The year was 2030, but the world felt nothing like the sleek, futuristic visions seen in old sci-fi movies. No flying cars, no gleaming towers touching the heavens. Instead, the streets were ruled by chaos, a messy battlefield of cocky teenagers and adults who fought for dominance. Power was everything now—not wealth, not status, not intellect. It all came down to who could fight the hardest, the longest, and the wildest.
In the midst of this chaos, the city of Greyford thrived—or more accurately, it survived. At the heart of Greyford's madness stood Rowan Barlowe, a name whispered with awe and dread across the back alleys and underground fighting rings. He wasn't just cocky like the rest of them. Rowan was something else entirely.
They called him "The Craze Human."
Rowan stood at the edge of a makeshift fighting pit that had been dug into the ruins of an abandoned mall parking lot. Bloodied and bruised bodies littered the ground around him, their owners groaning in defeat. Rowan tilted his head, his grin widening into something unnatural—almost predatory. His white hair, messy and slicked with sweat, gleamed in the dim light of the flickering streetlamps. His black combat boots crunched glass beneath his feet as he stepped toward his final opponent.
"Still standing, huh?" Rowan's voice carried an edge of excitement, almost giddy. "You're tougher than I thought! This is gonna be fun!"
His opponent, a broad-shouldered man with tattoos running up his arms, raised his fists, trembling. "You're insane, Barlowe! You don't even care if you die!"
Rowan laughed—a sharp, chilling sound that echoed through the night. "Die? Nah. What's the point of worrying about that when I've got you to break first?"
And with that, he lunged forward.
Rowan's reputation wasn't built overnight. He'd been fighting for as long as he could remember, clawing his way to the top of Greyford's hierarchy. But the city wasn't what it used to be. Things had changed years ago, when the first sphere appeared.
No one knew where they came from. One morning, they were simply there—massive, perfectly round structures of black, pulsating energy, suspended midair. They didn't reflect light, nor did they emit any noticeable sound. Dozens of them popped up across the world, hovering silently over cities, deserts, oceans, and forests. The first reaction was panic, of course. Governments scrambled to contain the spheres, erecting barriers around them, fearing they were alien weapons or doomsday devices.
But nothing happened. Weeks passed, and the spheres remained still. Quiet. Harmless.
Until people started to change.
It began subtly. Ordinary people began reporting strange sensations—a rush of energy, an uncanny sense of strength. Then the impossible started happening: a teenager in Brazil lifted a bus with his bare hands. A man in Tokyo ignited a fire with a flick of his fingers. A woman in Cairo froze an entire lake just by touching it. The world called them Awakened.
Rowan awakened, too. Not that he cared much about the details of how or why. All he knew was that his fights became even more exhilarating. His punches hit harder, his body moved faster, and his grin—his infamous grin—seemed to unnerve even the strongest of opponents.
The spheres weren't ignored for long. Some Awakened, drunk on their newfound power, decided to investigate. They formed groups, gangs of cocky warriors who ventured into the forbidden zones.
It didn't take long for the reports to surface.
Inside the spheres were nightmares. Monsters unlike anything humanity had ever seen—twisted amalgamations of claws, teeth, and glowing eyes. They attacked without hesitation, their strength rivaling that of the most powerful Awakened. But instead of retreating, the Awakened grew bolder. They craved the challenge, the thrill of testing their abilities against the unknown.
For people like Rowan, it was paradise.
On this particular night, after leaving the battered bodies in the fighting pit, Rowan found himself staring at the nearest sphere from a rooftop. Its surface seemed to ripple, as though taunting him, daring him to enter.
"You're awfully quiet tonight," came a voice from behind him.
Rowan didn't bother turning around. "What do you want, Kyra?"
Kyra, a wiry girl with sharp eyes and short, spiky hair, stepped into the moonlight. She crossed her arms, glaring at Rowan's back. "I heard you're planning to head into the sphere. Alone."
Rowan chuckled. "You make it sound like a bad idea."
"It is a bad idea, you idiot!" she snapped. "You don't even know what's in there!"
"I know enough." Rowan's grin returned, sharp as ever. "There are monsters. Big, nasty ones. And I'm going to fight them."
Kyra sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "You're insane, Rowan. What if you die?"
Rowan turned to face her, his grin softening into something almost genuine. "Then I die. But until then? I'll have the time of my life."
As Rowan made his way toward the sphere, the streets grew quieter. The usual chaos of the city faded into an eerie calm, as though the world itself was holding its breath. The sphere loomed closer, its surface shimmering like liquid darkness.
Rowan reached the edge of the barrier, where soldiers and researchers had set up camp to monitor the anomaly. He ignored their warnings, slipping past their defenses with ease.
Standing mere feet from the sphere, Rowan extended a hand, his fingers brushing against its surface. A cold, electric sensation shot through him, sending shivers down his spine.
Then, without hesitation, he stepped inside.
The air changed instantly. The world outside disappeared, replaced by an otherworldly landscape of swirling shadows and glowing red veins. The ground beneath his feet felt alive, pulsating with an unnatural rhythm.
And then they came.
The monsters erupted from the darkness, their roars deafening. Rows of jagged teeth glinted in the dim light, claws scraping against the ground as they charged.
Rowan's grin returned, wider than ever. His heart pounded with excitement as he cracked his knuckles, a faint blue glow surrounding his fists.
"Let's dance."
With a battle cry that echoed through the void, Rowan launched himself into the fray, fists blazing, his laughter ringing out as the monsters surged toward him.
This was his world now. This was his paradise.