The streets of Olori City were chaos incarnate. Flames licked at the edges of toppled cars, and twisted shadows crept over buildings like living smoke. Eren Kalu's chest heaved as he backed away from the rift above. His right arm still burned with strange, violet markings, and a low hum vibrated through his bones.
The girl — tall, silver-haired, glowing faintly like starlight — landed lightly in front of him. Her eyes, sharp and unyielding, flicked toward the void-creature that clawed at the city below.
"You're not ready," she said, voice tense but calm. "You could die in an instant if you don't control it."
Eren shook his head, panic threading his words. "I'm not ready? You think I chose this? I'm just… me! I don't even know what's happening!"
The markings on his arm pulsed like molten veins. The hum inside him grew louder, resonating with the rift above. And then, without warning, the air around him thickened. Shadows from the void-creature lunged upward, and instinct forced his hand forward.
A sphere of pure darkness exploded from his palm, swallowing the shadows before disintegrating into nothingness. The force threw Eren off balance, and he fell to his knees, gasping.
The girl's eyes widened. "…Incredible," she whispered, awe hidden behind urgency. "You're a raw Voidwalker… untrained and unsealed. That kind of power… it's dangerous."
"Voidwalker?" Eren repeated, voice trembling. "What are you talking about?"
The girl knelt beside him. "The Rift is the doorway between our world and the Void. The Voidwalkers are the only ones who can control its power. And… the Void has chosen you. You are its last hope… or its last threat."
Eren's mind raced. He wanted to refuse it, to pretend this was a dream. But the whisper returned — a soft, haunting echo threading through his thoughts:
"Awaken… or be consumed."
He gritted his teeth. A flicker of determination sparked inside him. "If this is real… then I won't let it control me."
The girl's expression softened. "Good. But listen carefully. That creature below…" She gestured toward the shattered shadow, now regrowing from the void. "…it won't stop. And the Rift will keep feeding more like it. You'll need to master your power… quickly."
Before Eren could respond, the void-creature roared again, lunging at them with jagged claws of darkness.
"Stay behind me!" the girl shouted, drawing a blade that shimmered like liquid starlight. But Eren didn't move. The markings on his arm blazed as he clenched his fists.
A sudden surge of energy shot from him, forming twin spears of void-light that struck the creature midair. It screamed as chunks of its body dissolved into nothingness.
The girl froze, eyes wide with both fear and admiration. "I… I've never seen a Voidwalker manifest that much power without training."
Eren collapsed, trembling, the hum in his chest fading into a faint pulse. He looked up at her, wide-eyed. "I… I didn't mean to…"
"You didn't," she said softly. "But now you can't turn back. Eren Kalu… the Void has chosen you."
The rift above continued to pulse, its cracks widening. The sky fractured further, hungering for chaos. And Eren realized that his life — ordinary, safe, and meaningless as he had thought it — was over.
The age of the Voidwalkers had begun.