8 years ago, the Hulsteo Corporation was in a severe drought of Vanquishers. Lacking one of the two crucial sides of the duos that carried out their duties was extremely detrimental to business and the safety of the Earth, so the corporation was desperately seeking those naturally or artificially gifted with essence flow within their bodies capable of untangling and nullifying anomalies.
After successfully locating the select few gifted individuals around the Earth, the corporation sent out private messages requesting help from said individuals and promising fully paid escort and living expenses to and for one of their 23 checkpoints scattered around the world. One such gifted individual that received an invitation was 23 year old office worker Grey Galastane, a man with little to nothing special about him aside from his powers.
Truly unremarkable.
Grey lived by himself with no spouse or children to his name. He lived a mediocre and average life as an office worker, managing his free time and a 5 day a week 9-5 job. In his free time, he went out to bars with his friends or lounged around at his apartment either playing video games or watching television.
A truly unremarkable life. But everything was about to change.
Like he would any other Friday night, Grey went out to eat dinner at a burger joint down the street from his apartment complex. This was by far his favorite establishment in the area, and he looked forward to eating their food every time he decided to go. He ordered as usual, finding an empty seat and sitting down to wait for his meal. And that was when they met.
"Can I sit here?" She asked politely. Grey looked up in a startled manner after hearing her request, not expecting a person to speak to someone as unremarkable as him. But despite his thoughts, he obliged.
"Uh, sure. Go ahead." He replied awkwardly. She giggled and sat down across from him, laying her phone face down on the table.
"Sorry for this. I know it's weird for a stranger to ask if they can sit next to you with no warning." She said.
"It's fine. Do you mind telling me why you wanted to sit here though?" Grey asked skeptically.
"Well, let's just say I've got some social anxiety, and I want to get rid of it. This is a pretty straightforward way of achieving that, but I don't really care. This is already awkward as hell, so I don't mind making it even more awkward. Plus, I need to get rid of it. For the sake of my son." She responded honestly.
Grey was caught off guard. To say he was amazed, or rather mesmerized would be an understatement. Grey's awkwardness was always getting in the way of his goals to achieve a life he actually thought was worth living. He had always strived to be someone who didn't struggle with such a demeanor and could express themself easily, but he could never do such things. And now, here he was, with a woman in his exact same situation sitting directly in front of him.
It was a shock, to say the least.
"That's kind of my situation as well, actually. What's your name?" Grey asked subconsciously.
"Lora. It's nice to meet you… uh… random stranger." She said jokingly.
"Oh, my name is Grey. Sorry, I probably should've told you that already." Grey quickly responded in an extremely awkward manner.
"No, it's fine. Just excited that someone wanted to talk to you, I assume? If so, same here. I feel that way when someone starts a conversation with me." Lora assumed.
"Yeah, that's pretty spot on. Also, you mentioned you had a son?" Grey questioned.
"Yes, yes!" Lora affirmed happily. "I love him so much. I want to raise him to be big, and strong, and… oops, I'm getting off topic. Hehe, sorry."
"You're fine. I think it's good that you love him so much. How old is he?" Grey asked, trying not to sound like a creep when he asked the question.
"He's 11, although I haven't raised him for nearly his whole life. He's adopted, actually. I got him from the orphanage a year ago. He looked horribly malnourished and mistreated, so I took him in and decided he would be my one and only son, and he took my family name after I adopted him."
"What's your last name?" Grey asked, Lora's smile giving him a warm feeling in his heart.
"Alkasar."
And the rest was history.
11 year old Kurima Alkasar wasn't exactly ecstatic about the arrival of his mother's new boyfriend and the news that he would begin living with them, although he wasn't displeased either. He was rather neutral, actually.
For 5 years, the family thrived. Lora and Grey had not gone through with marriage yet, but it was approaching quickly on the horizon. As Kurima grew up, it amazed him at how long his mother and Grey could stay dating without going through with marriage, but he never spoke out about it.
The years went by quickly with Kurima growing up into a healthy and respectable teenager, making Lora more proud than she could ever be from anything else. Grey, having served as Kurima's pseudo-father for 5 years now, also felt great joy in what person Kurima had become.
