Morning light washed over the city with a faint haze still hanging above the rooftops, the kind that made the world look half–asleep.
Kayden walked along the narrow sidewalk, blending into the stream of students heading toward Westbridge High. His backpack bounced on his shoulder, and he kept his head slightly lowered.
After everything that happened yesterday—the fight, the news, the whispers—he wanted nothing more than to be invisible.
But the universe rarely gave him what he wanted.
As he approached the school gates, he could already feel a set of eyes on him. Students huddled in small groups, whispering behind their palms, glancing in his direction. Some tried to hide it. Others stared outright.
Because everyone in the city had watched the broadcast.
Everyone had seen the masked boy with the glowing sigil fight a monster that used to be Ragna.
And Kayden couldn't shake the feeling that his world was about to get very… complicated.
He pushed through the gates.
---
The first class of the day was History. Their teacher, Mr. Nolan, a tall man with glasses too small for his long face, tapped on the board with his marker.
"Everyone, settle down. Today we're continuing our topic—Conflict and Power Dynamics Between Kingdoms."
Kayden sat near the back, trying to blend into the seat. Eren took the chair beside him, slouching with casual boredom, while Liora sat at the front, posture perfect as always.
Mr. Nolan droned on about ancient wars… but Kayden barely heard any of it.
His mind kept drifting.
Ragna… the masked boy… the news…
The Vex Crew…
The Architect…
The sigil on his hand shining through his glove…
He clenched his fingers slightly under the desk. The sigil felt warm—more than usual. Almost like it was reacting to something.
"Mr. Kayden," Mr. Nolan said suddenly. "What was the main reason for the breakdown of the Treaty of Westvale?"
Kayden blinked.
"…Excessive greed?" he guessed.
Half the class laughed, and Nolan sighed.
"Close enough. Please… try to listen."
Kayden gave a small nod.
As class continued, he tried to focus—but the burning sensation in his hand kept pulling his attention away. It wasn't painful. Just… alert. As if warning him something unseen was approaching.
---
The bell rang.
Students pushed toward the hallways, talking loudly again. Eren bumped Kayden's shoulder lightly.
"Yo. You okay? You look like you didn't sleep at all."
"I'm fine," Kayden lied.
Eren grinned. "Good. Because Liora's looking for you."
Kayden paused. "Huh?"
Before he could react, Liora appeared from behind Eren, expression sharp.
"Kayden," she said. "We need to talk."
Eren raised his eyebrows. "Ooooh, serious tone. Should I leave?"
"Yes," Liora answered instantly.
"No," Kayden said at the same time.
The three of them exchanged looks.
"…I'll just stay," Eren decided.
Liora took a breath. "Did you two watch the news yesterday? The masked boy—"
"Yes," they answered together.
Her eyes sharpened at Kayden in particular.
"That sigil on his hand. Did you see it clearly? The shape looked… familiar."
Kayden swallowed. "Did it?"
"It looked like something I've seen before," she continued slowly. "And don't tell me I'm imagining it—because I know what I saw."
Eren leaned closer, whispering loudly, "Liora, are you saying Kayden is the masked—"
Kayden stepped on his foot before he could finish.
Eren yelped.
Liora narrowed her eyes even more. "Kayden… you punched Ragna last week. You weren't weak. But the masked boy… he fought like something else."
"Exactly," Kayden said quickly. "The masked guy fought stronger than I ever could. So how am I supposed to be him?"
Liora didn't respond.
Instead, she studied his face deeply.
Then she turned away slightly, arms crossed. "Fine. But I'm watching you."
Eren whispered, "Bro, she doesn't believe you at all."
Kayden sighed. "I know…"
---
Far away… in the underground facility pulsing with blue tubes and humming power cores…
The Architect stood in front of a massive screen, his fingers brushing across floating holographic symbols.
Behind him, dozens of machines, tubes, and dormant constructs illuminated the room with pale light. Ragna—entirely restored, infused, and glowing with concentrated rage—stood to the side. The other members of the Vex Crew who accepted the Architect's "offer" stood behind him.
Their eyes were different now. Sharper. Tainted by power.
"Your bodies have adjusted," the Architect said calmly. "But your minds still resist the evolution I have given you."
Ragna cracked his knuckles, energy sparking between them. "My mind is clear. I want revenge. On him. The masked boy."
The Architect's eyes flickered.
"And you will have it… once the resonance stabilizes."
He gestured and several floating drones activated, scanning Ragna and the others with beams of violet energy.
Jex—second strongest among them—watched quietly, clenching and unclenching his hand as he tested the new energy flowing through him.
