The next morning started like any other.
Grey skies. Cold air. Empty streets.
He walked beside his uncle through the lower district market, carrying a small bag of groceries. Neither of them spoke much. The academy failure still hung between them, unspoken.
His uncle finally broke the silence.
"You know," he said lightly, "I failed my awakening twice."
He looked up in surprise.
"Really?"
His uncle chuckled. "Yeah. Third time too."
"Then how—"
"I never awakened," his uncle admitted. "Support work my whole life."
He stopped walking and turned to face him.
"But that doesn't mean life ends. Power isn't everything."
The boy nodded, though his chest felt tight.
He wanted to believe that.
Then the air changed.
A deep vibration rippled through the street.
Windows rattled.
People froze.
A crack of dark light tore open above an abandoned building.
A Rift.
Someone screamed.
"RIFT—RUN!"
The ground trembled as distorted shapes poured out of the tear in reality. Rift Monsters.
They weren't huge.
They weren't dramatic.
Just fast.
Too fast.
Panic exploded across the street.
People scattered in every direction.
His uncle grabbed his wrist.
"Stay behind me!"
They ran.
Claws scraped concrete behind them.
He could hear breathing that didn't belong to any human.
His heart hammered wildly.
They turned into a narrow alley—
And one of the monsters dropped from above.
His uncle shoved him backward.
"GO!"
The boy stumbled and fell.
He looked up just in time to see his uncle standing between him and the creature.
"No—!"
His uncle picked up a broken metal pipe, hands shaking but steady.
"Run!" his uncle shouted. "Don't look back!"
But he couldn't move.
He was frozen.
The monster lunged.
His uncle didn't scream.
He simply fell.
The world went silent.
His mind broke.
"Uncle…?"
He crawled forward on trembling hands.
The monster turned toward him.
Its empty eyes locked onto his.
He couldn't breathe.
So this was it.
Just like his parents.
Powerless until the end.
A shadow flashed overhead.
A blade of light cut through the air.
The monster collapsed.
He felt warm liquid splash onto his face—not blood, just glowing residue that faded into smoke.
A figure landed between him and the remaining creatures.
A Hunter.
Armor marked with glowing lines of Universe Energy.
In seconds, the rest of the monsters were gone.
The Rift sealed itself moments later.
Silence returned to the alley.
He sat there, shaking.
The Hunter turned to him.
"You okay, kid?"
He didn't answer.
He crawled to his uncle's side.
His uncle's eyes were open—but empty.
"No… no no no…"
He grabbed his uncle's jacket.
"Wake up."
Nothing.
His throat burned.
He couldn't cry.
He couldn't scream.
He just stared.
The Hunter knelt beside him.
"I'm sorry," the Hunter said quietly. "We arrived too late."
Too late.
Those words echoed endlessly.
Later, emergency teams came.
Bodies were covered.
Streets were cleaned.
Life moved on.
But for him, everything stopped.
He sat alone on the transport ride home.
No uncle.
No family.
Nothing.
That night, in the empty apartment, he curled up on the floor.
His chest hurt.
His hands trembled.
"I should've been stronger…"
His voice cracked.
"If I had awakened… if I had power…"
Tears finally fell.
And deep inside him—
Something answered.
Not light.
Not warmth.
A slow, silent presence stirred.
Watching.
Waiting.