The morning arrived peacefully.
Bhramak opened his eyes before the sun had fully risen, as a faint blue light of dawn seeped through the thin curtains of his rented room. For a moment, he remained still, lying there and staring at the ceiling, allowing the silence to envelop him.
There was something unusual about the feeling.
Not painful.
Not uncomfortable.
Just… different.
His body felt lighter, as if a weight had been removed during the night. His mind was unusually calm, with thoughts flowing smoothly instead of colliding.
He gradually sat up.
The memories of the previous night returned in fragments—Chevy Gonsalves, an unusual meditation in the Grand Master's cabin, and the sensation of something awakening deep within his body.
The First Chakra.
He slowly raised his hand, examining his palm in the soft morning light. Nothing appeared unusual.
He realised that something had changed.
Bhramak swung his legs off the bed and stood up. His balance felt perfect, and even the small creak of the wooden floor beneath his feet sounded clearer than before.
He paused.
That creak…
He was convinced that he had never noticed it before.
Bhramak frowned slightly, his expression reflecting concern.
His sense of hearing had become more acute.
Or perhaps he was simply becoming more aware of details that he had previously overlooked.
He rubbed the back of his neck and walked toward the small kitchen connected to the room. The winter air slipped through the open window, carrying the distant sounds of the city gradually waking—bicycle bells, vendors' shouts, and distant vehicles.
Everything felt incredibly vivid.
Too vivid.
He gently shook his head.
"Focus," he whispered to himself.
The kitchen was simple: a small gas stove, a metal utensil rack, and a wooden table by the window. Bhramak reached for a kettle, intending to make tea before heading to the Agency.
As he set the kettle on the stove, he noticed something moving near the window.
A grey stray cat slipped through the partially open window.
Bhramak blinked in surprise.
The cat awkwardly landed on the counter and knocked over a small bottle of cooking oil.
The bottle rolled away.
Oil was spilt onto the heated pan.
In an instant, the stove flame ignited it.
Flames shot up into the air.
The sudden burst of heat startled the cat, causing it to jump back toward the window and disappear as quickly as it had appeared.
Bhramak reacted without thinking.
He grabbed the pan with his bare hand.
As soon as his palm made contact with the flame, something unimaginable happened.
The fire has stopped spreading.
The blue flame twisted oddly, as if pulled by an invisible force.
Instead of being consumed by flames, the oil collected in Bhramak's hand.
The stove flame flickered once.
Then it vanished completely.
The fire now resided solely in his palm.
For a few seconds, the flame wrapped around his fingers like a living entity, curling and shifting gently as if responding to his touch.
Bhramak stared at it.
The light reflected in his dark eyes.
The fire did not burn him.
At first, it only felt warm.
Somewhat enjoyable.
A peculiar sense of familiarity awakened within his mind.
Something about the sensation reminded him of the moment during Catalyst Integration when his consciousness slipped into that mysterious inner state. In this place, fragments of emotions, laughter, sorrow, and distant voices flowed around him.
He had never witnessed fire in that place.
Not like this.
The warmth grew stronger.
Then hotter.
In just a few seconds, the heat became intolerable.
"Ah—!"
Bhramak instinctively jerked his hand away.
The flame broke apart into sparks and disappeared into the air.
The kitchen fell silent again.
He stood there for several seconds, taking slow, deep breaths.
Then he looked at his palm.
No burns.
No redness.
Nothing.
Only a faint warmth remained.
Bhramak leaned against the counter, feeling his heart beating.
"That… wasn't normal."
The soft words echoed oddly in the empty room.
He washed his hands slowly and then turned toward the sink.
When he lifted his head, his eyes encountered his reflection in the mirror above it.
For a brief moment—
The reflection blinked before he did.
Bhramak froze.
His breath caught in his throat, and he struggled to regain his composure.
The reflection gazed back with a calm expression.
Then it blinked again, matching his movements perfectly this time.
He remained still for several seconds.
"…Did I imagine that?"
He washed his face quickly, splashing cold water across his cheeks.
When he looked at the mirror again, everything appeared normal.
Yet the uneasy feeling remained.
Something inside him had changed in ways he could not fully understand.
