『Whispers of Thy Ancestor』
The cafeteria slowly returned to its usual roar. Students laughed, trays clattered, and someone argued about dungeon rankings three tables over. To anyone else, it was just another lunch period. But to Jasper Zanabēlu, something felt slightly off.
He had finished his sandwich, but the strange tension from Marcus and his crew still hung in the air like smoke after a fire. Arti leaned back in his chair, lazily scrolling through something on his phone. Sieg, meanwhile, was performing the sacred ritual of consuming an alarming amount of cafeteria food: three burgers, two bowls of ramen, and a protein shake. The boy ate like a dragon preparing for winter.
Jasper rested his chin in his hand, staring down at the rusty key dangling from his neck. It swayed gently—clink, clink, clink.
Then—«You should've fought them.» The voice was quiet, low, and heavy with disapproval.
Jasper blinked and looked up at Sieg, who was currently trying to decide if a fourth burger was socially acceptable. Jasper raised an eyebrow. Sieg noticed the look. "...What?"
«You should've fought them,» the voice muttered again, soft disappointment coloring every syllable. «At the very least, even if you had gotten beaten, you would have defended your honor.»
Jasper sighed and shrugged. "Has nothing to do with my honor, big guy," he said casually. "It just ain't worth the hassle."
Sieg froze mid-bite. Slowly, very slowly, he lowered the burger and frowned deeply at Jasper. "Jasp…" His ruby eyes narrowed with confusion. "You okay dude?"
Jasper blinked. "What?"
Sieg tilted his head. "I didn't say anything about honor."
Arti slowly looked up from his phone, his piercing blue eyes studying Jasper carefully. "Sieg didn't say anything at all, Jasp." He gestured toward Sieg's tray. "He was far too busy stuffing his mouth."
Jasper stared at them, his face twisting into disbelief. "...You're joking."
Silence. Sieg and Arti exchanged a glance. Neither of them looked amused.
Then—the voice returned. «You're not crazy, Child of my Zanabēlu family.» This time, the voice filled his ears not like sound, but like a presence. Every word carried an impossible weight—regal, ancient, arrogant, and possessive.
Jasper froze. His fingers had unknowingly wrapped tightly around the key hanging from his necklace—too tightly. The jagged metal teeth bit into his palm, hard, very hard.
"Jesus dude?!" Sieg suddenly shouted. The tall boy moved instantly. Normally, Sieg respected personal space almost religiously, but this time he grabbed Jasper's wrist and forced his hand open. The rusted key dropped from Jasper's clenched fist. Blood dotted his palm.
"Jasp…?" Sieg muttered. Arti leaned forward immediately. Something about Jasper's face made his stomach twist—that ten-thousand-yard stare, eyes open but empty, lights on but nobody home.
"Jasper?" No response. Arti snapped his fingers in front of his face. Nothing. Jasper wasn't there anymore. Because at that moment, he wasn't in the cafeteria.
—————
『The Spirit Realm』
Jasper stood somewhere impossible. Darkness stretched endlessly in all directions. And before him…the Gate. It towered over him like a continent standing upright. Ancient stone slabs formed a colossal doorway so massive that the horizon itself curved around it. Corrosion covered everything—rust, decay, petrified time. The structure looked like it had been abandoned for ten thousand years. Even the air felt heavy with forgotten history.
Jasper felt pressure crush down onto his shoulders. The presence of the gate was overwhelming. His lungs tightened, his knees trembled slightly. Then the voice returned, and this time it echoed across the entire realm—proud, boastful, overflowing with divine arrogance.
«Jasper Zanabēlu.» The name rolled through the void like thunder. «You, my child…were ordained to rule.»
The pressure intensified, as gravity had doubled, then tripled. An unseen aura pushed down on Jasper with crushing force. His body trembled, his muscles strained. Every instinct screamed for him to kneel, to bow, to submit. But Jasper Zanabēlu did not kneel. His legs shook violently, yet they remained locked. He stood on his own two feet, defiant.
The voice chuckled softly. «Aha, Aye. Attaboy.» Amusement colored the tone now. «You'll need that much will to walk the path of your destiny.»
