Chapter 1 — Ordinary Cruelty(Part 1)
The world didn't end loudly.
There was no siren screaming from the sky, no divine voice announcing judgment, no final warning written in fire across the clouds. The world ended the way it should've, quietly, unevenly, unfairly.
In 2037, the sky over Seoul was clear as crystal.
A 21 year old known as Aaron Yaghan stood at a crosswalk, hands buried deep in the pockets of his worn jacket, watching the light switch from red to green. People crossed around him in practiced waves—office workers staring at their phones, students laughing at jokes that weren't that funny, Heroes walking with the subtle arrogance that came from knowing the world bent around them.
Above the intersection, a massive digital billboard looped the same message it had been showing for months:
HERO ASSOCIATION ANNOUNCEMENT
RIFT ACTIVITY STABLE — STAY CALM
REPORT ALL ANOMALIES
The words meant nothing anymore.
Aaron crossed the street with everyone else.
He had learned long ago how to move without being noticed. How to keep his head low. How to take up as little space as possible. It was a habit born in a cramped apartment filled with yelling, abuse and broken bottles, one he had never quite shaken even after it stopped.
The Hero Association building loomed ahead—steel, glass, and mana-reinforced concrete. Guards stood at the entrance, their badges glowing faintly with rank indicators.
C-Rank.
B-Rank.
One A-Rank, surrounded by whispers.
Aaron paused before entering.
The doors reflected his image faintly. Dark hair, slightly too long. Shoulders a bit tense. Light green eyes that didn't match the rest of him, inherited from a mother whose face he sometimes struggled to remember clearly.
He smiled at his reflection.
It wasn't forced.
That was the strange part.
He smiled because it was easier than not smiling, because people asked fewer questions that way. Pain noticed was just a way that invited more.
Then he stepped inside.
The lobby buzzed with noise.
Mana scanners hummed softly as Heroes passed through. Receptionists spoke in clipped, efficient tones. Large screens displayed real-time Rift activity across the country—pulsing red dots, color-coded by rank.
E-Rank Rifts flickered constantly.
D and C appeared and vanished like distant storms.
B and above were rare enough to draw crowds.
Aaron walked straight to the registration terminal.
The machine lit up as it scanned his badge.
NAME: Aaron Yaghan
AGE: 21
RANK: F
STATUS: ACTIVE (LIMITED)
A pause.
Then the machine beeped.
> NOTICE: F-Rank personnel are restricted from independent Rift engagement.
NOTICE: Support roles only.
NOTICE: Mortality coverage not guaranteed.
Aaron tapped ACCEPT without hesitation.
He'd done it dozens of times before.
Behind him, laughter erupted.
"Hey, is that an F?"
"Why are they even allowed in here?"
"Must be desperate."
Aaron didn't turn around.
He already knew what they looked like. He'd memorized the expressions years ago.The curled lips, the half-amused contempt, the casual cruelty of people who'd been given power and decided it made them better.
He took the printed assignment slip and moved aside.
E-Rank Rift Support Needed
Location: Incheon Industrial District
Role: Logistics / Retrieval
Team: Assigned
Pay was minimal.
Risk was not.
He folded the slip carefully and slipped it into his pocket.
Outside, the wind had picked up.
Aaron pulled his jacket tighter as he walked toward the subway station. The city felt normal. Too normal. Cafés buzzed. Vendors shouted. Children ran past their parents, laughing.
And somewhere beneath all of it, mana flowed like an unseen tide, bending reality just enough to remind everyone that this peace was borrowed.
His phone vibrated.
He stopped walking.
For half a second, his chest tightened.
Then he answered.
"…Yeah?"
A familiar voice came through, strained but trying to sound light.
"Hyung, did you eat?"
Aaron smiled.
"Of course," he lied easily. "What about you?"
There was a pause.
"…Hospital food still sucks."
Aaron closed his eyes.
"Yeah," he said softly. "I remember."
Traffic rushed by. The smell of exhaust and street food mixed in the air.
"You shouldn't skip meals," his brother continued. "You always say you're fine, but—"
"I said I ate," Aaron interrupted gently. "Don't worry."
Another pause. Longer this time.
"…The doctor says I'll need surgery on both legs."
Aaron's grip tightened on the phone.
"When?"
"Soon. They're… waiting on approval."
Approval.
Money.
Hero influence.
Aaron swallowed.
"I'll handle it," he said, the words automatic. "Focus on resting."
His brother laughed weakly. "You always say that."
"I always mean it."
This time, the silence felt heavier.
"Hyung," his brother said quietly. "You don't have to—"
"I'll call you later," Aaron said, not trusting his voice. "Get some sleep."
He ended the call before the silence could stretch further.
For a moment, he stood there, unmoving, as people flowed around him like water around a stone.
Then he inhaled slowly.
And smiled.
The subway ride was crowded.
Aaron stood near the door, swaying gently as the train moved. Across from him, two Heroes talked openly, their voices loud and confident.
"Cleared a D-Rank yesterday. Easy money."
"Man, once I hit C, I'm quitting my day job."
"Better hurry. Ranks don't wait."
Aaron looked down at his hands.
They were steady.
They always were.
The industrial district was quieter.
Abandoned warehouses loomed like skeletal remains of an older era. Warning tape fluttered near the Rift perimeter, glowing faintly with mana seals.
Aaron spotted his assigned team immediately.
Four people.
All E-Rank or higher.
One of them glanced at his badge and snorted.
"…You've got to be kidding me."
Another tilted her head. "An F-Rank? For this?"
The team leader sighed. "Whatever, just don't slow us down weakling."
Aaron bowed slightly. "I won't."
He meant it.
He always did.
The Rift shimmered before them.
A vertical tear in the air, colors folding in on themselves, reality bending just enough to hurt if you stared too long.
Aaron felt it then.
That familiar pressure in his chest.
Not fear.
Something deeper.
Like standing at the edge of a memory he wasn't supposed to have.
The team stepped through.
The world twisted.
And somewhere far beyond the thin logic of ranks and mana and human arrogance—
something had been watching.
End of Chapter 1 — Part 1