An unknown presence suddenly tore through the fabric of space and time.
It crossed the Milky Way at an impossible speed, passing near gigantic installations capable of capturing the energy of dying stars and networks connecting multiple worlds.
Its trajectory shifted slightly with every passing moment.
After crossing the most distant regions of the system, its target was finally determined: a small planet isolated from the great space routes, Earth.
The point of impact was set in northern Asia, in the heart of Siberia.
In the year 2054, the earth rose violently under the force of the impact.
The secret laboratory of the M.R.
project, built deep beneath the permafrost, collapsed within seconds.
The reinforced walls bent inward under an impossible pressure, crushing the corridors and rooms where the scientists had still been working moments before.
The gas pipes did not even catch fire, no alarm had time to sound, and the entire complex was plunged into brutal silence.
On the surface, the cold suddenly became even more intense.
The instruments stopped working one after another as the temperature dropped at an abnormal rate.
The frozen ground cracked under the sudden change, and several chunks of rock shattered beneath the ice.
All of Siberia seemed to have felt the arrival of this unknown force.
Deep within the complex, the researchers did not even have time to understand what was happening to them.
The water contained within their own bodies froze almost instantly, causing irreparable damage.
Their tissues cracked from the inside before their bodies completely shattered under the pressure of the sudden freezing.
Within seconds, the scientists were reduced to small masses of gray dust scattered across the cold laboratory floors.
In the middle of the newly formed crater, several test subjects nevertheless managed to emerge from the ruins.
Teenagers and young adults covered in dust slowly rose among the blocks of concrete and pieces of metal.
Their bare feet touched the frozen snow, but none of them seemed to feel the cold.
They all looked around without speaking, their faces blank and their eyes strangely calm, as though something had already begun to change within their bodies.
The atmosphere itself had just been transformed.
An unknown particle had spread through the planet’s air and was now entering the lungs of every living being.
It then infiltrated their cells and settled there like a new natural force.
This energy was given a name: Spirit.
Spirit did not act randomly.
It seemed to respond directly to the emotions, memories, wounds, and deepest desires of each individual.
In some people, it remained almost invisible for a time, while in others, it manifested with exceptional violence.
From that day onward, humanity would never be the same again.
Year 2056.
France had not escaped this new reality.
The smell of blood and gunpowder filled a completely destroyed avenue.
Overturned cars blocked the roads, and pieces of glass covered the asphalt while a Spiritual Suppuration ravaged the intersection.
The creature had an appearance that seemed impossible for a living being: three mouths covered in acid, a thin body almost devoid of flesh, and pointed bones protruding from its gray skin like blades.
Automatic gunfire echoed against the façades of the buildings.
The police continued firing relentlessly, but the bullets either ricocheted off the creature’s body or disappeared into its flesh before even slowing its advance.
Shell casings piled up on the ground as the officers began to understand that they were losing control of the situation.
Tariq El-Hashem, with his loose hair and brown eyes, and Issa Kaneshiro, the wind whipping through his long braids, his piercing amber eyes fixed on the area behind his glasses, ran through the smoke, guiding civilians toward a protected area behind several makeshift barricades.
They wore the uniforms of trainees from the Central Academy, but that gave them no official authorization to fight.
Their mission was simply to get the residents to safety before the Suppuration could reach the crowd.
A police officer took several steps backward, breathing heavily, then emptied another magazine toward the monster.
“Damn it… there are still so many people!” he spat before turning toward the two students.
“Kids, you really are trainees from the Academy, right?
If you know how to use your Spirits, maybe now would be a good time to use them!” Another officer quickly changed magazines with trembling hands.
He cast an angry look toward the creature, then toward the streets still filled with civilians.
“What the hell is the Investigation Commission doing?!” he protested.
“The district was classified as Green level, yet our weapons aren’t doing a damn thing to it!” The first police officer clenched his teeth and resumed his position.
