Rain fell without mercy, turning the city into a blur of shadows and reflections. The streets were empty, as if the world itself had chosen to stay hidden from the storm. On the outskirts, where broken buildings stood like forgotten memories, a single structure remained barely standing—its shattered windows whispering with every gust of wind.
Inside, a boy stood alone.
He didn't remember how he got there.
He didn't remember his name.
All he knew was the strange sensation crawling under his skin, like something inside him was trying to wake up.
His eyes drifted to his wrist.
There it was.
A black symbol, etched into his skin as if it had always been there. It wasn't just a mark—it pulsed faintly, like a heartbeat that didn't belong to him.
The boy frowned, his breath uneven.
"Who… am I?"
His voice sounded чужд, unfamiliar even to himself, as though it belonged to someone else.
For a moment, there was only the sound of rain.
Then—
A deafening crash shattered the silence.
The door burst open with violent force, slamming against the wall as armed men flooded the room. Their movements were precise, mechanical, their faces hidden behind dark helmets with glowing red visors.
The boy staggered back, fear gripping him instantly.
"Target located," one of them said, his voice cold and emotionless. "Subject Zero confirmed."
The words hit harder than the storm outside.
Subject Zero.
The boy shook his head, panic rising in his chest. "I don't know what you're talking about."
It didn't matter.
One of the soldiers stepped forward, raising his weapon with steady hands.
"You were never supposed to exist."
For a second, everything seemed to slow—not in reality, but inside the boy's mind. His thoughts raced, searching for something, anything that could explain what was happening.
And then—
Pain.
Sharp. Sudden. Unbearable.
He gasped as the symbol on his wrist burned, its dark lines glowing with an unnatural light. It spread like fire beneath his skin, crawling up his arm, into his chest, into his very being.
The air around him began to tremble.
The soldiers noticed.
"What the—"
But they didn't finish.
Because time stopped.
Not slowed.
Stopped.
Raindrops hung frozen in midair, suspended like glass beads. The flickering light above them froze in a half-broken blink. Even the soldiers stood motionless, their weapons raised, their bodies locked in place like statues carved from shadow.
Only the boy could move.
He stared around, his breath echoing loudly in a world that no longer responded.
"This… isn't real," he whispered.
But it was.
He took a step forward.
Then another.
The frozen world didn't resist him.
A strange calm replaced his fear, as if something deep within him understood this power—understood it better than he ever could.
And then, a voice.
Soft. Close.
Inside his head.
Run.
The boy didn't question it.
He turned and moved, his steps growing faster with each second. The walls around him seemed to distort, bending slightly as he passed, like reality itself was unsure of how to contain him.
He didn't stop.
He couldn't.
And then—
Everything snapped back.
Time returned in an instant.
The rain fell again. The lights flickered wildly. The soldiers blinked, confused, disoriented—
But the boy was gone.
Only silence remained.
Miles away, far beneath the surface of the earth, a hidden facility hummed with quiet energy.
Screens flickered in the darkness.
Data streamed endlessly.
And in the center of it all, a man stood watching.
His face was calm, but his eyes held something far more dangerous—anticipation.
"So," he said softly, his voice barely above a whisper, "it finally begins."
One of the screens displayed a single word:
AWAKENED
The man smiled faintly.
"Begin Phase Two."
Outside, the storm continued.
But somewhere in the city—
Something had changed.
Something that should not exist…
…was now free.