"Yesterday I got another Rank-E gate mission, Mia."
Ken sat beside the hospital bed. He held his sister's hand. It was cold.
"Just escorting a medical team, but I got a 50,000 bonus. Not bad, right? When you wake up, we'll go out. Anywhere you want."
His voice was cheerful. His eyes were not. In the corner, the ventilator hissed—a rhythmic, artificial breath that had filled the silence for five years.
Mia didn't answer. She never did.
Her face was pale under the white blanket. Her brown hair, once neatly braided, lay messy on the pillow. Five years since her smile vanished. Five years since her laughter evaporated in the smoke of that gate break.
Ken took a long, heavy breath.
"Next month is my final exam." His voice dropped to a whisper. "The fifth one. If I fail again..."
He stopped. He had to look strong. Even if she couldn't see him.
Ken. Five years stuck at Rank-F. Five failed exams. A perpetual failure. While his classmates moved to Rank-C and Rank-B, Ken remained a ghost in the system.
"But I'm sure this time is different. I've been training. Hard. The instructor said I'm making progress. Almost."
Almost.
The word tasted like ash. Almost wasn't enough to rank up. Almost didn't pay the hospital bills.
"You'll pray for me, right? Like before. Like the thousand origami cranes you made for my high school exams."
Ken stared at her face. He needed to believe she heard him.
"I'll rank up. I'll find a way to wake you up. An S-Rank Healer. A rare Mana Stone. Anything—"
WIIING. WIIING. WIIING.
The phone in his pocket screamed. The hospital siren followed. Red lights began to spin in the corridor, staining the walls like blood.
Ken jolted. He pulled out his phone.
[GATE BREAK - DISTRICT 83]
[LOCATION: NEAR PUBLIC SERVICE OFFICE]
[EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY]
Ken's heart skipped a beat.
District 83.
"That's close."
Only 800 meters away. If the monsters spread...
Ken looked at Mia. The memory of five years ago surged back. The screams. The smell of burning flesh.
"I won't let it happen again."
He squeezed Mia's hand one last time. "I'll be back. I promise."
Ken ran.
The corridor was chaos. Nurses shouting. Patients panicking. Ken pushed through the crowd, ignoring the security guard's yells.
"HEY! GET BACK! IT'S A GATE BREAK!"
Ken didn't stop. He slammed through the emergency doors and hit the street.
The sky was already bruised with black smoke.
Don't spread here. Stay away from Mia.
He ran. His feet hit the pavement in a desperate rhythm. His breath was short. Sharp.
A memory flashed. His mother's scream. His father standing his ground, then his body being crushed against a wall with a sound Ken could still hear in his nightmares. Mia on the floor. Blood. Empty eyes.
Never again.
Five minutes of sprinting, and he reached the zone. It was hell.
Burning cars. Shattered glass. Street lamps toppled like dead giants, their cables sparking. A broken hydrant spewed water into the street, mixing with dark pools of blood.
Bodies lay on the sidewalk. Motionless.
A woman crouched behind a wreck, clutching a child. Cries. Groans. A symphony of terror.
And in the center: Five humanoid insects.
Two meters tall. Exoskeletons like polished black steel. Grasshopper heads with compound eyes glowing a murderous red. Their arms ended in claws—scalpels made of bone, dripping with fresh blood.
One monster tossed a car aside like it was paper. Another sliced a hydrant in half. They weren't just killing. They were erasing everything.
Ken froze. His hands began to shake.
Just like that time. I can't...
"AAAAAHHHHH!"
The woman screamed. A monster had spotted her. It lunged.
Ken moved. No thought. Just reflex.
He snapped on his combat gloves. He ripped the hilt from his belt.
CLICK.
An 80-centimeter blue plasma blade hissed to life.
Ken gripped it with white knuckles. He forced his legs forward.
This is it. My only chance.
His eyes flared blue. The world ground to a halt.
The woman's scream stretched out—distorted, slow, like a dying record. The leaping monster froze in mid-air. Ken could see it all. The trajectory. The angle of the claws. The exact point where it would strike.
Damn. I hate this.
His mind was moving at light speed. His body was sinking in honey.
Move. Move, you useless muscles!
He forced a step. It felt like walking through thick mud. His brain was miles ahead, but his body lagged two seconds behind.
Shit! I'm not gonna make it!
He looked at the child. He saw himself five years ago.
No. TRY.
He gripped the sword. He charged, fighting the lag of his own flesh. The monster was centimeters from the woman's face.
Too slow. Still too slow!
Ken didn't swing. He threw.
He launched the plasma sword with everything he had.
The blue blade spun. A streak of electric light. It crossed the distance in a heartbeat—and buried itself in the monster's skull.
No roar. No struggle.
The body hit the asphalt with a dull thud. Black blood seeped into the water, pooling under the twitching corpse.
The woman stared. The child cried. Ken didn't look back.
The blue light in his eyes faded. The world snapped back to its normal, noisy self.
Then, the heat hit him.
Something warm dripped from his nose. He touched it. His glove came back red.
Blood.
The world began to spin. His knees hit the ground. Hard.
Damn... just one monster.
His body tipped forward. In the corner of his blurred vision, the HUD on his glove flashed a violent red:
[WARNING: CRITICAL INSTABILITY]
[RECOMMENDATION: EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY]
Ken let out a weak, ragged laugh. He tried to reach for his spare blade. His fingers wouldn't move.
Shit.
Darkness closed in. The sirens grew faint.
But as his eyes shut, one thought remained.
For the first time in five years... I wasn't late.
His head hit the pavement.
And it almost killed me.