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The Code of Shadows
Chapter 1 – When the Fracture Opens
The city was quiet. Too quiet.
Kairo Vale sat on the edge of his rooftop, staring at the night sky. The stars looked normal—until one of them… cracked.
Yes. It cracked like glass.
A thin line split across the sky, glowing silver. The buildings below flickered like a broken screen. Cars on the road froze, then moved again. For a moment, the world felt fake.
Kairo's chest tightened. "It's happening again…"
He had seen it once before. A month ago, a tower in the city had disappeared without sound. The news said collapse. Kairo saw the truth: the sky had cracked that night too.
But tonight, it was worse.
The crack widened. Silver shards rained down, hanging in the air like broken glass. But they didn't fall. They floated, twisting back and forth. One shard turned… and looked at him.
It wasn't glass. It was an eye.
Kairo's breath caught.
The shard pulsed, and a voice slid into his mind:
> You are chosen.
The rooftop broke under him.
He fell three floors. He should have died. Instead, time reversed for one second. The pain came, then vanished, like it had never happened.
Kairo stood, shaking. "What… what's happening to me?"
The shard floated closer.
> Fragment: Rewrite.
Suddenly, the world around him glitched. He saw lines, numbers, and light, like the city was made of code. Then it was gone.
Footsteps echoed.
A man walked out of the alley, face hidden under a hood. His right eye glowed red. In his hand, a blade of fire appeared.
"You touched it," the man said. "Now you're marked. You belong to us."
He ran forward, blade ready to cut.
Kairo panicked. He raised his hand. "Stop!"
The shard pulsed. The world froze. The fire blade stopped inches from his neck. Then, the weapon vanished into smoke.
The man stumbled back, shocked. "A Rewrite user? That's… impossible."
Before Kairo could breathe, a voice came from above.
"Don't kill him. Bring him in."
Kairo looked up. A girl stood on the rooftop. White hair, golden eyes. For a moment, her body vanished like a ghost, then appeared again.
Her eyes locked on Kairo. Cold. Sharp.
"Welcome," she said. "You're now part of the Code of Shadows."
The crack in the sky split wide behind her.
And dozens of other glowing eyes looked down
go straight to Chapter 2?