Ash and Lilith were siblings born into a world of nightmares. Ash was just 10 years old, small and wide-eyed with fear, while his older sister, Lilith, at 16, was tall and fiercely protective of him.
Their lives had been a desperate fight for survival ever since the day they were born.
The siblings had already lost so much, their parents. Their mother and father had sacrificed themselves to save them during a Reclaimer attack, urging Lilith and Ash to run while they held back the creatures.
'Protect each other,' their mother had said with tears in her eyes, right before the Reclaimers took her.
Those words echoed in Lilith's mind every time she looked at her little brother.
Life after that was bleak. They moved from one ruined shelter to another, scavenging for scraps of food and water, hiding from the ever-present threat of the Reclaimers.
Every night, they prayed for rescue. Stories of the Vanguard—a group of survivors who had somehow found a way to fight back against the monsters offered a glimmer of hope.
But those stories were faint whispers, and the chances of being found by the Vanguard were slim.
Then the day came when their fragile world fell apart again.
The siblings were huddled in an abandoned house on the outskirts of a shattered town. The air was heavy with the smell of decay, and the distant growls of Reclaimers echoed like a storm approaching.
Lilith had been reinforcing the door with broken furniture while Ash looked over the window for any incoming Reclaimers.
A sudden crash shattered the tense silence. The wall opposite them crumbled as a Reclaimer—a Fang, one of the smaller but deadliest types—lunged through the debris.
It stood nearly twice Ash's height, its long, skeletal arms ending in claws sharp enough to carve through steel. Its jagged teeth glistened, stained with the blood of its last kill.
Ash froze in terror. The Fang's glowing red eyes locked onto him, and it let out a guttural growl that made the air vibrate.
Lilith grabbed a rusted metal rod she had found earlier and stepped in front of her brother.
"Run, Ash!" she shouted, her voice trembling but firm.
"I'll buy you some time."
Ash shook his head, tears streaming down his face.
"I'm not leaving you!"
"You have to," Lilith said, her voice breaking.
"You're all I have left. Please, go!"
The Fang crouched, ready to pounce.
Ash wanted to move, to fight, to do anything to stop the monster.
But he was just a kid. Powerless. He clenched his fists, hating the creature with every fiber of his being, hating how weak he was.
The Fang lunged.
Before it could reach Lilith, a thunderous crash came from above. The ceiling split open, and a figure shot through the dust like a black blur.
In an instant, the Fang's head was severed from its body, its dark blood spraying across the room.
The figure landed gracefully, a young woman in a sleek black armored suit. She held a blade that gleamed faintly, its edge humming with energy. Ash stared in disbelief as the Fang's lifeless body collapsed to the floor.
For as long as he could remember, Reclaimers had been invincible—unstoppable forces of death.
Yet this woman had killed one in the blink of an eye.
The young woman straightened, brushing a strand of dark hair from her face. Her expression was calm, almost casual, as if she hadn't just performed the impossible.
"Well, what do we have here?" she said, her tone light and almost teasing.
"Some survivors."
Lilith dropped the metal rod and ran to Ash, pulling him into a tight hug.
"It's okay," she whispered, though her voice was shaking.
"We're okay."
Two more figures climbed through the hole in the wall, followed by another two entering through the front door.
They were all dressed in similar armored suits, each carrying weapons unlike anything Ash had ever seen.
One held a rifle with glowing blue veins running along its barrel; another carried a heavy axe that pulsed faintly, as if alive.
One of the men scanned the room, his sharp eyes assessing the situation.
"We're clear," he said, his voice deep and commanding.
The young woman who had saved them crouched down to Ash's level, offering him a small, reassuring smile.
"You're lucky we were nearby," she said gently.
"It's not often we find survivors out here."
Ash couldn't speak. His mind was still reeling from what he had witnessed.
"Let's take them back to the Citadel," one of the men said, slinging his weapon over his shoulder.
"They've been through enough."
