The next morning felt like a nightmare that wouldn't end. I woke up in my boarding house with a throbbing headache. The morning sunlight slipped through the cracks of the rickety wooden window, illuminating the damp, moldy walls. The old wall clock on my study desk showed 6:15. I hurriedly took a cold shower from a bucket the water heater had been broken since yesterday.
In the small mirror above the sink, my face looked pale, my eyes red from lack of sleep, and a small scratch on my cheek from last night's glass shard stood out. "This is crazy," I muttered to my reflection while brushing my teeth. What did I do last night? Touching that black card, feeling a strange vibration in my phone, and suddenly my body felt encased in cold scales that vanished when I returned to normal. Ophiuchus called me a "Forbidden Zodiac Rider," but that sounded ridiculous. I'm not some anime hero just Rei, who can't even pay bills on time. Maybe it was just a hallucination from the trauma of watching Andi die. I shook my head, put on my wrinkled high school uniform, and grabbed my backpack. No time to think school was waiting.
The ride to school felt ordinary. I pedaled my rusty bike, its chain always threatening to slip, passing the bustling morning market. The smell of fresh fish and fried snacks mixed in the air. I stopped briefly at a coffee stall, bought a warm sweet tea, and sipped it while checking my phone. News about the minimarket incident was still trending: "Fatal traffic accident, police investigating brake failure." No mention of Riders, no strange details. I zoomed in on a photo of the wreckage. There were odd cracks in the asphalt, like the impact of a giant fist, but the caption called it "caused by a collision." The public's memory had been erased, just as Ophiuchus said. I turned off my phone and pedaled faster, trying to forget everything.
At school, lessons dragged on. The English teacher droned about tenses, and I doodled snakes in my notebook. During break, a friend asked why I looked so pale. "Didn't sleep well," I answered curtly. No one knew about Andi. The news didn't even mention his name just "one fatality." The trauma was mine alone.
Around 3 p.m., on my way home, the sky turned overcast, and a strong wind blew. I took a shortcut through the usually quiet city park. My mind wandered to tomorrow's shift at the minimarket. Should I ask for time off? I couldn't bear to see the place where Andi died.
Suddenly, the air felt heavy, like before a storm. I heard quick footsteps behind me, but when I turned, no one was there. "Paranoid," I muttered. Then, a long energy arrow shot from the side. It struck a tree beside me, splintering the bark and sending wood fragments flying like tiny bullets. One grazed my hand, drawing a thin line of blood. My heart pounded wildly. "Who's there?!" I shouted, standing slowly while clutching my wound.
From behind the bushes, he appeared. A tall figure clad in golden-green armor, with an archer motif on his chest and an energy bow in hand. His helmet, shaped like a futuristic cowboy hat, glowed yellow from its eye sensors. "Sagittarius," I whispered to myself.
"You… you're not on the list," his voice rasped, like a broken speaker. "Strange energy from you… forbidden? Doesn't matter. I need a Star Fragment for today's Quest. You're out of luck."
He drew his bow, and a second arrow shot faster than I could follow, hitting the ground at my feet and creating a small crater. I ran, my legs trembling, but he was faster. A gust from his movement pushed me, making me stumble into a wooden bench. "Help!" I screamed, my voice breaking. But the park was empty. A third arrow nearly hit my shoulder, its heat singeing the edge of my uniform. Cornered and panicking, my phone vibrated violently in my pocket. Its screen lit up with the snake symbol. I remembered Ophiuchus's words: "Call when you need me." With trembling hands, I pulled it out. "Henshin!" I shouted, and the world changed.
A cold wave surged through my body. Serpent scales emerged from my pores, spreading from my chest to my arms, forming sleek, strong organic armor. A snake-shaped helmet encased my face, and the world turned into a digital interface through a bluish-green visor. My body felt different lighter, stronger. My muscles pulsed with new energy, my breathing steady despite my racing heart.
As Sagittarius fired a fourth arrow, I instinctively leaped aside. Time seemed to slow. The arrow obliterated the bench, wood splintering, but I was already in the air, landing perfectly without stumbling. My body moved on its own. I ran in a zigzag, dodging a fifth arrow that scorched the grass, and closed in on him.
