LONE: The Journey Beyond

"Ummph… Mmmph…"

A patient opened her eyes. She tried to move her eyes but couldn't do so.

The nurse attending her noticed that and simply advised, "Don't worry, you are okay now. Keep calm; you are absolutely safe here. Your daughter is waiting outside the room."

The patient was none other than the woman who was brutally r*ped a day ago.

It was nothing more than a miracle that she was alive, and more so that she could be perfectly cured. It all happened because of Reven's skills and Ardor.

The woman seemed to realise what had happened to her as tears couldn't help but come out of her eyes.

Though her physical body could be healed, the mental scars would haunt her for a very long time.

At the same time, outside the room, Reven was talking with the doctor.

"Give them a psychiatrist and make sure none of them commit suicide. Also, tell them to start using [Basic Ardor Gathering Art] after a week. Ardor can improve their rate of recovery.

"Understood."

After treating the woman, Reven proceeded to treat many other women who were victims of r*pe. It was clear that crimes like r*pe had increased drastically.

Reven left the hospital, leaving the doctor, who seemed to be looking at Reven with awe.

-----

He finally came to his house in the Outer Circle.

He then took a short nap to refresh his mind.

After sleeping for about 2 hours, Reven woke up and took a bath. Then he went to the army base situated at the Outer Circle.

"Lt. Greh, it's nice meeting you." The commander of the base greeted Reven.

"Well, same here, I guess." Reven replied.

The commander was extremely happy to see Reven, as he was finally going to be released from this damned place!

He was eager to leave this place!

"Let's do the procedures right away." The commander stated.

After Reven took in-charge, the first order he gave was...

"Make a separate group of people and take care of all the people whose family members were victims of any crimes."

Next, Reven went to meet the criminals. His first victims were, of course, the duo he first met.

Inside the cellar, where the duo was kept.

Reven entered, dragging a chair with him. The man and the woman seemed to be quite frightened as they looked at Reven.

Without saying anything, Reven slapped the woman so hard that it made her lose consciousness. The man saw this and tried to attack Reven.

Alas!

What he was met with was a punch straight to the face. Reven then made the guy sit on the chair as...

He took out a tool box, opened it, and took out a big scissor from it. He held the man's ring finger and placed the finger in between the scissors. The man tried to struggle free but was again punched in the face.

Reven cut the man's finger off using the scissor.

ARRGH!

"Please forgive me... Arrgh!... Please spare me…" The man cried as tears and snot came out of his eyes and nose.

"One question and only one answer, or else the next finger." Reven looked at him and emotionlessly said.

He then put the scissor between the next two fingers of the guy and asked, "Who?"

"Winged Spyder."

Huff... Huff...

The man replied as he took heavy breaths.

Reven left the cellar and went to the other cellars.

After about 3 hours of torture.

Reven came out of the cellars and handed a report to his assistant as he ordered, "I want them. It doesn't matter if they are dead or alive. But it has to be within a week."

"Yes sir."

-----

A week passed, and the crime rates in the Outer Circle decreased by a large margin.

Reven used this opportunity to completely eradicate the crimes with the momentum they had.

Of course, many people had to be killed because of this. There was simply no way to detain so many people who could cultivate. So killing them was the best course of action.

Reven also met with the Mayor of the Outer Circle and discussed many development projects with him.

All in all, the development of the Outer Circle took a turn for the better, and the speed of development increased.

Reven and the army helped in controlling the crime, while some major political decisions were also made to safeguard the people.

Like this, another six months passed.

Today was a special day in ISC, as a totally new Constitution was going to be introduced today.

Everyone was watching the announcement live on their Wrist-Band as the President announced,

"My people, I am very honored to announce that from today the ISC will have a totally new Constitution." The President introduced the people to the key features of the Constitution.

"You all have a copy of the Constitution in your Wrist-Bands." After explaining the important parts, the President stopped, and the stream ended.

His announcement caused a mass shock.

Well, there were many things mentioned in the Constitution that shocked the people.

It explained the new Guild system!

Also, the Empress was the new governing body for crimes. She was now given the authority to monitor criminal activity and act on it accordingly.

A new institution known as 'The Awakeners Bureau' was also introduced.

In simple terms, they were the new police force, consisting of only highly trained Awakeners.

They were responsible for many things, like recruiting people, offering licenses, damage control, and many more.

This created a stable inner system for the ISC.

Slowly but surely, people were getting comfortable with the current system. They didn't have any other choice but to adjust.

The crime rates were decreasing steadily!

The Awakeners Bureau was working day and night to make the lives of people better by solving many problems, such as giving people employment by connecting them to industries and many more.

-----

A year passed.

Reven was now 13 years old.

There had been numerous changes in the ISC. All the people had at least some kind of job to earn CPs.

Children were now going to the newly prepared 'Awakener Schools'.

The Advent kind of helped to reset society, bringing out many good things.

Everything smoothed out a lot. Many new Guilds were also starting to open.

Reven was also called back to Maya!

Another important thing to mention was that many of Reven's friends Awakened, including his family. Not only that, Reven was also close to his Awakening.

Aarav also Awakened an ability called [Hive Mind], which allowed his mind to split into multiple pieces.

Vera Awakened three abilities, surprising everyone. They were [Micro Vision], [Atomification], and [Sound Mastery].

Aimee also Awakened three abilities, namely [Mist Control], [Hyperdrive], and [Energy Transfer].

Of course, there were many who didn't awaken any abilities, like the President and Sir Rawanth.

Reven was in a meeting with the top brass of the military, 'The Army Council'.

They were the ones who proposed any orders to be carried out by the military.

They held immense power, both in the military and the government. They were basically the Deep-State of ISC.

The topic they were currently discussing was Africa.

"The reports say that with the introduction of Ardor, the natural resources are also increasing. This is a good thing for us in the long run. So, we are planning to leave the resources of ISC to them to grow as much as possible.

Lt. Greh, I think what we should do now is focus on Africa, as it is completely empty right now."

"Sir, the monsters that arrived in Africa were not killed. I don't know what their number is, but even if it is not a concerning one, I still think we should not take risks and go on this mission.

We simply do not have enough data to ensure that Africa is not a major threat."

"We know that, Greh. Currently, our energy requirements are handled by Ardor. But what about the rest? We need metals, herbs, and much more if we want to survive."

"I understand."

"Good. We would like you to handle the mission with the MHS."

"Understood! When do we leave, sir?"

"By the end of this month."

"I will make preparations then. For ISC!"

Reven saluted and left the meeting hall.

It was raining outside, so he took out an umbrella placed near the edge of the exit door and left the building.

He started walking, seemingly thinking about something.

He suddenly sighed and called someone, "I wish to meet you, and it's important."

"When?"

"..."

Heavy rain continued.

Reven cut the call and went to meet with his team, informing them about the mission.

…..