Common Sense Hijack System-Chapter 145: Question

Curtis grinned, his teasing momentarily forgotten as he leaned forward. "Alright, alright. Enough about your death by snu-snu experience. I actually want to show you something important."

Karl raised an eyebrow. "Important? You?"

Curtis smirked. "I know, shocking, right? But seriously, check this out."

He lifted his hand, palm facing up, and for a moment, Karl thought he was just messing around again. But then—

A whirl of water began to form above Curtis’s palm.

Not a trickle. Not some cheap sleight of hand.

A genuine swirling vortex of liquid, defying gravity.

Karl immediately sat up, eyes narrowing.

Awakening.

Curtis had awakened.

Curtis smirked, watching Karl’s reaction like a kid showing off a new toy. "Crazy, huh?" He twisted his fingers, and the swirling water followed, shifting into a sharp, spinning disk. "I can do this now. Ever since the Winter Apocalypse hit, I started feeling... different. And a few days ago? This happened."

Karl forced himself to look appropriately shocked. "You’re kidding."

Curtis snapped his fingers, and the water collapsed into mist, dissipating in the air. "Not even a little. I woke up one morning, and bam—water bending."

Karl frowned, acting the part of a guy who had just been blindsided. "And you’re telling me this now?"

Curtis shrugged. "I wanted to test it out first. Figured I should make sure I wasn’t hallucinating before telling anyone."

Karl leaned back, calculating. He knew exactly what this meant. Awakening was happening. People were changing. He had been expecting it—hell, he had been waiting for it.

But now, it was confirmed.

Curtis had awakened.

Which meant others probably had, too.

Karl kept his expression carefully neutral. "How much control do you have over it?"

Curtis scratched the back of his head. "Ehhh, not much. I can make small stuff like that, but if I try to go big, it just kinda... explodes everywhere." He waved a hand. "And not in the cool way."

Karl nodded, pretending to still process the information. "Have you told anyone else?"

Curtis snorted. "Hell no. You think I want to be some government test subject? I figured if anyone should know first, it’s you."

Karl exhaled slowly. Smart move.

Curtis trusted him.

And that meant Karl had options.

He rubbed his chin. "So... what’s your plan?"

Curtis grinned. "That’s the fun part! I have no idea! I figured I’d just vibe with it until I figure out if I’m some kind of superhero or if this is just a weird post-apocalypse puberty phase."

Karl sighed. "You’re an idiot."

Curtis beamed. "And now I’m an idiot with superpowers!"

Karl forced a smirk. "Yeah. That’s what worries me."

Curtis leaned forward, his grin widening as he studied Karl’s expression. "Alright, I showed you mine—your turn. You got anything weird going on? Any... new tricks?"

Karl forced himself to hesitate, keeping his expression carefully blank. "What? No."

Curtis squinted at him. "Come on, man. You’re telling me you haven’t gotten anything? No weird feelings? No sudden urges to control the elements? Not even, like, super speed or something?"

Karl exhaled, shaking his head. "Nope. Just me. Boring, regular Karl."

Curtis tilted his head, eyeing him suspiciously. "Huh."

Karl sipped his energy drink, pretending not to care. "Not everyone gets lucky, I guess."

Curtis leaned back against the couch, twirling his fingers as a small ripple of water swirled above his palm. "That’s kinda crazy, though. I figured if anyone was gonna awaken, it’d be you."

Karl mentally filed that away.

Curtis expected him to awaken.

Which meant others probably did, too.

Karl shrugged. "Guess I’m just built different."

Curtis snorted. "Yeah, built different as in left behind." He smirked, letting the water dissipate. "Still, if it’s happening to me, it’s gotta be happening to others, right? What do you think this means?"

Karl pretended to think. "I dunno. Probably some side effect of whatever the hell happened to the world. Maybe some people are just... adapting."

Curtis nodded, rubbing his chin. "Yeah, that makes sense. Though, I was kinda hoping you’d get something cool. You know, for balance."

Karl raised an eyebrow. "Balance?"

