Ten Years Later.
"Kiki, hurry up and eat your breakfast!"
"Yeees, Grandma! Just a moment!"
My name is Kiara Areka. My family calls me Kiki, and only they're allowed to. I dashed down the stairs toward the dining table.
"Kids these days are so slow," Grandpa grumbled while folding his newspaper.
I now live with my grandparents—just the three of us—after my parents passed away in the incident ten years ago.
"Don't listen to your grandpa. He just wants to sound cool," Grandma said, placing a hot plate of fried rice in front of me.
"Hmph!" Grandpa snorted, pretending not to care.
We began eating.
Ever since the first monsters appeared, the world has changed drastically. Many people suddenly developed strange abilities—a phenomenon that came to be known as the Awakening. Some became stronger, faster, tougher… and some gained frightening, supernatural powers that used to belong only in fantasy stories.
And I… wasn't one of them.
After breakfast, I helped Grandma clear the table and wash the dishes.
"Kiki, we're running out of ingredients. Can you buy some vegetables and meat at the market?"
I nodded, grabbed my phone, and opened the notes app. Grandma listed each item, and I typed them down quickly.
After saying goodbye, I pedaled my bicycle toward the market. I bought everything one by one. But ever since I left the house, a strange feeling kept clinging to me—an uncomfortable pressure at the back of my head.
Like something was wrong. Terribly wrong.
But I tried to ignore it.
Before heading home, I stopped by a bookstore. The moment my hand touched the door handle, the feeling intensified. My chest tightened.
What is this…?
"Excuse me, Sis. I want to go in," a little kid said from behind me.
I snapped out of it. Turns out I'd been standing there like an idiot.
Then—
BRRRRT…!
The ground shook violently. A wave of tremors rolled beneath my feet, growing stronger by the second. People screamed and scattered for safety.
This feeling…
I recognized it.
Ten years ago.
That damned worm…!
***
"Warning: High-destruction-level anomaly detected. Unit Aegis, prepare for immediate deployment."
The operator's voice echoed from the radio inside a silver-black military aircraft.
The organization was called S.P.E.A.R. — Special Protection Emergency Anomaly Regiment. An international body formed to deal with non-human threats: monsters, anomalies, and supernatural phenomena that emerged after the Awakening era. Its members were known as Operatives—most of them Awakened individuals trained to extreme limits.
"Unit Aegis, ready for mission," one of them responded firmly.
The cabin lights turned red.
The cargo door slowly opened, revealing the trembling city below.
"Captain! All preparations complete!" one operative reported.
The Captain nodded once.
Without hesitation, he leaped out of the aircraft—followed by the rest of Unit Aegis, S.P.E.A.R.'s frontline unit tasked with handling large-scale destructive anomalies.
And today… they were facing the nightmare from ten years ago once again.