My fist connected with his arm. The Serpent Scale's basic ability activated, absorbing some of the heat from his arrow. My arm felt warm but unharmed. I struck his chest, a punch that would've been weak now feeling like a hammer. He staggered back, his helmet screeching. "You… Ophiuchus? An illegal Rider!" he roared.
He drew his bow again, but I was faster. I rolled under his attack, sweeping his legs until he fell. The fight was short, brutal. I had no special abilities, only raw speed and strength, but it was enough to overpower him. With a final push, I threw him into a tree. His bow snapped, glowing, and his body vanished in a flash of white light, leaving behind a card with an arrow logo on the ground.
My visor showed my life symbol ♥ blinking, unchanged. But as the transformation faded, my body trembled again. I was back to being Rei, an ordinary high school student. Yet now I held a card proving it was all real, with no way back.
I sat on the wet grass, gasping for breath. The park was wrecked: craters in the ground, a charred tree, a shattered bench. In the distance, police sirens wailed someone probably reported a "fallen tree accident" or whatever they'd call it. I picked up the card Sagittarius left behind. It was cold and slick, its glowing arrow logo faint. Touching it sent a burning sting, like a burn, followed by a strange power creeping through my skin. New information flooded my mind: Sagittarius, official Rider, lives ♥ 1/2.
He didn't die. I'd only defeated him once, taking one of his two lives. It felt strange. I hadn't killed him, but I'd stripped something vital from him. He'd be back, and he'd remember me. This wasn't a victory it was a warning.
Since then, my life split in two. By day, I was Rei the high school student, sitting in class, listening to teachers, and trying to do homework. I tried hard to act normal, but under my school uniform, the scratches from wood splinters on my arm felt all too real. By night, I was Rei the Ophiuchus, learning the rules of the Infinity OS that kept flooding my mind. The information came in fragments, like an incomplete puzzle. There were 12 Riders representing the Zodiac, each with unique powers and two lives. Then there was me, Ophiuchus, the forbidden Zodiac with only one life.
The most unsettling information was about Star Fragments. Each time a Rider lost a life, they released part of their power as a Star Fragment. Collecting these fragments was the way to grow stronger. The Sagittarius card in my pocket now felt heavy, a burden of a lost life and a power I had to answer for.
One night, about three days after the park fight, I couldn't sleep. At 2 a.m., my phone's screen lit up with an Infinity OS notification. A digital map appeared, showing two red dots moving fast in the city center. Leo and Aries. Both were marked with clashing sword icons. They were about to fight.
My heart raced. Could this be a chance? A chance to observe and learn about other Riders' powers without fighting? A voice in my head, sounding like Ophiuchus, whispered, "They're not a spectacle, Rei. They're your enemies. This is your chance to gain more power."
Despite my fear, I decided to go. I threw on my worn-out jacket and hurried out, following the map's directions. The red dots moved toward a deserted industrial area. The air was cold and damp, reeking of oil and rusted metal.
When I arrived, the battle had already begun. I hid behind a stack of containers, watching from afar. Leo was majestic, clad in golden armor with a flaming mane. He wielded a massive sword, each swing unleashing waves of fire that scorched the asphalt. Aries, more agile, wore silver armor with a ram's horn motif. He dual-wielded short blades that moved like lightning, leaving trails of electricity.
Their fight was brutal and spectacular. Explosions of fire and lightning flashes filled the area. They fought with incredible power, wrecking warehouses and crushing parked vehicles. The clash of metal and their roars made me tremble. I saw Leo parry Aries's attack with his sword, then retaliate with a fire blast that engulfed a truck. Aries countered, leaping onto a container and unleashing a shockwave of electricity that knocked Leo to the ground.
As the battle reached its peak, a thought hit me. Why was I just watching? If one of them lost, I could claim their Star Fragment and grow stronger. That's how they survived, how they gained the upper hand. Suddenly, a blue dot appeared on the map. Taurus. He was approaching, likely drawn to the fight. I had to act fast.