Rain.
It had been raining for three straight days.
For the people living in the Ash District, rain was never a blessing. It seeped through rusted roofs, flooded broken roads, and turned every alley into a river of mud.
Inside a small shack built from weathered metal sheets and rotting wood, water dripped relentlessly from dozens of holes in the ceiling.
Drip... Drip... Drip...
"Kyle!" a woman's anxious voice called. "Quick! The rain's getting worse! Move everything to the dry corner before it's soaked!"
"I'm coming, Mom!"
Fifteen-year-old Kyle Verion hurried across the tiny room, his worn slippers splashing through puddles that had formed on the floor.
He wrapped both hands around an old wooden crate and gritted his teeth.
"Just one more push..."
The crate held nearly everything they owned—patched clothes, a few books, family photographs, and the little food they had managed to save.
With a strained groan, he shoved it beneath the only part of the roof that wasn't leaking.
"There..." he said, wiping sweat from his forehead despite the cold rain.
His mother, Elara, smiled weakly.
"You've gotten stronger."
Kyle laughed.
"Not strong enough."
He glanced up at the ceiling where rainwater continued to pour through countless cracks.
"If this keeps up, I'll probably be late for school tomorrow."
Elara sighed.
"As long as you make it there."
Kyle nodded.
Education was the only reason he still believed his future could change.
He attended New Horizon Academy, one of the best public schools in Sector 8.
Unlike most students there, Kyle came from the Ash District—the poorest and most forgotten district in the sector eight.
Most people avoided mentioning the Ash District altogether or used it as a joke.
Crime ruled its streets.
The government rarely intervened.
And the only real authority belonged to gangs.
The most feared among them...
The Void Serpents.
Still, Elara had worked herself to exhaustion every single day just to keep Kyle in school.
She believed education would give him a future she never had.
Kyle believed it too.
At least...
Until the knock came.
BANG!
The thin wooden door shook violently.
Another strike followed.
BANG!
Elara froze.
Kyle's smile vanished.
The room suddenly felt much colder.
Slowly...
The door creaked open.
Several men stepped inside without waiting for permission.
Each wore a black coat embroidered with a silver serpent coiled around a dark circle.
The symbol of the Void Serpents.
Kyle instinctively stepped in front of his mother.
"What do you want?"
One of the men chuckled.
"What do we want?"
The gang leader stepped forward, his scarred face twisting into a cruel grin.
"We've come to collect this month's tribute."
Elara immediately lowered her head.
"P-Please..."
"We just need three more days."
"We'll get the money."
"I promise."
The leader laughed.
"You said that last week."
Kyle clenched his fists.
"We're trying!"
Without warning—
BANG!
A crushing force slammed into his stomach.
Kyle was launched across the room before crashing onto the soaked wooden floor.
Pain exploded through his body.
He gasped desperately for air.
Laughter filled the shack.
"So weak," one of the men mocked.
Kyle struggled onto his knees.
The men before him were all Rank One Awakeners.
Even the weakest among them possessed enough strength to crush dozens of ordinary people.
As for those beyond Rank One...
Kyle had only heard whispers.
People said they could destroy buildings with a single strike.
Against men like these...
He wasn't even worth noticing.
Yet he stood again.
He had to protect his mother.
He charged.
The leader didn't move.
Another gang member casually grabbed Kyle by the throat and hurled him into the wall.
The impact shook the entire shack.
Kyle collapsed, coughing violently.
"So weak..." the man sneered.
"And you think you can protect someone?"
Before Kyle could rise again—
A scream echoed behind him.
"Mom!"
Two gang members dragged Elara forward by her hair before throwing her onto the floor.
She ignored the pain.
She crawled toward the leader and clasped her hands together.
"Please..."
"I beg you."
"Just give us three more days."
"We'll pay."
The gang leader looked down at her with complete indifference.
"No."
He turned to one of his men.
"Kill her."
Kyle's eyes widened.
"No!"
He threw himself forward.
Another boot crushed his chest.
He couldn't breathe.
He couldn't move.
He could only watch.
Elara turned toward him.
Despite the fear in her eyes...
She smiled.
"I'm sorry..."
"Kyle..."
The knife flashed.
And everything changed.
The knife plunged into Elara's chest.
Stab!
For a brief moment...
Time stood still.
Kyle stared blankly at the crimson blade buried deep inside his mother's body.
"N-No..."
Blood trickled from the corner of Elara's lips as her body trembled.
With the little strength she had left, she raised a trembling hand toward her son.
"K... Kyle..."
Her fingertips stopped just short of reaching him.
Then they fell.
Her eyes, once filled with warmth and kindness, gradually lost their light.
Silence.
The entire room fell silent.
Kyle's breathing became ragged.
