Hearing footsteps, Arua glanced back. "Well, there's the kid." The guy on his right turned around, scanning Gio from head to toe with a deliberative gaze.

  "So you're Gio, Arua's stray little brother, huh?" Arua had definitely just fed him some bullshit backstory.

  The guy pointed his thumb at Arua. He smirked a little, yet keeping it cool. "Allow me to introduce myself, I am this guy's nemesis—"

  "Riku Ramadhan, right?" Gio cut in politely, killing the dramatic intro.

  Riku blinked, slightly surprised the junior already knew his full name. To Gio, the face was familiar. Back in his full-demon days, he had often seen Riku, Arua's only close friend. Riku frequently visited their boarding house just for gaming or doing assignments. The three of them even ran a "mission" together six months ago.

  "Wow..." Riku swept his hair back with a narcissistic style. “Guess my fame hasn't dropped yet, huh? Hahaha."

  SLURP. Arua noisily sucked down his iced tea, ruining the moment. "Nah," he cut in. "I told him."

  Gio pulled a plastic chair to Arua's left, forming a triangular formation at the corner table. "You aren't eating?" Arua asked, munching his remaining mendoan.

  Gio checked the table. Riku’s plate: almost empty. Arua’s plate: 15% remaining. "I will just get takeout. You are almost done, right?" Gio declined gently. He leaned his arms on the table, looked at the two humans before him. One universal mystery remained unsolved.

  "Senior Riku. Why are you friends with Aru?"

  Arua's spoon stopped before entering his mouth. "Seriously?" He stared at Gio in disbelief. "Out of all possible questions, that's the first thing you ask?"

  "Ehehe." Gio grinned innocently.

  Riku set his iced tea down slowly. "This cousin of yours suddenly spawned four years ago just to ruined my life," he answered casually.

  "Hey," Arua interrupted. "I'm the Main Character here. You were the random encounter."

  Riku rolled his eyes. "Theory of Consciousness Relativity: Main Character is relative. You said it yourself, didn't you?"

  "Yeaaah, whatever," Arua sneered. "My plot’s better."

  Gio's eyes widened slightly. How could Riku know that term? Theory of Consciousness Relativity was a fundamental concept in Consciology, a modern supernatural-science hidden from humanity. Even The Association didn’t yet know.

  Meanwhile, Riku wasn't a Supernaturalist. Zero magic. But he believed the supernatural lore, and he knew Arua was a Venator. Gio glared at his cousin. "He must have leaked it..."

  Clearly a violation. The Association’s number one rule: The Masquerade. Keep the supernatural hidden from public. But Arua? Well he wasn’t a member. He spilled the universe secrets to his normie friend like he was spoiling a movie plot.

  Riku sighed. Theatrical mode: On. "Why is this my fate..." His voice broke Gio's reverie. "Honestly, I regret it."

  "Don't make me look like a curse," Arua shot back. "I’m friendly and humble. I get along with everyone."

  "Yeah, but nobody wants to be with you."

  "At least people know I exist."

  "Yeah. As a natural disaster."

  "At least my friends aren't just humans."

  "Sad."

  "Shut up."

  Gio shook his head watching the verbal ping-pong. "I never see them together at school," Gio thought. "Even though they are in the same class, they rarely communicate... Is it possible that Aru also limiting him?"

  Obviously. Riku didn't want his reputation to crumble just because of meaningless chatter, and the reason was obvious.

  The visual difference between the wacky duo was significant. Riku Ramadhan was the definition of "Ideal." Sturdy and athletic 181-cm tall body, forged by routine physical training. Lean muscle, not as thick as bodybuilder's. Healthy and well-groomed tan skin, radiating a strong masculine aura. He was quite handsome, with a firm jawline. Not a K-Pop Idol tier, but a pleasant local charisma.

  At school, Riku occupied a strategic position. Not the "School King," but he had a solid reputation. As a Honor Guard core member, Soccer Club Captain, member of Nature Exploration Club, he was quite respected, especially among eleventh-grader. He played the "Cool & Distant" card: Famous enough to matter, quiet enough to avoid the rumor.

