The tremor came without warning.
At first, no one noticed. Then the sirens began, sharp and relentless, cutting through the city noise. Screens flickered to life all at once, overridden by the signal of the Awaken Bureau.
"Emergency broadcast. Dungeon outbreak confirmed within city limits."
Charlie stood in the plaza, the warmth of his own awakening still lingering faintly in his chest. Around him, people gathered, drawn to the live feed as it appeared.
Seven hunters stood in the middle of a ruined street.
He saw them instantly—his mother, smoked restrained beneath her skin, and his father, steady and unmoving beside her. At the front stood their leader, Marion.
"Elite response team deployed. Three Lunarians. Four Solarians."
"They'll handle it," someone said.
Charlie didn't respond.
On the screen, the monster emerged—massive, distorted, its presence bending the air. The team moved together without hesitation. Lightning struck, wind twisted, space distorted, and fire followed—bright enough to hurt the eyes.
"Maintain formation," Marion's voice came through, calm and precise.
The fight ended quickly. The monster collapsed into ash, leaving behind two cores Moon and Sun floating in the air.
Relief spread through the crowd.
"They did it…" Lily whispered.
But Charlie kept watching.
Something felt wrong.
The team didn't move. Their breathing was heavy, their stance uneven. The Solarians flickered with unstable light, their bodies pushing past safe limits.
"Hold position," Marion ordered.
Seconds passed.
Then figures appeared at the edges of the street.
Not from the dungeon.
From the city.
One of the Lunarians turned. "What—?"
The attack came instantly.
A Solarion dropped.
The crowd went silent.
"Ambush?!" someone shouted through the broadcast.
The formation broke. More attackers rushed in, coordinated, precise. They knew exactly where to strike.
"Marion!" Charlie's father's voice cut through. "What is this?!"
Marion didn't move.
"kill solarian first."
The word felt wrong.
The Solarions pushed harder to protect the rest of lunarian. But they already hit their limit.
"Stop—!" Charlie's father gasped. "you're overheating—"
But stopping meant death.
One by one, they fell.
Some struck down.
Others collapsing under their own power.
Lily shook her head. "No… no…"
Patrick stepped forward. "Get up… please…"
Charlie couldn't move.
His father was still standing.
Barely.
The battlefield grew quiet. Only one remained.
Charlie's father tried to stand, failed, and looked up at him.
"…Why?"
"Because strength shouldn't be shared."
The two cores lifted from the ground, drifting toward Marion.
The screen flickered.
Then—
cut to black.
"Signal lost."
Silence filled the plaza.
Lily dropped to her knees. Patrick froze beside her. No one spoke.
Then—
something changed.
Lily gasped.
The air around her twisted, space folding subtly, like the world itself had bent out of shape. The ground near her feet warped inward, distorting unnaturally.
Patrick let out a sharp breath. Sparks burst from his fingertips, snapping wildly, uncontrollable.
"What—what is happening—?!"
Charlie felt it too.
A pressure inside his chest—no, deeper than that—something tearing open.
The grief.
The anger.
The helplessness.
It all collapsed into a single point—
and broke.
The ground beneath them cracked.
Invisible force surged outward from Charlie, bending metal, pressing the air down like weight.
Lily's space warped harder, pulling debris slightly off the ground.
Patrick's lightning exploded in a brief, violent arc.
People stumbled back, shouting in panic.
"They're awakening—!"
"Three at once?!"
Charlie didn't hear them.
His eyes were locked on the dark screen.
On the last image burned into his mind.
"Marion…"
His voice was quiet.
Heavy.
"I'll kill you."
Beside him, Lily wiped her tears, her gaze trembling but steady.
Patrick clenched his jaw, electricity flickering faintly around his hand.
None of them hesitated.
****
Far from the city, Marion stood in silence, the two cores floating before him. Sun and Moon, side by side. He closed his hand, and their light dimmed.
One day, the world would give him a name.
The Eclipse Reaper.