The sky wasn't supposed to break.
But it did.
Alex stood frozen at his window, staring up at the dark fracture spreading across the clouds like a wound.
It pulsed.
Alive.
Wrong.
"What… is that?" he whispered.
Outside, people were screaming. Some ran into their houses, others just stood there—too shocked to move.
A deep, distorted sound echoed from above.
Not thunder.
Something else.
Something… alive.
BOOM.
The crack widened.
And then—
Something fell.
Fast.
Alex barely had time to react before it crashed into the street just a few houses away.
The ground shook violently.
Windows shattered.
Car alarms screamed.
Alex stumbled back, his heart pounding.
"No way…"
His body moved before his mind could catch up.
He ran.
Out of his room. Down the stairs.
"Alex! Where are you going?!" his mother shouted from the kitchen.
"I—I'll be back!" he yelled, already grabbing the door.
"Alex, wait—!"
But he was gone.
---
The air outside felt heavy.
Thick.
Like breathing underwater.
Smoke rose from the impact site.
People kept their distance, forming a wide circle.
No one dared to go closer.
Alex pushed through the crowd.
"Move—excuse me—move!"
"Are you crazy?!" someone shouted.
"Stay back!"
But Alex didn't stop.
He reached the front.
And then—
He saw it.
At the center of the crater…
Something was moving.
Slowly.
A figure.
It stood up.
Tall.
Twisted.
Not human.
Its skin looked cracked—like stone barely holding together. Black lines glowed faintly across its body, just like the fracture in the sky.
Its head tilted unnaturally.
And then—
It looked at them.
A wave of fear spread through the crowd instantly.
People started running.
Screaming.
Chaos.
Alex couldn't move.
His legs felt locked.
"…This is real," he whispered.
The creature took a step forward.
The ground cracked beneath its foot.
Another step.
Closer.
Closer.
A man nearby tried to run—
Too slow.
The creature moved in a blur.
And in one motion—
It struck.
The man was thrown across the street like nothing.
People screamed louder.
Alex's breath shook.
"Move… move!" he told himself.
But his body wouldn't listen.
The creature turned its gaze toward him.
Their eyes met.
And in that moment—
Alex felt it.
Pressure.
Like something was crushing his mind.
"You…"
The voice echoed.
Not through ears.
Inside his head.
"Different…"
Alex's eyes widened.
"…It's talking?"
The creature stepped toward him.
"You… don't belong…"
Alex stumbled back.
"I—I don't even know what you are!"
The creature didn't stop.
"Come…"
Its arm lifted slightly.
"Break."
It lunged.
Fast.
Too fast.
Alex's brain screamed.
MOVE.
And suddenly—
Everything slowed down.
The creature's movement…
The falling dust…
The sound…
All of it.
Slow.
Alex's eyes sharpened.
"…Wait."
He could see it clearly now.
The angle.
The direction.
The timing.
His body reacted.
He moved to the side—
Just in time.
The creature's attack missed.
It slammed into the ground behind him, creating another shockwave.
Alex stared at his own hands.
"…What was that?"
His heart was still racing.
But something felt different.
Clearer.
Focused.
The creature turned again.
Faster this time.
It attacked again—
And again—
And again.
But now—
Alex was dodging.
Barely.
But still.
Each movement felt instinctive.
Calculated.
Like his mind was working faster than ever before.
"I can… see it…"
He wasn't stronger.
He wasn't faster.
But—
He understood.
The creature grew more aggressive.
Its attacks became wild.
Unstable.
Alex stepped back, breathing heavily.
"I can't keep this up…"
Then—
A thought hit him.
"…The cracks."
He looked at the creature's body.
Those glowing black lines.
They pulsed every time it moved.
"…That's it."
The creature charged again.
Alex didn't run.
Didn't dodge.
He waited.
At the last second—
He stepped forward.
Straight into danger.
And aimed—
At the crack.
He grabbed a broken metal rod from the ground—
And struck.
Direct hit.
The glowing line shattered—
And the creature let out a distorted scream.
It staggered.
Its body flickered.
Breaking.
Alex didn't stop.
He hit again.
And again.
Each strike more precise.
More confident.
Until—
CRACK.
The creature froze.
Then—
It collapsed.
Into dust.
Silence.
The street went quiet.
People slowly stopped running.
Some turned back.
Others just stared.
Alex stood there, breathing heavily.
"…I did that?"
His hands trembled.
Not from fear.
From realization.
This wasn't normal.
He wasn't normal anymore.
---
Clap.
Clap.
Clap.
A slow applause echoed from behind.
Alex turned.
And there—
Standing calmly, as if nothing had happened—
Was the man in black.
"Not bad," he said.
Alex's expression hardened.
"You—this is your fault, isn't it?!"
The man tilted his head slightly.
"In a way."
Alex stepped toward him.
"People could've died!"
"They still might," the man replied calmly.
Alex clenched his fists.
"What was that thing?!"
"A scout," the man said.
"Scout…?"
The man looked up at the cracked sky.
"And it's just the beginning."
Alex followed his gaze.
The fracture had grown larger.
Darker.
More unstable.
A cold feeling settled in his chest.
"…How many more?"
The man smiled faintly.
"Enough to end your world."
Silence.
Alex looked back at where the creature had fallen.
Then at his hands.
Then back at the man.
"…What do I do?"
The man's eyes sharpened slightly.
"Now," he said,
"You start becoming the person who can stop it."
Alex swallowed.
"…And if I fail?"
The man turned away slightly.
"Then everything you know…"
He glanced back.
"…disappears."
The sky cracked louder.
And for the first time—
Alex didn't look away.
---
To be continued…