Lilith looked at the group, her arms still wrapped protectively around Ash.
"The Citadel? You're with the Vanguard?"
"That's right," the woman replied.
"And now, so are you. Come on, let's get you two out of here before more of those things show up."
For the first time in what felt like forever, Ash felt a glimmer of hope. The Vanguard were real.
The Reclaimers could be killed. Maybe, just maybe, they had a chance to survive this nightmare after all.
On the journey to the Citadel, the group moved carefully, staying out of sight from the Reclaimers.
The monstrous creatures were everywhere, in all shapes and sizes, from the swift and deadly Fangs to the towering Monarchs that commanded the hordes.
Lilith and Xender watched in awe as the Vanguard warriors, clad in their sleek Aegis Combat Suits, moved with precision and coordination.
Every step, every signal was calculated, their movements like a deadly dance as they navigated the hostile terrain.
The air was thick with tension, the faint hum of the Spire lingering in the distance like a low, ominous drumbeat.
The ruins of the city loomed around them—broken buildings, rusted vehicles, and crumbled streets overgrown with vines and ash. It was a graveyard of what once was, and every shadow seemed to move, every sound carried the possibility of an ambush.
Lilith broke the silence, her voice quiet but firm.
"How far is this place?" she asked, looking up at the young woman leading the group.
The woman, who had introduced herself simply as J, turned and gave her a faint smile.
"It's about a three-day walk from here—if we're lucky and avoid too many Reclaimers. But luck isn't something we count on these days."
Lilith glanced at her younger brother, Ash, whose wide eyes scanned the Vanguard warriors with a mix of curiosity and longing.
J noticed her gaze and tilted her head slightly, her tone softening.
"What's your name, kid?"
"I'm Lilith," she replied.
"And this is Ash, my younger brother."
J nodded approvingly.
"Surviving out here isn't easy. I'm impressed you two made it this far. I guess…" She hesitated, her eyes flicking to the grim expressions on their faces.
"I guess your parents didn't make it."
"J…" One of the warriors, a tall man with a scar running down his cheek, frowned.
"Don't."
"What? It's the truth," J said, shrugging.
"This world isn't kind. They've seen it for themselves." She sighed and gave them an apologetic look.
"Anyway, you can call me J. I'm the captain of this crew of misfits you see here. We're part of the Vanguard, specializing in combat operations." She gestured to the warriors around her, each one armed and battle-hardened.
Ash's gaze lingered on the group as they moved. There were five of them, each clad in combat suits scratched and scarred from countless battles.
The one called Kane was the largest, his helmet strapped to his side and his weapon always ready. Beside him was a wiry woman with quick eyes and a rifle slung over her shoulder.
Another man, younger and quieter, checked their surroundings constantly, his hand resting on a blade at his hip.
Each of them moved with purpose, their confidence born from years of surviving the horrors that Ash and Lilith had only begun to understand.
Ash clenched his fists, the memory of his parents flashing in his mind—their terrified faces as the Reclaimers tore them away from him. The screams, the blood, the helplessness.
He looked down at his small hands, trembling with anger. He didn't want to feel like that ever again.
For the first time in days, Ash spoke. His voice was small but determined.
"I want to be like you."
J raised an eyebrow, glancing down at the boy.
"Like me?"
Ash nodded, his jaw tight.
"I want to fight. I want to stop the Reclaimers. I don't want anyone else to… to go through what we did."
The group fell silent for a moment, J studying the boy's face. Finally, she gave him a small, approving nod.
"That's a big thing to want, kid. You're going to need to be strong—stronger than you've ever been. But maybe one day…" She trailed off, turning back to scan the horizon.
"First, let's get to the Citadel alive."
With that, the group pressed on, the ruins closing in around them as the sun dipped lower in the sky. Ash walked beside Lilith, his eyes focused ahead.
He didn't know what the future held, but for the first time in his life, he felt like he had a purpose.