The Boy Without Words

As Jimmy stepped around the last of the curious crowd and approached the bill counter, he noticed the auctioneer was already there—arms crossed, lips tight—with two cloaked figures standing beside her.

Arcana.

The emblem on their shoulder gleamed faintly—a stylized lotus wrapped in concentric rings. Their presence was calm, but the air around them was weighted. One stepped forward, his voice even and measured.

"Sir, we request a moment of your time," he said. "Only a conversation."

Jimmy didn't slow his step. "No. I'm not comfortable talking to people like you."

The second Arcana frowned, as if wounded by the comment. "Why? We stand for protection, justice, balance. We guard sacred grounds and hold the line between chaos and order. All we do is to protect the people."

Jimmy's head turned slightly. His voice—still silent—typed through the translator screen around his wrist.

"Even people with eyes can't see the truth."

He paused.

"And yet I, blind as I am, can feel, see what you ignore."

The Arcana exchanged a glance, still trying to maintain their calm.

"Regardless," one of them said, gently, "we ask again. This incident may escalate. If you refuse to speak, there may be… complications later."

Jimmy raised his hand to silence them.

"Miss," he said to the auctioneer, "can you just make the bill?"

Then he turned back to the Arcana.

"There's one more thing."

His tone hardened.

"I hate people who assume just because a boy is a normal civilian—when he's attacked by a Whisp Master—the Arcana will always protect the one with the stronger bond, the louder name. Not the victim."

The guards stiffened, visibly.

"So don't talk to me about your so-called righteousness. I've seen enough."

Then, in one slow motion, Jimmy reached up.

Unfastened his blindfold.

And revealed the void where his eyes should have been—two dark hollows, burned deeper than flesh, framed by faint scars and silence.

A hush fell over the space. The air tightened.

The Arcana took a step back, stunned into quiet.

Jimmy's voice flashed across the screen one last time:

"This is what your protection looks like."

And then he said no more.

..............

Again, One of the Arcana guards approached, offering a half-bow. "Sir, we would appreciate a moment of your time. There are… questions."

Jimmy typed slowly on the console in front of him:

"No. I'm not interested."

Jimmy turned toward the counter.

The auctioneer cleared her throat. "Your bill is ready, Mr…?"

He didn't respond.

A young attendant rolled forward a sleek, obsidian crate etched with glowing frost sigils—already sealed. Another worker offered a polished crystal for verification. Jimmy scanned it briefly.

🧾 Final Bill – Rock & Roll Syndicate Auction

Lot #7: Bluish-Rank Water Crystal – 900 million T-Coins

Lot #9: ARC-17 Mechanical Whisp (Caldera City) – 400 million T-Coins

Lot #10: 7895 A Waste Rock - GIft

Lot #12-A: Blue Energy Gemstone – Estimated Value: 50 million T-Coins

Lot #12-B: Black Seed (Unknown Origin) – Classified

Lot #13B: Ancient Dormant Whisp Egg – Verified

Lot #13B-A: Preserved Ore Rocks x4 – 400 million T-Coins

Ice Preservation Cube – Complimentary

Premium Sealed Crate – Complimentary

Poly-Ether Whisp Carry Bag – Complimentary

Total Paid: 1.75 Billion T-Coins

Discount: Declined

Status: Fully Cleared

Legal Clause: All recovered items are under buyer's legal ownership. Revival or awakening of dormant biological Whisps must be declared to national registry.

Jimmy finished the payment and took the sealed data crystal from the counter. The auctioneer tried to say something, but Jimmy didn't respond.

He simply said, "Goodbye."

Jimmy lifted the ether bag onto his shoulder. Inside were the gemstone, the strange black seed, and the fossilized egg.

..................

The auctioneer's voice rang out behind him, sharp with something between frustration and regret.

"You could have stayed," she called. "Talked. They will ask just some simple questions."

Jimmy paused at the threshold, the heat of the afternoon air brushing against his cheeks like a memory trying to return.

He didn't turn back.

Instead, he lifted his fingers one last time—calm, silent.

The words that appeared on his wrist-screen flickered like embers:

"I already am. I like to stay where should I."

...................

And with that, he stepped into the light.

The soft gold of the afternoon bathed the city streets in warmth, but Jimmy felt none of it. He called his driver and quietly returned to his hotel. As he came People stared, whispered, but no one approached him. He also saw very less people.

He asked 'when is my checking out time?' receptionist said, "in two hours, sir." jimmy said 'give a mid launch. one for me and my pet.' jimmy again called Luna and sealed the box by ice. 

He placed the sealed ether bag at a corner.

But before he could sit, something shifted.

That feeling returned—faint yet undeniable. Like gravity twisting sideways.

He saw his wrist watch, all dials are moving too fast.

Time was watching again.

He turned his head slowly toward the window.

There it stood.

The Sun Dial Whisp—its form half-corporeal, its golden rings rotating in silence, eyes like twin clocks fixed upon him.

A voice echoed—not aloud, but inside his mind. Smooth. Patient.

"Did I not say… time will see you?"

Jimmy took a slow breath. "What are you?" he asked within. "Why did you show me that vision? Who were those Whisps?"

The Sun Dial Whisp's gaze deepened.

"Time will tell."

"For now, remember—

You found the real thing.

Fate has started to shift again.

Grow it well."

A pause. Then, almost gently:

"As for the rest… it is not yet your hour. Take care of it—and yourself."

The Whisp began to dissolve, scattering like sand in sunlight.

He heard "Again… that alignment has come."

A feeling bloomed in his chest—a knowing far older than words.

Whose will shall rise? whose kingdom fall—

The wheel turns.

And time, always, will flow.

.........................

Jimmy remained seated at the edge of the bed, fingers lightly brushing the bronze watch at his side. The room was quiet, save for the faint hum of the city outside and Luna's steady gaze.

She was sitting on the chair near the window, staring at him, ears twitching gently.

Jimmy finally broke the silence.

"He came again."

Luna blinked, puzzled. :: "Who?" ::

He didn't answer.

Thirty minutes passed like minutes soaked in dust and thought, until a soft knock came. The waiter entered with lunch—two trays. With practiced motion, Jimmy signed a quick thank you and returned to his seat. Luna joined him at the low table.

As they ate, Jimmy's mind was elsewhere.

That simple rock—the one dismissed as waste in the auction—still pulsed with an inexplicable tether. There was something inside it. Something faint, but present.

"I have to research it."

The clock struck 1:30 soon. Checkout time is 3:00.

He packed swiftly, organizing everything—sealed items, his incubator device, and the bonded rock—into a single reinforced ether bag. Still with one hour to spare, Jimmy placed the strange stone into the incubator he had won by chance in the auction's secret lottery. Beside it, he gently slotted in the fire crystal and added a vial of Whisp Rising Solution.

The device hummed.

To his amazement, the rock began absorbing the fire crystal's energy—slowly, greedily.

Jimmy smiled for the first time in hours.

He pulled out his phone and adjusted the weight allowance for his flight luggage. Sharp planning, as always.

At exactly 3:00 PM, the knock came. The same staff member checked the room.

"All clear, sir."

Jimmy nodded and stepped out, wheeling his compact ether bag behind him.

The flight was scheduled for 10:00 PM. Plenty of time. He approached the front desk, completed all formalities, and called his driver.

Fifteen minutes later, the black car slid into the driveway.

But as Jimmy stepped toward it, a figure blocked his path.