PROLOGUE: The start of everything

(Someone's POV)

Darkness.

That's all I remembered.

One moment, I was laughing beside Haru, our hands intertwined as we wandered the city streets. The next... cold, suffocating darkness.

And now—this place.

Sterile. Dim. Reeking of metal and burnt circuits.

My vision swam as I blinked the fog from my eyes. Chains cut into my wrists, pinning me to a chair. How long had I been here? How long had they kept me like this?

I tried to call out, but my throat was dry, my voice barely a whisper.

Then—

A scream.

Familiar.

Haru.

My heart pounded as I snapped my head toward the sound. Through a pane of reinforced glass, light flickered on in the adjacent room.

And there he was.

Haru lay sprawled across an iron table, his body restrained by thick leather straps. Tubes punctured his skin, draining something vital from him—or perhaps forcing something worse in.

Blood seeped from his nose. His ears. His mouth.

And still, he screamed.

It echoed through the room. Through me.

A group of figures in white coats circled him like vultures, their hands busy adjusting dials, scribbling notes, and activating machines I couldn't begin to understand.

I wanted to tear the walls down. To tear them apart.

But all I could do was sit. Watch. Listen.

Helpless.

"STOP!" I roared, the word shredding my throat.

One of the scientists turned to me, his face illuminated under the flickering fluorescents. The grin he wore chilled me deeper than the cold metal against my back.

"Oh? Awake at last," he sneered. "Don't worry. Your precious Haru is doing quite well. His sacrifice will lead us into humanity's next era."

Then he laughed.

A hollow, manic sound that bounced off the walls, drilling into my skull.

I pulled at the chains until my skin burned. The weight of despair crushed my chest.

I couldn't move.

Couldn't help him.

Couldn't stop any of this.

And still, Haru screamed.

I clenched my fists. My nails dug into my palms, blood pooling beneath my fingers.

Please...

Someone... anyone...

Make it stop.

And then, time itself obeyed.

The world slowed.

The machines fell silent. Haru's scream stretched out unnaturally, echoing like a warped recording in slow motion.

Even the air felt thick, like I was standing in water.

And then I felt it.

A force surging through me, racing through my veins like wildfire. It tore through every cell, every nerve, as if something deep inside me had finally awakened.

The chains shattered, falling uselessly to the floor.

I didn't question it.

I moved.

The bat leaned against the wall wasn't there before. Or maybe it was, and I simply hadn't noticed. I gripped it in both hands, the weight solid, reassuring.

I charged.

The glass wall exploded in a shower of shards as I smash through, the scientists turning only just in time to see their deaths rushing toward them.

They tried to react. To defend themselves.

Too slow.

Far too slow.

One swing. A skull caved in.

Another. A body collapsed to the ground.

The bat became an extension of my rage, and I didn't stop until every last one of them lay broken and lifeless on the cold laboratory floor.

The final scientist, gurgling on his own blood, managed to smile.

"So... this is... Aether Pulse... At last..."

Then silence.

I let the bat fall from my hands.

There was no time to process what I had just done.

Only him.

Haru.

I ran to his side, my hands trembling as I checked his pulse. Faint. Weak. But there.

Tears blurred my vision. I couldn't lose him.

Not now.

Not ever.

My gaze darted around the room, desperate for a solution. And then I saw it.

A cryo chamber.

It looked like something pulled straight from a movie, but I didn't hesitate. I couldn't.

I lifted him—his body so fragile it felt like he might slip through my arms—and placed him inside.

The machine hummed to life as I activated the sequence. Cold fog spilled out as the chamber sealed shut, slowly hiding him from view.

And as the frost consumed the glass, I pressed my palm against it and whispered:

"Sleep for now... and when this cruel world finally learns peace... I promise, we'll meet again."

And then I turned away.

Because the next time we meet...

The world will be different.

Or I'll tear it apart myself.

A/N

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