The city burned.
Once a place of life and bustling energy, it was now reduced to crumbling ruins under a blackened sky. The air reeked of ash and despair, the cries of the wounded echoing through the chaos. Yet, amidst the devastation, no heroes came. They didn't lift a finger to save the fallen or protect the innocent. They had already moved on to their next grand battle, leaving the weak to fend for themselves.
Kael knelt in the rubble, trembling. Blood coated his hands—not his own, but theirs. The one person who had shown him love, who had protected him when the world turned cold, now lay lifeless before him. He shook them, his voice cracking with desperate cries. "Please... get up. I—I need you."
Nothing.
Tears streamed down his face, falling onto the cold, lifeless body. Around him, onlookers murmured, their faces pale, but no one dared step forward. Their gazes held pity, not action. Kael raised his head, anger burning in his chest as he screamed at them.
"You could've stopped this! You could've done something!"
But they turned away. The heroes they idolized had already declared their victory. The casualties were collateral, insignificant in their triumph.
Kael felt something break inside him.
When the last bystander left, leaving him alone in the ruins, a chilling voice spoke from the shadows. "It's always the same, isn't it? They cheer for their champions while forgetting the lives crushed underfoot."
Kael froze, his breath hitching. He spun to face the source of the voice—a man cloaked in darkness, his presence exuding an aura of authority and menace.
"I can see it in your eyes," the man continued, stepping closer. "The anger, the pain. You want to make them pay, don't you? To make them remember this moment for the rest of their lives."
Kael's hands clenched into fists. "What do you know about it?"
The man tilted his head, his expression calm but his tone piercing. "I know the truth they won't tell you. About why this happened. About who truly allowed it to happen."
Kael faltered, his grief warring with curiosity. "...What do you mean?"
The man held out a device, a holographic recording flickering to life. Kael watched, his heart sinking as the truth unraveled before his eyes. Lies, manipulation, and betrayal—all orchestrated by those he once looked up to.
"This is the world you live in," the man said, his voice as cold as steel. "A world where power decides who lives and who dies. They killed your loved one, and they'll do it again unless someone stops them. I can give you that power, Kael."
Kael's eyes burned with rage, the flames of grief giving way to something darker. "Why? Why would you help me?"
The man's lips curled into a dangerous smile. "Because I see potential in you. You can be more than a forgotten victim. You can be a force they'll never forget."
Kael hesitated, the weight of the offer pressing on him. But as he looked back at the lifeless body of the only person who had ever mattered to him, the choice became clear.
"What do I have to do?" he whispered.
The man's smile widened. "Take my hand, and I'll show you."
And as Kael grasped it, the world as he knew it began to change.