Chapter 1: Chance encounter

In the streets of a residential area, a young man with skin as white as the light illuminating the streets could be seen. The young man had brown hair and emerald-green eyes.

—(Another attack by the Vestiges... they've become more frequent these past few weeks... but nothing the government can't handle... or at least I hope so)— Shoun turned off his phone and looked at the streets bathed in moonlight. Despite his outward calm, inside he felt a growing sense of insecurity and fear due to the increasing conflicts with those monsters.

The young man wore a white coat over a sleeveless denim jacket, paired with blue pants and sneakers.

—(It's getting late, I should head home now)— Shoun stood up from his seat and grabbed his skateboard to head home. As he rode, he consciously pushed his worries to the back of his mind. He knew his concerns were pointless because, in the grand scheme of things, he was useless. Yet, he couldn't help but recall the events of that fateful day. Anything related to the Vestiges inevitably triggered a strong sense of fear in him.

—(Tch... I really don't want to think about that right now. I don't even know why I watch the news when it was obvious I'd come across something like that)— As he continued his mental complaints, the young man skated carefree through the streets. He was now leaving the park, surrounded by tall buildings on either side.

He still had a few minutes of skating before reaching his neighborhood, so he allowed himself to relax, feeling the wind brush against his body. But as he skated, lost in thought, he couldn't shake the growing sensation that the atmosphere was becoming more and more suffocating.

Earlier, the air was abundant, and his hair moved freely, but now that wasn't the case. The further he went, the more evident it became, until Shoun had to stop to shake off the discomfort.

—(How strange, it's supposed to be spring. Why did this place suddenly become so dry?)

The young man looked up and couldn't help but be shocked. Everything around him had taken on a gray tone. The buildings and houses, once vibrant with color, now seemed stripped of any hue other than white, black, or gray.

—What the hell!?— The young man couldn't help but shout aloud at the strange and potentially dangerous situation he found himself in. But he quickly regretted that decision when he heard something dragging itself from a nearby alley. A sharp screech echoed, caused by what seemed to be claws scraping against the pavement.

Shoun's back was instantly drenched in cold sweat, and his heart began to race. Driven by pure instinct, he grabbed his skateboard and quickly ran into an opposite alley to hide behind a trash bin. Despite the foul smell, he ignored it given the gravity of the situation.

—(Shit, shit, shit!)— He quickly set aside his self-pity to assess his current situation. He was supposed to be in the streets where he grew up, but they were different now. Besides the lack of color, they were missing something—the very essence that made them familiar to Shoun.

—(Is this the work of a Vestige?)— This was actually a good question. Vestiges are monsters known for their strangeness. They come in various shapes and sizes, almost never following a logical pattern between species, and possess all sorts of bizarre powers. But this was the first time Shoun had seen one capable of manipulating space to such an extent, though it wasn't like he had encountered one with similar abilities before.

—(In any case, whatever did this is something I definitely can't face).

The world was cruel to the inhabitants of Earth, forcing them to face the monstrosities known as Vestiges. But at the same time, it was fair, as those who defeated Vestiges gained special abilities to fight them on equal footing.

Shoun was one of those people. He was born with the ability to control electricity, something not common among humans but possible nonetheless. After that night when he killed his first and only Vestige, instead of gaining a new ability, the one he already had was enhanced.

With a thought, he opened his status window.

[«Name: Shoun Foster»

«Age: 17»

«Rank: Seeker»

«Title:...»

«Ascension Points: 1/100»

«Abilities»

«Electric Flow: Your very essence has been touched by electricity since birth, allowing you to control and use it to your advantage»

«Basic Electric Core: A part of your being, it exists and doesn't exist, both in your physical and spiritual body. It is where all your electricity is stored and generated, and it also allows the user to absorb electricity from other sources»]

Aside from the convenience of this screen, after a quick analysis, Shoun reaffirmed the obvious: he was no match for this Vestige. The best he could do was run and find a safer place.

After that night, he had avoided Vestiges like the plague. For that very reason, he rejected all government recruitment efforts. But that didn't mean he became careless in learning how to deal with them. He had read every manual on what to do in situations like this from cover to cover.

Despite all this, he didn't have time to plan anything. Before he could react, a powerful blow sent him and the trash bin he was using as an improvised shelter flying through the air.

