“At ease soldiers, the only reason I came to this meager call was a coincidence. I was just passing by. Start by giving me a rundown of the situation. This could potentially be more than just a revenant”

“Yes Sir! Currently, all we know is that there’s been an explosion on this sole house owned by the dead General Alfred Romanov. We will shortly send a drown to examine the wreckage and check for any survivors”

The general swiftly observed the wreckage. The property was on the larger side, but that wasn’t anything a king-class void hunter couldn’t scan.

“Unneeded. I’ll personally check the estate.”

The general slowly started walking to the supposed core of the explosion, lifting pieces of wood and rubble.

Slowly but surely a boy appeared.

Charred and broken.

He had white hair running down his back, and a frail body, which seemed to bare many wounds.

The general held him in his arms, cradling him like a newborn. He lent the boy to me with a concerned look in his yellow eyes.

“His life force is weak. He doesn’t have much longer. I’ll bring him to the hospital”

Just as I hurriedly ran back to the car I could hear the general mutter one more line.

“What have you done Alfred… “

***

It was light again, so light I thought the sun was right in my face.

Slowly I tried to move my eyelids. But I was suddenly overcome with pain. As if writhing through my very flesh, the pinching sensation made me scream.

It was overbearing.

I looked around to see myself in a new place, one I’ve never been in before.

Beds lined up, each with an opened curtain. The bed was white and soft.

It seems like I was alone…

‘What happened to mom’

I tried to stand up but my body wouldn’t listen to me, causing me to crash to the floor.

As I looked up I saw a woman, no an angel. she wore a blue uniform. She had a Short brown hair with a green tint in her eyes.

“Are you ok Arthur”

She tried to help me up, but I instinctively flinched in the other direction.

With a concerned gaze, she slowly came close to me.

“It’s ok Mr. Romanov… it’s ok. You’re safe here”

With my back against the wall, my heart rate started to rise.

“Where is mom?”

“Before you start worrying about your loved ones, how about we first get you to bed again.”

Nodding my head, the nurse brought me up from the floor. This frail body does have its benefits at times.

With my back to the bed, I started to think back on what happened.

“Do you know what happened to me? Ms…”

“It's Ms. Cassie” She retorted with a smile.

“You were found on a possible revenant attack in your house buried in a heap of rubble. It's a miracle you were even alive honestly.”

As she spoke she suddenly brought a small screen. It highlighted my body perfectly, capturing every fiber of my bone and muscle.

“It seems to have been mental manipulation by an unknown force, causing you to spontaneously Awaken. It’s as if it planted a catalyst in you.”

She highlighted a white emblem through the screen. It looked as though a dragon had drawn its jagged lines signifying an unknown symbol.

“Your body… Well, your body seems to have awakened Mr. Romanov. Though it's highly rare for people after the age of 10.”

“What is it exactly… “

“We suspect it could be from your awakening. While not common, many kids awake with emblems or lines stricken across their bodies, though it's the first time we’ve come across an emblem like yours, Mr. Romanov.”

She looked at me with concern.

“Awakening doesn't normally occur if you’re not located in the Sector’s Alter hall. You seemed to have awakened purely from the catalyst of your emotion.”

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

“I’m sorry to ask but what's an awakening?”

Fulring her eyebrows, Ms. Cassie seemed quite surprised at my question. Muttering something under her breath.

‘This is worse than I thought”

As Ms. Cassie started to walk away I shouted one more question at her.

“Ms. Cassie! What happened to mom?”

With a defeated gaze she came back close to my face. She really was quite nice to look at.

“My. Romanov… Your mother died from your awake-”

Bam

I fell to the floor hyperventilating.

This can’t be happening.

I…

“It isn’t your fault Mr. Romanov” She yelled in a stern voice.

My world started to blur.

“It… isn’t your fault. It's nigh impossible to awaken without a proper catalyst.”

My heart started beating as if a raging bull entered my blood vessels.

“And for you to be the mere exception since the founding of the dawn of our time is an impossibility.”

My skin started to sear with a reddened hue as I stared at my body starting to change.

My eyes suddenly whitened as I was once again blinded.

Thud

I found myself in Ms. Cassie's arms, locked in a tight hug.

I calmed down as I was being held by her. My red arms leave, replaced by a pale white in its place.

Did I ever deserve this?

Did I ever falter or regret the beating I had day after day?

I looked up at Ms. Cassie, locking my eyes with hers, her body covered in burns.

“Why…”

And so I let it all out. With tears running down my eyes, drying into Ms. Cassie's clothes.

She brought her hand to my head, brushing it with a comforting pace.

***

Location: Sector Umbria HQ 201

“Step Hut! All salute to the general Thadeus”

I walked in with a calm pace, watching the soldiers bring their arms to their heads. The room had a large main screen to showcase plans and data with efficiency, with blue-uniformed soldiers standing in a circular form.

‘But I didn’t know Umbria had new suits?’

“At ease soldiers,” I smirked in content

“General, I believe you came here for this?”

Opening the large box in front of me I could see the threader, responsible for closing grade 4 fissures.

“Good work Captain.”

Grade 4 fissures need specialized runesmiths and blacksmiths to properly interwine the void shards with blue orichalcum, not something an attack specialist like me can do.

“The thread count should be enough for three fissures, whilst still having excess in case more titan-level Voidborn show up.

Looking up at the captain I scanned the room to see a familiar face on the screen

“Is that Arthur?”

“Yes general, my team has still not decided on what to do with him. We can’t place him into an Academy as he’s still too weak to enter. But even if we could, the child is too unstable.”

“Unstable?”

“Yes general, after bringing him to the ICU he healed quite well thankfully, but there seemed to be an incident with Nurse Cassie Brown. He is prone to spontaneously combust when expending emotional trauma.”

“Do you know anything else about his powers, captain?”

“No, general, he still hasn’t gone through the evaluation.”

Looking at the hollow eyes projecting from the screen in front of me I felt my heart tighten.

“He has a strong heart. His readings showed immense abuse physically and emotionally…”

I looked at the captain sternly.

“Do you know what makes a man strong, captain?”

“It’s experiencing real battles..”

“Correct, but what do you think can turn a child just as mature as every one of us in this room?”

Locking my eyes with the Captain I walked closer to the screen

“It's a heart that is broken”