— Hell
A crimson sky burned above the shattered throne room.
King of Hell, Algol, sat forward, eyes blazing with rage.
"You made that big of a mistake… and still haven't found him?"
"FIND HIM! From anywhere! You idiots!"
Demons trembled before his voice.
A servant knelt, horns low to the ground.
"Forgive us, Majesty. We've sent every scout, every hunter. We will find him."
Algol's glare burned hotter than lava.
— Normal World, Earth — Hospital (Thunderstorm)
Rain hammered the windows of the dim hospital. Thunder cracked like gunfire.
In a quiet hallway, a doctor walked out of the operating room and faced a man — tense, silent, soaked.
"Did you tell her yet?" the doctor asked.
"No," the man replied.
"When will you?"
"When the time is right," he whispered.
The doctor sighed. "She's inside. It's a boy."
The man — the father — took a deep breath and entered the room.
The room was quiet now.
A mother lay in the hospital bed, sweat on her brow, cradling a newborn boy in her arms.
"What will we name him?" she asked, smiling softly.
The father stepped closer, placing a hand on the child's head.
"Fallen," he said.
Suddenly, the world cut away.
Outside, atop a distant skyscraper under a glowing full moon,
a man stood still — long coat flowing, finger raised like a gun.
BANG.
A shot of pure white energy fired from his fingertip, slicing through the night sky.
Inside the hospital, just as the father spoke the boy's name…
"Fallen."
— the mother's head exploded.
Blood painted the sheets. Her body went still.
The father didn't move.
The baby began to cry.
Rain continued falling outside.
[END OF CHAPTER 1]