103 years ago, the sky simply opened.
There was no warning, no prophecy, no scientist saying anything beforehand. It just happened.
Rifts began to appear in various places around the world, in South Korea, the United States, France, Brazil, everywhere. At first, no one knew what it was, they thought it was some strange atmospheric phenomenon. Until things started coming out of the rifts.
The first monsters were neither giant nor intelligent. They were brutal, attacking anything that moved. Entire cities fell into chaos within days. Armies tried to contain them, but ordinary weapons were useless.
Then, almost as a response, some people began to change.
At first, it was rare. A man who could create fire in his hands, a woman with absurd strength, a teenager who could predict movements for a few seconds.
No one really understood. But they saved lives.
Over time, more people awakened abilities. The word "Awakened" started to appear. Then came "Hunters." And later, officially, "Heroes."
The world adjusted.
Hero Associations appeared in almost every country. Guilds emerged. Rankings too, from Rank E to Rank S. It was just a way to organize the chaos, to give a sense of security.
And it worked.
The monsters continued, but at least now there were people trained to deal with them. Some heroes became celebrities. Rank S was treated like a global star. Documentaries, interviews, action figures, everything.
Some stories became famous.
The "Shield of Lyon," a Frenchman who held off an invasion alone for hours.
The "Seattle Storm," a woman who controlled lightning and saved an entire airport.
And in South Korea, one of the first Rank S, the "White Dragon," who killed a monster no one thought could be defeated at the time.
People began to believe that everything was under control.
But not all names remained.
Some records simply disappeared over time. Heroes mentioned in old documents are not in modern official files. Dates that don't match. Conflicting reports.
Most people didn't even notice.
It wasn't something that changed daily life.
The world was functioning.
Or at least it seemed so.
-----
Present day, Seoul
Han Jiwon [24 years old, Rank H, Mastery: None] was sitting in an uncomfortable chair, staring at an old computer screen that took ages to load anything.
(Note: H is the rank used for ordinary citizens)
He worked in the Department of Monster Incident Records, organizing old files, deaths, forgotten reports, paperwork no one wanted to look at.
It was nothing heroic. Not even close.
He sighed and opened another file.
"Incident 48-09, Monster Rank F, male civilian victim, 72 years old."
He had seen this hundreds of times.
Weak monster. Residential area. Assigned Rank E hero. Arrived late. Inevitable fatality.
He closed the file too quickly. He didn't like reading this, especially when it was so simple. Especially when it reminded him of things he didn't want to remember.
When he was 12, his grandfather died the same way.
Coming home with a bag of groceries.
Escaped Rank F monster.
Rank E hero who didn't arrive in time.
Case closed.
"Acceptable" failure within the system.
He learned early that "acceptable" was a very comfortable word when you weren't the victim.
Since then, dreaming of being a hero had lost its appeal. He had awakened a weak, basic teenage ability that barely worked in a fight. He never tried to develop it.
Being a hero didn't mean saving everyone.
And he had no one to save.
Jiwon ran his hand through his hair, closed another tab, and opened a file marked Pending Review.
The screen froze for a few seconds.
Then something strange appeared.
The file name was corrupted, part erased.
"Hero … Case Closed Without Official Record."
He frowned.
Without an official record?
Everything had official records, always.
He tried to open it.
The screen flickered.
The cursor froze.
For a moment, he thought the computer had finally died.
Then the letters began to rearrange themselves.
It didn't look like a virus, nor a common error.
The message appeared in the center of the screen.
"You have been erased once before."
Jiwon stayed still.
The air felt heavy. Or maybe it was just his mind playing tricks.
He chuckled softly, awkwardly.
"Okay, is this some kind of internal prank?"
No response.
The screen went dark.
A new phrase appeared.
"Compatibility confirmed."
His heart raced without knowing why.
There was no one in the room.
No sound.
Only the monitor illuminating his face.
"Reaper Protocol initiating."
The light turned white.
For a very brief moment, Jiwon felt as if something was watching him.
Not like a modern system.
But something ancient.
Something not meant for this time.
The last phrase appeared before everything went black.
"Heroes save the world."
Pause.
"Reapers fix what remains."
The screen shut off.
Silence.
The computer restarted by itself.
The file had vanished.
Jiwon stared at his hand on the mouse for a few seconds.
He took a deep breath.
"I need more sleep."
But deep down, he knew.
Something had begun.
And this time, it didn't seem like anything from Rank F or E…