It was morning. A thin sliver of sunlight filtered through the edge of the curtains, cutting across the room.
Tring... Tring... Tring...
The alarm blared relentlessly. On the bed, a boy shifted slowly, tossing to his side. His eyes were half-open, heavy with lingering sleep. Reaching out, he grabbed his phone and silenced the alarm.
"Another day... alright, time to wash up," he muttered.
Standing before the bathroom mirror, he stared at his reflection for a long moment, as if searching for something hidden in his own features. Then, a faint smirk played on his lips.
"What are you looking at? It's not like you're some superstar".
He splashed cold water onto his face. The icy shock finally shook the last remnants of sleep from his mind. He pulled on his college uniform—a crisp white shirt and a navy blue blazer. His tie was slightly crooked, but he shrugged it off.
"Good enough".
A voice drifted up from downstairs: "Hurry up! You're going to be late!".
"Yeah, I'm coming!" he called back.
He headed down the stairs, the light thud of his footsteps echoing through the house. As he stepped outside, a gentle, cool breeze greeted him.
"The weather is actually quite nice today...".
He pulled out his phone and tapped the screen.
08:30 AM.
"Damn... I'd better hurry or I'll be late".
Just then, the phone vibrated in his hand. A name flashed on the screen: John.
"Hey John, what's up?".
"Bro... my girlfriend dumped me," came the voice on the other end.
"Again?".
"This time it's for real!".
"Alright, alright. Let's meet up this evening. I'll buy you an ice cream," he said, shaking his head.
He hung up the call. And then, in an instant, everything changed.
The air suddenly grew heavy, pressing down with an unnatural weight. A bizarre, low-frequency hum began to vibrate through the sky. He looked up.
KRRRRRRRR—
The blue expanse of the sky began to tear apart. Panicked shouts erupted from the street: "What is that?!" "Is it an earthquake?!".
A jagged black rift split the heavens. From within that dark crack, a man stepped out into the open air. He stood suspended in the sky, dressed in flowing white robes, his eyes gleaming with a cold, predatory light.
More figures emerged behind him. Then, another crack split the sky in a different corner. Then a third. And a fourth.
Two distinct groups now stood suspended in the air, facing each other in a tense standoff. One man drew a gleaming sword. Another raised his hand, palm open. Raw energy began to coil and gather in the air.
Without a single word of warning, the first explosion rocked the sky.
A massive shockwave slammed into the ground. People began to scream and scatter in terror. Cars collided, and the sound of shattering glass rained down from the buildings.
The boy's heart hammered against his ribs.
"Is this... real?".
It had started as a normal morning. A morning that was now anything but normal.