The sky had been dull gray all morning, the kind that made the ruins of the District of Ashes look even grayer. Jin had finished his scraps run, trading wires and broken circuits for a measly meal, and returned to his hideout: a crumbling warehouse on the outskirts of the market. He stacked his finds carefully, every piece of metal a potential lifeline in this world, every spark of hope a tether against the unrelenting decay.
Then the air trembled.
At first, it was subtle, like the hum of distant machinery. Then the ground beneath him shuddered violently, sending dust and loose debris cascading from the ceiling. Jin froze, instincts screaming. A low, almost musical vibration rolled through the streets outside, and the hairs on his arms stood on end.
He ran to the broken window.
The sky above the upper districts had split open like torn silk. A jagged rift stretched across the clouds, glowing with a sickly green light. From it emerged a form too massive, too unnatural to be human: the Wraithbeast. Its body shimmered in shadow, sinews writhing like liquid smoke, eyes like molten silver scanning the city below. Every instinct in Jin's body screamed to flee, but he found his feet rooted to the spot.
Chaos erupted.
Sirens screamed across the upper districts. People ran, tripping over rubble, desperate to escape the shadows spilling from the rift. Holo-ads flickered and died as the Wraithbeast's presence disrupted the energy grids. Cars screeched to a halt in the streets, their drivers abandoning them mid-intersection. Even the market stalls seemed to recoil, twisting their tarps as if the buildings themselves were trying to shield the citizens.
Jin's stomach dropped. He knew the Guardians would appear any second the crimson, azure, and gold suits flashing across the skyline, weapons blazing. But… something felt different.
The air crackled with a force that even the public broadcasts hadn't prepared him for. The Wraithbeast moved with deliberate intent, not the clumsy rampages Jin had seen in staged battles. Its shadowed claws tore through the concrete like paper, leaving jagged gouges in the streets. And its eyes… Jin couldn't shake the feeling that they weren't just looking at the city they were reading it, calculating, judging.
A scream split the air. A child, trapped under a fallen scaffold, struggled as flames licked the edges of the market below. Without thinking, Jin bolted toward the debris, ignoring the fear that tried to root him in place.
The Wraithbeast's gaze swept past him, indifferent, focused on the city beyond.
Jin pried at the twisted metal with every ounce of strength he had. Dust filled his lungs, sweat stinging his eyes. Finally, he managed to lift the beam just enough for the child to crawl free.
"Go! Run!" he shouted, dragging the child into a nearby alley.
A booming crash shook the ground. The Wraithbeast struck a building across the street, sending a shower of concrete and steel raining down. Jin pressed the child behind a stack of crates, heart hammering, sweat soaking his shirt.
Then, a familiar hum cut through the chaos the sound of morphing energy. Jin squinted, and a streak of yellow light darted across the ruined street. The Spectrum Guardians had arrived.
The Red Guardian, usually the first to charge in, limped into view, crimson armor scuffed and dented, shoulder sparking from some unseen blow. He barked orders, but even from a distance, Jin could tell something was wrong. The Red Guardian was injured not part of the show, not part of the script.
Aria, the Yellow Guardian, landed beside him, blades extended. Her expression was tight, controlled, scanning the Wraithbeast like a predator tracking its prey. "Step back, civilian!" she yelled, though her eyes softened for just a fraction of a second as she caught sight of Jin.
Jin hesitated. Something inside him refused to step back not while that child's terrified eyes were still on him.
The Wraithbeast lunged, faster than any staged "monster" he had ever seen. The air screamed as it passed, tearing at metal and stone alike. Jin felt the heat ripple off its shadowy form, smelled ozone and burning iron, and knew that the scripted battles of the Guardians were nothing compared to this.
For the first time, he realized: this was real.
He glanced at the child, huddled trembling in his arms. The child's small hands clutched his shirt, nails digging in. Jin's chest tightened. Running wasn't enough not this time.