  Let’s compare that guy to the pathetic creature next to him. Skinny, malnourished, average face, dead-fish eyes, curved posture. Walking bully-bait.

  The only reason they were friends? A dirty little secret: Riku Ramadhan was a hypocrite. In public, roughly as described above. Once it was just Arua, the mask broke. His true nature emerged: just as wacky, as random, as insane as Arua.

  He was a living Amphiphile. Like a surfactant molecule, Riku had a "Polar Head" to dissolve perfectly into the school's circles (water), yet he possessed a "Non-Polar Tail" to bond strongly with Arua (oil).

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  "Still confused?" Riku leaned in. "Think of me as his 'Handler.' You know how your cousin behaves without supervision, right? I’m the only reason the school hasn't burned down."

  Arua scoffed. "Better than being two-faced. Pretending to maintain a public image. Coward."

  "Okay, okay," Gio raised both hands, intervening before the debate escalated into a boxing match. "I understand. So please stop insulting each other..."

  The conversation ended right after their meal was finished.

  Minutes later, they exited. Gio carried a plastic bag of his takeout dinner, while Riku and Arua split toward their respective mounts.

  "Don't forget to log in tonight," Riku said, walking to a Kawasaki Ninja ZX-4R. Lime green sportbike, 400cc of expensive arrogance.

  "New event yeah," Arua patted a Honda Supra X 125. Dying body held together by hope and dream; and zip-tie. One mirror hung loose.

  Side by side, the two bikes were a visual manifestation of the wealth gap.

  Riku started his engine and flipped his visor up. "Gio. You can't ride with Arua, right? Hop on with me after this."

  Gio blinked. "Eh? Is that no problem?"

  "Chill. My home in the same direction," Riku replied. "Ask Arua for my number. Text me when you're out. I’m off!"

  The four-cylinder engine roared, smooth yet powerful. Riku launched, leaving a thin trail of dust.

  Arua’s turn. Key: ON. Kick-start: Stomped. The engine let out a sad wheeze but refused to turn on.

  This was a common occurrence. This Honda had a personality disorder. Usually, it took a ritual of three or four kicks to wake up.

  Arua tried again. By the eleventh kick, the engine remained mute. Now, this was unusual.

  Arua kicked the center stand down. "Tch. What’s now?" He crouched, peering into the engine block, inspecting the fuel lines and spark plug cables. Everything appeared normal.

  "What is wrong with the bike?" asked Gio, who had been standing like a statue the entire time.

  "No idea." Arua dropped his bag. He pulled out a screwdriver, wrench, T-handle wrench, and pliers. Gio gaped. Who brings a mechanic's tools to high school instead of books?

  "It was intentional. This motherfucker has been acting up since yesterday. That’s why I brought tools, just in case," he stated, as if he could read Gio's mind.

  "Why not just take it to a mechanic? There is one nearby, right?"

  Arua shot him a look of pure disdain. "That's lazy-ass thinking. You pay a mechanic, you lose money and gain zero XP. You don't get the joy of tinkering with machines, Pikachu." Classic Arua; the blur between scientist and engineer. A broken bike wasn't a problem; it was a research project.

  He then pushed the bike out of the scorching sun into a shaded front yard nearby. Without wasting time, he took a small flashlight from his bag and began the diagnosis.

  Gio decided not to interfere. He sat on a bamboo bench under a mango tree, watching Arua work.

  It was peaceful here. Houses on the left, irrigation canal and green rice fields on the right. A gentle breeze blew, ruffling Gio's brown hair and the leaves above him.

  It didn’t take long for Arua to locate the problem. "Gotcha," he muttered. "Ignition failure." He spotted the culprit: a small black box hidden behind the side body panel; the CDI (Capacitor Discharge Ignition) unit. The socket circuit was scorched and loose. Current from the stator couldn’t reach the coil.

  "Pretty sure there's a bypass tutorial on YouTube..." Arua turned off his flashlight, placed it on the ground, and walked over to Gio. He fished out his phone.

  His oil-covered fingers scrolled through the screen, searching for a tutorial video from some obscure workshop channel—the holy grail of engineering. A video played. Without taking his eyes off the phone screen, he climbed onto the wooden bench next to Gio and reached his left hand up toward the tree branch above them.