The Architect turned away from them.
"I have discovered something… unexpected," he murmured to himself. "A signal… matching the lost sigil of the Voidborne line."
He tapped a hologram.
Kayden's masked silhouette appeared.
Ragna snarled instantly. Jex tilted his head. Some of the others exchanged uncertain looks.
The Architect's smile widened.
"At last… the awakening begins."
---
Back at home, Kayden's adopted parents—Mr. and Mrs. Hale—sat in the living room, newspapers and news reports covering the table.
Mrs. Hale held up one of the photos captured by the news drones:
The masked boy's glowing sigil.
"Honey…" she whispered. "Doesn't that look like…?"
"Yes," Mr. Hale said quietly. "Exactly like the mark he had when we found him."
They exchanged troubled looks.
Mrs. Hale swallowed hard. "But that can't be him… can it? Our Kayden?"
Mr. Hale rubbed his forehead. "He never told us what it meant. And we… never pushed him."
She bit her lip. "Should we ask him?"
"Not yet," Mr. Hale said. "We don't want to scare him. Let's observe. See if anything… unusual happens again."
Mrs. Hale nodded, but her eyes remained worried.
---
After school, Kayden walked home alone, his bag slung over one shoulder. Eren and Liora went separate ways, still suspicious but unwilling to push him further today.
Kayden felt the wind shift.
Then—
whirr… whirr… whiiiir…
A faint mechanical buzzing echoed overhead.
Kayden froze.
A drone.
Not the regular city drones.
Not the news drones.
This one was black. Sleek. Compact.
And he recognized the faint purple glow beneath its lenses.
"…Architect tech," Kayden muttered.
The drone scanned the street, then immediately locked onto him.
Kayden's pulse spiked.
The sigil on his hand flickered.
"No no no—Not here—"
The drone shot toward him.
Kayden dashed into an alleyway just before a beam of purple energy tore into the ground where he stood. The alley vibrated from the impact.
The drone dove after him.
Kayden leaped onto a wall, kicked off, grabbed a rusted pipe, and swung upward onto a fire escape. The drone sliced through the air behind him, firing again.
He dodged, rolled, and landed on the metal balcony above.
You can't transform. Not here. Too open. Too risky.
Another blast fired.
Kayden ducked—and the balcony railing exploded behind him.
He gritted his teeth. "Fine. I'll break it fast."
The sigil lit up beneath his glove. His eyes brightened with a faint silver hue.
He jumped forward, driving his fist into the drone's chassis.
CRACK!
The drone spiraled back, sparks flying, but it recovered instantly and charged again.
Kayden's heartbeat quickened.
He landed another punch—
The drone dodged mid-air with unnatural reflexes.
Then its lens pulsed red.
It spoke.
"TARGET CONFIRMED. VOIDBORNE SIGNATURE DETECTED."
Kayden froze.
Voidborne?
What did that mean?
Before he could think, the drone lunged—
—and exploded.
Kayden shielded his face from the blast, stumbling backward as pieces of broken metal scattered across the alley.
He looked around.
Nothing.
No attacker.
No one.
But someone… or something… had destroyed the drone before it reached him.
He felt the hairs on his neck rise.
"…Who did that?"
The air grew colder.
Wind stopped.
Silence swallowed the space.
Then—
A whisper.
A voice.
Close. Too close.
---
"So… you finally reveal your light, little Voidborne."
Kayden spun.
No one.
But the shadow beside the wall… moved.
Like it wasn't following the light.
Like it was alive.
"Who's there?" Kayden demanded, fists tightening.
The shadow stretched across the brick, pulling itself into a form—tall, unclear, shifting like smoke.
Its voice came again.
Dark. Calm. Knowing.
''yourreal enemies have already begun their hunt.And you are late''
Kayden's breath caught.
"What do you mean? Who are you—?!"
The shadow tilted its head.
"The Architect isn't your greatest danger.
It's the one he fears.
The one who wants you back."
Kayden's eyes widened.
"…Back?"
The shadow leaned closer, its voice dropping into a chilling whisper.
"Kayden.
They are coming for you.
Your first family."
The ground trembled.
A gust of cold wind surged through the alley.
Kayden reached out—and the shadow dissolved instantly, leaving only darkness behind.
Kayden stood frozen, pulse racing, mind spinning.
His first family?
The Voidborne?
Someone worse than the Architect?
He swallowed hard, fear creeping under his skin.
The sigil on his hand glowed brighter than ever—
As if sensing something approaching.
Something ancient.
Something claiming him.
----