"Master, we must find the one the gods have chosen." The voice was low and serious.
Far away from all of that, Xavier Yang was still asleep.
"Xavier! Wake up, you'll be late!" his mother shouted from the kitchen.
He slowly opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling for a moment before sitting up. His room was small and a bit messy, but he was used to it. "I'm awake…" he muttered.
Xavier was in his twenties, currently studying for his master's degree. Life wasn't easy for him. Every morning, his mother woke up before everyone else and went to work. She worked all day, but the money she brought home was never much. But still, it was enough to keep them going.
There were three of them in the house—Xavier, his mother, and his little sister, Cecilia, who was only twelve.
"Big brother, hurry up," Cecilia said, standing by the door in her school uniform.
"I know," Xavier replied, grabbing his bag.
He glanced at his mother in the kitchen. She looked tired, but she still smiled.
Xavier didn't say anything, but deep down, he felt it. Things couldn't go on like this forever.
---
Xavier walked his sister to school like he always did. "Study well," he said, patting Cecilia's head.
"I will," she replied with a small smile before running inside.
He stood there for a moment, watching until she disappeared into the crowd. Then he turned and headed to his own class.
It was just another normal day. Students talking. Lecturers teaching. Nothing felt out of place.
Xavier sat in his seat, half listening to the lecture, half thinking about everything else—money, his family, what he was going to do after graduation. Everything felt the same. Too normal.
But what he didn't know was—At that very moment, something was changing.
In different parts of the world, strange cracks began to appear. At first, people thought it was nothing. Just a weird phenomenon.
Then… the monsters came out. They crawled out of the cracks—huge, terrifying, nothing like anything humans had ever seen before.
And they didn't come peacefully. They just started hunting.
Cities fell into chaos. People ran, screamed, tried to escape. But there was nowhere to run.
Within minutes, the world began to change.
And Xavier… was still sitting in his classroom.
Not knowing that everything he knew—Was about to end.
---
As soon as the lecture ended, students began to pack their things.
Xavier stretched a little and reached for his phone.
Then suddenly—Ping. Another notification.
Then another. And another.
"What's going on?" someone in the class said.
The room slowly grew quiet as everyone stared at their screens. News alerts flooded in.
"Unknown creatures attacking civilians."
"Multiple cities under attack."
"Stay indoors. Do not approach."
A student turned on his laptop. Someone else switched on the classroom TV.
The screen flickered… then showed chaos.
People running. Buildings damaged.
Something large moving in the distance.
"Is this real…?" a girl whispered.
Xavier's grip on his phone tightened. Then a new alert popped up. His eyes froze on the screen.
"Monsters spotted near local elementary schools."
For a second, his mind went blank. Elementary school. Cecilia. "No…" he muttered. His chair scraped loudly as he stood up.
"Xavier?" someone called, confused.
But he didn't answer. He was already moving.
---
Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, chaos reigned just the same.
But this group was different.
They had powers—powers that, for most people, were forbidden. Powers that could get them killed if anyone found out.
There were six of them. Four boys, two girls. They moved like a single unit, each attack precise, each movement calculated.
Earphones were plugged into their ears, their only link to each other. Through them, voices crackled with instructions.
"Left flank, two o'clock!" one of the guys shouted.
"I've got the rear!" one of the girls answered, sending a burst of fire at a monster lunging from the shadows.
The monsters didn't hesitate. They were fast, relentless.
Steel met claw. Fire met flesh. The city street shook with the impact of powers colliding with monsters.
"Keep moving!" another guy yelled. "Don't let them surround you!"
Despite the danger, there was a rhythm to their fight—a deadly dance that only they could perform together.
And still… the monsters kept coming.
---
They kept fighting, throwing everything they had at the monsters.
Blasts of fire, shards of steel, bursts of lightning—nothing seemed to slow them down for long.
But with every monster they destroyed, ten more appeared in its place.
It was like a never-ending wave.
"Wait… why are there more?!" one of the guys shouted into his earphone, panic creeping into his voice.
"I don't know!" one of the girls replied, her hands trembling as she summoned a shield to block an attack. "It's like… killing them only makes them stronger!"
They exchanged looks over the chaos, eyes wide, hearts racing.
No matter how fast they moved, no matter how precise their strikes, the monsters multiplied. It was overwhelming.
And in the midst of it all, a thought began to creep into the back of their minds:
This isn't just an attack… this is a war we might not survive.
---
The group fought on, surrounded by monsters that kept multiplying, their powers straining against the endless waves.
Then, a ping sounded in their earphones.
"Finally," one of the guys muttered.
A small screen lit up with a strange image—and everyone froze.
It was… a cat. Not just any cat. A cat in a tiny suit, with glasses on sitting behind a desk like a serious manager.
"Listen to me very carefully," the cat said, voice surprisingly commanding. "These monsters aren't ordinary. They're here for a reason… a reason I don't understand yet. Wrap up and come back immediately."
The line went dead. The group stared at each other, blinking.
"…Did the cat just tell us to leave?" one of the girls asked, barely holding back a laugh.
"Yep," another guy said flatly. "We're officially being ordered around by a cat in a suit."
A tense silence followed, broken only by the distant roars of monsters.
