Volume 0: The Beginning

Chapter 1: Shattered Silence

The storm raged above the city of Shadthom, its relentless downpour soaking the dark streets, turning them into rivers of glittering reflections beneath the dim glow of flickering streetlights. The coldness of the night seemed to seep into every corner of the city, but for Shiro Khaine, it was supposed to be a night like any other. A simple walk home with his parents after a quiet dinner, the kind of evening that felt like it would last forever. But life, as it always does, had other plans.

The peaceful silence was broken by the sound of gunfire.

BANG! BANG!

Shiro's heart skipped a beat. His mind barely registered the shock of the sound before everything around him seemed to explode. His mother and father, their arms reaching out to him as if they could somehow protect him from the violence tearing apart their lives, collapsed. Blood pooled beneath them, a cruel contrast against the rain-soaked pavement, and their vacant eyes stared back at him, full of unspoken horror.

Shiro's breath hitched. His world spun out of control, crashing down on him in that single instant.

"No… this can't be real," he whispered, his voice hoarse and trembling.

The world around him blurred, his vision a mix of red and dark shadows. He wanted to move, to scream, to do something—anything—but his body felt like it had turned to stone.

"Get down, kid!"

A voice. A sharp command, pulling him back from the brink of madness. Shiro snapped his head up to see a figure emerging from the shadows—a man, tall and cloaked in darkness.

But Shiro didn't move. His fists clenched, nails biting into his palm. The rage that had ignited inside him was too much to control, too intense to ignore. His parents were gone. And the world would pay.

"Who shot my parents?!" Shiro screamed, the words torn from him like a blade. His voice cracked, raw with fury.

Then there was a flash.

A flash of movement, and then another gunshot.

BANG!

A bullet tore through the air, aimed directly at Shiro. But something… shifted. Time itself seemed to bend. The world froze. The bullet, suspended in mid-air, trembled as if it had encountered a force far greater than its own.

The shooter stared in disbelief, wide-eyed, frozen in shock.

Shiro's glowing eyes locked onto him, cold and filled with an unholy fire.

He stepped forward, his movements deliberate, as though he had all the time in the world. The rain, suspended mid-air, shimmered like shattered glass around him.

"Why did you kill them?" Shiro's voice was icy calm, but the underlying fury was a storm about to erupt.

The shooter stammered, his voice breaking under the weight of Shiro's piercing gaze. "I-I'm sorry! It was an accident! Please, take anything you want—money, weapons—just don't kill me! I have a family to feed!"

Shiro's eyes narrowed, his fists trembling as the words dug into his chest.

"So did I," he whispered, the pain and the rage melding into something darker, something more dangerous.

Before the man could say another word, Shiro's fist shot forward. Time resumed, and the gunman's body crumpled under the force, his heart pierced through in a single motion. The air, once filled with the sound of the city, was silent again. Only the rain remained, cascading around Shiro like the world had become his own personal storm.

From the shadows, another voice spoke, breaking the silence.

"You've got talent, kid."

Shiro's head snapped toward the source of the voice. The man who had warned him earlier now stepped forward, his features obscured by the darkness but his presence unmistakable.

Shiro's breath was heavy, his hands still trembling. But the rage had not subsided. It had become something else. Something colder. Something more.

Noctis, the man who had spoken, tilted his head. "You're not like the others. You've got a gift. A rare one."

Shiro's eyes narrowed as he glared at Noctis, but his mind, still swimming in the aftermath of his parents' deaths, couldn't help but ask, "Who are you?"

Noctis smirked. "A mentor, if you're willing to listen. I saw what you did. That power... it's not something anyone can control. But I can teach you. I can show you how to use it properly."

Shiro's gaze flickered between the lifeless body of the man he had killed and Noctis's outstretched hand. His body, still vibrating with the adrenaline and rage of the moment, yearned for more—more power, more control. The desire to avenge his parents, to make the world pay for its cruelty, burned brighter than anything else.

"What do you want from me?" Shiro's voice was still full of suspicion.

Noctis's eyes gleamed in the darkness. "Nothing. I'm offering you a choice. The world's a dark place, kid. And power, like what you've got, can either consume you or make you unstoppable. The choice is yours."

Shiro hesitated. His parents were gone, his life shattered. But the promise of something more, something that could give him control over this chaos, was tempting.

He took a deep breath, the weight of his decision heavy in his chest.

"I'll come," he said, his voice steady. "But don't think for a second that I'll follow your rules."

Noctis chuckled softly. "I wouldn't expect anything less."

And just like that, the boy who had lost everything found something else. A mentor. A path. A purpose.

And with it, the beginning of something far darker.

End of Chapter 1