The sun was a pale, cautious light as it crept over the horizon, revealing the ruins that had been his home. Kurogami Ryumen crouched atop a fractured wall, knees pressed to his chest. The air smelled of ash, smoke, and something metallic—blood, perhaps, or the memory of it.
CRACK!
A loose beam splintered beneath him, and he froze, silver eyes sharp. No one stirred. Only the distant hum of the city waking—or what remained of it.
He exhaled slowly, forcing himself to relax. He had survived. Barely.
But surviving wasn't enough. He knew it.
---
It started quietly. A whisper at the edges of his consciousness, a pull in his limbs. His hands tingled with that same silver electricity that had hurled him across streets and leveled monsters the night before.
He clenched his fists. The energy responded. Small sparks danced across his knuckles.
ZZZZT!
Kurogami's heart pounded. He didn't understand it. He shouldn't have been able to do that. He was just a child.
And yet, he could feel the power building inside him—like a storm waiting to break free.
He leapt from the wall, landing with perfect precision on the rubble-strewn street below. Cars were melted or overturned. Broken glass glittered like stars on the asphalt. He raised his hands again, and a jagged streak of lightning arced between his fingers.
ZZZZZZSHHH!
It struck a crumpled car, splitting it in half. The metal hissed and warped, but he barely registered it. His mind was focused entirely on the sensation—the raw, intoxicating surge of energy that had made him both terrified and exhilarated.
He tested it again, this time directing it at a streetlight, snapping it in two like a twig.
CRASH!
He staggered back. The realization hit him like a physical blow: he was not like other children. He had survived The Fall, yes. But only because of this… thing inside him.
And now, he knew… it would only grow.
---
His mother's voice echoed in memory, soft and warm.
"Ryumen… always help others."
But he had failed. She had been trapped beneath rubble, and though he had saved some, he couldn't save everyone. Not yet. Not like this.
He ran through the streets, testing his speed, agility, and power.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
Leaping from rooftop to rooftop, he could feel his body adapting. Each movement was faster, cleaner, more precise. The city below blurred into streaks of gray and orange. He had never felt so alive.
And yet… so alone.
---
Night fell again. Shadows stretched like dark fingers across the ruins. Kurogami found a corner of a collapsed building to shelter in. He pulled his knees to his chest, silver hair falling over his eyes.
The whispers in his mind grew louder—the energy, the instinct, the unspoken voice that urged him forward.
TAP… TAP… TAP…
Something moved outside. Footsteps? Not human. He froze, senses sharp. A small figure emerged from the smoke. Another survivor? A friend?
No. Too precise. Too fast. Too calculated.
A Devourer. A Class D scout, small but deadly.
Kurogami's fingers itched. He didn't have to think.
CRACK!
A bolt of lightning shot from his fingertips. The Devourer shrieked as the electricity ripped across its hide. It staggered, twitching violently.
SIZZLE!
He leapt forward, closing the distance, fists swinging. The creature lunged.
THWACK!
It collided with him, but he barely felt it. The energy flared through his veins, amplifying his strength. He twisted, slammed it into a wall, and sent it flying through a broken window.
KRAAAASH!
It hit the ground outside with a sickening crunch. The street went silent again. Kurogami's chest heaved. He was exhausted, but… alive.
Alive.
---
As he crouched there, silver hair glinting in the moonlight, a strange clarity settled over him. He had survived The Fall. He had survived the Devourers. But he wasn't just a survivor. He was something more.
Something dangerous.
He glanced toward the horizon, where the first lights of dawn painted the smoke in shades of gold and red. Somewhere out there, others were alive—others he might have to save.
But for now… he had to understand himself.
He raised his hands again, flexing them experimentally. The energy hissed and sparked between his fingers.
ZZZZZZSHHH!
He smiled faintly. Not because he liked what he was, but because he could survive. And survival, in a world that had collapsed, was the first step toward protecting others.
Somewhere in the distance, amidst the ruin and ash, a faint voice whispered through the wind.
"Not all of you are meant to be alone…"
Kurogami's silver eyes narrowed. A new purpose had taken root. He would protect. He would endure. And one day… he would find someone who could understand him.
WHOOSH!
He disappeared into the night, a streak of silver lightning moving between the shadows. The city trembled, but he moved with it, shaping it, mastering it.
The Awakening had begun.