  One unripe mango secured (stolen). Arua hopped down, biting the sour fruit while remaining focused to a wiring diagram on video.

  A faint Indian accent came out of his phone. Meanwhile, Gio thought about his chemistry homework. He needed Arua’s help for that. "Go home alone, or..." But he still had spiritual training tonight. "Right. If I practice now, I can go sleep after finishing the assignment."

  Homework postponed. He chose stretching to kill boredom.

  Gio closed his eyes, inhaled, and shifted his consciousness. Objective: Opening inner eye, the only Alter-sense he’d mastered thus far.

  In Consciology, the Inner Eye was explained as a complex Neuropsion process. It involved the Abyssal Lobe Reconfiguration, spiritual self-sense, and a passive Nexus organ that converted electromagnetic wave inputs into Psion field outputs interpretable by the visual cortex.

  Normies need years of meditation to hit Sahaja Samadhi to unlock this. Gio? He unlocked it right after his first Astral Projection. Kind of hack for those with Hyperconsciousness, thanks to the demihuman experiments.

  When Gio opened his eyes, the view had entered a new layer: Ophema Domain. The quiet scenery was now crowded with spiritual entities.

  Above, a hairless chimp jinn vibing on a branch. On the street, A head-crab demon latching onto a biker’s helmet. Across the rice field, A giant jinn stood still, looking like a distorted Ondel-ondel. In the sky, winged demons circling like vultures.

  Gio scanned briefly. He didn’t wanna risk by staring too long.

  Gio reached into his pocket, pulling out a key ring. It contained a boarding room key and Ki Rojo’s Nisaga. Vital equipment.

  Simply put, in this universe, there was no concept of "passing through solid objects" or "merging into a body," except for non-physical substances. Gio's anti-aura cloak was a physical Ophema-matter; it couldn’t be absorbed into the body when unequipped. That would violate the laws of physics.

  The solution was this key-shaped Nisaga, which functioned as an "Anchor." Ki Rojo installed a Nexus of pulling force and compression. When unequipped, the cloak would compacted into a tiny cube attached to the anchor key. Wherever Gio's human body went carrying this key, the cloak would follow.

  "Since it's quiet..." Gio thought. This location was outside the school zone and far from the crowds. Safe spot for a quick spiritual grinding while Arua busy being mechanic.

  "Brother," Gio called. "Can I Astral Project now? Just around here..."

  "Yeah, whatever." Arua didn't look up.

  "Okay... But don't leave first! Wake me up before—" "Yeah, yeah."

  Receiving the green light, Gio immediately got into a comfortable position. He leaned his back against the mango tree, straightened his legs, and began the AP procedure.

  Reality Awareness: Deactivate. Proteum consciousness dimmed to deep sleep mode—basically a light coma. Sensory input cut. Only the brainstem was left active to keep the heart beating and lungs pumping.

  Simultaneously, he transferred his consciousness to the Ophema’s projection brain—Spiritual Awareness. Material transmutation engaged. His high school body projection (Noi) morphed into demon form. Gray skins, thin limbs, one horn, wide ear, two long tails sprouted from the skull’s back.

  Fourteen seconds later, Gio's demon eyes opened. He stood up, stretching his lightweight spirit body. Below, his human shell was snoozing against the tree.

  Gio reached into his human pocket, pulled the anti-aura cloak from the Nisaga key, shook it out into a long black robe, and equipped it.

  Hood pulled up, demonic aura covered completely. "Safe," Gio thought. "Now, what Nexus should I train? Magnetic manipulation, or—"

  "I knew it." A cold voice stabbed him from behind. "You are a demon!"

  Gio's heart stopped a moment, then beat furiously. It was a woman's voice, close and clear.

  Gio froze. His brain panicked, searching for logic. "How?! I already wear the cloak! Is it damaged? No way! Or did she see me before I put the hood on?!"

  Slowly, moving like a rusted servo, Gio looked back. His instincts screamed that she was his natural predator, a Venator.

  And... Confirmed. Standing five meters behind, with a neat school uniform and sharp blue eyes. The school primadonna, Elyna Liselotte Erinn.