The Wraithbeast swung a massive, smoky limb toward the street. Jin dove, rolling into an alleyway as the impact smashed crates and sent splinters flying. The child screamed, echoing across the wreckage. Jin shielded him instinctively, feeling a sting along his arm where glass had cut into his skin.
Aria moved with precision, her blades whistling through the air, cutting swathes through the monster's shadowy form. Sparks erupted where the weapons struck, and the Wraithbeast recoiled, almost as if it hadn't expected resistance. Red Guardian lunged from another angle, energy blasts striking the creature, but even he struggled to maintain footing against its raw power.
Jin's mind raced. He couldn't just watch. He had to do something.
From the corner of his eye, he spotted a generator box, sparking wildly and nearly ready to explode. An idea formed, risky and reckless. "I can use this!" he muttered. He grabbed the box, yanking wires free, heart thundering. Sparks jumped across his fingers, burning but fueling his focus.
The Wraithbeast turned its head, sensing the movement, and Jin froze. Its silver eyes locked on him. Fear froze his body, but then he saw the child, still trembling behind him, and something snapped inside.
He threw the sparking generator toward the Wraithbeast. Electricity arced violently, crackling along the monster's shadowed form. It screeched, an unholy sound that rattled the ground and Jin's bones alike. The creature recoiled, shaking off the stun, but Jin didn't stop. He dove into the alley, dragging the child, weaving through the debris, leading them both toward the Red Guardian who was signaling him to safety.
Then, a sudden pull something inside the alley, a surge of energy he couldn't explain. His vision blurred, colors intensifying, heart pounding not from fear but from something else… a call.
"Jin… you can't just run," a voice whispered inside his mind. Not spoken aloud, but felt. Electric, urgent, commanding.
Instinct took over. He nodded to the Red Guardian, then, as if guided, felt his body move faster, sharper. His hands moved to catch falling debris without thinking, his legs jumping higher than they should have, a rhythm syncing with some unknown pulse in the air.
The Wraithbeast turned, sensing something new. Jin's heart slammed as he realized: it knew he had changed.
Energy surged along his veins, unfamiliar but intoxicating. He felt… alive. He felt power. Spark.
Above, the sky cracked wider, the rift pulsing violently, green light spilling down in jagged shards that lit the city like a nightmare. The Wraithbeast shrieked, its form writhing in the storm of energy, and Jin instinctively leapt forward, protecting the child and joining the Guardians.
The air around him shimmered, and a strange, heavy hum enveloped him. For the first time, he understood that his life of scavenging, hiding, surviving scraps, had been training for this moment. Every narrow escape, every improvised fight, every breath in the District of Ashes had led him to this.
Red Guardian barked again. "Jin! Behind me!"
He obeyed, shielding the child, but also… observing. Calculating. Learning. Each movement the Guardians made, each strike the Wraithbeast delivered, etched itself into his memory. His instincts sharpened, reflexes heightening beyond human.
Then it came the first direct strike Jin could take. The Wraithbeast's shadow claw slashed toward him. He braced, expecting to be shredded, but instead, the surge inside him flared. Light, not from any Guardian, not from any generator, exploded from his body in a protective burst. The shadow recoiled, smoke and sparks erupting where the claw had met the force.
Jin gasped, staggering back. The child's eyes were wide, staring at him with awe and fear. Even the Guardians glanced at him, startled.
Something had changed. He had changed.
The Wraithbeast paused, tilting its head, as if it now saw Jin not as a human to crush, but as a variable a threat. The rift above throbbed in response, green light surging like a heartbeat.
"Stay behind us!" Red Guardian shouted, but Aria's gaze lingered on Jin longer than necessary. Something in her expression was calculating, measuring… respect.
Jin knew then that the District of Ashes had just become bigger than survival. It had become a battlefield, and he was no longer just a boy scavenging scraps. He was… a spark.
And the Wraithbeast had just noticed.