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Chapter 1 - They Called me Useless

The crystal turned black when I touched it.

Just for a second.

Then… it flickered gray.

"E-rank," the examiner said with a sigh, loud enough for everyone to hear. "No gift. No class. Barely even awakened."

I didn't speak. I couldn't.

All I heard was laughter.

"Trash again this year!"

"Bro came all the way here just to be useless."

"Another disappointment from the slums, huh?"

Somewhere in the crowd, someone clapped mockingly. Then more joined. My name wasn't even announced. No title. No blessing. Just a whisper that meant I wasn't even worth being written down.

My fingers were still resting on the crystal. It was cold. And somehow, I knew it wasn't the crystal's fault. The fault was mine.

Behind me, I heard my father's boots walk away. He didn't say a word.

I didn't even look. I just stood there like a ghost.

I was the last boy to awaken that day. The sun was already dipping behind the training tower, casting long shadows across the stone platform. The examiner, already annoyed from a long day, waved his hand.

"You can go."

But I stayed. Not because I wanted to argue. Not because I had hope.

I stayed because I didn't know where else to go.

---

That night, I stood on the edge of a crumbling rooftop in District 9. The lights below looked like scattered fireflies. People were laughing, drinking, living. None of them knew my name. None of them cared.

I raised my foot slowly. The wind was cold on my face. I wasn't crying. I'd cried too much already, too many nights. I was empty now.

If I stepped off, no one would come looking.

I closed my eyes.

And that's when the sky cracked open.

A loud crash tore through the air. Glass shattered above me. Something—no, someone—came falling, crashing through a broken dome two buildings away. His body hit the rooftop like a sack of bricks, rolling to the edge.

I froze.

Was that… a man?

I ran over. His body was bleeding everywhere, armor torn open across the chest. He looked young—maybe twenty—but his eyes were glowing. Not with life. With something deeper. Older.

"Help…" he gasped, barely able to breathe.

I dropped to my knees beside him. "What happened?!"

His hand reached for me—and then suddenly *grabbed* my wrist.

Everything froze.

His mouth opened—but instead of words, a strange *sound* came out. A whisper that didn't sound human. I felt heat surge up my arm. My skin started burning.

Then I saw it—his blood wasn't red. It was black and gold, and it was seeping into my veins.

"W-What are you—?!"

But he was already gone.

Not dead.

Gone. His body turned to ash.

And that burning feeling? It didn't stop. It got worse. My bones felt like they were being chewed. My veins itched like something was crawling through them. My eyes blurred.

Then I heard the voice.

Not from around me.

From inside me.

> *"You are the next."*

That's all it said.

Then silence.

---

I don't remember walking home. My legs moved, but my mind was far behind. All I knew was that something was growing in me.

The next morning, my hands were shaking. My reflection in the mirror wasn't mine anymore. My pupils had turned sharp, almost like a wolf's. My veins were still pulsing black.

I tried to ignore it.

I tried to be normal.

But something had changed.

I was walking past the same alley where kids usually kicked me down, took my coins, and laughed. I didn't even look at them—until one of them grabbed my arm.

"Hey, look who's back from Awakening Day," one sneered.

I turned to face him. Slowly.

"Still E-rank?" he laughed. "Still nothing?"

I didn't answer.

Then he slapped me.

In front of everyone.

That should've been it.

But something inside me cracked.

I didn't feel pain this time. I felt hunger.

Not for food. Not for revenge.

For *power*.

It flooded up my throat, and my hands moved before I could stop them. My fingers gripped his neck—and something *leaked* from my palm into him. A black smoke, thin and writhing.

He gasped.

Then collapsed.

I didn't kill him. But when I stepped back, I felt it: a spark. A piece of him inside me. His strength. His fear.

His talent.

*What… what was this?*

Another boy tried to punch me, but my body moved on its own. I ducked, twisted, and hit his stomach.

He flew back ten feet and hit the wall.

Everyone stared.

Even me.

I should've run.

Instead… I smiled.

Just a little.

---

That night, the voice came again.

> *"The seal is broken."*

> *"Devour. Survive. Become."*

I didn't know who the voice belonged to. I didn't know what it meant by "seal."

But I knew one thing.

I wasn't powerless anymore.

And the world had *no idea* what it had just awakened

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