Three weeks ago, a house fire swallowed a mother's life and left her son missing into the night. Her body was found burned with a hole in her chest. And the boy? Still nowhere to be seen.
People are saying he struggled at school, got into fights… was out of control. Some are whispering that he might've started the fire and killed his own mother. Authorities are searching for him as we speak, and some witnesses say that they heard screams… a loud bang… like something deliberate. They also reported that when they tried to get to the house, they could not.
But I don't know—I feel like there's more. Something hidden beneath the cracks. Authorities, maybe even the government, aren't telling us. The aura around this is dark; something feels off. Oh! And not to mention, they even found the dead body of a teenage boy with a gunshot wound in his head. And what's shocking is that they found the boy's blood and fingerprints at the crime scene a few blocks away from his house. But forensics found that the gunshot wound was a suicide. There is definitely something going on, and I will get to the bottom of it. Well, that's all for today. Remember fans: Stay aware. Trust your intuition. And remember, the truth often whispers before it shouts.
Stacy, out.
As the radio cut out, Rudo's eyes cracked open to blinding white. Red and gold lights swung across the space in rhythmic arcs, stabbing into his skull until a headache bloomed behind his eyes. He clawed at his face, trying to shield himself.
"Where—" His throat felt like sandpaper. "Where the hell am I?"
He tried to sit up. His body refused. Not restrained—just locked. Like invisible hands pressed him into the floor.
"I'm not chained. Why can't I move?"
The door opened. Burns stepped through, silhouetted against the hallway light. He studied Rudo with the detached interest of someone examining a lab specimen.
"So you're human after all," Burns said. "Normally, disasters go crazy under these lights."
"What?" Rudo blinked hard, trying to force his brain to work. "Where am I? Why can't I—"
Then memory crashed into him like a freight train.
His mother's face. The blood. Explosion.
"Mom." His voice cracked. "Where is she?"
Burns' expression didn't change. "I'm sorry, but—"
"NO!" Rage ripped through Rudo's chest, white-hot and blinding. He thrashed against whatever held him, muscles screaming. "IF YOU HADN'T GIVEN ME THAT AFTER-SCHOOL BULLSHIT, I COULD'VE BEEN THERE! I COULD'VE SAVED HER!"
"You would've died."
Rudo struggled harder. The invisible pressure tightened around him like a python, squeezing until he couldn't breathe.
"There's no use." Burns' voice, calm and clinical. "There's a seal on you. The more you resist, the tighter it gets."
Defeated, Rudo collapsed. His forehead pressed against the cold floor. The sobs came in heaving, choking waves.
Why couldn't I have been stronger? I could've saved her...
A hand landed on his shoulder—firm, not gentle.
"Enough, Rudo," Burns said quietly. "Tears won't bring her back. She gave everything so you could live. She believed in your strength—bet her life on it. Truth is, you never stood a chance against them… but you still fought harder than anyone else could've. You held them off long enough for me to arrive. You did more than anyone could've asked of you."
He paused, his voice dropping to a near whisper.
"If you could've seen her in those last moments… your mother died smiling—proud of you. So damn proud of the son she raised. She died without regret as she left it all to you."
A warmth spread through Rudo, a sense of presence and belonging, as if his mother were right there with him.
Rudo shook his head, still crying.
"Yeah," Rudo said.
Something sharp pricked his arm.
"OW!"
A nurse smiled apologetically. "Just a final blood draw. Won't take long."
Rudo, "When did she—?"
She tapped through her tablet, eyes scanning data. "Alright... reports are negative across the board. Heart rate, oxygen levels, blood pressure, blood sugar, pH—all normal."
She paused. Her brow furrowed.
"But your temperature spiked to 407 degrees Fahrenheit at its peak. Right now it's holding at 107. And your nerve signal speed..." She looked up, eyes wide. "Nineteen times faster than baseline."
The nurse's voice dropped to something almost reverent. "Congratulations. You've awakened your soul."
Rudo stared at her. "My... what?"
"Your soul." She tilted her head, studying him like he was some rare species. "You opened it without even knowing it existed. Even so, the report showed… Oh my, you only—"
"Which is why he's in this room," Burns cut in. He stepped forward, blocking the nurse from view. "Thank you. That'll be all."
The nurse hesitated, then nodded and left.
Rudo's patience finally snapped. "Okay, can you CUT THE BULLSHIT and tell me what the HELL is happening? Why am I here? What's this 'soul' crap?"
Burns held up a hand. "I'll explain. But you need to listen."
He crouched down, meeting Rudo's eyes at level.
"Your soul isn't just what makes you who you are," Burns said, his voice low but steady. "It's more than identity—it's your core energy, the source of all your power."
He straightened, eyes locking on Rudo. "When a soul awakens, its energy spreads through the body. To contain it, your body transforms—stronger, faster, more resilient. That's why you're still alive after those injuries."
Rudo looked down. Faded scars lined his arms—knife cuts, bullet wounds—healed, but still there.
Burns nodded slightly. "You got those before your soul awakened. The best it could do was seal the damage into scars, not erase it completely."
He stood, releasing the seal on Rudo's energy. "Now, stand up. Close your eyes. Try to feel it—the energy moving through you."
Rudo hesitated, confused, but obeyed. He lifted his arm. For the first time, it didn't hurt. He could move freely.
'Find the energy flowing in my body…' he thought.
A flicker. Then warmth.
"Hey... I think I feel something," Rudo said. "Yeah—it's strange."
