The next morning began like any other.
Cold floors.Thin blankets.The dull ringing of the caretaker yelling at everyone to wake up.
But something felt wrong.
Even before Rafe opened his eyes, a heaviness lingered in the air — the kind that only comes before storms, battles… or disaster.
He sat up slowly.
Mara was already awake, sitting on her bed with her knees pulled up, eyes sharp and alert.
"You feel it too?" she asked quietly.
"Yes," Rafe answered. "Something's off."
They exchanged a look.
No more words needed.
Rafe got dressed, washed his face, and followed Mara out into the hallway. Children shuffled toward the cafeteria, yawning or rubbing their eyes.
Then the shouting began.
Not the usual shouting.Panic.
Rafe and Mara moved instantly toward the sound.
In the courtyard, a caretaker was screaming at two boys — but the real problem was behind them.
The fence at the back of the orphanage, the one bordering the forest, had been torn wide open.
Not cut.Not bent.
Ripped.
Massive claw marks scored the metal.
Mara froze beside Rafe.
"Beast?" she whispered.
Rafe's jaw tightened.There were three types of beasts in this world:
Lesser ones — animals twisted by mana.Common ones — dangerous but predictable.And Rift-beasts — creatures that leaked from unstable dimensional cracks.
These marks weren't from a lesser beast.
He stepped closer, crouching to inspect the claw pattern.Each slash was long, deliberate, and deep enough to bend thick iron.
The children whispered nervously.
One caretaker waved her arms desperately.
"Inside! Everyone get inside now! MOVE!"
The kids scrambled.
But Rafe stood firm, mind racing.
A beast this near the city shouldn't be possible. Rifts were monitored. Patrols guarded the outskirts. This was too close, too sudden.
Someone didn't notice him.But someone else did.
A boy — maybe ten, taller than average, with brown hair and a cocky face — walked up and sneered.
"What's wrong, Hendrix? Scared?"
Rafe didn't even look at him.
"I'm busy."
The boy shoved him lightly.
"I asked you a question."
Before Rafe could answer, Mara stepped between them, eyes cold as steel.
"Leave him alone."
The boy blinked, then laughed.
"Oh, look. The little ice princess is protecting her pet."
Rafe sighed internally.
Another idiot.
The boy poked Mara's forehead.
"You shouldn't speak out of your place. Girls like you—"
He didn't finish the sentence.
Because Rafe grabbed his wrist.
Not hard.Not violently.
Just firm enough.
The boy's smile vanished.
Rafe looked up at him calmly.
"Touch her again," he said softly, "and I'll break this arm. Even if it costs me a beating."
The boy swallowed, pulling away.
"You're crazy."
"I know."
Mara smirked slightly behind Rafe.
But the tension didn't fade.
Because at that moment, another caretaker ran into the courtyard, pale and shaking.
"There's a visitor! Everyone stay inside! RIGHT NOW!"
A visitor?At a moment like this?
Rafe exchanged a look with Mara.
That's when he felt it.
A ripple.
A presence that made his Bloodline Instinct flare like wildfire.
A man stepped through the broken gate as if he owned it.
Tall.Coat fluttering.Eyes silver — not gold like an awakened, but colder, sharper.
His expression was unreadable.
Behind him, two other adults followed, carrying boxes and clipboards.
City officials?No.
Bloodline scouts?Possible.
But Rafe recognized the man.
Not from this life.
From the novel.
A future instructor at Zenith Academy.A man feared for his brutality and admired for his strength.
Elias Ward.
He wasn't supposed to appear until years later.
Mara whispered, "Who is that?"
"A problem," Rafe murmured.
Elias's gaze swept across the courtyard like a blade. Children shrank instinctively.
His attention landed on the claw marks in the fence.He knelt, inspecting them silently.
Then he spoke — loud enough that every caretaker trembled.
"Why wasn't this reported immediately?"
His voice cut through the air like thunder.
The head caretaker stuttered, "W-We didn't realize—"
"You didn't realize," Elias repeated flatly, "that a Class-C beast came within twenty meters of your sleeping children?"
Silence.
He stood and faced the children.
"All of you. Line up."
The caretakers rushed to obey, pushing kids into position.
Mara gripped Rafe's sleeve.
"Rafe… what does he want?"
Rafe didn't blink.
"He's looking for survivors."
"Of what?"
"Of the next attack."
Her eyes widened.
Elias walked slowly along the line of children.
Observing.Scanning.Judging.
He stopped when he reached Rafe and Mara.
His silver eyes narrowed.
"You two."
Rafe didn't twitch.Mara stayed rigid beside him.
Elias studied them for a long, cold moment.
Then he said something that made Rafe's heart clench.
"You two aren't normal."
The caretakers froze.
The children stared.
Rafe's mind raced.
He needed to act — now — before Elias decided to separate them or worse, take one of them.
So he spoke.
Calmly.Politely.But with the full weight of an adult's mind behind his words.
"We trained this morning," Rafe said. "We found the claw marks first and told the staff."
Several caretakers looked confused — they hadn't been told anything — but they didn't dare contradict him.
Elias's eyes studied him more closely.
"You found them," he repeated.
"Yes, sir."
Elias straightened.
"Show me."
Rafe nodded and led him to the fence, Mara close at his side.
Elias inspected the marks again.
"You two saw this and didn't panic?"
Rafe held his gaze.
"We thought it was better to be calm."
A brief silence.
Then something shocking happened.
Elias laughed.Just once — a cold, short sound — but a laugh nonetheless.
"You're interesting," he said.
He turned to Mara.
"And you stayed with him?"
Mara hesitated, then nodded. "Yes."
"Why?"
"…Because I trust him."
Elias's eyebrow rose slightly.
"Rare."
He stood to full height.
"These marks weren't made by an ordinary beast. Something is changing."
Rafe felt a chill run through him.
Elias continued:
"I'll be returning soon. When I do… I'll be evaluating every child here personally."
Caretakers went pale.
Rafe's pulse quickened.
He wasn't ready for that.Mara wasn't ready.The timeline wasn't ready.
And then—
Elias's eyes locked onto Rafe.
"You especially. Don't disappoint me."
Rafe stayed still, swallowing the weight of those words.
Elias turned and left through the broken gate, his presence fading like the echo of a storm.
Silence lingered long after he was gone.
Mara finally whispered:
"…Rafe… I'm scared."
He took a slow breath.
"I know."
"What do we do?"
He looked at the ripped fence, at the fading footprints, at the path Elias had taken.
And he made a decision.
"We get stronger," Rafe said."Faster than ever."
Mara's voice was small.
"And if we can't?"
Rafe closed his fists.
"Then we change the world before it changes us."
He didn't know if it was possible.
But for the first time in this life…
he felt the fire of destiny burning under his skin.
And it was hungry.