A brand-new week had begun in the futuristic metropolis of New Breedom City. Beneath a brilliant blue sky streaked with clouds as white as fresh snow, millions of people went about their ordinary lives. Office workers hurried toward towering skyscrapers, children filled the streets on their way to school, and merchants welcomed another busy morning beneath the city's endless skyline. High above them, however, another ordinary day looked very different.
The moment Hope took to the skies, the calls began.
LIVE NEWS — Demon Faction Alligators rampage through City Hall. Hope arrives on the scene and prevents further casualties.
Not long afterward…
BREAKING NEWS — Alien traffickers apprehended along the shores of the African Hemisphere thanks to Hope's intervention.
Then another.
EMERGENCY ALERT — A classified experiment at New Breedom's Science Development Center has gone wrong. Citizens are advised to remain indoors and immediately notify authorities of any sightings involving a giant bird.
It was the same routine every single day.
Hope would leave for work early in the morning, spending his hours quietly cleaning the halls and offices of New Breedom's News station as William Faith. Then another emergency would arise, forcing him to disappear without warning, change into his white armor, resolve the crisis, and quietly return to finish whatever work he had left behind before the next call inevitably came. Once his shift was over, he would head home, get a few hours of sleep, and wake up the following morning only to do it all over again.
For Hope, life had become an endless cycle of cleaning floors, saving lives, and pretending the two had nothing to do with one another.
The following day unfolded much the same, though for once William managed to finish an entire shift without being called away.
Inside the locker room, he hung up his janitor's uniform before slipping back into his usual clothes—a dark blue leather jacket over a gray t-shirt, worn black jeans, and heavy boots. He grabbed his motorcycle helmet from the top shelf just as Bobby finished changing beside him.
William smiled.
"Alright, I'm heading out. See you tomorrow, Bobby."
Bobby looked over his shoulder and returned the smile.
"Take care, kid. See ya tomorrow."
William gave a small nod before making his way toward the station's main entrance.
Just as he reached the lobby, the sliding doors opened from the outside.
Rebecca, Adam, and Eddie stepped into the building together, chatting casually as they headed in for their own shift. Their laughter carried through the lobby, filling the quiet space with an easy warmth that made William instinctively glance in their direction.
A faint smile found its way onto his face.
He couldn't quite explain why, but simply seeing them always brought him a strange sense of peace.
It simply felt...
Comfortable.
Ever since the incident at the Gala, their paths had crossed from time to time, but circumstances never seemed to allow more than a passing glance. Just as one arrived, another was leaving. There was never enough time for an actual conversation.
At that moment, the watch around William's wrist emitted a quiet beep.
He lowered his eyes to the screen before lifting them toward his friends one last time. His gaze lingered for only a brief moment. Then he quietly slipped on his helmet, pushed open the station doors, and disappeared into the evening.
Rebecca had only just stepped into the lobby when she noticed him leaving.
She instinctively turned her head toward the entrance, her emerald eyes following the lone figure until he vanished beyond the glass doors. The cheerful expression she'd worn moments earlier softened ever so slightly.
For some reason...
Watching him leave always left an ache she couldn't explain.
…
By the time William returned to his apartment that night, another disaster had already come and gone.
Silence greeted him as he stepped inside.
The white armor covering his body dissolved into countless blue particles that slowly scattered into the darkness, leaving behind nothing more than an exhausted man standing alone in the middle of his dimly lit apartment.
He quietly lowered himself onto the couch.
For a long moment, he simply sat there, resting his head against the cushions as fatigue slowly spread through every muscle in his body. Outside, the city continued moving as it always had. Somewhere beyond the walls, people laughed, traffic drifted through the streets, and another ordinary night unfolded.
Inside...
Everything was still.
William closed his eyes.
His thoughts wandered aimlessly at first, replaying the countless faces he had saved throughout the day. One memory blended into another until the present slowly faded away, giving way to something far older.
Something he had spent years trying to bury.
...I promised.
The words echoed quietly through the darkness.
Not spoken aloud.
Remembered.
...I'll make sure it all ends.
His breathing gradually slowed and before he realized it, sleep had already claimed him. But what awaited him wasn't simply another dream.
It was a memory.
One that had never truly let him go.
….
New Breedom City
Fourth District — Southside
Twenty years ago...
"C'mon, Billy! Fight for real!"
A frustrated voice rang through the junkyard as a boy gripped a rusted metal rod with both hands, pointing it toward the eight-year-old William Faith standing across from him.
"I don't want to hurt you, Tommy..."
William answered with a worried look on his face, holding a metal rod of his own much more loosely at his side.
The two boys had turned the junkyard into their battlefield, surrounded by mountains of rotten metal, broken machinery, and abandoned vehicles that had long since been forgotten by the rest of the district. To anyone else, the place was nothing more than a graveyard of rust. To them, it was the perfect stage to recreate one of their favorite fights from The White Knight—a television show about a warrior clad in white armor who protected his kingdom from every evil that threatened it.
From inside the hollow shell of an old junk car, two younger children watched the duel with very different reactions.
"Let's go!! Beat him, White Knight!"
Little Scott shouted with pure excitement, pumping one fist into the air as though he were watching the real thing.
Lily, on the other hand, looked far less comfortable. She covered most of her face with both hands, leaving only a small gap between her fingers so she could continue peeking through.
"U-Umm... please be careful," she muttered nervously. "I don't want you guys getting hurt."
Tommy had already run out of patience.
Without warning, he charged at William with a loud yell and brought the metal rod down with all the strength his small body could manage. William stepped aside almost effortlessly, letting the strike pass before lightly tapping Tommy across the back with his own rod.
Tommy lost his balance and fell straight into the dirt.
"Hey!"
He quickly pushed himself up, glaring at William with an annoyed expression.
"Billy, you're not supposed to do that! I'm the White Knight and you're the Slick Thief. I'm supposed to beat you!"
He pointed accusingly at him.
"You always do this!"
William looked down at him and gave an awkward little laugh before extending a hand.
"Sorry..."
He helped Tommy back onto his feet.
"My body just reacted."
Scott and Lily immediately climbed out of the wrecked car and hurried over to them.
"Wow, that was awesome, Billy!" Scott said, his eyes practically glowing with excitement. "You should be the White Knight next time!"
Lily nodded quickly beside him.
"Yeah! You're really strong, Billy."
And in truth, he was.
William had always been unusually strong for a child his age, especially one born in a place like Southside. Malnutrition, disease, and violence were woven into daily life throughout the district, claiming far too many children before they ever had the chance to grow older. Even so, despite being raised under those same conditions, William possessed a natural strength that stood out even among the older kids around him.
Tommy clicked his tongue, jealousy plainly written across his face.
"Whatever. I'm not playing with you guys anymore!"
He turned away with a huff.
"I'm going home!"
The other three eventually followed, leaving the junkyard behind together as the morning sun continued rising over Southside. Its warm light spilled across the rusted metal and broken rooftops, painting even that forgotten corner of the district in gold.
For the four children walking home beneath it, the day had only just begun.