A boy lay on a patch of dry grass, staring up at the toxic grey sky. Thick black clouds stretched endlessly overhead, swallowing the sun, yet faint particles of light still slipped through the cracks, as if refusing to let the world fall into complete darkness.
Jordan let out a slow breath and pushed himself up slightly, scanning the land in front of him.
The city looked broken.
Houses leaned at awkward angles, their paint long faded and their windows cracked. Trash covered the streets in uneven piles, and people wandered through it all with tired expressions, moving like ghosts trapped in a place they no longer believed in. It looked like something pulled straight from a horror film—except this was normal.
This was home.
He dropped back onto the grass and stared at the sky again.
Where's Riven… Jordan thought. What am I even thinking? He's probably at the pile right now, digging through trash like it's a treasure hunt. A faint smirk crossed his face. Honestly, he's probably having way more fun than I am.
Jordan shook his head and pushed himself to his feet, heading toward the inner district.
"Spare units?"
A woman stepped into his path, shaking a small metal cup. The soft clinking echoed between the ruined buildings.
Jordan slowed and shook his head. "Sorry."
Not because he didn't care. Not because he was heartless. He just didn't have anything to give. He was as broke as she was. Everyone inside the Walls was.
The Walls made sure of that.
As he walked on, his eyes drifted toward the massive structure looming in the distance. Twenty-four feet of reinforced concrete and steel, stretching endlessly with towering gates placed at both the front and back. Officially, they were built to protect the people inside from the beasts outside.
That was the story, at least.
The truth was simpler.
No one inside had anywhere else to go.
Outside the Walls, survival wasn't guaranteed. Step out without strength, and you didn't last long. Inside, you could survive—barely—even if it meant living like this.
Families who failed to meet their quotas or couldn't pay the crushing taxes were cast out without hesitation. Adults were disposable. Kids under eighteen were spared, allowed to stay and continue their education until they were old enough to be sent into military training. If they showed talent, they might rise. If not, they ended up right back here as factory workers—or worse.
Jordan and Riven had been found as infants, abandoned in front of an orphanage. No names. No explanation. Just two crying babies and silence.
They never knew their parents.
They only ever had each other.
Turning a corner, Jordan spotted the massive pile.
Trash from the outside world, dumped inside for the poor to fight over. People climbed over heaps of broken furniture, shattered screens, rusted appliances, and twisted metal, digging desperately for anything they could sell.
"Riven…" Jordan muttered, scanning the chaos.
Then he spotted him.
Messy black hair. Lean build. Quick hands.
Riven was crouched near a cracked container, casually slipping a small box into his pocket before pretending to keep searching. His eyes flicked around constantly, checking who was watching and who wasn't.
"Riven!" Jordan called out.
His twin looked up instantly.
"Seriously?" Jordan said as he walked closer. "Come on. Let's head back. It's almost dinner time—and you definitely need a shower."
Jordan pinched his nose. The pile smelled like rot, chemicals, and something far worse he didn't want to think about.
The junk used to be sorted. Devices, cards, old tech—things that actually worked—were once separated. But after a few years, the people in charge stopped caring. Now everything was dumped together, and the poor were left to dig through it like animals.
Riven took one last look around, making sure no one had noticed what he grabbed, then shrugged and jogged over, acting like he'd found nothing at all.
Side by side, the twins headed back toward the orphanage beneath the endless grey sky.
Riven looked almost identical to Jordan. Same height. Same build. Same sharp features. The only real difference was their hair—Jordan's brown, Riven's messy black. The orphanage always joked that Riven was probably the older twin, but no one actually knew. There were no records. No birthdays written down. Just guesses.
It didn't matter to Jordan.
Older or younger, it changed nothing.
They had each other. That was enough.
They pushed open the creaking orphanage door, and almost instantly a wrinkled woman approached them. Her hair was completely white, not dyed, not faded—just aged by time itself.
"Where have you—"
She stopped mid-sentence.
Her nose twitched.
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"…The pile."
Jordan slowly pointed at Riven without hesitation.
The woman sighed and waved her hand toward the hallway. "Shower. Now."
She didn't even look at Riven.
The black-haired boy grinned sheepishly and jogged off toward the bathroom. "Yeah, yeah, I'm going."
The sound of running water started moments later.
The woman turned back to Jordan, her expression softening.
"You two are getting older," she said quietly. "You're almost at the age where you'll have to leave the Walls and head to the academy."
Jordan didn't respond at first.
She stepped closer and gently placed her hand on his shoulder.
"And I don't want to see you boys come back here," she continued. "I want you to move past all this. I want you to shine the way you're meant to."
