Fractured balance

Takeru exhaled slowly, standing alone in the Hero Training Facility.

The room was massive, a high-tech combat simulator, capable of replicating real-world battle conditions. Right now, though, the arena was empty.

It was just him. Just him and the dummies.

Takeru rolled his shoulders, flexing his fingers. He had no trainer, no mentor guiding him through this. No one else could understand his power.

Because it shouldn't exist.

He glanced at the combat interface on the wall and selected the highest difficulty setting.

The system let out a cold, mechanical beep.

Then, the dummies activated.

Six humanoid targets sprang to life, their synthetic limbs whirring as they rushed him with programmed precision. Faster, smarter, deadlier than before.

Takeru clenched his fists.

This was exactly what he needed.

He darted forward, narrowly dodging a metal baton aimed at his ribs. His body moved on instinct, enhanced, but still limited. His abilities weren't fully under control yet.

Takeru's hand flickered, his fingers glitching in and out of reality for a split second. He felt the distortion surge through his palm, and then he swiped at the dummy.

The moment his attack connected, the dummy's entire upper body warped, as if space itself had twisted around his strike.

Its torso split apart, but instead of breaking normally, the pieces hovered midair, vibrating like corrupted data.

Then, the fragments snapped back together. The dummy stood intact, its attack routine resuming as if nothing happened.

Takeru scowled. ''Still not enough.''

"You're putting in extra work, huh?" A familiar voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

He turned, and there she was. Akari.

She stood near the entrance, arms crossed, an amused smirk on her face.

Takeru tried to play it cool. "Tch. I don't see you training."

Akari raised an eyebrow. "That's 'cause I don't need to." She stepped forward, tilting her head. "Wanna spar?"

Takeru hesitated. He knew how strong she was. Akari wasn't just powerful, she was dominant.

But…He had to test himself. "…Fine."

Akari grinned. "Good. Try not to embarrass yourself."

Meanwhile, in Horoku City…

The sky was pitch black, the city's neon lights flickering ominously.

A man stood atop a crumbling skyscraper, watching the streets below with quiet amusement. A black coat, he was wearing, rippling in the night air. His face was hidden, masked by a featureless, black void, only his piercing, crimson eyes visible.

Below him, civilians walked, laughed, lived, oblivious.

He tilted his head, watching them.

"Horoku City, has no idea what's coming," he murmured, his voice distorted through his mask's modulator. "A shame. They'll make excellent test subjects."

He reached into his coat, pulling out a small metallic device, its surface pulsing with unstable energy. With a flick of his wrist, he activated it.

The world glitched.

Streetlights exploded, sending sparks raining onto the pavement. Holograms shattered into static.

And then, the people began to change.

A husband and wife walked through the district, unaware.

Until the woman suddenly stopped, her shadow twitched.

"Honey?" the man asked, concern creeping into his voice. His wife turned to him, but her face was empty.

Her eyes were hollow, and then, she lunged.

She ripped his throat out. Blood splattered across the pavement.

Screams erupted through the streets.

All around them, people changed.

Shadows detached, taking on horrifying puppet-like forms. Those who resisted were slaughtered, their bodies twisted into grotesque figures. And above it all, the masked villain laughed. "Dance for me."

The city burned beneath him.

In the sparring arena, Takeru exhaled, forcing himself to focus.

Akari stood across from him, rolling her shoulders, her aura radiating power. "Alright," she said, fire igniting at her fingertips. "Come at me."

Takeru didn't hesitate, he vanished.

A glitch-step, reality stuttering as he moved at speeds unnatural even for trained fighters.

His fist swung forward, but Akari blocked it effortlessly.

"Heh." She smirked. "When did you get so fast?"

Takeru clicked his tongue, twisting mid-air, his foot sweeping low.

This time, his attack landed. A clean hit to Akari's ribs.

She stumbled back slightly. For a second, just a second, Takeru felt a spark of pride.

And then, everything changed.

Akari's eyes sharpened and the ground beneath her rippled.

Her elemental technique started to surge to life, fire, wind, and earth swirling together into one monstrous force.

A blazing gust of razor-sharp stone and fire tore through the arena.

The force of the attack slammed Takeru against the wall.

He groaned. "Son of a-"

Before he could react, Akari was already in front of him.

Her fist stopped inches from his face. She had won against him.

Again.

Akari smirked. "Not bad. But still not good enough."

Takeru clenched his fists, salty.

Before leaving, Akari glanced back. "Piece of advice, Takeru-"

She grinned.

"If all you do is react, you'll never win." Then she walked away, leaving Takeru standing there, eyes burning with vengeance.

He clenched his fists.

That wasn't just a fight, she was toying with him. He needed to get stronger.

Before he could stand up, the alarm system blared.

A deep, mechanical voice echoed through the facility:

"Emergency Alert, Horoku City. Immediate threat detected. Hero squads deployed."

Takeru's breath hitched. ''An attack?''

Inside the Hero Association HQ, a massive holographic map of Horoku City flickered to life. The red "Threat Level" indicator spiked past critical.

Heroes gathered around the table, analyzing the situation.

One of them, Commander Ryuji Sakamoto, the head of strategic operations, narrowed his eyes.

"This isn't a normal attack," he muttered, gripping the edge of the table. "Something is controlling them. This isn't just a villain rampaging, this is warfare."

Beside him, Rei Ayano, an elite hero specializing in intelligence, tapped furiously on her console.

"The reports are… disturbing," she said, voice tense. "People are turning into… puppets. Controlled by an unknown force. Once they turn, there's no coming back."

Another hero, Takeda, a S-ranked field leader, cursed under his breath. "Shit. We need a team on the ground now."

Ryuji exhaled sharply. "We're already moving. S-Class operatives are being mobilized."

"Who's leading the charge?" Takeda asked.

A moment of silence.

Then, Rei's eyes flickered with worry.

"...Akari."

Takeru sprinted down the training hall, heart pounding.

The moment he heard Horoku City was under attack, his body moved on instinct. He didn't care if he in the lowest rank. He didn't care if he was still weak.

Takeru wasn't about to sit on the sidelines.

He burst into the strategy room, only to find Akari already there, suiting up.

She glanced at him. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm coming." He stated.

Akari raised an eyebrow. "You're barely standing after our fight. What makes you think you can handle this?"

Takeru's jaw tightened. "I have to."

For a second, Akari stared at him. Then she sighed. "Fine. But if you slow me down-"

"I won't." He said with a serious expression.

She smirked. "You better not."

With a single command from HQ, a squad of elite heroes launched into Horoku City. Takeru and Akari rode in a high-speed transport, their destination marked in red.

Takeru could feel it, the moment they got close. The air itself was wrong.

As the vehicle descended, he looked out the window and what he saw made his stomach drop.

The city wasn't just in chaos. It was twisted.

Streets filled with corpses, puppets marching in eerie silence, bodies hanging like lifeless dolls from telephone wires.

And at the center of it all, the masked villain stood atop a burning skyscraper, smiling.

His voice echoed across the entire city.

"Welcome, heroes. Let's see if you can dance as well as my puppets."