As time continued to go on, the family thrived in a light and welcoming atmosphere, Lora and Grey watching as Kurima became a strong grown-up man. And just when things seemed to be going the best they could, one event changed everything.
One message.
Grey's life had flipped on its side.
Arguments upon arguments broke out within the Alkasar household.
"You can't just leave us! Not after we've built this life together! Not after we've overcome all of our struggles together!" Lora yelled, her face streaming with tears. It broke Grey's heart to witness her so distraught, but he felt obligated to accept the invitation, no matter the circumstances.
"Lora, listen to me, please! This is the fate of the world here! I just… I feel like I have to go. To protect everyone and everything I love." Grey explained desperately, only wanting for Lora to listen to his pleas.
"We need you, Grey. Honey, please… don't leave us. Don't leave Kurima. He loves you." Lora pleaded.
"I'm sorry, Lora. I'm so sorry. But this isn't something I can say no to." Grey said remorsefully, approaching Lora and kissing her gently on her lips. "I love you. And I love Kurima. This is for your own good, I promise."
"You liar… I - I don't… I love you too…" Lora muttered softly, clinging to Grey in a tight hug as if nothing else mattered in the moment.
It took a large amount of convincing, but Lora finally managed to let Grey go and fulfill his duties as a Vanquisher. As for Kurima's outlook on the situation, he was pained greatly to see Grey's departure. For the past 5 years of his life, Grey had been an ideal father figure for Kurima, becoming a great role model for the 16 year old boy and leading him down a successful path in life. As for Kurima, he had grown quite attached to Grey, and it was a difficult stretch to go through in the immediate time after he left.
After Grey took his leave, Kurima and Lora began to join in grief over his absence. For Kurima to lose the man he looked up to and Lora to lose the man she loved was a grim situation for both of them, and they both realized the grief the other was feeling at the time.
2 years passed.
Kurima had just turned 18 a month ago, being officially out of high school and taking on the status of an adult. It made Lora's heart swell when she witnessed how much Kurima had grown since she found him at the orphanage that fateful day, and she secretly wished that Grey were there to revel in Kurima's growth with her.
Kurima had never stopped missing Grey since the day he left. Every day, he pondered over Grey's whereabouts, and whether or not he was currently working. Grey was never allowed to disclose the details of the Vanquisher job or anything related to the Hulsteo Corporation, but he was allowed to say that the fate of the Earth relied on the job, no matter how unbelievable it was by the regular uninformed person. Despite this, Lora wholeheartedly believed everything Grey had told her, because she knew he was an honest man and she trusted him fully.
This didn't make her dislike his decision any less though, even though she had originally approved it.
And so, Lora fell into a deeply depressed state of mind.
One that affected Kurima as well.
As Lora's depression worsened, Kurima's longing to see Grey again skyrocketed, the hole in his heart aching to see the man he looked up to immensely. Neither Kurima nor Lora could help the other confide in such a feeling though, and so both of their conditions ate away at their minds and hearts.
Then Kurima opened his eyes. The one day he should have kept them closed.
He laid facing up on the cold, hard ground, a large and colorless thick concrete ceiling being the only thing in his eyesight. Chatter could be heard all around, which ended up being the factor that woke Kurima up. As he sat up, he remembered where he was.
His bathtub, with a mattress over his head. His mother asleep next to him. The chatter of the news on a television outside of the room. And a siren sounding off outside.
He had fallen asleep.
His mother was still asleep next to him.
As the whirlwind approached.
"And now it looks like the tornado has taken a drastic right turn and is headed towards the more suburban area of the city. Be careful and on the lookout." A news reporter said over the television.
How could I fall asleep while hiding from a tornado? Mom did too… Kurima thought as he fully woke up. Lora slept soundly next to him, her head leaned back on the edge of the bathtub as she breathed softly.
It was at this moment Kurima realized a force, a strange, faint force pulling him towards the outside of his house. He couldn't explain it, but it was there, beckoning him to leave the bathtub and venture out into the storm outside.
A bloody battlefield.
Stains on the wall.
The front door opening with a loud creak.
And Kurima walking out, his eyes widening at the scene directly outside of his house.
Rain poured down, but there was no sight of a tornado at all. Almost as if the entire warning had been fabricated. All that was there was an empty street, and Grey.