Somehow… even in the middle of chaos, it was almost funny.
But only for a moment. Because the monsters weren't waiting.
---
The elementary school was a disaster. Half the classrooms had been destroyed, walls smashed, furniture overturned. Smoke curled into the sky, mixing with the screams of children.
Xavier ran through the chaos, pushing debris aside, dodging falling beams and panicked students.
"Cecilia!" he shouted, his voice cracking.
Children were running in every direction, crying, shouting, screaming for their parents. The sound was deafening, but Xavier ignored it. All that mattered was finding his sister.
He checked the classrooms—one by one. Each room was empty or already wrecked. His heart pounded harder with every door he opened.
"Cecilia!" he yelled again, louder this time, fear clawing at him. Nothing.
He ran into the gym, the cafeteria, even the playground. Every corner, every shadow… gone.
His stomach twisted. Where are you, Cecilia?
Panic threatened to take over, but Xavier clenched his fists. He wouldn't give up. He wouldn't.
Not while his little sister was out there somewhere.
---
Somewhere in the shadows of the school, away from the chaos, a monster crouched.
Its skin was dark and slick, eyes glowing faintly red. Its long, clawed fingers held something small and fragile. Cecilia.
She was unconscious, limp in its grip, her school uniform dirty and torn.
The monster's eyes flicked toward the sounds of destruction outside—the screams, the running children. Then it grinned, showing sharp teeth.
"You're… not supposed to be here, little one," it said, its voice low, smooth, almost mocking.
Cecilia didn't respond. She couldn't. Her small body shook faintly, but she remained unconscious.
The monster's clawed hand tightened slightly around her, almost possessively.
"I wonder," it murmured, tilting its head, "what he'll do when he finds you…"
Outside, Xavier was still searching, unaware of the danger so close.
---
Xavier's chest heaved as he ran through the debris-strewn hallways.
He still hadn't found Cecilia. Not in the classrooms, not in the gym, not anywhere.
Frustration and fear gnawed at him.
He pulled out his phone with shaking hands and called his mother.
"Mom… has Cecilia… has she come home?" he asked, trying to keep his voice steady.
There was a pause on the other end.
"Xavier… no, she hasn't," his mother replied, her tone tight with worry. "Have you seen her?"
"No… I… I can't find her anywhere!" Xavier said, panic creeping into his voice.
There was a silence for a moment, then his mother's voice softened, trembling.
"Xavier… be careful… don't—"
The call cut off suddenly, leaving only the ringing in his ear.
Xavier gritted his teeth and looked around at the chaos.
She's here somewhere… I'll find her, he thought. And this time, he wouldn't stop for anything.
---
At the far end of the city, the group of six continued their desperate fight.
Blasts of fire, flashes of light, and the sounds of clashing powers filled the street. Sweat dripped down their faces, muscles burned, but they didn't stop.
Then… something unexpected happened.
The monsters froze mid-attack. Their glowing eyes flickered. Their snarls died in their throats.
One by one, they turned and retreated, melting into the shadows from where they had come.
The group stared in disbelief, catching their breath.
"What just… happened?" one of the guys muttered.
"They just… left?" one of the girls said, eyes wide. "They didn't even fight back."
A tense silence fell over the team. It was too strange. Too sudden. The monsters had never retreated before.
"Something's coming," another guy said grimly, tightening his grip on his weapon.
Even the cat-manager from HQ couldn't have predicted this.
---
The group didn't waste any time. As the monsters retreated, they made their way back through the city, careful to stay out of sight.
Their identities were a secret. To the world, they were nothing more than ordinary people. But in truth, they were more like secret agents—each one wielding powers that were forbidden and dangerous.
No one outside their organization could know who they were or what they could do. If anyone found out, it could mean death—or worse.
By the time they reached their HQ, the city skyline was darkening under the night sky, and the streets were eerily quiet. The destruction was still evident, but the monsters were gone… for now.
Inside the HQ, the cat in a suit waited behind his desk, tapping his paws impatiently.
"Report," he demanded, voice serious.
The group exchanged glances, still catching their breath, then began explaining what had happened—the relentless monsters, their multiplication, and the sudden retreat.
The cat listened silently, tail flicking with concentration.
"Interesting," he finally said. "They came for a reason. And they left for a reason. But mark my words… this is far from over."
The team nodded in unison.
Outside, the city was quiet… but the night was far from safe.
---
Xavier ran through the shattered hallways of the elementary school, desperation clawing at his chest.
Then, something caught his eye.
A small, familiar shape lying on the floor.
It was Cecilia's favorite toy—her little stuffed rabbit, worn and frayed from years of love.
But something was wrong.
A dark stain spread across it, glistening in the dim light. Blood.
Xavier's heart stopped.
"No… no, no, no…" he whispered, his voice barely audible over the chaos.
He fell to his knees, grabbing the toy and holding it tightly. His hands shook.
The thought of his little sister, injured—or worse—fueled a sudden surge of panic.
"Cecilia! Where are you?!" he screamed, his voice echoing through the ruined hallways.
He looked around frantically, eyes scanning every shadow, every broken corner.
Somewhere close… he could feel it. She was here.
And whatever was holding her… it wasn't going to let her go easily.