The city of Neo-Kyoto hummed with a life that was both mundane and magnificent. Below the gleaming skyscrapers, a blur of flying vehicles zipped between crystalline towers, but on the ground, life felt painfully slow for Ren Tachibana. He sat alone on a public bench, the late afternoon sun casting a long, lonely shadow beside him. Around him, a group of his classmates laughed and boasted, their voices echoing with a power he didn't possess.
"My telekinesis is finally strong enough to lift a car!" one boy declared, flexing a hand as a soda can hovered an inch above his palm.
"That's nothing," a girl with fiery red hair scoffed. "My thermokinesis can boil a lake in under a minute."
Ren looked down at his own hands, plain and unremarkable. He was a "normie" in a world of gifted Aethels, and in their presence, he felt smaller than he already was. It was a feeling he had lived with for ten years, ever since the "Great Awakening" had granted a fraction of humanity incredible abilities. A large billboard overhead advertised a famous hero—a man who could summon lightning—with the bold tagline: "Join the Aethels, Protect the World." Ren sighed, adjusting the wire frames of his glasses. For him, the world felt less like it needed protecting and more like it had left him behind.
He pushed off the bench and began the walk to his cramped apartment, the taunt of a classmate echoing in his ears. "Oh, it's just a normie." He didn't respond. There was no point. It was a fact of his life, a role he had long since accepted.
His apartment was a small, cluttered space on the 12th floor, a stark contrast to the sprawling hero dorms his classmates lived in. He dropped his bag on the floor and tossed a packet of instant noodles into a small pot. Just as the water began to bubble, a soft, unnatural light began to emanate from his window. It wasn't the city lights, nor the setting sun. It was a tear, a shimmering, ethereal rip in the air that was no bigger than a dinner plate.
Ren froze. Gates. He'd only ever seen them on the news, always a safe distance away and immediately handled by Aethel teams. But this one... was right outside his window.
He stumbled backward as the tear began to expand, its shimmering surface cracking like glass. A grotesque, winged creature with glowing, malevolent eyes tore through the opening. It was made of twisted, obsidian-like rock and let out a guttural shriek as it phased into his apartment. The sound was a raw, physical force that shattered the glass of his window. The creature's head swiveled, its glowing eyes locking onto Ren. It sensed his lack of power, his pure, terrified vulnerability. It lunged, its sharp claws extended. Ren let out a hoarse cry, scrambling backward as the creature's attack ripped through the wall where he had just been standing.
He was cornered, his back pressed against the far wall as the creature advanced, a low growl rumbling in its chest. Ren squeezed his eyes shut, bracing for the end. He had lived his life as a bystander, and it seemed he would die as one, too.
But the final blow never came.
Instead, a strange, transparent blue screen flickered into existence right in front of his face. It was filled with cryptic text that seemed to float in the air, and at the bottom, a single, glowing line pulsed with an otherworldly light:
[The System has recognized a compatible host. Activating.]
A cold, authoritative, and completely detached voice echoed in the cavernous space of his mind.
"Survive."
Ren's eyes snapped open. The world was different. It wasn't just the blue screen, which now showed a series of complex data points overlaid on his vision. It was his senses. He felt a surge of energy course through his veins, not a raw power like the Aethels had, but a refined, controlled one. He saw the creature's next move before it made it, a red line appearing on his screen, indicating the monster's attack vector. With newfound clarity and speed, he sidestepped the attack with a grace he didn't know he possessed.
He saw new text appear on his screen:
[You have successfully dodged an attack. Gained: 5 XP.]
The battle was raw and clumsy at first, but with Kael's instructions appearing on his screen, Ren quickly learned to use his power. He realized his ability was a "System," a series of quests and stats, unlike anything he had ever heard of. He defeated the monster with a surge of newfound strength, and as the creature turned to dust, a small, shimmering crystal fell to the floor.
Ren stood in the ruins of his apartment, gasping for breath, the adrenaline slowly fading. He was alive. He had a power. But what was it? It wasn't like the Aethels. He was a ghost in the machine, an anomaly in a world of superpowered elites. The gravity of what had happened, and what he now had to hide, sank in.
A distant news report from a tiny portable TV on the floor flickered to life, the announcer's voice a stark contrast to the battle that had just occurred. "...a rogue Gate was quickly contained by an Aethel team this evening. No casualties were reported, and the city remains safe."
Ren looked down at the glowing crystal in his hand, a tangible piece of evidence of the lie he would now have to live. The voice of Kael echoed in his mind one last time, this time with a chilling finality.
"Aethels are a part of this world. You are an anomaly. You are not safe. Hide your power."
The final shot is a close-up of a powerful, shadowy figure watching the news report from a distance. The figure smirks, a cold, predatory smile. "So, it has finally appeared," a female voice whispers, her eyes glowing crimson. "Let the hunt begin."