Laying down in the middle of the road.
In an enormous puddle of blood.
Kurima's first instinct upon recognizing the severely injured man as Grey was to rush over immediately, which he did. Upon making it to Grey, Kurima leaned down and bent his knees, his body near petrified and his face displaying a morbid and horrified expression.
"G - grey?" He asked timidly, his voice breaking and stuttering. Grey slowly moved and turned over towards Kurima, coughing up blood in the process. Kurima quickly reached under him and held him up in his arms to support him.
"I - is that you, Kurima? A - ah… I was hoping I c - could see you… ever since I g - got a notice directly by the h - house." Grey managed to say, barely hanging on so he could converse with Kurima.
"W - what are you talking about? W - we need to get you help! Come on!" Kurima yelled loudly, trying to pick Grey up.
"D - do you see me, son? L - like some damn h - hospital will be a - able to save me. Forget a - about it." Grey responded.
"What? No! I - I won't just leave you here!" Kurima yelled desperately, a pleading tone in his voice.
"And h - how are you going t - to save me, huh?" Grey asked, making Kurima freeze in place. "Those damn s- splicers… I t- tried to avoid them, but… it d - didn't work out very well."
"W - what are you even doing o - out here? What's a n - notice? Splicers? Why are y - you injured so badly?" Kurima asked.
"Shhh, it'll b - be okay, Kurima. M - my time has come, but y - yours is just starting. I can f - feel it, you've g - got my power… become a Vanquisher, K - Kurima. T - they'll reach out to you, just w - wait. U - use that power to protect y - your mom… and tell h - her I said I love her, o - okay?" Grey said, his voice getting fainter and fainter.
"W - what? N - no, please… tell her yourself… tell her yourself! Come on! D - dad, no…" Kurima pleaded.
"Ah… you f- finally called me d - dad…" Grey sighed, the light in his eyes fading away.
And his body went limp.
Kurima let go of Grey's body.
In anguish he stood.
His father's blood on his hands.
And his mother behind him.
"W - what is this?" Lora asked, petrified. Kurima immediately snapped back to look at his mother upon hearing her voice.
"I - I don't know, Mom. He j - just -"
"Did you… d - did you.." Lora said quietly.
"W - what? M - mom, I -"
"Kurima… w - what did you do?" Lora asked in disbelief. Her future husband's corpse on the ground behind her son. Her son's hands and torso bloodied. It was clear what she was seeing.
"M - mom, I didn't d - do anything! He was just l - like this…" Kurima managed to say.
"I don't know how this h - happened… but you need to get out. Now." Lora demanded.
"Mom, please! I - didn't do anything-"
"Don't give me that!" Lora yelled, her voice exploding. "Get out, now! You… you killed him… what have you done?!"
"M - mommy, please! I d - didn't do anything! Please!" Kurima yelled through unending tears.
"Don't call me that… I'm not your mom anymore." Lora spoke with disgust. "Leave. NOW!" She screamed, her voice full of hurt.
And it was at this point Kurima realized there was nothing he could do.
He had to pay the price for something he did not do.
Something he didn't deserve.
This was when Kurima Alkasar's life ended.
And the Nighthawk was born.
Loneliness and grief shaped Nighthawk into the person he is now. Now, he has insight. He has learned many things, but some things are still unknown to him.
He knows of bonding. Making a great amount of memories with one who holds essence within their body will cause the other person to also inherit essence into their body, as the essence is the flow of memories and therefore transfers through memories.
He knows of loneliness more than anything. The years of his life after losing everything up until now have been full of loneliness, more than could be justified.
He knows of family. Not only his now broken one, but his new one. He knows of being taken in by a new family despite being an adult, and he knows of their kindness towards him. He knows of his loving parents and the light of his life, his sister Nari. The sister he can no longer see.
He does not know the nature of anomalies, nor does anybody. Why collisions occur is still unknown to everyone, and may be forever.
He does not know what splicers are. Apart from the dying words of his father, he has never heard of them anywhere else. This is the one mystery that has plagued his mind since that fateful day. What are splicers? It may never be known.
This is the Nighthawk of today. Not the Kurima Alkasar of the past.
That person does not exist anymore.