The day it began, the sky wasn't blue.
It tore open.
Eren Vale had seen his fair share of strange things on the streets—gang fights, drunk soldiers, the occasional power outage that left the city in chaos—but nothing compared to the black cracks ripping across the sky that morning. They spread like shattered glass, glowing with sickly green light, as if the heavens themselves were bleeding.
People screamed in the streets. Cars slammed into each other. Phones went dead all at once.
Eren just stood there, half-eaten sandwich in hand, staring up.
"...Well," he muttered, "that can't be good."
The cracks widened, and from them descended shapes—sleek, sharp, monstrous ships that blocked out the sun. Alien metal, black and jagged, humming with energy.
For a moment, there was silence. The whole city seemed to hold its breath.
Then the world exploded.
Blazing beams of energy rained down, ripping through buildings, setting streets on fire. The ground shook as towers crumbled, glass and steel crashing onto the people below. The air filled with dust and smoke.
Eren dropped the sandwich.
He should have run. Any sane person would. But his feet didn't move. His eyes were locked on the invaders pouring out of the ships.They weren't human.
Tall, lean, armored creatures with glowing lines running across their exoskeletons. Eyes like shards of crystal, cold and merciless. They moved with precision, each step calculated. Weapons grew out of their bodies like blades of living metal.
The Krythar.
Eren didn't know their name yet, but he didn't need to. One look told him everything—these things weren't here to talk. They were here to take.
Screams filled the air as people scattered. Some fought back, throwing stones, firing handguns. The Krythar cut them down effortlessly, as if swatting flies.
Eren's instincts finally kicked in. He turned and ran. His lungs burned as he pushed through the panicking crowd, leaping over rubble and dodging falling debris. The city he knew—noisy, dirty, alive—was dying around him.
And then, it happened.
A building collapsed ahead, blocking his path. The ground split, tossing him to the pavement. Pain shot through his body, but before he could move, a Krythar soldier landed in front of him.
It was massive up close. Taller than any man, its armor pulsed with a faint green glow. Its eyes fixed on him like a predator studying prey.
Eren's mouth went dry. His heart hammered. His hands trembled.
For the first time in his life, he felt truly small.
The Krythar raised its blade.
And deep inside him—something stirred.
It was like a spark, buried in his chest, waiting for this exact moment. Heat rushed through his veins, a pulse that wasn't natural, wasn't human. His vision blurred, his skin tingled, and the world seemed to slow.
The blade came down—
—and Eren Vale awakened.