Chapter 1: The Alleyway
The rain fell steadily over Shigatsu, a ceaseless downpour that blurred the city's neon lights into streaks of color across the soaked streets. Pod pulled his hood tighter over his head, shielding his face from the cold. His feet moved aimlessly, taking him through the cracked sidewalks and alleyways of his neighborhood. The city was loud, always loud. Even now, after the attack, there were sirens, distant shouting, and the crackling of fires that hadn't yet been put out. The Choujin attack had left a scar on Shigatsu, but for some, it was just another day.
For Pod, it felt like the world had finally caught up to the chaos inside him. He kept walking, not sure where he was going—just that he had to keep moving.
His father's death years ago still haunted him. Pod was only a child then, too young to understand the strangeness surrounding it. Officially, it had been written off as an accident, but everyone knew better. His father had crossed paths with a Choujin, and no one survived encounters with Choujin without consequence. Not ordinary people, anyway.
Pod had been powerless to stop it, and it seemed that the city, too, was powerless against the growing threat. The Choujin, with their unnatural abilities, wreaked havoc wherever they went, tearing apart lives and homes. And ordinary people? They just suffered, surviving day by day, left to pick up the pieces.
Pod sighed, rubbing his hands together to warm them. The thought of Choujin made his stomach churn. A part of him hated them—hated the power they held, the destruction they caused. Another part of him, a quieter, more dangerous part, envied them. The idea of being more than just ordinary had wormed its way into his mind, festering there since he was a child. He could never shake the feeling that he was meant for something greater.
He just didn't know what.
The streets eventually led him to a part of the city he rarely visited—a forgotten neighborhood, where the buildings were crumbling, and the shadows seemed to stretch longer than they should. It was quiet here, quieter than it had any right to be, considering the chaos that had engulfed the rest of Shigatsu.
Pod slowed his pace, something drawing his attention to a narrow alleyway ahead. It was strange. While the city was drenched in rain, this alley seemed untouched, as if the downpour avoided it entirely. Pod's heart thumped harder in his chest, a primal instinct warning him to stay away, but his legs moved on their own, leading him toward the darkness.
As he stepped into the alley, the sounds of the city faded behind him, swallowed by the silence. Pod's breath caught in his throat, his pulse quickening. The shadows in the alley shifted unnaturally, like living things crawling against the walls.
He was about to turn back when something moved ahead.
Out of the gloom, a figure emerged, tall and slender, its body twisted and wrong. The man—or whatever it was—had skin as pale as moonlight, and eyes that gleamed with an unsettling glow. His joints bent at odd angles, his limbs too long, his fingers too thin. Pod knew instantly that this was no human. This was something far worse.
The creature smiled, lips pulling back to reveal sharp, yellowed teeth. "You look lost," it said, its voice rasping like metal scraping against stone.
Pod stood frozen, every muscle in his body screaming at him to run, but he couldn't move. The creature took a step closer, the air around them growing heavier, darker.
"I've seen you before, boy," it continued, its smile widening. "You don't belong among the ordinary. I can feel it—the yearning inside you. The desire for something more."
Pod swallowed hard. "Who... what are you?"
The creature tilted its head, the movement unnatural, almost serpentine. "Names are unimportant. What matters is that I can give you what you want. Strength. Power. The ability to be more than just a helpless boy in a broken city."
Pod clenched his fists, the memory of his father flashing through his mind. The helplessness, the anger, the longing to fight back, to change something. His voice was shaky when he spoke. "What's the price?"
The creature's grin twisted further, as if it had been waiting for that question. "A sliver of your soul. Just enough to unlock your potential. You'll become what you were always meant to be—a Choujin."
The word hung in the air between them, thick with temptation. Pod hesitated. He had always despised the Choujin, the chaos they brought. But deep down, the idea of becoming one—of gaining the power to stop them—was intoxicating.
"I won't become like them," Pod said, more to himself than to the creature.
The pale figure chuckled, a low, rasping sound. "Oh, no. You'll be something entirely different. Unique."
Pod's heart raced. He knew he was making a dangerous decision, but he couldn't bear the thought of being powerless anymore. He nodded.
As soon as he did, the air around him changed. A surge of energy pulsed through him, cold and dark, sinking into his bones. His vision blurred, and a burning sensation spread through his body like wildfire. He gritted his teeth, falling to his knees as the pain intensified. But this wasn't like the grotesque transformations he had seen in other Choujin—it was different, more controlled.
The first thing Pod noticed was the strength. His muscles expanded, stretching his clothes as raw power surged through his body. He gasped, his breath coming in sharp bursts as his senses sharpened beyond anything he could have imagined. The smell of rain, distant footsteps, the faintest vibration in the ground—everything became amplified, crisp and clear. He could feel every drop of rain as if they were pebbles falling against his skin, the world coming alive in vivid detail.
His hearing sharpened, too, picking up the faintest whispers of conversations blocks away, the groan of shifting metal as a building settled. His vision adjusted to the darkness, becoming so acute that he could count every crack in the brick walls around him.
Pod staggered to his feet, breathless from the rush of newfound power. He looked down at his hands, half-expecting them to be twisted or monstrous like the Choujin he had seen before. But no—his hands were still his, just stronger. He felt invincible, like nothing could hurt him.
The creature had vanished, leaving Pod alone in the alley with his new abilities. The weight of the bargain he had struck hadn't yet settled in his mind. At that moment, all he could think about was how incredible it felt to be more than what he had been.
Testing his strength, Pod grabbed a nearby rusted pipe sticking out of the ground and yanked it effortlessly from the concrete, as if it were made of paper. The ground beneath his feet cracked slightly, the force of his strength almost surprising him.
For the first time in his life, he felt powerful. He could fight back. He wasn't just an ordinary boy anymore. But as he stood there, his senses still heightened, the reality of the bargain started to creep in. Beneath the strength, beneath the power, there was a lingering darkness, a coldness that curled around his heart.
He could feel it—the thing inside him that had changed, the sliver of himself that was gone. Something had shifted within, and with it, came a quiet, unsettling voice. One that reminded him that nothing came without a cost.
Pod shook his head, pushing the thought away for now. He had power, and for now, that was enough. But as he turned and walked back into the rain, the weight of what he had done began to sink in, a small, gnawing doubt he couldn't quite ignore.
The bargain had been made. Now all that was left was to see the price he would have to pay.