How did everything come to this?
Not long ago, we were together — smiling, laughing, believing the worst had passed.
We were just young souls living moments that felt eternal.But because of our failures… now we stand on the brink of ruin.
The screams. The pain.The blood.The deaths.I can feel it all…
A few months earlier.In a dimension cataloged as Kagirag — known among the Sif as The Red Earth.
It was supposed to be a simple mission.Nothing remarkable.A routine reconnaissance.
Three young warriors departed together — Dan, Stella, and Tekio — partners in training, bound by trust and shared scars.
At first, everything unfolded as planned.The terrain was hostile but stable, its crimson soil humming faintly with dormant energy.The readings of the region remained within normal parameters.Until they didn't.
The shift was sudden — impossible to predict.Entities that did not belong to that plane manifested from fractures in the ether: twisted, unpredictable, alien.And there, upon the scarlet dust of Kaeatsu, the battle began.
Chaos.
The trio was torn apart — scattered in different directions.
They fought not for victory, but for survival.
The scars that followed still burned.Not the ones carved into flesh — those I had long since learned to endure.But the others… the echoes of screams, the blurred images of combat, the taste of iron and failure.The curse that had stalked me since childhood had finally awakened — and dragged me down with it.
— Tekio, are you listening?
Mei's voice cut through the haze like a ray of light piercing a storm.She always appeared like that — right when the world seemed to collapse.
Months ago, things were different.She was constant — like a flame that refused to die.Her strength was feral, her resolve unwavering… yet her care carried an almost fragile warmth.Behind the legend, behind the feared captain, stood someone I admired more than anyone alive.
— How many times do I have to tell you not to push yourself so hard? — she sighed, her tone a blend of irritation and quiet affection. — Every time you fight seriously, I arrive and you're half-dead. It's frustrating. But… at least you woke up this time. And you managed to scar him. Though, judging by his face, he wanted more.
— Captain… — My voice came out rough, cracked, the weight of exhaustion behind every word.
— You fought well, Tekio. — Her golden eyes scanned me sharply. — Now leave the rest to me.
She turned — and the battlefield seemed to know her.Mei moved like a flame untethered, wild and graceful.The air pulsed with her presence.Each strike, each motion, carried both destruction and beauty.
Her red hair whipped like a burning banner.Enemies fell before they even realized they'd been marked.
— Let's go home. — Her voice, despite the devastation, was gentle. Soft enough to silence the storm.
— Another bruise? — Dan muttered when he reached us. — Figures. Good thing Mei showed up when she did. Stella and I heard the explosions from miles away. Hard not to imagine the worst.
— Stella was worried, — he added, a shadow of a smile crossing his face.
I only nodded.Walking back to camp should have brought relief — but something deep inside me refused to rest.An unease, sharp and heavy, growing with every breath.Something within me had changed.
Later that night, lying in the dim solitude of my tent, I stared at the ceiling — listening to the crackle of distant fires.I had never been gifted with extraordinary power.What I had came from discipline, from endless training, from control over the spirit.Aisha had said I was promising — and maybe I was — but what happened today went beyond any training.It was as if… something else had awakened.
Klev — the man I fought — had known it.He spoke as if he recognized me.As if he knew someone living inside me.If I had been more aware, perhaps I would've understood.Now, only confusion remained… and a desperate need to uncover the truth.
And there was only one person I trusted to help me.Mei.
Morning came gently.The scent of scorched earth still lingered, carried by a faint breeze.Mei sat beside me near a small campfire, her expression calm, unreadable.
— Tell me everything, — she said, wrapping her hands around a mug of coffee. — How was your fight with Klev?
— Unusual, — I began. — He seemed to know something. He said he could feel an energy inside me. Called me a disappointment. Then he went berserk. I was losing control — and then something inside me… woke up. My body grew lighter, my senses sharper. It was like being pulled by a force I didn't know existed.
Mei didn't answer immediately.She took a slow sip of her coffee, her eyes thoughtful.
— That confirms what I suspected. — Her tone was even. — You might be going through an awakening. Something beyond the spiritual energy you've trained to control. It could be connected to your soul… or something even deeper.
— You think I'm evolving? — I asked.
— Maybe. Or merging with something that's always been part of you. — She set her mug down and met my gaze. — Tekio, you have potential — that's never been in question. But what's inside you goes beyond skill and effort. That mark on your back… what you felt in that fight… it might be the beginning of something greater.
— But why now? Why during that battle?
— Sometimes it takes immense pressure to reveal what's hidden. — Her voice softened. — Like a diamond — it only forms under unbearable weight. Don't resist it. Learn from it. Understand it. And above all — don't be afraid.
I nodded slowly, though the storm inside me still raged.
— Klev seemed to know. He knew more than he said.
— He took his own life before we could question him, — she said, her voice tightening. — But what he said suggests something… unusual. You might carry more than one soul. There could be another presence within you. Something old. That would explain a lot. But it also means we have to be careful.
— The mark, then…?
— Could be proof of that fusion. — She stood, the light catching her red hair. — We'll investigate — carefully. Every manifestation you feel from now on must be observed and recorded. But don't forget — you're not alone in this.
Her words — strong, unwavering, yet profoundly human — quieted the chaos within me.For the first time, uncertainty no longer meant fear.It meant direction.
As the sun rose, turning the Red Earth into gold, I knew that greater storms awaited.But something inside me had awakened.And I could never ignore it again.
To be continued...