled with both eyes closed.

" That\'s good, keep watching over him till he arrives at the tower where we can fully protect him and let him grow. The others must have already reported to the leaders of their respective towers and this news is bound to cause a ripple for those of our time. Ethan might have saved humanity but he still made enemies who would do anything to get back at him.

The chance of Ivan being his descendant despite not being verified yet puts him in grave danger, so be sure to protect him at all costs" the old man said.

" Understood, Father, " James nodded and left the room.

The old man, also known as Karl Owen, was now left alone in the room. He stared at the statue for a while more before turning to leave the room while saying.

"You were a shining star during your time and shadowed us all, now someone who might be related to you has also appeared and his talent and potential are bound to cause a ripple in the world…are you watching from wherever you are?"

The door was closed as his words fell.