No one remembers when the first gate appeared.
Only that the sky tore open like a wound.
From those rifts came monsters—creatures that slaughtered without reason or mercy. Cities fell overnight. Governments collapsed. Humanity stood on the brink of extinction.
Then, some people awakened.
They were called Slayers—humans who gained the power to fight back. Their emergence slowed humanity's fall, clawing order from chaos one battle at a time. Eventually, an international Association was formed to manage gates and regulate Slayers. Beneath it rose countless guilds—some righteous, others corrupt, many funded by powerful businessmen who saw profit even in apocalypse.
That was the world now.
A broken world, barely holding itself together.
My name is Aariz.
I'm nineteen years old, and honestly… I'm a loser.
I'm not awakened. I don't belong to any guild. I have no talent, no strength, and no luck worth mentioning.
My mother has been sick since the day I was born. No doctor could name her illness. It changed constantly—sometimes her lungs failed, sometimes her body burned with fever, sometimes she simply lay still, as if life itself was tired of her.
Relatives whispered behind closed doors.
He cursed her.
If he hadn't been born, she'd be fine.
I believed them.
My father disappeared the same day I was born. No body. No explanation. Just gone.
A coincidence?
No one thought so.
The only person who never blamed me was my sister.
Aniya.
She isn't my biological sister. She was taken in by our family years ago, but she became its pillar. She worked, endured, and sacrificed everything to keep us alive.
For our mother.
And for me.
That day, I was walking down the road, lost in familiar thoughts, when a scream tore through the air.
"GATE BREAK!"
My blood ran cold.
A gate break meant the monsters had escaped before Slayers could arrive.
People screamed. Chaos erupted.
"How is this possible?!" someone shouted.
"There wasn't a gate here!"
It must have formed inside an abandoned building. Hidden. Undetected.
Slayers wouldn't make it in time.
I froze.
What should I do?
Then a girl's voice rang out—shaking, but desperate.
"It's a high-rank gate! Any awakened person, please—help evacuate!"
High-rank.
My hands clenched.
I'm not awakened.
And there was no one else.
At this rate, everyone would die.
So I ran.
Not because I was brave.
But because my body moved before fear could stop it.
A monster burst through the smoke.
Jagged claws. Rotting fangs. Eyes glowing with hunger.
Then I heard a voice that made my heart stop.
"Sister?!"
I turned.
"Aniya! What are you doing here?!"
She spun toward me, shock flashing across her face.
Before she could answer, the monster lunged.
I shoved her aside.
Pain exploded through my body as claws ripped into my flesh. Warm blood spilled from my mouth as I staggered.
"Run!" I shouted. "Take care of Mom!"
Aniya shook her head violently.
"I'm not leaving you!"
She grabbed me, trying to pull me up.
Then another attack came.
She was hit.
"No—!"
My vision blurred. My legs gave way.
I can't even protect her…
Darkness crept in, heavy and cold.
Just before I lost consciousness, a man appeared.
"This isn't the time for you to die," he said calmly.
His presence alone crushed the air.
"And it seems fate wants to give you a chance."
I forced my lips to move.
"My… sister… help her…"
He glanced at Aniya.
"A sister, huh?" he muttered.
Something cold pressed against my chest.
"Then get stronger," he said.
"And survive."
The world went black.
End of Chapter 1