The streets were war zones. Buildings crumbled. The sky was red. Screams cut through the smoke.
Akino ran, breath sharp and ragged, blood still dripping from his glowing arm. But he ignores it. Ryo was just ahead, weaving through overturned cars and flaming wreckage.
"You good?!" Ryo shouted. "You're bleeding, dude!"
"I'm fine!" Akino shouted back. "Just keep moving!"
They sprinted past soldiers firing into waves of monstrous creatures—demons that moved like shadows with claws. One lunged toward them, only to be gunned down by a tank's turret. The shockwave knocked them to the ground.
A police officer appeared through the smoke.
"You two! This way! Evac transport's moving now!"
They followed him.
Emergency Transport Vehicle- Night
Inside a rumbling armored truck, packed with scared civilians. Akino sat in silence, staring at his hands. Across from him, Ryo was holding his mom, his dad, and little sister.
"Oh my God, you're both safe!" Ryo's mom cried. "Are you hurt?"
"Just a scratch," Akino muttered.
Ryo's mom looked over, her voice trembling. "Where's your mother, Akino?"
He couldn't answer. His throat locked up. Ryo answered for him, quietly.
"She... didn't make it."
Ryo's mom burst into tears, her cries muffled as she clung to her son.
A radio buzzed on the dashboard. A calm but grave voice came through:
"All citizens are advised to head south. Governments worldwide are coordinating to activate the Arc Spine Protocol. A 30% land perimeter will be reinforced. The rest... must be surrendered. Evacuations continue."
"Arc Spine?" someone whispered.
Ryo's dad leaned forward. "Driver! Where are we going?"
The driver, eyes fixed on the road, answered.
"To the southern mountains. That's where the Arc Spine begins. It's the only safe zone left."
Akino frowned. "What's the Arc Spine?"
The driver spoke quickly, but clearly.
"Two mega-towers. Think of them like giant electric pylons. They generate a current strong enough to burn through steel. The towers are linked by massive cables that stretch across the mountains, valleys, and even rivers. Together, they form a continuous arc of lightning around the safe zone."
"Like a giant fence made of electricity?" Ryo asked.
"Exactly," the driver nodded. "We used to call it the Disaster Ring—meant for earthquakes, storms. But now, we're upgrading it. Stronger towers. More energy. Anything demonic that touches the barrier turns to ash."
"Why only 30% of the land?" Akino asked quietly.
"Because powering that much energy takes everything we have. Cities, grids, power plants—it's all being rerouted. We're sacrificing the rest."
Akino clenched his fist.
Flashback: Five years ago.
A young Akino, 12 years old, sat across from his mom at the kitchen table, a bruise on his cheek.
"You can't keep picking fights, sweetheart," she said, placing ice on his face.
"They were bullying someone. I had to."
"There are better ways to protect people. You don't need to hurt yourself every time."
"I just want to get stronger so I can protect you," he said.
She smiled. "Then grow strong. Strong enough to protect others with more than just fists."
Back to present.
Akino lowered his head.
"I couldn't even protect her..."
Danger Zone – Where the Comet Crashed
Elsewhere, the ground shook. Soldiers screamed as tanks fired into demonic hordes. Fire filled the streets. The demons didn't stop. They clawed through vehicles, tore down buildings.
Children cried. Civilians ran. Some didn't make it.
Satellite feeds flickered across military command centers, showing red zones spreading across continents.
An emergency broadcast played across half-broken screens in abandoned homes:
"This is not a drill. Repeat, this is not a drill. The impact has caused an uncontainable rift. Citizens must relocate to designated shelters immediately."
In a lone apartment block, a dog barked helplessly, trapped beneath fallen beams. Somewhere else, a child sobbed quietly beneath a table while outside her window, the sky cracked with lightning and fire.
The Southern Refuge
The truck arrived at the edge of the southern refuge. It was a valley surrounded by cliffs—and between them, two towering steel spires stood hundreds of meters tall. Lightning pulsed between them.
Cables stretched from tower to tower, forming a dome of visible, crackling energy. Beyond the towers, massive steel pipes snaked through the land, humming with voltage.
The Arc Spine.
Floodlights lit the valley. Automated drones buzzed overhead, scanning faces, counting bodies.
People poured in from all directions. Some made it. Others were turned away.
Guards barked orders.
"Listen up! Only those who are healthy and capable of fighting will be accepted inside for now! That's the rule! We can't let everyone go inside!"
A family protests. People cry, beg. Fights break out. Everyone wants to get in.
Ryo's family approached the gate, huddled together. But his father limped — slower, struggling with every step.
"I can't fight," he said, breathing hard. " I Lost my right leg in surgery years ago..."
A guard stepped forward, rifle in hand.
"You four," he pointed to Ryo, his mom, his sister, and Akino. "In. He stays."
"What?!" Ryo shouted. "No! That's my dad!"
"We're not leaving him!" Ryo's mother cried.
"Then stay with him," the guard snapped. "You think this is a game?! MOVE!"
He raised his weapon. The crowd fell back.
Ryo's dad placed a firm hand on Ryo's shoulder.
"Son… You've grown. And now you need to be strong."
"No!" Ryo choked out. "We're not leaving you!"
His father smiled through tears.
"I got you this far. That's enough for me."
"I—It's not fair!"
His father slapped him — not hard, but enough to snap him back.
"Listen to me. You're the man now. If you all stay… we all die. My last wish… protect them. That's all I ask."
Tears streamed down Ryo's face. His legs shook as he turned and walked toward the gate with his mother and sister.
"I hate you, Dad!!!" he screamed as the gates began to close.
His father stood tall, smiling faintly despite his tears.
"Good. Stay mad. It means you're alive."
The gate slams shut with a deafening BOOM.
The family collapses together in grief.
Akino stands behind them, watching silently. His fists clench. His eyes burn — not with tears, but with fury.
The last rays of the setting sun cast a blood-orange glow across the walls.
He takes a step forward. Jaw clenched, teeth grinding, the weight of everything pressing on him.
The towers buzzed behind him, painting the sunset sky in arcs of lightning.
"They took everything..." he whispered. "They pushed us to the edge…."
"They took her. They destroyed our homes. They made us choose who lives… and who dies…"
His hand glowed faintly again. The same eerie blue as the comet shard embedded in his arm.
"I don't care what I have to become. I'll get stronger. I'll fight back. And I'll take everything they stole."
He stared toward the smoking horizon.
"I'll kill them all. Every last one."
The Arc Spine roared behind him, its current dancing like fire in the sky.