“Stop talking nonsense!
It regenerates every time we hit it!” Tariq felt his patience slipping away.
He looked at the civilians behind him, then at the creature that continued advancing despite the gunfire.
His fist clenched and his heart sped up as his Spirit began responding to the rising tension.
“Honestly, we’re wasting time just getting the civilians out,” Tariq grumbled, wiping the soot covering his forehead.
“And this is only a Green level.
We should be able to handle it, Issa.” Issa adjusted his glasses and carefully observed the monster.
He assessed the distances, the size of its body, the position of its joints, and the speed of its movements.
But the screams, gunfire, and explosions were making it harder and harder for him to concentrate properly.
“Tariq, wait…” The young man did not listen.
He charged.
The shadow at his feet climbed up along his legs before concentrating around his arms.
Within seconds, a dark blade took shape in his hand.
Tariq accelerated, convinced that he could reach the creature before it struck someone.
The Suppuration immediately noticed his movement.
It pivoted.
Its three mouths opened at once, and a shrill cry tore across the avenue.
Yet instead of attacking Tariq, the beast suddenly changed direction and lunged toward a father who was still behind a destroyed bus shelter.
Tariq tried to redirect his shadow to block its path.
He was too slow.
A sharp crack rang out.
The civilian’s rib cage was crushed under the creature’s strength, and his body fell heavily onto the asphalt.
Blood splattered across the ground before the man finally lost consciousness.
Tariq froze.
His breathing almost stopped.
The black blade around his wrists trembled before disappearing completely.
He continued staring at the lifeless body of the civilian, unable to look away.
All the training simulations at the Academy had just lost their meaning in a single second.
The Suppuration then turned all three of its heads toward the two students.
Issa slowly raised his hands.
Stay calm.
Focus.
It must weigh one hundred and eighty kilos.
It’s twelve meters away from me.
Issa’s gaze shifted toward a block of concrete on his left.
I’m going to swap it with that block.
But the memory of the crushed body filled his mind.
His reasoning broke apart, his thoughts became tangled, and a sharp pain shot through his temples.
A thin stream of blood ran from his nostril as he dropped to his knees, unable to complete the calculation necessary to use his power.
The creature then bent its hind legs.
It was ready to pounce.
The ground suddenly trembled.
But this time, the noise did not come from the Suppuration.
Heavy footsteps echoed through the middle of the avenue.
A unit of the Investigation Commission had just arrived, and soldiers in black equipment immediately deployed themselves in front of the civilians.
Several shields were raised at once, creating a defensive line between the creature and the remaining inhabitants.
A figure walked behind them.
His long official coat fluttered slightly in the wind filled with ash.
Captain Thiago Vane had just entered the battlefield.
He stopped a few meters from the Suppuration and simply stared at the creature.
Silence fell almost immediately.
The space around the monster changed.
Heavy amber-colored chains burst from the ground and wrapped themselves around the beast’s limbs.
They blocked its legs, immobilized its arms, and pinned its body against the cracked asphalt.
Its strength suddenly diminished, as though every movement had instantly become impossible.
Within seconds, the creature was completely immobilized.
Thiago did not even spare the monster another glance.
He simply pulled his phone from his tactical pocket and opened a secure line.
“Yes, Mirei,” he said calmly.
He continued watching the remains of the Suppuration, particularly its wounds, which were already beginning to close.
“I’m giving you my report.
The initial assessment was incorrect.
This Spiritual Suppuration is not Green level.
Immediately classify it as Yellow level.” On the ground, Tariq and Issa were still trying to catch their breath.
Their uniforms were covered in dust, blood, and ash, but the real change was not visible on their clothes.
Something inside them had just broken.
For the first time, they understood that the Academy was not the real world.
Behind the exercises, grades, and simulations was a universe where one mistake could cost a life within seconds.
Their first intervention had just taught them one simple and brutal truth: from now on, every fight would be real.