A sharp pain shot through Rex's head as he slowly regained consciousness. The air around him was thick with smoke, the scent of burnt wood and ash filling his nostrils. His small hands trembled as he pushed himself up from the ground, his body weak and aching. A dull ringing echoed in his ears, drowning out the eerie silence that surrounded him.
His vision was blurry at first, flickering between dark spots and faint streaks of red light. He blinked several times, struggling to clear his sight. When the haze finally lifted, his heart nearly stopped.
The village was gone.
The once-lively streets of Vitoria had been reduced to ruins. Everything was gone, what was before him was a dead land, covered with debris, there was now only devastation. Buildings reduced to splintered rubble. Roads fractured like broken glass. The ground was cracked open, glowing with an eerie crimson energy that pulsed from within. It was as if the earth itself had been wounded.
Rex's heart pounded. This can't be real. His breaths came in shallow gasps as he rubbed his eyes, praying, this was all a nightmare.
"Mum!" His voice cracked as he stumbled forward, nearly tripping over the uneven ground. His heart pounded painfully against his ribs. "Mum! Where are you?"
Silence.
He called again. And again. But no one answered. Only his own echoes returned, hollow and lifeless.
Tears stung his eyes, but he bit his lip to hold them back. He stumbled forward, his hands clawing at the wreckage, lifting broken wood and shattered stones with trembling fingers. Someone has to be here. Someone has to be alive.
His legs gave out, and he collapsed onto his knees. His tiny frame trembled as he fought against the overwhelming weight in his chest. "Help!" he screamed, his voice breaking.
Flashes of what had happened flickered in his mind. The strange red light that streaked across the sky, the deafening explosion, and then... nothing. Just darkness.
Why was he the only one left?
His limbs felt heavy, yet eerily weightless at the same time. A dull throbbing coursed through his veins, accompanied by an odd stillness, as if parts of him had gone numb. And then there was the light—brief, fleeting flashes of red that illuminated his vision in slow intervals. But what he didn't realize was that the changes weren't just internal, his physical features had already begun to transform.
He forced himself to move, to shake off the haze clouding his thoughts, but every motion sent a ripple of discomfort through his body. The world around him felt unreal, like a dream he couldn't wake from.
After what felt like hours of wandering through the ruins, his legs gave out near a half-split tree. His stomach churned with hunger, but there was no food, no water. His gaze landed on a small, shriveled fruit lying on the ground near the broken tree. He hesitated for only a second before grabbing it. Wiping it against his already-dirty torn sleeve, he took a bite.
The taste was bitter and rubbery, unlike anything he had ever eaten before, but he forced himself to chew. He swallowed the dry flesh, his throat burning as it went down.
A sharp pain shot through his entire body immediately, like fire crawling through his veins. His vision blurred, his head pounding as though something inside him was trying to break free.
A strange sensation pulsed beneath his skin, as if his very being had been altered, his bones felt like they were melting, shifting, twisting from the inside. His body convulsed as an eerie glow flickered before him.
Then, a voice—cold, and distant whispered in his mind.
⟪ Your Awakening has begun.⟫
A scream ripped from his throat before everything went black again.
18 Hours Earlier
The sun cast a golden glow over the peaceful village of Vitoria, its rays spilling over the rooftops and dancing across the fields. Birds chirped cheerfully in the trees, children laughed and the scent of fresh bread drifted through the air from the morning's baking.
Young Rex clutched his football in his hand, his small legs bouncing with energy as he prepared to dash outside. His dark hair curls bounced with every step, his bright eyes filled with excitement.
"Don't go too far Rex!" his mother's warm voice called from the doorstep
"Yes, Mum!" He shouted back before sprinting toward the field where his friends were waiting.
Rex loved these moments. Playing with his friends, feeling the grass under his feet, the wind against his skin. His village was his world; small, peaceful, and filled with people who cared for one another.
At just twelve years old, Rex was a bright and caring boy. He was the only child of his mother, who had faced the heartache of losing her husband two years ago to a severe sickness. Despite the loss, Rex remained a source of strength for his mother. He eagerly assisted her with daily chores and responsibilities, always willing to lend a helping hand.
Rex also possessed a unique skill inherited from his late father. From the age of three, his father had taken him on hunting trips, teaching him how to shoot. And despite his young age, he had mastered the art. Even after his father's passing, he continued practicing, his steady hands always hitting their target. Though he only hunted for fun, he always brought a lot of animals back to his mother, to show his keen eye and steady hand.
Rex held his football and dashed to the nearby field where he played with his friends every Sunday evening after finishing his chores. Some of his friends were already there, eagerly waiting for him.
As Rex and his friends played on the field, a resounding boom reverberated through the atmosphere indicating a disruption of the earth's atmosphere. The ground trembled beneath their feet.
Startled, Rex turned his gaze upward, eyes widening in horror.
The sky was bleeding.
Streaks of brilliant red light carved through the heavens, burning across the horizon like a cosmic firestorm. One by one, the streaks of crimson slammed into the earth with devastating force. The ground trembled violently as fiery shockwaves engulfed entire sections of the village. Houses crumbled, roads split apart, and terrified screams filled the air.
Rex barely had time to react before the sky itself seemed to descend upon him. A blinding flash of crimson light, so bright, racing toward him like an unstoppable force.
And then—nothing.
Present Time
A faint voice drifted through the void.
"Hello?" Distant, yet close. Echoing. Calling.
"Hello?" The voice was clearer this time. A question. A demand.
Rex's eyes fluttered open.
A young adult kneeling before him