—Ahg!

He scrambled to his feet as best he could, but the indirect hit left him in bad shape. It felt like he had fallen from the top of a bunk bed, but a thousand times worse.

Terrified, Shoun looked up, inspecting the Vestige before him. Immediately after, his face turned as pale as a ghost.

—(A Brute...)

The Vestige facing Shoun was a Brute, two ranks above his own. It stood nearly three meters tall, with completely black skin. Its legs were miniature compared to its torso, but to compensate, its arms were each a meter and a half long. Its entire body seemed incredibly muscular, to the point where it looked more like it was covered in tumors and protrusions than muscles.

Like all Vestiges, its skin seemed to have interference, as if it were a television with no signal. Shoun, who had been staring at it for a while, already had a headache just from this fact.

—(I'm screwed, I'm definitely screwed)— Trying to remedy his situation, he anxiously looked around. The alley he was in was a dead end, reflecting his lack of foresight when hiding.

Facing it wasn't an option either. A Brute could easily crush him. Without meticulous preparation, it was impossible to even think about fighting it.

—GRRR!

The thing growled and began to approach Shoun, using its massive arms to drag itself closer to its prey, as if playing with its food. On the other hand, Shoun kept backing away until he couldn't anymore, hitting the wall.

The nerves and fear inside him slowly began to consume Shoun, but he wouldn't go down without a fight. He began gathering all the electricity from his core into his fist.

The Vestige sensed the danger. With a roar, it lunged at Shoun, who barely managed to raise his hand, now glowing with an intense blue light that occasionally sparked. Aiming at the Vestige, Shoun released all the electricity in a powerful blue lightning bolt.

~Bzzzt Bzzt~

The Vestige took the full brunt of the lightning, forced to retreat. The condensed bolt had dealt substantial damage at the cost of all Shoun's electricity, evident in how the Vestige's arm hung lifelessly from its body.

—Aaaah....aaahh…— Shoun felt suffocated. He had used everything in that one attack. Though he had dealt significant damage, he was still defenseless, especially with no electricity left in his core—(T-this is how I'm going to die).

After that night, he had been forced to think more about his mortality. He lived daily with fear, knowing that dying at the hands of a Vestige was a real possibility, and not a small one. But he hadn't expected it to happen in this strange place.

Shoun had no choice but to surrender as he watched the Vestige quickly approach, enraged by the loss of its arm.

The young man saw his life flash before his eyes. It wasn't particularly exciting, apart from that night, which only made him angrier. He wasn't just angry about his situation or being killed by a Vestige—he was even more angry with himself.

Until just moments ago, he had lived a peaceful life, ignoring the world he lived in, where the possibility of dying every day wasn't far-fetched. He had promised himself and his family that he wouldn't be so useless again, that he wouldn't be in that situation again. But he had become complacent with himself and the lifestyle he led. He had let himself be consumed by the sadness and fear of that night, which had left him scarred for life. If he had another chance, he would definitely kill that Vestige and any others that crossed his path... but those thoughts were useless now that he was about to die.

—(Shit... I don't want to die... this world is shit... the Vestiges are shit... the damn government that's supposed to protect us is shit... but most of all, I'm shit for not being able to face them).

After his mental complaints, he closed his eyes, unable to do anything but accept his death. But before he did, he directed a few final words at the Vestige.

—Go to hell!.

~Click Click~

In an instant, the sound of wind being cut echoed, and with it, the Vestige's head hit the ground with a dry thud, rolling to Shoun's feet.

—W-what... who-

The Vestige Codex chimed, and a small screen appeared before Shoun's eyes.

[You have slain the "Infected," a Vestige more powerful than you. Difficulty bonus obtained.]

Before he could finish his question, the rest of the Vestige's body fell lifelessly, revealing a masked young man standing behind it.

The young man had spiked hair, black on the right side and white on the left. His mask was also divided into black and white, but opposite to his hair. Each side had a dot for an eye, with the white side having an additional black dot above where the eye should be.

He wore a black robe that covered most of his body, except for his pale arms, which now rested on a katana sheathed at his waist.

The masked man looked at Shoun for a few seconds, then glanced at the Vestige's detached arm before returning his gaze to Shoun and finally speaking.

—...Good shot.