At exactly 3:17 a.m., the sky shattered.
There was no explosion.
No thunder.
No warning.
Just a thin silver crack spreading across the heavens like broken glass.
Kael Varis was the only one awake to see it.
He stood on the balcony of his small apartment, staring upward as the fracture widened, branching like veins across reality itself.
"Am I… hallucinating?"
The air felt heavy.
Like the world was holding its breath.
Then the crack pulsed.
And something fell.
It wasn't a meteor.
It wasn't fire.
It was light.
A fragment of glowing violet crystal descended silently toward the city.
Kael's chest burned.
His vision blurred.
And suddenly—
He could see them.
More cracks.
Everywhere.
Across buildings.
Across the streets.
Across people.
Thin fractures exist.
Then screaming began.
Creatures crawled out from the broken air — twisted things made of bone and shadow.
The first monster landed on the street below.
Its head rotated slowly.
Then it looked up.
At him.
"Fragment Detected."
"Compatibility: 98%."
"Initializing Fragment Ascension System…"
A voice echoed inside Kael's mind.
He stumbled back, clutching his head.
"No… this isn't real…"
The violet fragment shot toward him like a bullet of light.
Impact.
Silence.
Pain beyond imagination.
Memories not his own flooded his mind — dying stars, collapsing worlds, civilizations erased in cosmic storms.
And then—
Power.
The monster leapt toward the balcony.
Kael raised his shaking hand instinctively.
The air warped.
Space folded.
The creature froze midair.
Cracks formed across its body.
And it shattered into dust.
Kael collapsed to his knees.
On his palm, a glowing mark appeared:
A broken circle.
"You have obtained: Void Fragment (Rank: Unknown)."
"You are now a Fragment Bearer."
"Survive."
Below him, the city burned.
Above him, the sky continued breaking.
And somewhere beyond reality—
Something ancient opened its eyes.