His mind refused to accept what had happened.
"No..."
His voice cracked.
"No...!"
"Mom!"
He struggled wildly beneath the gang member's foot, clawing at the wooden floor until his fingernails split and bled.
"LET HER GO!"
Another kick struck his ribs.
Bang!
Kyle rolled across the room, coughing blood.
The gang members laughed.
One of them spat onto the floor.
"Pathetic."
The leader slowly walked toward Kyle before placing a boot on his chest once more.
He looked down at the boy with complete disdain.
"In this world," he said coldly, "the weak don't get justice."
"They lose."
"They beg."
"And eventually..."
"They die."
Kyle's entire body trembled.
His eyes burned with hatred.
"Why...?"
The leader leaned closer.
"If you want revenge..."
"Then survive long enough to become stronger."
A cruel smile spread across his face.
"But don't get your hopes up."
"You'll probably die before that day ever comes."
The Void Serpents burst into laughter.
Without another glance, they turned and walked away, leaving behind only destruction.
The rain continued to pour through the broken roof.
Kyle crawled toward his mother.
Every movement sent waves of pain through his body, yet he ignored it.
He gently lifted her head onto his lap.
She was cold.
Too cold.
"No..."
His voice had become little more than a whisper.
"You promised..."
"You promised we'd get through this."
His tears mixed with the rainwater dripping from the ceiling.
For hours...
Kyle remained there.
He cried until his throat burned.
He cried until no tears remained.
Outside, the storm raged on.
Inside, the blood that stained the floor slowly disappeared beneath the endless rain.
At least...
His mother would not remain covered in blood.
When dawn approached, Kyle finally stood.
Not because the pain had faded.
But because there was nothing left to cry for.
His grief did not disappear.
It hardened.
His sadness became anger.
His anger became hatred.
And that hatred settled deep inside his heart like an eternal flame.
Kyle looked at the broken doorway through which the Void Serpents had left.
"I'll become stronger."
His voice was calm.
Almost frighteningly calm.
"No matter what it costs."
"I'll find power."
"And when I do..."
"Death will be the greatest mercy I'll ever show you."
That night, using an old shovel he found behind the shack, Kyle dug beneath the wooden floor of their tiny home.
The ground was hard.
His hands blistered.
Several times he collapsed from exhaustion.
Yet he continued digging.
Hours later, he gently lowered his mother's body into the grave.
There were no flowers.
No priest.
No mourners.
Only a fifteen-year-old boy saying goodbye to the only person who had ever truly loved him.
He found a flat stone outside, washed away the mud, and carved a few uneven words into it with a rusted knife.
Rest here Elara Verion.
The only person who ever believed in me.
Kyle placed the stone above the grave.
Then he sat there in silence until sunrise.
...
The next morning...
He put on his faded school uniform.
He packed his worn books into his old backpack.
Then he left for school.
His face showed no emotion.
His eyes were empty.
The streets of the Ash District were already crowded with workers struggling to survive another day.
No one noticed the boy walking among them.
No one knew he had buried his mother only hours earlier.
After boarding the public transport, Kyle arrived at New Horizon Academy.
Compared to the Ash District, the academy looked like paradise.
Clean buildings.
Advanced training facilities.
Beautiful gardens.
Students from wealthy families filled the campus with laughter.
Kyle simply walked past them.
His mother had spent years working herself to exhaustion just so he could study here.
He would not throw away her sacrifice.
As he walked toward the school gate, a voice called out.
"Hey."
Kyle ignored it.
"Pauper."
Several students stepped in front of him, blocking his path.
The tallest among them smirked.
"An Ash District rat actually thinks he belongs here?"
Another laughed.
"No matter how clean your uniform is..."
"You'll always smell like the slums."
Without warning—
A fist slammed into Kyle's face.
Blood appeared at the corner of his mouth.
The boys waited.
Normally...
Kyle would have begged.
He would have apologized.
He would have pleaded for them to stop.
Today...
He simply wiped the blood away.
His expression never changed.
His empty eyes stared straight at them.
For the first time...
The bullies felt uncomfortable.
"What are you looking at?" one shouted before punching him again.
Another joined in.
Then another.
Kyle fell to the ground.
He didn't fight back.
He didn't cry.
He didn't beg.
Compared to watching his mother die before his eyes...
This pain meant nothing.
The school bell rang.
The boys clicked their tongues and walked away.
Kyle slowly stood up.
He picked up his backpack.
Brushed the dirt from his uniform.
And walked into the academy as though nothing had happened.
Only one thought remained in his mind.
Three months.
Three months until the Artificial Awakening Ceremony.
Three months until fate decided whether he would remain weak...
Or finally gain the power to begin his revenge.