The world didn't end with a bang, but with a blue translucent screen.
It happened at 5:14 PM on a rain-slicked Tuesday. The Oakhaven subway station was a sea of exhausted souls, all pushing and shoving to get home to their mediocre lives. Among them stood Ethan Thorne and Jax Vane—best friends, roommates, and two people who couldn't be more different if they tried.
"Watch it, old man!" Jax snapped, his shoulder checking a retiree who was moving too slowly. Jax didn't feel bad. In this city, if you didn't push, you got pushed.
Ethan, catching the man before he hit the tiles, sighed. "Relax, Jax. We're all tired." He reached into his pocket and handed the man his last spare subway token. "Here, sir. Get home safe."
Jax rolled his eyes. "That's why you're broke, Ethan. You give away your life for people who wouldn't blink if you dropped dead."
"Maybe," Ethan replied with a faint smile. "But I'd rather be broke with a clean conscience."
That was the last normal conversation they would ever have.
A high-pitched hum suddenly vibrated through the air, so intense that the concrete seemed to tremble. Time slowed, then jerked, then stopped entirely. A drop of rain hung suspended in the air like a crystal bead.
[INITIALIZING PLANETARY CALIBRATION...]
A mechanical voice, cold and devoid of mercy, echoed in their minds.
[SOUL FREQUENCIES DETECTED.] [ALTRUISM DETECTED: ETHAN THORNE. ASSIGNING: THE RADIANT PATH SYSTEM.] [EGO DETECTED: JAX VANE. ASSIGNING: THE ABYSSAL REAPING SYSTEM.]
[THE BALANCE MUST BE MAINTAINED. BEGIN PHASEONE.]
Ethan's world narrowed down to a single point: the child. As he lunged, the golden screen didn't just sit in his vision; it dissolved into his skin. He felt a searing heat crawl up his spine, a sensation of ancient gears turning within his muscles. He wasn't just running; he was gliding. The air felt thick, like he was pushing through water, while his own body felt light as a feather.
I have to reach her, he thought, his teeth gritting so hard they ached.
Beside him, Jax felt a different sensation. It wasn't heat—it was a numbing, predatory cold. It started at his fingertips and raced to his heart. His eyes, once tired and bloodshot from a double shift, suddenly sharpened. He could see the micro-movements of the crowd, the sweat on the businessman's brow, and—most importantly—the glint of the brass lock on that briefcase.
The businessman was scrambling away, his face a mask of terror, leaving the case behind as if it were a bomb.
Ten Radiant points for a life, Jax's mind whispered, the Abyssal System feeding his cynicism. Or a thousand credits and a power-up for a piece of luggage the guy clearly doesn't want anymore. Who's the real winner here?
Jax's feet moved before his conscience could scream 'stop.' He didn't head for the girl. He dived into the shadows of a support pillar, his body moving with a fluid, serpent-like grace he had never possessed before.
"Ethan, get out of there!" Jax shouted, but he didn't turn back. His hand clamped onto the leather handle of the briefcase.
[CRITERIA MET: THE OPPORTUNIST'S SEED.]
[REWARD: 10 ABYSSAL POINTS GRANTED.]
[SKILL UNLOCKED: SHADOW'S TOUCH (PASSIVE).]
Jax felt a surge of dark adrenaline. He looked at his hand—the shadows around his fingers seemed to be darker, thicker, as if the light itself was being swallowed by his skin.
Across the platform, a thunderous BOOM echoed through the station.
The ventilation unit slammed into the tile, sending shards of ceramic flying like shrapnel. A cloud of dust and pulverized concrete billowed outward, masking the area in a grey shroud.
"Ethan!" Jax's heart hammered. A flicker of his old self, the roommate who shared cheap noodles and complained about rent, fought through the cold system-induced greed.
Then, the dust parted.
Ethan stood in the center of the crater. He was on one knee, his arms wrapped tightly around the small girl. But he wasn't crushed. A faint, shimmering dome of amber light—translucent and humming with the sound of a cathedral bell—hovered inches above his back. The heavy metal unit sat atop the light, held back by an invisible force.
[CRITERIA MET: THE GUARDIAN'S FIRST STEP.]
[REWARD: 10 RADIANT POINTS GRANTED.]
[SKILL UNLOCKED: LESSER AEGIS (ACTIVE).]
Ethan looked up. His eyes, usually a dull brown, were now flecked with brilliant gold. He looked at Jax, then down at the black briefcase in Jax's hand.
The silence that followed was heavier than the metal Ethan was holding. In that moment, the friendship that had survived poverty and a cruel city began to fracture under the weight of their new souls.
Ethan exhaled, the amber dome shattering into harmless sparks as he set the girl down. She scrambled toward her mother, but Ethan barely noticed. His gaze was fixed on the black briefcase in Jax's hand.
"Jax," Ethan's voice was deeper, vibrating with a resonance that made the air feel clean. "Put it back. That's not ours."
Jax's grip tightened. The coldness in his veins wasn't just a sensation anymore; it was an instinct. "The guy ran, Ethan! The System literally told me to take it. This is how we survive now. Don't tell me you're going to play hero for a piece of luggage."
"It's stealing," Ethan said, taking a step forward. The gold in his eyes flared.
"It's efficiency," Jax hissed.
Before Ethan could respond, Jax moved. The [Shadow's Touch] skill kicked in. To the onlookers, Jax seemed to blur, his movement trailed by a faint, dark mist. He didn't run away; he lunged at Ethan, driven by a sudden, system-prompted urge to test his new strength.
Ethan reacted instinctively. [Lesser Aegis] wasn't just a dome; it was a force. He threw his palm forward, and a wall of solidified light met Jax's shadow-wrapped fist.
BOOM.
The collision sent a ripple through the dust-filled air. Ethan stood his ground, his feet cracking the tiles beneath him, while Jax was thrown back a few feet, landing in a low, predatory crouch.
[SYSTEM ALERT: FIRST CONFLICT DETECTED.]
[ETHAN THORNE: DEFENDING ORDER. +5 RADIANT POINTS.]
[JAX VANE: EMBRACING CHAOS. +5 ABYSSAL POINTS.]
Jax looked at his hand, then at the golden aura surrounding Ethan. A twisted grin touched his lips. "You feel that, don't you? The points. The power. We get stronger by being exactly who we are."
"We're roommates, Jax. We're friends," Ethan pleaded, though his own body was coiled for another strike.
"We were just two guys drowning in a gutter," Jax replied, backing toward the subway tunnel where the lights had flickered out. "Now, I'm finally breathing. Don't follow me, Ethan. Go finish being a Saint. I have a feeling the Abyssal Path has much better rewards."
With a sudden burst of speed, Jax vanished into the darkness of the tunnel, the shadows seemingly reaching out to swallow him whole.
Ethan started to move after him, but a new notification halted him in his tracks:
[PHASE TWO INITIATED: THE CULLING OF OAKHAVEN.]
[TIME UNTIL MONSTER SPAN: 05:00...]
Ethan looked at the screaming crowd, then at the dark tunnel where his best friend had disappeared. He had the power to save them, but he had just lost the only person who truly knew him.
He stood alone on the platform, the golden light of his palm the only thing keeping the encroaching darkness at bay.