Ren woke up on cold concrete.
For a second, he didn't remember what happened. His ears rang, and his whole body felt heavy, like gravity suddenly doubled.
Then the memory hit.
The Door.
The ruler.
The punch.
Pain exploded in his stomach again as he tried to sit up. Broken pieces of rooftop slid off his shoulders.
Smoke drifted across the park. Trees were snapped in half. Cars burned. Windows were shattered across nearby buildings.
People screamed in the distance.
Ren forced himself to his feet, legs shaking.
"...Kaito," he muttered.
A chunk of metal shifted nearby.
Kaito groaned, crawling out from the wreckage of a crushed car. His blond hair was covered in dust, and blood ran from a cut above his eye.
"I hate... strong guys," Kaito muttered.
Ren almost laughed in relief.
A deeper crater sat a few meters away.
Mika climbed out slowly, brushing dirt from her uniform. Her face was scratched, but her eyes were still focused.
Alive.
Ren exhaled slowly. "You okay?"
Mika nodded once. "He held back."
Kaito spat dust out of his mouth. "That was holding back?"
Mika looked at Ren. "If he wanted us dead, we'd be dead."
Silence settled over them.
Sirens wailed as emergency vehicles flooded the area. Police officers shouted orders. Medics rushed toward injured civilians.
Ren looked up.
The Door still hovered above the park, wide open.
And empty.
"He's just... out there now," Kaito said quietly.
Ren clenched his fists. "Yeah."
A massive boom echoed from somewhere across the city.
All three of them froze.
Another explosion followed.
Smoke rose in the distance.
Mika's expression hardened. "That's him."
Ren's stomach sank. "Already?"
Kaito looked toward the smoke. "He's testing the world."
Ren launched into the air without thinking.
"Ren!" Kaito shouted, then followed.
Mika shot after them.
They flew low, avoiding helicopters and news drones.
People filled the streets below, panicking. Some pointed at the sky, filming the smoke column.
They reached downtown in seconds.
And saw the damage.
A skyscraper's upper floors were missing, sliced clean off like something cut through them.
Cars were flipped. Streets were cracked open.
In the center of it all stood Vareth.
He walked calmly through the destroyed intersection, hands at his sides.
He wasn't attacking wildly.
He was exploring.
A military helicopter hovered nearby, machine guns aimed.
A loudspeaker shouted, "Unknown entity, stand down!"
Vareth looked up slowly.
The helicopter fired.
Bullets tore through the air.
They stopped midair.
Every bullet froze inches from Vareth's face.
Then dropped harmlessly to the ground.
The helicopter crew screamed.
Vareth flicked his finger upward.
The helicopter shot into the sky like it had been punched, vanishing into the clouds.
Silence crushed the streets.
Ren, Kaito, and Mika landed on a nearby rooftop.
Ren whispered, "We can't fight him."
Kaito swallowed. "Then what do we do?"
Mika stared at Vareth. "We learn."
Below them, soldiers rushed civilians away.
Vareth stepped over a crushed car, examining buildings like a tourist.
"Primitive," he muttered.
A group of armed soldiers surrounded him, rifles raised.
"Stop moving!" one officer shouted.
Vareth stopped.
He looked at them with mild curiosity.
Then he vanished.
Ren blinked.
Vareth reappeared behind the soldiers.
A shockwave exploded outward.
The soldiers were thrown away, armor crushed, bodies tumbling across the pavement.
Not dead.
Just erased from the fight.
Kaito's voice shook. "He's playing."
Mika nodded. "He wants to see what we can do."
Vareth looked up suddenly.
Directly at them.
Ren's blood froze.
Vareth crouched slightly.
And jumped.
The rooftop exploded as he landed in front of them.
Wind blasted outward, forcing Ren and the others back.
Vareth studied them.
"You again," he said calmly.
Ren forced himself to stand straight despite shaking legs.
"What do you want?" Ren asked.
Vareth tilted his head.
"To understand you."
Kaito muttered, "We're not that interesting."
Vareth ignored him.
"Your world was chosen," he said. "Yet you are weak."
Mika stepped forward. "Then why not destroy us?"
Vareth looked at her.
"If I destroy you now, I learn nothing."
Ren clenched his fists. "So we're entertainment?"
Vareth thought for a second.
"Yes."
Anger flared in Ren's chest.
He fired a ki blast without thinking.
Vareth caught it in his palm.
The energy vanished.
Vareth stepped closer.
Ren swung.
Vareth dodged effortlessly and struck Ren in the chest.
Not hard.
But Ren still flew backward through a rooftop structure, crashing into air-conditioning units.
Kaito rushed forward.
Vareth grabbed his face and slammed him into the roof.
Concrete shattered.
Mika attacked from behind.
Vareth elbowed her aside without looking.
All three were down again.
Vareth looked disappointed.
"This planet will fall quickly," he said.
He stepped off the roof and floated into the air.
Ren forced himself onto one knee.
"Wait!"
Vareth paused midair.
Ren glared at him. "Give us time."
Silence hung in the air.
Vareth looked down.
"One year," he said. "The Door's promise."
Then he turned and flew away, disappearing across the skyline.
Ren collapsed onto his back, breathing hard.
Kaito groaned. "We suck."
Mika stared at the sky.
"No," she said quietly.
"We just met a god."
Ren looked toward the distant Door still hanging above the city.
One ruler had stepped out.
And humanity had no idea how to stop him.
The war had started.
And they'd already lost the first battles.