Ren Takahara slouched in his desk chair, the soft hum of the classroom fan doing little to drown out the dull monotone of his teacher's lecture. The room was heavy with the smell of chalk and stale air, the same four walls he'd known since middle school feeling more like a cage than a place of learning.

He tapped his pen absentmindedly against his notebook, the pages filled with neat, methodical notes. Ren had always been a good student. Smart, quiet, never causing trouble. But being good didn't matter. No one noticed him. No one cared.

Not Aya. Not his classmates. Not even his teachers, who often forgot his name during roll call.

"Forgettable," he'd overheard someone say once, and it had stuck with him ever since. He didn't exist in anyone's world, not really. He was just a shadow, lingering in the background while the world spun on without him.

Maybe it's better that way.

His eyes flicked to the window, where the sun was beginning to dip below the horizon, casting the sky in brilliant shades of orange and red. Distant laughter from outside broke his train of thought. The kids from the sports team, celebrating another win, no doubt. Ren watched them for a moment, a bitter taste rising in the back of his throat.

They had everything he didn't—friends, recognition, a place in the world. And Aya...

His chest tightened at the thought of her, her name like a blade twisting in his gut. She was the one thing, the one person, that had made his monotonous life bearable. The girl with the easy laugh, the bright smile, the energy that lit up every room she entered.

And yet, even to her, he was invisible.

"I don't even notice you," she'd said once, her words echoing in his head like a cruel joke. No malice in her voice, just a simple, indifferent truth. He didn't exist to her. Not in any way that mattered.

The bell rang, jerking him out of his thoughts. Students rushed to pack their bags, eager to escape into the evening. Ren took his time, moving slowly, deliberately, until the room had mostly emptied. He liked it that way—alone, no expectations, no judgments.

As he stepped out into the fading daylight, the usual noise of the school courtyard greeted him. Groups of friends chatting, cars pulling out of the lot, and a soft breeze rustling the trees. Another day of nothing.

Ren walked the familiar path home, his thoughts swirling in the same endless loop they always did—wondering if things would ever change, if he would ever be more than just a background character in everyone else's story. It was a question that gnawed at him, a quiet desperation he never showed on the surface.

He passed Aya and her friends, their laughter piercing the air. She didn't even glance in his direction, too caught up in her own world. Ren's steps faltered for a moment, his heart heavy, but he kept walking. What was the point? She'd never see him.

The sky was growing darker, the orange hues shifting to a deep, ominous purple. Strange, Ren thought, as he glanced up. He had never seen the sky like that before.

And then the air changed.

It was subtle at first, a shift so slight that he almost missed it. The breeze stilled, the distant sounds of the town muffling as though someone had pressed the mute button on the world. Ren stopped in his tracks, looking around. Something wasn't right.

The hairs on the back of his neck stood up, an instinctual warning that something was coming. Something big.

And then he felt it—a low, deep tremor that seemed to come from the earth itself. The ground beneath his feet shuddered, sending a shockwave through his body. Ren's heart skipped a beat. Around him, people stopped in their tracks, confused, looking up at the sky with growing unease.

A deep, resonating boom split the air, like the crack of thunder, but there were no clouds. The sky was clear, save for the strange purple hue that now seemed to pulse with energy.

"What the hell..." Ren whispered under his breath, his pulse quickening.

And then, it happened.

The sky—no, the fabric of reality itself—tore apart.

High above, a jagged line of light ripped through the sky, as if some invisible hand had slashed it open with a knife. The tear widened, and through it, a blinding light spilled out, bathing the world in an eerie glow. The air around Ren vibrated with an unnatural hum, filling his ears with a high-pitched whine.

Panic erupted around him. People screamed, running in all directions, some falling to the ground in terror. Ren stood frozen, his mind struggling to comprehend what he was seeing.

Through the tear, something... descended.

It wasn't a comet, or a meteor. It was too... deliberate. Too controlled. A massive, glowing object hurtled toward the earth, trailing streaks of blinding energy in its wake. The ground quaked as it neared, the force of its descent shaking buildings and shattering windows.

Ren's breath caught in his throat, every instinct screaming at him to run. But he couldn't move. His legs felt like they were cemented to the ground, his eyes locked on the descending object as it crashed into the earth with a deafening roar.

The shockwave from the impact knocked him off his feet, sending him sprawling onto the pavement. His vision blurred, the world spinning as dust and debris filled the air.

For a moment, everything was silent.

Then, slowly, Ren pushed himself up, coughing as he tried to regain his bearings. His body ached, his head pounding. But through the haze, he saw it—the crater, massive and smoldering, at the center of the park. Flames licked at the edges, and the air was thick with smoke.

And in the center of the destruction, something moved.

Ren squinted, his vision still swimming, but there was no mistaking it. A figure, standing tall amidst the rubble.

A man.

No, not a man.

Something... more.

The figure was cloaked in a shroud of energy, its form crackling with raw power. Ren could barely make out his features through the swirling smoke and light, but the aura around him was unmistakable. It radiated with a force that made Ren's skin crawl, like standing too close to an open flame.

The figure's head turned, and for the briefest of moments, their eyes met.

And in that moment, Ren knew.

Everything had changed.