Rain poured heavily from the darkened sky, striking the earth with relentless force as though the heavens themselves were angry. The ground had turned to mud, swallowing footsteps and splashing against Ja'kun's legs as he ran through the narrow village path.
Night was approaching quickly.
And no one wanted to be outside after dark.
Not when the demons from the rift roamed.
Ja'kun's heart pounded wildly in his chest, not only from running but from the urgency of beating the sun's final light. Every second mattered. The Rift always felt closer when darkness took over.
But despite that fear, a small smile played on his lips.
He could see the hut now.
Home.
The tiny, slightly crooked wooden house that held the only warmth he had ever truly known.
Rei would be inside, probably pretending not to worry but secretly pacing. She always acted annoyed when he returned late, yet her eyes would soften with relief the moment she saw him.
Fifteen years ago, she had found him in an abandoned house at the edge of the village — pale, thin, barely clinging to life. He had no memory of his parents. No explanation. No past.
Only a birth certificate, miraculously intact.
Proof that he had once belonged somewhere.
Rei had not hesitated.
She brought him home.
She fed him.
She protected him.
Rei was only thirty-one now. Beautiful in a quiet way. Gentle. Strong in a way that did not require loudness. Abandoned by her abusive husband because she could not bear a child.
So she chose one.
Ja'kun.
And she never once made him feel unwanted.
He had grown up with discipline, kindness, and warmth. He had friends too — especially Sumi. Sumi was tough, quick to argue, and sharp with her words, but once you understood her, she was loyal and sweet.
Life had not been grand.
But it had been enough.
Tonight, Ja'kun had bought food for dinner. On his way back, he had plucked a beautiful flower growing near the riverbank. It was for Sumi. He would pretend he didn't care when he gave it to her, just to watch her get flustered.
He reached the hut.
Without thinking, he flung the door open dramatically, ready for Rei's mock scolding and exaggerated praise.
But the words he had imagined in his head never came.
The hut was silent.
Not peaceful.
Wrong.
His smile slowly faded.
The air felt heavy. Suffocating.
Then he saw her.
Rei lay on the wooden floor.
Still.
Too still.
Blood spread beneath her, dark and merciless.
For a moment, Ja'kun's mind refused to process what he was seeing. It was as if his soul rejected reality.
Then his heart began to pound so violently it felt as though the entire village could hear it.
He dropped the food.
He ran to her.
Fell to his knees.
He lifted her into his arms, blood soaking into his clothes, staining his skin. It was warm.
Too warm.
"Rei…?" his voice trembled. "Rei, wake up… please…"
No response.
His breathing became erratic.
"WHY WOULD YOU TAKE HER FROM ME?!" he screamed toward the empty air, tears mixing with rain that now poured through the broken roof. "She is the only family I have! She did nothing wrong! Why not take the wicked? Why the innocent? PLEASE! Someone help me! This isn't right!"
His voice cracked, but he kept shouting, refusing to accept what his eyes clearly saw.
Then—
A sound.
A cackle.
Wet. Twisted. Amused.
Ja'kun slowly turned his head.
In the darkest corner of the hut stood something that did not belong in this world.
Its body was covered in hands — crawling over its arms, its legs, even across its head. Its real face rested on its chest, smiling with long, blood-soaked teeth. The top of its skull was split open by a gaping wound that never healed.
"My name is I," it said with grotesque pride. "And I created this masterpiece."
Ja'kun's tears stopped.
Only rage remained.
"Why?" he whispered, his voice hollow.
"Because humans are weak. Especially this one." The demon tilted its head mockingly. "I tried to possess her body. Pathetic vessel. Too frail. She was a burden to this world."
Something inside Ja'kun fractured.
He grabbed the pestle beside him and charged blindly.
The demon vanished and reappeared behind him, claws slicing across his back. Flesh tore open.
Ja'kun did not cry out.
He did not turn immediately.
He simply stood there, trembling.
When he finally faced the demon again, his eyes were no longer normal.
They were bloodshot.
Burning.
"You couldn't have saved her," the demon sneered. "You're weak. Just like your mother."
"You're wrong," Ja'kun said, his voice dangerously calm.
"She was the strongest person I ever knew,and the world did not deserve her ."
The demon kicked him violently through the hut wall. Wood splintered. Rain flooded inside.
"And now," the demon hissed, sinking its fangs into Rei's lifeless body, "you are alone."
Time stopped.
Ja'kun felt something tear open inside his chest.
Heat surged through his veins — unbearable, uncontrollable. Light collided with darkness within him. The air around him began to distort.
"HOW DARE YOU!"
He vanished.
The demon barely reacted before it was struck.
Once.
Twice.
Ten times.
Hundreds.
Blows came from every direction at impossible speed. The demon shrieked, unable to see, unable to defend. Bones shattered. Flesh collapsed.
Fear replaced arrogance.
It tried to flee—
But space twisted.
An unseen force dragged it inward, compressing its body until it imploded into nothingness.
Silence followed.
Ja'kun stood in the wreckage, breathing heavily. Blood dripped from his nose. His vision blurred. His forehead burned as if marked by invisible fire.
Above the village, a pillar of blinding light pierced the night sky.
The ground trembled.
No villager dared step outside.
But far beyond the village walls—
Six figures stood atop a distant ridge.
The Rift Slayers.
The elite guardians.
They felt it the moment it happened.
A violent surge.
Raw.
Untrained.
Ancient.
One of them narrowed his eyes at the pillar of light.
"That is not a demon," he said.
Another spoke quietly, "Then what is it?"
A third adjusted her blade.
"Whatever it is," she said calmly, "we are going to find out."
And they began moving toward the village.
Unaware that in the ruins of a broken hut…
A boy had just awakened something the world had not seen in a thousand years.