"Kid... you really want to close that Soul Rift that badly?" A cold voice cut through the darkness.
I looked up from the corpses in front of me. My red eyes met his without fear. "Yeah... whatever it takes. I'm gonna kill every last one of them." The rage in my chest felt like it was about to explode.
Want to know how some nobody like me ended up here? The whole mess started about ten hours ago... right before the worst day of my life.
Ten hours earlier...
Stone City was loud as always. Hammering, shouting, the usual chaos. I rushed through the narrow alleys I knew by heart, my stomach twisted in knots.
"Hey! Rift, you little brat!"
I knew that voice. Damn it. I turned around to see the fat landlord who owned our building. His beady eyes glared at me like I'd stolen something.
"Yeah? What do you want?" I tried to keep my voice steady.
"What do I want?! You're three months behind on rent! When the hell are you gonna pay up!"
Oh right. We did owe him money. A lot of money. I'd been trying to find work, but jobs were impossible to come by these days.
"Tonight. I'll get you one month's worth tonight," I said, hoping he'd buy it.
His face twisted up. Not good.
"One month? Are you kidding me, you little shit?" He pulled out his beat-up old sword and shoved the tip right up to my nose. My legs started shaking. "If I don't get all three months tonight... your whole family's dead. Got it?"
The words hit me like a punch to the gut. I was sweating bullets, hands going numb.
"...Got it."
So there I was, dragging myself to the Hunter Guild. The only place in this dump of a city where someone like me could make decent money fast.
I pushed through the heavy doors and immediately heard that annoying voice from the corner.
"Well look who it is! What brings our broke friend here? All the F-rank jobs are gone, just so you know!"
Great. F-rank was about all I could handle right now—bottom of the barrel stuff.
"Wait... don't tell me you actually managed to close your Soul Rift?" the guy asked, looking curious.
I shook my head. Embarrassing, but what else was new? I walked over to the job board. Sure, I'd made it to C-rank recently, but I was still too scared to try anything really dangerous.
I caught my reflection in the little mirror by the board. That faint mark on my neck stared back at me.
Soul Rifts... everyone's got one. Born with it. Nobody knows what they really are, but everyone's trying to close theirs. Some people say it unlocks your true power. Others think it's some kind of curse. All I know is it's been there my whole life.
I looked at the jobs posted on the board.
[C-Rank: Kill 1 Soul Either / Rust Forest / Pay: 500 Credits]
Three C-rank jobs might cover one month's rent... but there wasn't enough time. Travel, fighting, coming back—the landlord wanted his money tonight.
Maybe... maybe I should try B-rank? My heart started racing.
[B-Rank: Kill 3 Soul Eithers / Eastern Wasteland / Pay: 2,300 Credits]
No way. One Soul Either almost killed me last time. Three of them in dangerous territory? With just my pistol and fifteen bullets? That's suicide.
"You look worried, Rift." Kylo walked up beside me. My only real friend in this place.
"Of course I'm worried. The landlord says he'll hurt my family if I don't pay tonight."
"Same guy again, huh?" Kylo sighed. "Yeah, three months behind."
"Why didn't you tell me? I could've helped you out," he said, patting my shoulder.
"No way. I don't want charity. Makes me feel even more pathetic."
Kylo laughed. "You and your stupid pride."
"If you helped me, I'd just feel worse about failing my family."
"Fine, fine. How about this—I'll hang back and keep an eye on you. If things go bad, I'll jump in."
"...Thanks, man." Kylo always had my back.
He was one of the good B-rank hunters. Skilled, reliable. And he'd just closed his Soul Rift recently too. Lucky bastard. That was everyone's dream—close your Rift and become something more. Dangerous as hell, but if you pulled it off... everything changed. Real power. No more limits.
I ended up picking the safest C-rank job I could find. Headed to Rust Forest alone.
Fighting that Soul Either was hell. The thing was way stronger than I expected. I barely made it out alive, covered in cuts and bleeding everywhere. Used my last bullet to put it down. But hey, I got paid. Enough for one month's rent.
When I finally dragged myself home, beaten up and exhausted, I thought maybe I could work something out with the landlord.
Instead, I found silence.
The smell of blood hit me before I even got to the door. There was blood on the walls. And then I saw them.
Mom. Dad. My little sister.
Dead. All of them. Lying in pools of blood in our living room.
They killed my whole family.
And that's how I ended up here. Making this promise in the dark. Looking at this woman drawing symbols on the ground.
"Whatever it takes... I'm gonna kill them all."