Rain fell endlessly over the city, washing the streets in dull reflections of light and shadow. People passed one another in silence, unaware of how close some lives were to ending.
Among them walked a boy named Kyomu.
He was ordinary in every way—average height, quiet voice, eyes that always looked distant. Yet deep within him existed something unseen: Aether, dormant and weak, like a dying ember.
Kyomu often felt it as emptiness.
"Why does it feel like something is missing?" he murmured as he walked home.
He did not know that his Aether was waiting.
Waiting for Sentinel.
---
A scream echoed from a narrow alley.
Kyomu stopped.
His instincts moved before fear could catch up. As he stepped closer, the air changed. It felt heavier, as if the world itself had taken notice of him.
In the alley, several men surrounded a trembling woman. Shadows clung to the walls unnaturally, stretching longer than they should have.
And then Kyomu felt it.
A presence.
Cold. Vast. Watching.
A voice echoed deep within his mind—not loud, but impossible to ignore.
Reach out.
Pain surged through his chest. His vision blurred. Something inside him ignited.
A faint shimmer surrounded his body.
The Flicker.
The men froze, their faces pale, bodies trembling under an invisible pressure. One collapsed to his knees. Another staggered back in confusion.
Kyomu stared at his shaking hands.
"What… is this?" he whispered.
But his power was unstable. Untrained. Weak.
One of the men recovered faster than the others. He moved without hesitation.
A sharp pain tore through Kyomu's chest.
The world went silent.
---
As Kyomu fell, the rain washed over him, carrying his warmth away.
His thoughts faded.
Yet just before everything disappeared, the presence returned—closer now.
This is not your end, the voice said.
This is preparation.
Darkness swallowed him whole.
Kyomu died.
---
When awareness returned, pain was gone.
Kyomu opened his eyes.
The sky above him was unfamiliar—vast, filled with strange stars and colors he had never seen before. The air felt different. Lighter. Alive.
He sat up abruptly.
This body was not his.
His hands were smaller. His breathing steadier. His heartbeat unfamiliar.
Yet deep within him, something remained.
A faint shimmer.
His Aether—still alive.
A whisper echoed once more in his mind.
You have crossed worlds.
Your Flicker survives.
Begin again.
Kyomu clenched his fists.
Death had not ended him.