The city lights dimmed slowly, like the world was easing into sleep.
But Akira Kaito remained on the rooftop, arms resting on the rusted railing outside their apartment. Down below, cars passed lazily, a few pedestrians wandered past stores closing for the night. Kagaryuu City was peaceful again, for now.
The footage from earlier kept replaying in his mind — the gate breach, the Souka Guild arriving in full force, and above all, that bloodline user lighting up the battlefield like a living weapon.
He remembered the way the crowd had cheered.
He remembered how quiet he had felt.
Yuna had fallen asleep on the couch behind him. Her small form curled beneath their shared blanket, the TV still buzzing faint static. She hadn't even noticed the blackout in his eyes.
Akira closed his fists.
He didn't want to be like the bloodline users because of their power.
He wanted to be like them because people trusted them. Because they could save someone before it was too late.
Because they could stand in front of a gate and say, "No one else dies."
The next morning started like most others — quietly, without complaint. He tied his wristbands, pulled his jacket over his shoulders, and left Yuna a note beside breakfast.
"Back by night. Eggs in the fridge. Stay safe."
But today wasn't a tournament day.
Today, Akira was going to attempt his first solo gate.
What Are Gates?
In this world, gates appeared suddenly — ruptures in reality that led to twisted fragments of other dimensions, infested with monsters. Some closed on their own. Others spread like disease.
The country of Tsukihara depended on its guilds to secure and clear them. Most gates were ranked, scaled in difficulty. C-ranks and higher required a team. But D and E-rank gates were allowed for registered individuals who had passed a survival clearance.
Akira had passed the test six months ago.
He hadn't dared enter one alone since.
Now, he stood in front of one.
It hovered like a fractured mirror — a jagged swirl of darkness pulsing with faint blue light. Hidden inside a construction yard just outside the city, marked with a "Low Risk" beacon.
But Akira knew better.
No gate was truly safe.
He checked his gloves again. Then his side pouch — rope, water, small blade, flare, basic gate ID crystal.
The air around the portal warped.
Akira exhaled and stepped through.
Inside the Gate
It was cold inside.
Gates always distorted reality, and this one resembled a broken underground tunnel. Metal walls bent in unnatural curves. Roots grew where steel should've been. Faint growls echoed in the distance.
Akira drew a short baton from his back. Not a sword — too costly. Just a reinforced stick with weight behind it. It would have to do.
His boots made soft echoes as he moved deeper, pulse steady but sharp. He checked every corner twice. His eyes never stopped scanning.
Then, he saw it.
First enemy.
A Crawler, hunched and skinless — about the size of a wolf, moving with twitchy legs like cracked twigs. Its face was a blur, like flesh had been peeled too far.
It hadn't seen him yet.
Akira gritted his teeth, lowered his stance.
Then rushed.
One clean strike across the side. It screeched, reared, lunged. He rolled, countered, struck again.
It fell still.
But not before its claws had grazed his shoulder.
He winced.
The wound bled, but it wasn't deep.
Lesson one: Even low-rank monsters could kill if you were careless.
He pressed on.
Deeper Into the Gate
The corridor opened into a circular chamber. Five Crawlers slept across the walls — nests of broken bone and sinew.
Akira froze.
He couldn't take them all head-on.
He backed away slowly, careful not to make a sound — but his foot hit a loose stone.
Snap.
The first Crawler shrieked.
Akira barely dodged the charge. Another came from the side. He jumped, swept his baton upward, slammed it into the jaw. A claw nicked his thigh.
He stumbled. Blood trickled down his leg.
His breath caught, but he didn't fall.
He couldn't.
He struck again. And again.
One down. Two. Three—
A heavy impact from behind sent him rolling across the ground.
Vision blurred.
A fourth was charging. Too fast.
He grabbed a shard of broken pipe beside him and threw it as hard as he could — striking it in the eye. It crashed into the wall, screeching.
Akira staggered back to his feet, panting, bloodied, furious.
"Come on," he growled. "I'm not done yet."
He fought like a cornered animal.
Because that's what he was.
Someone who had no room to fail.
After the Fight
He limped out of the gate an hour later, exhausted, bruised, and victorious.
The gate collapsed behind him with a soft hiss.
In his bag were fragments — basic Zeir Crystals, some low-tier loot from the Crawlers, and minor core remnants.
It wasn't much. But it was something.
He had survived.
Later That Night
He didn't tell Yuna everything. Just that it was a training mission. He winced every time she looked away.
But when she wasn't watching, he stared at the small, faintly glowing crystal in his hand — his first gate reward.
It pulsed softly in the dark like a tiny heartbeat.
A reminder.
That he was still alive.
That this was only the beginning.
Meanwhile…
Across the city, news blared on holoscreens:
"Another gate breach in Eastern Tsukihara. The Souka Guild responded swiftly. Bloodline member Kai Renzou led the charge, displaying devastating elemental force. No civilian casualties reported."
People gathered to cheer again. Worship again. Point at the screen and call them heroes.
Akira watched from the corner of a crowded street. Unnoticed. Unapplauded.
And for now, that was fine.
Because he wouldn't be invisible forever.