To the hospital i did some final checkups. Once discharged, I headed to the Eri's base, where two new faces awaited.
Eri introduced them with the same seriousness she took everything else, and I felt this weird sensation of excitement and tension mix in my chest.
"This is Mia,"
Eri motioned to a woman leaned casually against the wall, her posture languid-but her eyes sharp.
She had short, dark hair, with a slight smirk that showed she knew just about what you were thinking before you said it.
"She's our intelligence expert. "
"If there's information to be found, Mia is the one that digs it up."
Mia nodded at me, giving me a once-over that was little more than a glance.
"So you're the kid with the inheritance and the vendetta,"
She said, her smirk flowering into a grin.
"Nice to meet you, Akira."
"I'm looking forward to seeing what you can bring to the table."
I met her gaze, liking the forthrightness.
"Hope I'm not running behind schedule.
Eri motioned beside her to a tall, muscular figure.
"And this is Entoa. "
"He's our combat specialist-he handles anything that needs… a heavier approach.
Entoa inclined his head, an inch, impassive.
Silent, his staring eyes unyielding, he wore a calm confidence akin to the stillness of the middle of a hurricane. Muscular, stretched with the blemishes of battles fought and won, his eyes were softer than anything else.
"Akira," - He said, curt and straightforward, in a low, even tone.
"Heard much about you and im sorry for your loss."
"Takes guts to get into this line of work without powers.
I shrugged, keeping my tone light.
"Guess I'll just have to get creative, then."
A flicker of approval crossed Entoa's face.
"Good answer."
"It takes more than just power to make someone strong.
"Thank you" - Akira replied
One year later
"In one year, I've gone from the darkest place of my life to something else."
"Not to light, but to focus."
"Eri and her crew have been tireless."
"From them, I learned all about the structure of Earthly power how STARS are ranked, how strength is measured, and the simple fact that, on this world only power matters."
"I mean i knew what rank is the strongest or i thought i knew but that was all since i wished of becoming one but that's all."
"I didn't know with details about them , even when father when he had time he contiuned told me to focus on this new changed world and to learn about it and the new superhumans because they where the future of this planet"
"I didn't care to much tho i was to busy with school and hangout out with my friends"
"So basically."
E-ranks are stronger than any ordinary human but still lowest in rank compared to others levels."
"Then, there were the D-ranks-they could handle what an E-rank couldn't."
"The pattern goes on: C-rank, stronger than D; B-rank stronger than C, and so forth."
"Finally, there were the A-ranks, like Eri."
"Formidable was the word-strong, not just in strength but in the leading aspect."
"An A-rank would wipe out small units or command a team of STARS with ease."
Above them all are the S-ranks, practically legends each, capable of destroying a city without breaking a sweat."
"They're powerful, they're rare, but they're not the end of the line."
"Not here."
"Earth's true monsters-the SS-ranks-could destroy whole countries if they wanted to."
"They stand at the pinnacle of power...well, almost..."
"Because then there's the National Level STARS. "
"Less than the fingers on one hand, they aren't bound by laws, treaties, or restrictions."
"They are the law."
"If they say a mountain moves, people start pushing."
"They're unparalleled."
"Unbreakable."
"And here I am — unawakened, unranked — chasing down the people responsible for reducing my life to ashes."
"Now a commoner in a world ruled by gods."
"And here they are, the species I hate with my every single cell more than anything in the world:
"Demonic Humans."
"Just thinking about them sends me into a rage that is impossible to describe with words."
"They're nothing like us, not like STARS, with limits, with rules.
"Crazy" does not even begin to describe it."
"The need for power is there, but in truth, they are consumed by it, some sort of warped hunger that grows in intensity the more horrific they become.
Unlike STARS, their ranks do not follow any order.
"They do not play by the same rules or have the same limits."
"They pull power from something darker, something nobody understands yet."
"What we know is that they are unpredictable."
"After every fight, they return stronger, as if each fight, each drop of chaos fuels them, turns them into something more monstrous."
"It doesn't matter if they were powerless to begin with."
"Anyone, any human without a hint of awakening, can turn into one of them tainted, corrupted."
"Nightfall… it's the place who has gathered most of those monsters and now become their nest."
A place of congregation for these monsters, a warped command center controlling them like puppets."
"And that's my revenge."
"They had taken all that was dear to me, and every ounce of my anger, every bit of grief, is aimed right at them."
Then one day I was fascinated by the weird, shining photo of a material Eri had laid on the desk between us.
"This wasn't any ordinary metal."
"What is it?"
Eri's voice was neutral, but the implication of what she said hung in the air.
"This material comes from some of the most dangerous dungeons on Earth" - Eri said.
"Places even the veteran STARS avoid."
"No one has ever successfully raided the sites it's harvested from."
"So… what can it do? - Akira asked
Eri moved closer, her eyes fixed on the metal, as if that held all the answers.
"Your father was working on technology that could interface with memory."
"This material is the missing piece."
"With it, we could reconstruct the events of that night,"
She said, her tone thick with emotion.
"Akira, that could show the faces of the Nightfall agents who were there."
My heartbeat echoed in my ears; thoughts tumbled over each other while I tried to wrap my brain around what she'd just said.
"You're telling me… this thing could bring those faces to life?"
"Give us the faces of who was there that night?
Eri nodded, her eyes being relenting. "Exactly."
"Your father's designs were revolutionary, Akira."
"With this, we can make your memories tangible. "
"If we see them, we can identify them. "
"We finally get to know exactly who took everything from you."
"To think that I actually might see them, that I actually might be able to find them felt finally like having a weapon with which to aim at the ghosts that haunted me.
"Let's do this"- Akira Said
"But there is a big problem to use this"- Eri muttered
"WHAT!??"