One day, the sky changed.
A strange being, brighter than the sun, appeared above the ocean.
It could be seen from every corner of the world—suspended in the air, motionless, like a living star.
Then, without warning, it slit its own throat.
A single motion. A clean cut.
Its body fell into the waves.
The water turned to gold.
For hours, the ocean shone with a blinding, unreal light—as if the world were mourning its disappearance.
Then everything turned black again. Silence returned.
But from that day on… something awoke.
Ancient, latent powers resurfaced.
Some were born stronger. Others heard voices. A child set his school on fire by sneezing.
Supernatural abilities no longer shocked anyone.
They were just part of the scenery.
Heroes came. Villains too.
And in between… millions of invisible souls.
Today.
Jayden stares at the newspaper on the ground.
Dirty rain has wiped away half of it.
The barely legible headline reads:
"Journalist Warett Befett Found Dead in His Home."
He stays there, staring at the soaked page.
Then he murmurs:
— "It's over, then. Even him…"
He clenches his teeth. His jaw cracks.
Warett was one of the few who wrote what everyone knew:
That super-villains are born in the gutters.
That super-heroes are almost all the children of the elite.
That justice only works for those who can afford it.
He gave hope to those who had none left.
And now… he's dead.
Flashback — Three years earlier.
Jayden holds a bag of instant noodles in his hands.
He grips it too tight, not even realizing.
— "Paralyzed… for life?"
Eliott's mother nods slowly.
— "They beat him… They wanted him to talk."
Jayden stands frozen. He looks at his friend, lying in that hospital bed.
Eliott, the boy who ran faster than anyone, who dreamed of going pro…
Eliott will never move again.
— "Why didn't he say anything… Why did he hide this from me?"
— "He didn't want to drag you into it… He did it for us. Me, his sister… He joined a group selling some drugs. It wasn't honorable. But we were surviving."
Jayden feels something break inside him.
He saw nothing. Understood nothing.
And meanwhile…
A flamboyant man poses for the cameras.
Silas Kain.
A flashy, charismatic hero.
Jayden used to admire him. He even had an action figure of him on his shelf.
He's the one who tracked down Eliott.
And he's the one who ordered the beating.
— "They're young, but they know what they're doing," he said.
— "They'll talk."
They struck.
Again. Again.
Eliott didn't talk. Not at first.
But they eventually broke.
They gave names. Silas destroyed the network.
And he was rewarded for it.
7th place in the hero rankings.
Articles were written. Children cheered.
Jayden, meanwhile, watched Eliott waste away in his bed, a little more each day.
A few months later.
A phone call.
A broken voice.
— "Jayden… He… He hanged himself."
Back to the present.
Jayden stands up.
His eyes are red. But he doesn't cry.
— "It's my fault…"
He clenches his fists.
— "I was there. I saw nothing. I did nothing."
He takes a deep breath.
— "I'm not gonna make a speech. I'm not a hero. Not a villain either."
His gaze lifts to the empty sky.
— "But Silas Kain… him, I'm gonna take down."
He doesn't want to save the world.
He doesn't want to become a legend.
He wants just one thing.
For the man who broke Eliott to pay.
And it'll be soon.