Curtis grinned. "I mean, come on. I can control water. Imagine if you got, like... I dunno, fire powers. Then we’d be a sick duo. Opposites, but unstoppable."

Karl smirked. He already was unstoppable. Curtis just didn’t know it.

"Yeah," Karl said, standing up. "Too bad I got nothing."

Curtis squinted at him again, like he still wasn’t sure whether to believe him. "Hmm... if you do awaken, you better tell me first."

Karl nodded. Like hell he would.

"Yeah, sure," he said, grabbing another energy drink. "I’ll let you know."

Curtis grinned. "Good. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to figure out how to waterbend my way into free food."

Karl sighed. "You’re gonna get yourself killed."

Curtis smirked. "Nah. I’m built different."

Karl shook his head. Idiot.

But an idiot who now had power.

Curtis leaned back against the couch, tossing an empty energy drink can into the corner with a lazy flick of his wrist. "Man, I’ve been thinking... why the hell did this whole Winter Apocalypse even start?"

Karl froze for a fraction of a second.

Then, he forced himself to lean back, crossing his arms in a way that looked casual. "No idea."

Curtis narrowed his eyes. "Really? You’re not even a little curious?"

Karl shrugged. "What’s there to be curious about? The world went to hell. We adapt, or we die."

Curtis scoffed. "Yeah, but it didn’t just go to hell. This isn’t like some regular disaster, Karl. It’s been what? Months? And the snow isn’t stopping. It’s not even acting normal. It’s too... I dunno, controlled."

Karl exhaled. "Controlled?"

Curtis leaned forward. "Think about it. The blizzards hit at the same time across the world. The temperatures dropped instantly. This wasn’t some slow climate change thing. It was like someone just—" he snapped his fingers, "—flipped a switch."

Karl knew exactly what that switch was.

He had known for a long time.

But Curtis? Curtis was just starting to put the pieces together.

Karl kept his expression neutral. "Even if that’s true, what difference does it make? It’s not like we can change it."

Curtis frowned. "Maybe not. But wouldn’t you wanna know why? What if this wasn’t natural? What if someone caused this?"

Karl forced himself to look uninterested. "And if they did? What then? You gonna go hunt them down with your new water tricks?"

Curtis snorted. "Hell no. But it’d be good to know what we’re dealing with."

Karl sighed, standing up. "Look, man. You can drive yourself crazy thinking about this stuff. Or you can focus on surviving."

Curtis watched him carefully, like he was searching for something beneath Karl’s words.

Then, he smirked. "You’re a terrible liar, you know that?"

Karl’s heart skipped a beat.

For a moment, he thought Curtis had figured it out. That Karl knew everything.

But then Curtis laughed, shaking his head. "You say you don’t care, but I bet the moment I turn my back, you’re gonna be up all night overthinking this just like I am."

Karl forced out a chuckle. "Sure, Curtis. Whatever helps you sleep at night."

Curtis grinned, stretching his arms. "You should at least humor me a little. What’s your theory? Even if it’s bullshit."

Karl glanced toward the window, watching the endless white void outside.

He already knew the answer.

He knew why the world was like this.

He knew who caused it.

But he wasn’t about to tell Curtis that.

So instead, he just said, "My theory? It doesn’t matter."

Curtis groaned. "Oh, come on, man. Give me something."

Karl smirked, heading toward the door. "I just did."

Curtis threw a pillow at him. "Asshole."

Karl caught it effortlessly, tossing it back. "Survive first. Ask questions later."

And with that, he walked out.

Leaving Curtis wondering.

And Karl knowing.

As Karl stepped out of Curtis’s apartment, a sharp commotion broke through the usual quiet of the cold morning.

Shouting.

Footsteps.

A loud crash.

Then—

"THIEF! SOMEONE STOLE MY FOOD!"

Karl’s instincts kicked in immediately. His eyes flickered toward the source of the noise—down the hall, near one of the storage rooms where residents kept their rations.

A group was already forming. People stepped out of their apartments, some still groggy from sleep, others immediately on edge. In a world where food was more valuable than gold, theft was a death sentence.