The massive gate rumbled slightly. Stone groaned, and dust drifted down like ancient snowfall. Then the voice grew serious—not merely serious, but ceremonial, like a king issuing a royal decree.
«Jasper, child of my far-off distant Zanabēlu family…» The words carried the gravity of prophecy. «I hereby decree as ■■■ the ■■■■-■■■■ of ■■■■…» The sentence distorted, like reality itself refused to reveal certain truths. The missing words blurred into static inside Jasper's mind, yet the meaning remained clear: authority, ancient authority.
«As my great descendant…you shall walk the Hero Path.» The gate trembled again. Jasper's heart pounded. The voice continued. «Therefore, as your ancestor…I bestow upon you this quest.»
The air itself seemed to tighten. «Prove your worthiness to that trash spare key of mine.»
Jasper blinked. "…Wait what?" The voice ignored him.
«Slay monsters. Save citizens. Leave your name etched into the hearts of mankind.» Every word etched itself into Jasper's very soul. The voice softened slightly, but its pride remained immense.
«Walk this path as I once did, my child. Do not fret about strength. Prove your worth to the key…and all the power imaginable will follow.»
The words vibrated through the spirit realm like divine scripture.
«More power than you could ever know how to wield. Or what to wield it for.»
Silence followed. Then the voice spoke one final time. "Now go. Begin your journey."
—————
『Reality』– Lamar High Food Court
Cold tiles pressed against Jasper's cheek. His eyes snapped open. Bright cafeteria lights stabbed his vision. Two blurry faces hovered above him. Poke. Poke. Poke.
Jasper slapped the hands away. "Fucksake!" His voice cracked with irritation as he cursed. "I'm not dead!"
Arti squatted beside him, arms resting on his knees. "Oh good. You woke up."
Sieg nodded seriously. "We were about to test if CPR works on Summoners."
Jasper groaned and sat up. "You idiots didn't think to grab a nurse?"
Arti shrugged. "You fainted for like ten seconds."
Sieg nodded. "Technically more of a dramatic flop."
Jasper rubbed his temples. The memory of the spirit realm still burned in his mind—the gate, the voice, the quest. And then he felt it: a sudden pulse, warm and powerful. Something surged through his body like a second heartbeat. His senses sharpened instantly. His muscles felt lighter, stronger, like his body had suddenly skipped months of training.
Jasper blinked. "What the…" The key around his neck glinted—bright, very bright.
Arti noticed first. "Uh…Jasper. Your key."
Jasper looked down. The rusty surface was…changing. Small flakes of corrosion cracked and fell away—ping, ping, ping. Underneath the rust, pure gold shone brilliantly.
Jasper's eyes widened. "What the hell?" The transformation was subtle but unmistakable. The jagged corrosion peeled away like old paint. The key's shape refined itself slightly—sharper, more defined—and glowed faintly with mana.
A notification burned into Jasper's mind, like a status screen appearing behind his eyes.
————
〔SUMMON EVOLUTION〕
「Spare Key – F
⬇
Legendary Spare Key – E+」
—————
Jasper felt the difference instantly. His body buzzed with energy—symbiosis, the passive power granted by a Summon. Before, he had almost none. Now? It felt like someone had quietly upgraded his entire nervous system. His muscles hummed with fresh vitality, his reflexes sharpened, and his breathing felt deeper and cleaner.
Arti whistled softly. "Well…that's new."
Sieg leaned closer, his red eyes gleaming with curiosity. "Evolution?"
Jasper stared at the key. Golden metal reflected the cafeteria lights. The transformation had stopped, but the power remained. Inside his chest, something burned quietly, like a tiny volatile spark of destiny.
Jasper swallowed. He could still hear the voice in the back of his mind—faint, distant, amused. The voice of a king watching from a throne made of eternity.
And far away, inside the endless spirit realm, the colossal stone gate shifted again. Just a little. Just enough for one more sliver of gold to shine through the ancient corrosion.
『The Legendary Spare Key had awakened. And the first step of the Hero Path had begun.』