Prologue

The rain fell quietly on the hero memorials, each drop echoed against the polished stone like whispered prayers. A group of mourners dressed in black stood in silence. Their heads bowed as the ceremony reached its end. 

At the front, a big holographic screen displaying the smiling face of Vanguard, the golden hero, the protector of people.

"Today, we say goodbye to a true legend."

The news anchor's voice echoed through the plaza, transmitted from floating drones recording the event.

"Vanguard, our beloved hero, the symbol of justice, is gone. His death marks the end of an era, a tragedy that is felt across the whole nation. But as we mourn, we must remember what he stood for. What he fought for. As we look back at how our heroes came to be, and why the Hero Association was founded in the first place."

The holographic screen flickered, changing from Vanguard's image to grainy, historical clips. It showed riots, fire-lit skies, and streets filled with terrified civilians.

"Fifty years ago, humanity as we once knew it changed forever. The first incident of superhuman awakening took place in Tokyo, when a child accidentally destroyed a whole street with a scream. Incidents like that one spread like a wildfire. Transforming normal people into beings with exceptional power. Some used that power to protect, others to destroy. The world became filled with chaos."

The camera panned over to the mourners, focusing on the Elite Heroes in the front row. 

Figures dressed in polished uniforms, their faces bowed and expressions unreadable. Among them was Astra, a warrior wrapped in a flowing navy-blue coat, her silver hair humid from the rain. She had fought alongside Vanguard.

"To bring order to the chaos, the world's greatest minds and leaders came together to form the Hero Association. An organization made to regulate and train those gifted with abilities.

To make sure that power wouldn't fall into the wrong hands. Vanguard was one of the best to emerge from this system, often praised as a real leader, a savior."

A silent figure stood at the edge of the funeral crowd, unnoticed. His hood pulled low over his head, hands buried in the pockets of a ragged coat. He watched as Vanguard's casket, decorated with the gold-and-blue insignia of the Hero Association, was lowered into the ground.

No one noticed him. No one recognized him.

Once, he stood beside Vanguard and Astra as their partner. Once, he had been a hero.

Now, Echo was nothing more than a ghost.

Astra's eyes went across the crowd, scanning the mourners. Her breath came to a halt when she saw him. Hooded, standing in the farthest corner.

For a moment, their eyes met. Echo's heart filled with a familiar ache he thought he had buried deep inside. 

His expression was unreadable, but something in the way he was standing, firm but fragile, spoke louder than words. She briefly thought about telling the others or shouting his name. But she didn't.

Instead, she breathed softly and looked away, her silence a quiet mercy.

"But not all heroes remain on the path of justice." The news broadcast's words hung in the air.

"Some, lost in grief and rage, have disappeared into the shadows."

Echo clenched his fists. His chest filled with pain upon hearing those words.

The world had lost its brightest hero. And with him died Echo's last reason to stay in the light.