He returned to the kitchen and made tea, trying to calm his mind. As the kettle heated, he leaned against the table, revisiting last night's events.
Chevy Gonsalves.
The Grand Master was aware of the Catalyst, the Chakra, and the Integration Process.
That situation was suspicious in and of itself.
Even within the Agency, that information was considered highly confidential.
How could a circus master possibly know them?
And more importantly…
Why did he help Bhramak stabilise his integration?
The questions spun endlessly in his mind.
Bhramak let out with a slow breath.
At this point, speculation will not yield any results.
He finished his tea, ate a simple breakfast of bread and eggs, and got ready to leave.
The moment he stepped outside, the cold winter air greeted him.
The streets were bustling with activity in the morning.
As he walked along the narrow road towards the main avenue, he noticed something unusual.
People.
He could feel them.
Not physically.
But emotionally.
A man rushing past him seemed to carry a sense of tension, like a heavy cloud.
Nearby, a woman at a vegetable stall radiated quiet happiness as she chatted on the phone.
Two students arguing near a tea stand were filled with irritation and pride.
Bhramak slowed his steps.
It felt like invisible currents were flowing through the crowd.
He could somehow sense the currents.
His brows knitted together.
"Is this because of the Chakra, or has it evolved into " Joker?"
The thought made him uneasy.
He continued walking.
Near a small roadside stall, two men were arguing loudly about money. Their sharp voices attracted the attention of nearby pedestrians.
Bhramak casually glanced at them as he walked by.
One of the men angrily raised his fist.
Just before the argument escalated into a physical confrontation, something changed.
The tension in the air faded.
The man lowered his hand.
The other man sighed and stepped back.
The argument dissolved awkwardly.
They were laughing awkwardly, as if they were enjoying something.
Both of them appeared puzzled about why they had suddenly stopped laughing.
Bhramak slowed.
A strange thought crossed his mind.
Did his presence have an impact on them?
".... Presence of Joker?"
He shook his head.
"That s just a coincidence," he murmured.
Despite everything, a feeling of unease lingered.
He arrived at the main road and waited for a taxi.
Vehicles passed in a steady stream, their engines rumbling across the cold pavement. The city felt alive yet strangely predictable.
Bhramak leaned against a streetlight and observed the activity around him.
A cyclist raced towards the intersection at high speed.
For reasons he couldn't explain, Bhramak suddenly felt confident that the cyclist would hit the curb.
Three seconds later—
The bicycle struck the edge of the road.
The rider swerved erratically but eventually regained their balance.
Bhramak slowly straightened up.
He had predicted it.
Not guessed.
Predicted.
He kept replaying that moment in his mind over and over again.
The rider's angle.
The rider's posture.
Did his brain subconsciously calculate all of that?
Was there something else that helped him foresee possibilities before they occurred?
A taxi finally pulled up next to him.
Bh"amak opened the door and got into the taxi.
"NaSAB Office Building (National Security Administrative Bureau Office Building)," he said calmly.
As the car pulled into traffic, he leaned back in the seat and stared out the window.
The city rushed by in a blur of changing colours and sounds.
Despite everything happening around him, his mind was focused on a single conclusion.
He was seeking answers.
The Office may be the only place that can explain what happened during his Catalyst Integration.
They may help him make sense of the unusual changes happening within him.
However, Bhramak had a nagging suspicion that something else was at play.
The Office may not have all the answers either.
The taxi stopped in front of the tall government building nearly twenty minutes later.
Bhramak paid the driver and then stepped out of the vehicle.
The familiar structure of the facility stood before him, cold and official under the pale winter sun.
He walked calmly towards the entrance.
Just as he approached the security gate, he felt a strange sensation brushing against his awareness.
Someone was watching him.
He stopped.
His eyes moved slowly across the street behind him.
People walked normally.
Cars passed.
A newspaper vendor organised his papers on a stand.
Nothing looked unusual.
Yet the feeling remained.
It feels like invisible eyes are watching from a place beyond our view.
Bhr"mak exI'm ed slowly.
"Maybe I'm imagining things again."
Still, the unease refused to disappear.
He turned back toward the building and walked through the gate.
Within the Agency, answers—or perhaps even more profound mysteries—were waiting for him.