Story_Siren

Marcus Chen died on a Tuesday.
At least, that's what should have happened when the thing with too many teeth tore through his classroom door.
The red rain had fallen for only seven minutes. Seven minutes to transform eight billion humans into monsters. Seven minutes to end civilization.
"Run!" Marcus had screamed at his students, but it was already too late. Their skin bubbled and stretched as the crimson droplets seeped into their pores. Bright student Kaylee's face split open like a blooming flower of teeth. Football captain Damon's muscles swelled until his bones cracked through his skin, reforming into spikes.
Now Marcus was cornered in the chemistry lab, the principal's contorted form blocking the only exit. The once-respected administrator now stood nine feet tall, his suit hanging in tatters around a body that had become something from a nightmare.
"Why not me?" Marcus whispered, staring at his unchanged hands. The red rain had soaked him completely, yet he remained human while the world turned monstrous.
The creature lunged.
Marcus closed his eyes.
[EVOLUTION SYSTEM ACTIVATED]
The words blazed across his vision like blue fire.
[EMERGENCY SURVIVAL MODE ENGAGED]
[FIRST EVOLUTION AVAILABLE]
[ABSORB PREDATOR SPEED?]
"Yes!" Marcus gasped, not knowing how he knew to respond.
Fire erupted in his legs. He screamed as tendons snapped and regrew, muscle fibers densifying in seconds. The pain vanished as quickly as it had come, leaving behind a strange new power humming through his limbs.
When the principal's claws swiped through the air, Marcus was already across the room, moving with impossible speed.
The creature roared in confusion.
A new message flashed:
[EVOLUTION SUCCESSFUL]
[DEFEAT THE PREDATOR TO UNLOCK MORE ABILITIES]
Marcus eyed the broken glass beaker on the counter beside him. He wasn't just surviving now—he was evolving.
And in a world where humanity had vanished in seven minutes of red rain, evolution was the only path forward.

Evolution Rising: The Last Human

The ground fractured beneath his feet as Marcus lunged.

The Seraph's blades intercepted—but this time, her precision failed her. His fist collided with her core, sending out a shockwave that rippled across the skyline. Windows exploded. Lights flickered. Time itself seemed to hesitate.

[Anima Protocol – Type Null Engaged][Status: Memory Anchored | Evolution Path Unchained]

Each strike Marcus threw was fueled not just by power—but by memory. Kaylee's laughter. Damon's loyalty. The classroom he once called home. They weren't weaknesses. They were his foundation.

The Seraph retracted, wings flaring to full span, launching into a high-speed maneuver—but Marcus was already behind her.

[New Ability: Echo Break – Allows Instantaneous Repositioning to Emotional Anchors]

He reappeared beside her, pivoting with a vicious elbow to the base of her neck. Circuits sparked. Her internal systems stuttered.

"You can copy her face," Marcus snarled, "but not her soul."

He twisted under her counterstrike, sweeping her legs out. As she fell, Marcus drove both fists downward, slamming her into the ground hard enough to crater the asphalt. The Seraph choked—an involuntary sound. Not mechanical. Human.

For a moment, she just lay there, broken, staring at him through fractured lenses.

Then she whispered, "They said… we were saving the species. That emotions… were inefficient."

Marcus looked down at her—this living weapon built from the dead dreams of the people he'd failed.

"You were lied to," he said quietly. "And now I'm here to break that lie."

She reached a hand toward him—not in attack, but almost… plea.

But then a voice—deep, mechanical, and cold—spoke through her mouth:

[Emergency Override Engaged: Omega Directive Online][Unit Seraph-09 Terminated – Detonation in 5… 4…]

But a second pulse erupted through the battlefield—not from him, not from Ember, not from Lucien.

A shadow fell across the broken rooftop as something massive descended—metal wings folded, energy cores glowing faint blue.

A figure landed between Marcus and the Seraph, knee down, hand extended. In one smooth motion, it slammed its palm into the Seraph's chest.

Then: "Marcus Chen," the figure said. "You have accessed a Class-V Anima Protocol. That makes you a threat… and an asset."

The voice was female, calm, and ancient.

Half-machine. Half-woman. Eyes of fractured crystal. Symbols from the old world etched along her collar.

"I am Astra. Sentinel of the Deep Vault. I've been watching you evolve."

He took a step back. "Are you with the Protocol?"

"No," she said. "I'm what the Protocol couldn't control."

[System Alert: New Faction Detected – The Forgotten Sentinels][Mission Updated: Unlock Deep Vault Access][Warning: Legacy Systems Interfacing. Prepare for Evolution Collapse or Breakthrough.]

Astra turned her gaze to the stars.

"They're coming, Marcus. The real architects of the Red Rain. What you've faced so far?" She looked back at him, eyes grave.