"September 23, 2024, went down in history as a day that marked a before and after, not only for humanity but for the entire Earth. Even decades later, the origin of the event remains unknown. A light covered the planet in a matter of seconds, and as quickly as it arrived, it disappeared. This event was later known as The Glare.
But its effects are still felt to this day because that light released an energy simply known as Epsilon Energy. Not only did it provoke an enormous amount of natural disasters in the following two decades, altering the planet's topography forever and killing a large portion of the global population, but it also awakened the Epsilon Gene in animals and plants, mutating them into beings known as Mutated Beasts or Epsilon Beasts. Together with the disasters, these creatures reduced the human population drastically. This period became known as the Age of Extinction.
But one day, everything changed with the birth of the first group of babies born after The Glare. At the age of six, they displayed superhuman abilities. These humans, known as The Awakened, possessed the Epsilon Gene, and with them, it became possible to fight the beasts, reclaim land, and establish the first armored cities, humanity's bastions in this difficult era. This era became known as the Age of Counterattack.
But all good things must come to an end. Fifty years after the start of the Age of Counterattack, human greed reared its ugly head once again. A group of Awakened individuals tried to overthrow the new world government. This group, unafraid to use terrorist attacks with Awakened individuals to achieve their goals, became known as Black Eclipse. Under the guidance of their leader, they did not hesitate to commit all the crimes they could in the name of founding a new world order, claiming that the new world government was unfit to rule and that only those with the strongest Epsilon Genes should lead. These were known as the first supervillains.
But there can't be villains without heroes. These were individuals who did not hesitate to defend the innocent from both villain and monster, opposing Black Eclipse fervently. This brought forth an era of conflict that lasted 15 years and ended with the fall of Black Eclipse and the death of its leader, known simply as The General, at the hands of the greatest hero of the time: Infinite, who only reappeared in humanity's most desperate moments.
Thus, the current era was born: The Era of Heroes."
Beep beep beep
"And that concludes the class. For homework, write a summary of pages 34 to 45. Have a good day."
The professor said to his class, a group of 5 and 6-year-olds, who immediately groaned about the homework, knowing their teacher wouldn't care. Among the children was a rather striking little girl with white hair and red eyes.
"Aelyra!" shouted another girl at the first one.
"Do you want to come to my house today?" she asked excitedly.
"Sorry, I'm going out with my mom today," Aelyra replied, disappointing the other girl.
"Alright... well, see you later," said the girl, feeling down.
"See you, Selphira!" Aelyra called out as she ran toward the school exit, where her mother was waiting.
"Hi, mom!" Aelyra greeted.
"Hello, sweetheart," Zerith Noctis responded warmly, her voice filled with affection.
"How was school today?" she asked, glancing at her daughter through the rearview mirror.
"It was good... we learned about the history from The Glare up to the start of the current era."
"The Era of Heroes... So, do you still want to be a heroine?" Zerith asked with a slight teasing tone, though her daughter didn't seem to notice.
"YES! When I grow up, I'll be the number one heroine, even better than Infinite!"
"Of course you will," Zerith sighed, her voice carrying a trace of exasperation and a look of resigned amusement.
"And how was work, mom?"
"It went well, the photographer was in a good mood today."
...
And so, mother and daughter continued chatting as they drove through Neonara, a city filled with towering buildings, flying vehicles, and all sorts of people—some with extra features or animal-like traits. In the distance loomed the enormous wall that protected them from the horrors of the outside world.
...
After a short ride home, they finally arrived.
"Hey mom?"
"Yes?"
"When do you think my gene will awaken?"
"That should be soon since you're already six years old."
"And what do you think it will be like?"
"Well… mine allows me to change my appearance," she said as she altered her eye color, hair, and even her skin tone to make her point. "So, I guess it might have something to do with changing or modifying your body."
"What was dad's gene like?"
"Oh, ah… it was quite powerful," Zerith said, her tone making it clear she didn't want to delve deeper into the topic.
"Well... what's for dinner?"
"I made your favorite today..."
...
The next day at school...
"Look, I have wings!" shouted a boy as he extended his eagle-like wings from his back.
"Congratulations, Dilan! You're the first in the class to awaken your gene!" the teacher announced.
"Good for Dilan! I hope my gene is just as flashy as his!" Selphira said to Aelyra.
"I hope mine is strong," Aelyra responded.
"Oh right, you want to be a heroine, don't you?"
"Yeah! And I'll be the number one her—" Aelyra suddenly stopped mid-sentence, her gaze unfocused.
"Aelyra? Aelyra?" Selphira called, waving her hand in front of her friend's face. Growing worried, she grabbed Aelyra by the shoulders and started shaking her, but Aelyra suddenly pushed her away and began walking toward Dilan.
Seeing Aelyra approaching him, Dilan beamed with excitement, thinking she was about to congratulate him like everyone else had that day.
"Hi, Aelyra! What do you think of my wings?" he asked, extending them even further to show off. But what he didn't expect was for her to ignore him entirely and place her hand on his shoulder.
"W-what are you doing?" Dilan asked, now nervous.
When Aelyra didn't respond, his nerves turned into irritation, but before he could say anything, there was a strange sound, like fabric tearing. Suddenly, two wings sprouted from Aelyra's back. Unlike Dilan's, hers were black along the skeletal frame, fading into pure white at the tips, resembling those from the book cover.
Everyone stared in shock until someone finally shouted, "She awakened her gene!"
"What?"
"Just like that?"
"Her wings are prettier than Dilan's!"
The class erupted with chatter—some asking questions, others congratulating her—but Aelyra didn't pay attention to any of it. She just felt... tired.
The room fell silent once again as they watched Aelyra collapse, unconscious, onto the floor.