Jordan's eyes lowered slightly.
"What makes you so sure we're meant to shine?" he asked, his voice softer than usual.
There was always a thought in the back of his mind—no matter what they tried, no matter how hard they worked, maybe they'd end up right back here. Another pair of nobodies. Another two faces swallowed by the streets.
"Because you have us."
A male voice cut in from behind.
Jordan turned.
A boy stepped forward with a confident grin, his hair mostly dark except for a bold streak of red near the front. Beside him stood another boy with golden hair, more reserved in posture but still smiling.
"You act like it's just you and Riven against the world," the red-streaked boy said. "Like you don't have Luka and Joey."
The golden-haired boy nodded. "We're not going anywhere."
"They already awakened their abilities," the woman added gently, glancing between them. "And you did too."
Her eyes flicked briefly toward the bathroom where the shower still ran.
"The only one behind right now is…"
She didn't finish the sentence.
She had seen the academy before. She knew what happened to kids who didn't awaken. They were pressured. Controlled. Used. People with power forced them into roles they never chose.
But when she looked back at Jordan, she didn't see fear.
She saw resolve.
"No matter what," Jordan said, a small but firm smile forming, "I'll protect my brother."
⸻
In the bathroom, Riven stood in front of the cracked mirror, water still dripping from his hair.
He pulled the small box from his pocket.
It was plain. Worn. Unmarked. Just a small hole in the center of it, barely noticeable unless you looked closely.
Riven tilted his head.
"What are you…?"
Curiosity got the better of him.
He hesitated for a moment, then slowly pushed his finger into the hole.
A sharp prick.
"Ah—"
He pulled his finger back instantly. A thin line of red formed across the tip. The box absorbed the blood almost eagerly.
Then it began to glow.
A soft white light at first.
Then brighter.
The glow spread across his hands… up his arms… across his chest.
Riven's eyes widened as the light swallowed him whole.
The bathroom filled with blinding white light.
It erased the mirror. The tiles. The steam rising from the tub.
When Riven opened his eyes again, he wasn't home.
He stood inside a massive laboratory.
White walls curved endlessly overhead. Screens floated midair. Scientists in white coats moved quickly between glowing panels, typing on holographic keyboards. Every single one of them wore a sleek black visor that covered their eyes and mouth, leaving only their noses visible.
"Okay… where am I?" Riven muttered.
He stepped toward one of them and grabbed their shoulder.
His hand went straight through.
The scientist didn't react.
"Yeah. That's not normal."
People rushed past him. Some ran directly through him like he was smoke. The room buzzed with noise, but only three voices sounded clear—sharp and focused, cutting through everything else.
Riven followed the voices into a sealed glass room.
Inside stood two men and a woman.
One man had short black hair and a firm expression. The woman had brown hair tied neatly back. The third—
Riven froze.
The last man had long green hair flowing to his waist. Two radiant rainbow-colored wings extended from his back, glowing faintly with shifting colors.
Just looking at him made Riven's thoughts slow.
His body leaned forward unconsciously.
His vision softened.
He slapped himself hard.
"Not today."
The trance snapped.
"Hey!" Riven yelled. "Can you hear me?"
No response.
They couldn't see him.
So he listened.
"Have you done it?" the green-haired man asked, his tone calm but urgent.
"Yes," the woman replied, pulling out a small cube-shaped box.
Riven's stomach tightened.
It was the same box.
The one from the pile.
"We sealed its heritage inside," she said quietly. "All of it."
The black-haired man stepped forward, taking the cube into his hands. His jaw tightened as he looked down at it.
"From now on," he said firmly, "I'm just an ordinary human."
Before anyone could respond, a violent alarm blared through the laboratory.
Red lights flashed.
The ground trembled.
Scientists began running in panic.
"They've tracked it to the ship," the green-haired man said sharply. "We don't have time."
"What's happening?" Riven whispered, even though he knew no one could hear him.
"Launch it," the winged man ordered. "Erase the evidence. Send it to Earth. No one there will be able to unlock it."
The black-haired man moved immediately. He placed the cube into a cylindrical pod. The chamber sealed with a metallic hiss.
Riven watched as the pod shot into space.
It drifted for only a second—
Then it began falling.
Falling toward Earth.
White light swallowed everything.
—
Riven jolted upright in the bathtub, water splashing over the edge.
He blinked rapidly.
Steam filled the bathroom again.
"Woah…"
A slow smile spread across his face.
"That was insane."
A translucent screen flickered to life in front of him.
Golden letters formed one by one.
[System: Welcome to the evolution System.]
Riven stared at it, eyes shining.
"…cool."