W-why?

The kitchen knife clattered onto the blood-stained floor, the sound impossibly loud in the suffocating silence. My breath caught in my throat as my entire world twisted into something unrecognizable.

My thoughts were in complete and utter disarray. Everything my father stood for, every lesson he taught me was, in my eyes, symbolized by the COE. The protectors. The enforcers. The ones who could stand against the other races, the ones who stopped criminals and terrorists. The heroes.

Yet here they were, standing over my sister's battered and bruised body.

One of the officers slowly stepped forward, his white trench coat stretched slightly with the movement. He was tall, muscular, and carried an air of absolute authority to him. He had short, well-kept brown hair. His eyes, a deep, calm blue, glanced down at me, then down to the kitchen knife that rested at my feet, the moonlight reflected off the knife's blade and illuminated the light blue insignia on his trench coat. A smirk crept its way across his face.

"Would you look at that?" His voice was rough, a clear hint of amusement was present with every word. "The little stray thinks he can fight."

I couldn't speak. My heart was pounding uncontrollably against my ribs, my hands trembling at my sides.

"W-why…?" The word barely made it past my lips. My body was frozen, my throat was completely dry.

The second officer, an older woman, who seemed to be in her late 60s with sleek, silver hair and a cruel glint in her golden eyes, chuckled as she kicked a piece of broken wood from where the bedroom door once stood.

"Stop freaking out kid. You've got it all wrong," she said. "We're not the villains here."

I looked at my sister, her face covered in blood, wearing a pained expression. I looked back at them.

Not the villains?

Then why was Ava lying half-dead in our own home?

The third officer, a lanky man who possessed eyes seemingly devoid of any and all emotion with the sleeve of his trench coat rolled up, showing various scars tracing up his arms, sighed dramatically. "Let's not drag this out. Kill the boy and take the girl."

My stomach dropped. 

As his cold, emotionless words struck my eyes, I glanced down towards my sister. As we made eye contact, I could feel what she was trying to tell me. Clearly, she was too exhausted and beaten to speak. Yet her sparkling green eyes were telling me to run.

At that moment I was furious with myself. Even in a situation like this she is still trying to look out for me. She is still trying to protect me. 

'No more.' I thought as a fire of resolve sparked in my heart. 

I took another step in front of her, drawing closer to the immense pressure these three evolvers were letting off. I picked up the knife from the floor, outstretched my small trembling arms, and faced the three monsters.

"Over my f*cking dead body!" I snarled.

The lead officer, the one with the deep blue eyes, tilted his head in response to my seemingly lackluster exclamation, examining me like I was some sort of test subject. Then, slowly, his previous smirk grew into a sadistic ear-to-ear grin.

"That," he said, "can be arranged."

A pulse of energy swirled uncontrollably in his hand, and in an instant, the energy condensed and took the form of a raging blue fire. I recognized this ability, it was a B-class ability and an incredibly destructive one at that -

Azul Flame.

After the events of the meteor, individuals known as Evolvers began to awaken unique abilities. Each of these powers manifested in a variety of different categories, allowing their users to focus their power in one specific field. Magic powers, body enhancement, assassination-type abilities, healing, and crafting are just some of the many different categories that exist in this world.

Some wield devastating elemental forces, while others push their physical bodies beyond human comprehension. Some abilities enable silent assassinations from the shadows, while others can mend even the gravest of wounds. There are even individuals who are able to manipulate the very fabric of reality and others who construct entire fortresses with a mere thought. While some abilities may be the same, or at least similar, there are no two evolvers that are exactly the same, making their abilities as diverse as the world itself.

Abilities are classified into eight different Classes, they range from F-Class, the weakest, to AAA-Class, which is the rarest and most powerful. F and E-Class abilities are often simple, providing only minor enhancements or limited control over elements. As the rankings increase, so does the strength and impact of the ability. C and B-Class evolvers can easily hold their own in battle, while A-

Class abilities are a different level and grant their wielders fearsome power. The AA-Class abilities are pretty much mythical, capable of shifting the tides of war, while the AAA-Class abilities exist only in legends, they are abilities that, when at full potential, could reshape the world itself. 

Regardless of classification, every evolver starts at Tier 1, the very foundation of their power. As they train and grow stronger, they ascend through the Tier Mastery System, gaining new abilities tied to their original power while simultaneously enhancing their strength, speed, perception, and durability. The higher the tier, the more control an evolver gains over their power, unlocking potential beyond their initial awakening. However, progression is not easy. The difficulty of advancing increases exponentially with each new tier, and the stronger the ability, the greater the challenge. An F-

Class evolver may ascend through the tiers with relative ease, but their abilities will remain weaker compared to a higher-class counterpart. On the other hand, an AAA-Class evolver will most likely struggle to break past the earlier tiers, but with each milestone they reach, their power grows to world-shaking proportions.

Some evolvers follow a predictable path, their growth aligning with expectations. However, some defy the norms.

These outliers are feared by governments, hunted by organizations, or revered as living legends. In a world where power defines one's fate, the journey of an evolver is anything but certain.

His hand shot out faster than I could react. The ball of blue fire slammed into my chest.

The impact sent me flying. My body crashed against the far wall of the apartment, and an intense pain exploded. I crumpled to the ground, gasping.

I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe.

Footsteps approached me, they were slow, deliberate.

I looked up, my vision was blurred and unfocused. I could see the faint outline of the COE officer crouching down beside me. His gloved hand reached out, tightly gripping my jaw with just enough pressure to make sure I couldn't look away.

And then I saw it. A flicker of something wrong.

His eyes weren't quite the same as mine. I gazed into his deep blue eyes and stared back at my own reflection. The angles were off. The shadows weren't falling in the right places. And for just a split second, I saw something else. A ripple. A distortion.

A glimpse of something behind the surface.

And then, like an overflown dam breaking, something inside me began to crack and crumble.

A chill ran down my spine.

The world wasn't the same anymore.

"HAHAHAHAHA!" The older woman with grey hair and golden eyes laughed mockingly.

She raised her leg as if taking a step and suddenly, her figure turned into a blur. The next thing I knew, she was standing right in front of me, with a shining steel sword next to my throat.

"Take the girl and get out of here you two. I'll clean this up." She said with a slight smirk drawn across her face.

She then kneeled down and brought her head next to mine, and with the sword still at my throat she whispered, "I am going to kill you now and I am going to make it very, very slow. Okay?".