"War… war… endless war," a tired voice sighed.
Humanity was already at war when the world ended.
Nations burned. Cities evaporated under endless bombardment. Hatred, fear, and despair spread across the planet like a disease.
Then the first Dread appeared.
A creature born from the darkest emotions of mankind.
At first, the world believed it was just another weapon… another experiment gone wrong.
To prove humanity wrong, the creature endured everything thrown at it.
Bullets failed against the Dread. Missiles failed. Even nuclear fire could not kill them.
As the monsters multiplied, the greatest powers of the world did something unimaginable.
They stopped fighting each other, and instead formed a final alliance.
The United World Government (UWG).
Humanity's last attempt to survive extinction.
New weapons were deployed.
Cities and entire nations vanished under experimental bombardments, only for the Dreads to walk through the fire untouched.
Just when the remaining frail nations could be counted in a few breaths, hope arrived.
Just like the Dreads born from intense negative emotions, a Hero appeared… born from intense positive emotions.
Soon more followed.
With their abilities and their manipulation of Ether, they fought back against the Dreads.
The United World Government eventually evolved into the Global Awakened Authority (GAA).
With the strength of the strongest heroes in this alliance, humanity was saved.
Nations and cities were rebuilt from scratch, some named after the greatest heroes of mankind.
Peace reigned under their protection for a decade.
Then the first counterforce appeared.
As if the world demanded balance.
The first of them was called a Villain.
Unlike heroes, their power was tied to dread, just like the Dreads.
Villains began to appear across the world.
And peace was broken again.
Unlike the mindless and grotesque Dreads, villains were humans… just like heroes.
But in one nation in West Africa, the fear was different.
Panic spread through the streets. Curfews were declared. Entire districts emptied overnight as civilians fled from rumors of his appearance… A villain dreaded enough to cause national panic.
News stations repeated the same desperate message day after day.
Citizens whispered his name with fear, while the heroes proved powerless against him.
Media stations and political leaders pleaded relentlessly for GAA's HQ intervention.
Eventually, the villain caught the attention of the Authority.
The GAA headquarters deployed several powerful heroes into Nigeria, leading to the villain's eventual apprehension.
---
Inside a dim, heavily armored room, a broad-shouldered man in his thirties stood, leaning against the wall.
He had long blond hair and was jotting notes down as he asked questions in a foreign accent.
"So what was your name again?"
"It's Light," the man chained to an Ether-neutralizer chair replied in a hoarse voice.
He looked to be in his early twenties. Sharp features framed his brown face, and short dreadlocks fell to his ears, where small silver earrings glinted against his skin. His lean build carried an easy confidence, but it was his deep, dark eyes that made people hesitate when they met his gaze.
A scar ran across his left eye like a stigma of despair that made weaker ones instinctively step away.
The foreign man paused, raising a brow.
"But the documents here say Lightless."
"I don't care what the data calls me. I'm Light."
"That's a killer gaze you've got there, young man." The foreigner chuckled.
"What happened that led to your awakening as a villain?"
"Humanity happened."
He didn't sigh or show weakness. He simply leaned further back into the chair, wrists still shackled to the armrests.
"Villains always say that," the man replied casually.
"I mean any specific event? Or maybe one villainous speech to justify your actions?"
"I don't need to justify anything. I live for me. If I hurt anyone in the process, then it's their fault for being weak."
Light slightly tilted his head.
"I'm here because I was weak. Nothing justifies weakness."
"You can be strong all you want… but once you show a single weakness, humanity forgets you were ever strong."
"Mark these words, Charles Caldwell."
"That's a deep one." Charles closed his notebook.
"I'd love to change your mindset, but I'm already out of schedule. I'll leave the counseling to the GAA prison school officials back home."
He stepped forward and began removing the restraints.
Light's arms were freed after several metallic clicks.
He stood and stretched slightly. He murmured something inordible while staring at Charles' hands before metal cuffs locked around his wrists again, this time behind his back with an Ether suppressor.
"I advise you not to resist," Charles said calmly as he led him toward the exit.
"We have permission to silence you if things go wrong."
They stepped into a brown armored hallway.
A young woman stood in the hallway. The moment she saw him, her expression faltered as she hesitantly reached out.
"Light…"
Her voice carried unmistakable concern as she followed behind the two men.
Light was being transferred to the United States GAA Headquarters' Prison School.
A place where the most dangerous awakeners were contained, monitored, and trained for a chance at conversion under the Authority's elite forces.
Light, however, was going there purely for containment… under far stricter supervision.
Or so they believed.
Light remained expressionless as he briefly glanced at the ethereal purple screen glowing in front of him.
{System Notification}
{Quest Accomplished: Get apprehended by the United States GAA Forces}
{Reward: 300 Villain Points}
{Temporal Quest Skill Locked.
{...}
{New Quest Available}
{Objective: Eliminate one of the Top Ten U.S. Heroes — Michael Brown}
{Reward: 800 Villain Points}
{New Temporal Quest Skill Available: Condemnation}
{Quest Failure Penalty: All active skills permanently disabled}
Light closed the screen only he could see and lowered his head slightly, a faint smirk forming on his lips.
'Let the games begin.'