The air around him shimmered. Midnight-blue light crawled along his skin like molten metal, pulsing with heat. The room grew warmer.
Burns watched closely. He whispered, "Warm. Good. Now open your eyes."
Rudo did—the light still danced around him.
"What... is this?" Rudo managed.
"Your soul," Burns replied. "Its color. Everyone is different—shaped by their ability, their lineage. Vermillions, for example, burn blood-red. But don't confuse it with ordinary red—they're not the same."
He paused, waving a hand. "But that's a lesson for later. What matters now—do you remember how it felt the first time you awakened it?"
Rudo looked at his hand. "Yeah. In the forest it felt... cold. Sharp, almost stinging. But at the house—maybe because of the fire—it was warm. Aggressive, even."
Burns frowned, disappointed. "I was hoping for a different answer."
"What do you mean?" Rudo asked.
Burns folded his arms. "Remember how I said your soul is your energy?"
Rudo nodded. "Yeah."
"There are two kinds of energy: positive and negative," Burns explained. "Your soul runs on pure positive energy—but it can tolerate a little negative, around twenty percent. Humans can use both, but if they exceed that limit… the negative energy starts corrupting them. Their body decays. Their souls twist. And they stop being human. They will become something called a Disaster."
"What's that?" Rudo said.
"A Disaster is an anomaly that runs fully on negative energy; they can either be born from negative energy or form corrupted humans. These Disasters need to be executed by the Extermination Unit."
"Extermination Unit?"
Burns continued, "Yes. Just like the six branches form the military—Air Force, Navy, Army, Marines, Coast Guard, Space Force—there is a seventh, hidden one: The Extermination Unit. A unit that will eliminate any and all non-human anomalies that pose a threat to the world. We are unknown to the public, as fear will just make the Disasters stronger, and we can't risk it."
He turned back to Rudo. "And that brings us to this situation. Disasters are born corrupt. Their souls run on raw negative energy—chaotic, destructive. When you had your little episode, you lit up half the damn wing in the Extermination Unit. Those alarms only trigger for two reasons: an outside Soul User entering our jurisdiction, or a human breaking the threshold and becoming a Disaster."
Burns crouched, face close enough that Rudo could see the small scars on his face. "But you—when you opened your soul, your body registered negative energy beyond the safe range, at least 25-30%. That's abnormal. Humans normally awaken positive energy first, then learn to use negative later on. You awakened on the wrong end of the scale, bud—and yet you stayed conscious. Stayed human. Do you understand what that means?"
Rudo shook his head.
"By law, you should have been classified and executed as a Disaster," Burns said. "The Unit ordered your death. I was there because I was supposed to carry it out."
He straightened. For a beat, the room was silent enough to hear the hum of the air conditioning.
"But because you didn't turn into a Disaster and showcased a high amount of negative energy as a human, that's what makes you rare. This caused confusion among the Unit, and for the first time in a while, it made the Elders take a week to come to a conclusion. Four voted for mercy; three for death. Mercy won—but to satisfy the opposing side, conditions were attached:
You obey every order without question.You must serve in the Extermination Unit until deemed 'cleansed' or proven completely stable.Kill anyone without an order, you'll be executed.You are to be monitored at all times—every movement will be tracked.A soul seal will be placed on the subject that will render his soul dormant until authorized for missions.Failure to comply will lead to immediate execution."
He rose and headed for the door. "That's your new future. Join, or die."
He paused at the threshold. "Any problems?"
The words landed like a verdict.
Rudo forced himself upright, his voice trembling with rage. "Problem? Yeah, I've got one. You call me this Disaster thing, a monster, not even considering I'm human—and now you show up, acting like I should be grateful to serve you? Because you got this magical power? How would anyone feel great about that?"
Burns looked at him with an intensity that nearly burned. "Sorry to lay this on you, kid. I want to keep you alive just as much as anyone—but to do that, you must comply with the Elders. If you don't, I won't be able to save you again."
Rudo swallowed. "I understand… but—"
"Do you want revenge for your mother?" Burns asked.
Rudo looked up. Determination, rage, and grief braided together in his face. "Of course I do."
Burns looked at him. "Comply with the Elders. Join and train with the Extermination Unit, and I can guarantee you'll find the man who killed your mother. But as of right now, if you tried to face him in your current state, you'd die without a second thought."
The room filled with a darker, more murderous aura than the one Burns had shown earlier—not just power, but intent.
Rudo's skin began to crawl; his chest tightened as if someone were standing on it. His instincts screamed to run, but he couldn't move, as if the spell was still on.
"Do you think you can fight me right now?" Burns asked.
Rudo was silent, too frightened to speak. He shook his head.
"The man who killed your mother is named Dragon," Burns continued. "That's really all we know about him; his motive and history are unknown to us. But one thing we do know is that he is a high-level soul user, a threat to the Extermination Unit."
Burns extinguished his soul; the room grew lighter. "You will be able to leave this room in an hour. When the time is up, wear this—the Extermination Unit exam uniform." He handed Rudo a phone. A GPS was already set to the entrance academy—the place where they teach how to use souls, everything about our job. "You'll be behind, but I trust you can catch up."
"Don't die. See you after the exams."
In an instant, Burns was gone.
Rudo lay back, his mind racing through everything that had happened. Thirty minutes later, movement returned to his limbs. He put on the uniform; it fit perfectly. In his pocket, he found a photo of his mother and him as a baby. Grief hit him first, then relief that the picture still existed. He clenched his fist and vowed, quietly and fiercely, that he would make Dragon pay.