The night was unnaturally still.
A full moon hung in the sky, its pale light spilling over the world below, as though it were quietly bearing witness to the countless stories unfolding beneath it. Some people slept peacefully, untouched by worry. Others lay awake, consumed by longing.
And somewhere… far from peace—
Kyle Novaris stood amidst ruin.
The city around him had been reduced to fragments of what it once was. Broken buildings, shattered streets… silence, heavy and suffocating. A crimson aura pulsed around his body, restless, violent—like a storm trapped beneath his skin.
He was barely standing.
His body trembled, wounds carved deep across him, blood clinging to his clothes. He looked like someone who should have fallen long ago.
But he didn't.
"…I didn't choose this power."
His voice was quiet, almost swallowed by the emptiness around him.
"…it chose to destroy everything."
His fingers tightened slowly, as if trying to hold onto something that no longer existed.
"Again… and again…"
A faint, bitter laugh escaped him.
"It never ends. This never ends… I never wanted this."
The words cracked near the end, breaking under the weight of something far heavier than anger.
Then he screamed.
Not in rage—but in pain. In helplessness. In something deeper than both.
He wanted to cry.
But even that was beyond him now.
A few years earlier…
Kyle Novaris had lived a simple life.
Nothing extraordinary. Nothing worth remembering.
Just a young man working long hours at a small grocery store, trying to earn enough money to support his younger sister, Lisa. After their parents died in a mysterious accident, she had become his responsibility—his only family.
And, in many ways…
His only reason to keep going.
Time had shaped him quietly.
He grew into a young man with striking features—eyes red like dried blood, hair dark as the night itself. There was a calmness in his expression, but it wasn't the calm of peace.
It was the calm of someone who had already endured too much.
"Finally… done for today."
Kyle let out a tired breath as he spoke to the shop owner, grabbing his things.
"I'm heading home."
The ride wasn't long. Just a few minutes on his bike, and he'd be back.
But today felt different.
There was something he had been looking forward to.
Today was Lisa's birthday.
Despite everything—the exhaustion, the pressure, the weight of life—she was always on his mind. He never once forgot about her. He couldn't.
If there was anything keeping him from falling apart…
It was her.
"I'm home… Lisa? Are you here?"
His voice echoed faintly through the quiet house.
No answer.
He paused.
Then exhaled slowly, almost amused at himself.
"…Right."
She had moved into the university dorm two days ago.
"…I really am an idiot."
He rubbed his eyes, the fatigue catching up to him all at once.
"I'll just sleep… for a bit."
He dropped onto the bed without another thought.
Sleep came instantly.
Midnight.
Kyle woke up with a sharp breath.
His heart was racing, his body tense, as though he had just escaped something he couldn't quite remember.
"…That dream…"
He stared into nothing, trying to grasp it.
"It felt… endless."
His skin was damp with sweat.
With slow, heavy steps, he made his way to the bathroom. Maybe water would help clear his head.
But the moment he stepped inside—
He froze.
"…Who… are you?"
The words slipped out, quiet and uncertain.
"How did you get in here?"
The figure in the mirror stood still.
It looked like him.
But something was wrong.
The eyes—his eyes—glowed a deep, unnatural red. Not just red… but alive, burning with something he couldn't understand. Dark lines spread across the face in the reflection, thin and branching, like veins of shadow crawling beneath the skin.
Kyle couldn't look away.
His body refused to move.
And slowly… painfully…
The truth settled in.
"…That's me."
A dry laugh escaped him, but there was no humor in it.
"No… no, this isn't real. I'm just tired… that's all."
He turned abruptly, trying to leave.
To escape.
But before he could take a step—
A violent pain tore through his chest.
Kyle gasped, staggering as his body seized. His heart pounded wildly, uneven, like it was struggling to keep beating.
Breathing became a fight.
Each breath thinner than the last.
He grabbed at his shirt, pulling it off in desperation.
"I… can't breathe…"
And then—
He saw it.
The same black veins from the mirror.
They had spread across his body.
Not just his face… but everywhere.
Across his chest. His arms. His neck.
Crawling. Expanding.
Alive.
His vision began to blur.
His strength left him.
"…Is this… a dream…?"
His voice was barely there now.
"…or… is this how I die…?"
The world tilted.
Darkness swallowed everything.
And Kyle fell—
His body hitting the cold floor, unmoving.