Shadow Blood and Fire
Eli, a young boy, is distracted during his tutoring session by thoughts of A.N. Insterion, a controversial figure who discovered ability books that granted people superpowers, creating a new world order. Eli despises Insterion, seeing him as a manipulative tyrant. During a session, Eli argues with his tutor about the biased portrayal of Insterion in history. Feeling disconnected from the past and determined to make his own future, Eli leaves the classroom, expressing a desire for a fairer world.
Eli returns home to find his family's penthouse ransacked. He discovers his parents being attacked by intruders. His mother tortured with a blood-like dagger by a hooded figure, while a blond man interrogates her. Eli tries to intervene but he is overpowered. His mother's bio-weapon implant accidentally kills his father.
In the chaos, Eli's pendant, a family heirloom, begins to glow and projects a message in the ancient language of the Dengaré family. Eli blacks out before he can fully comprehend the message, which leaves a mysterious, unfinished word in the air.
