It was early in the morning as Ravok awoke to the sounds of children moving about and waking up. He looked around his room and threw on a simple white t and black sweater from the pile of clothing in the corner of the room like any young adult would as they woke up in the morning when they had class. Each step was slow and groggy as Ravok made his way to the bathroom, splashing a little water in his face. As he looked at the mirror, he squinted and moved closer to inspect himself.

"Twenty… Happy birthday to me." Ravok said as he splashed himself with water, cleaning himself as much as possible without going into the shower.

"Ravok! Are you up yet!" A younger voice yelled up. Sarah was always an early bird, able to be up at the crack of dawn and have the energy to run a marathon.

"Yes, Sarah! Keep it down. We have neighbors, you know!" Ravok yelled back, taking another look in the mirror as he rubbed his eyes.

Almost every year, his birthday coincides with the start of the school year. Which usually meant he had to get up early to walk Sarah and Cole to school and then go to college himself. But Sarah promised him last week that she would take care of Cole today, an offer he quickly accepted.

Finally, Ravok made his way out of his bedroom, the large room behind him still covered in darkness due to the light-reflecting curtains he purchased when he first started sleeping here. His clothing was neatly folded in the corner and the laundry bin. After all this time, he still put his shirts in front of the closet instead of inside.

Closing the door behind him, Ravok got downstairs and was met with the more petite boy with bright green eyes and lightish brown hair on his head as he entered the dining room. The small room had only four chairs, a small table dimly lit by the rising sun, and a small lamp without a cap on the ceiling. Cole's puffy cheeks pulled up as he saw Ravok.

"You overslept again, Ravok." he managed to get out while still eating his breakfast. "Sarah had to make me breakfast."

Ravok swiftly lifted his finger to his mouth in a shushing tone. "No talking while we have our mouth full, no exceptions. I know Sarah was nice enough to help me today, just like she will be bringing you to your middle school today."

The boy looked upset, but the bitter emotion immediately faded as he looked up at Ravok. "I don't need anyone to bring me to school anymore. I am old enough to go on my own."

That moment Sarah walked in, her black hair curled into a bun and her eyes just as deep black as her hair. Usually, she would be out for a run at this time, but it looks like she did a small run before waking up Cole, her voice the same peppy and loud volume that she always put on, no matter where she was. "Yes, you do, last time, you got lost after the fourth turn, but I'll take you with the family car if Ravok doesn't mind."

Ravok nodded back. He preferred to walk to college anyway. Once,

he found a lucky 50-dollar bill someone lost on the main street. Before he would have brought it to the police, find its original owner. But now, this meant half a tank of gas, and they sure could use it. "I'll be heading to school early. The principal wanted to give a big speech, so he asked us early."

Sarah gave him a nod and a wave before seemingly realizing something. "Be back early today! Cole and I have something for you!"

"I will," Ravok said with a sense of ease, knowing they probably did not forget his birthday. In the years before, he always kept quiet. He didn't want to make his birthday a big thing and did his best to make theirs as fun as possible.

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The outside still had the after-summer heat. It was neither hot nor cold as Ravok made his way through his street, through the city to arrive at school half an hour later than he left. Lily, wearing the same type of designer brand clothing she always wore, and Brandon was wearing nothing but a simple hoodie and baggy pants, was already there, together with a large crowd who were all waiting on the principal to start his speech.

"Hey guys, how are you doing? Good vacation?" Ravok asked as he paid little attention to his principal, who was shouting about how great of an opportunity they had a new building and new facilities and that they had the B.O.C Tech company to thank for sponsoring the entire construction.

Brandon looked at Lily for a moment and then back at Ravok. "It was good. I went on vacation to visit some friends of ours that live across the sea, found the beach… found something more, got wasted, repeat."

Lily hit Brandon with her elbow. "I know what you mean, you dick." followed by the laughter of the three of them. "Vacation was nice. I went to France with my family, and my dad got me one of those cliche french hats they always have. We went out for a nice dinner at a five-star restaurant somewhe.." before she could finish the sentence, she felt a slight poke in her side by Brandon, who laughed.

"We know, We know, you are rich. No need to brag about it." His voice was playful with a hint of a serious undertone, only to be met by a defeated Lily.

"It's fine, Lily. You can tell me about your vacation later." Ravok quipped back, seeing the defeat on Lily's face.

The group made their way into the school. Their first day was nothing but introductions and becoming acquainted with the material they would be studying this semester. The calculation between stars is based on the speed of light, the workings of dark matter, and much more. Ravok never knew what he wanted out of life and eventually picked Astrology as his field after a hard time studying. Many of his classmates aspired to know what was out there, find new planets, or find life outside earth. Yet Ravok never had any of those dreams or desires. It was just a field in which he excelled. Physics has always been one of those things that just came naturally to him. During the break, Ravok managed to get some time in with Lily, hearing about her vacation, about the things that no average person would ever be able to afford. Time went fast as before he knew it. It was time to go back home.

Due to some mandatory ending of the day ritual that his principal came up for the introduction day, Ravok was late, despite saying he wouldn't be. "Shit! Lily, Brandon. I have to go. I'll see you two later!" He said as he grabbed his jacket, sprinting out of the school building. "I can't be late again!" It wouldn't be the first time he was late for something important to either Sarah or Cole.

He checked his time. He still had five minutes left before he should be home. "I'm going to make it. I'm going to make it." The phrase resonated in his head as he ran past the small park long past its prime, with withering flowers and a dead tree in the middle waiting to fall over. But as he finally made his way home, he noticed a figure hovering in the sky, wearing nothing but a simple shirt that had a gray color and black pants that wouldn't stand out anywhere else. But the most astounding thing was its pale white skin. The white reminded Ravok of bones, its facial features so sunken that you could not see its eyes as its skeletal structure was on full display. In its hands was a scythe. The handle was ashen black and curling in many directions making its shape odd and clumsy.

Any person would get an odd sensation, one of fear, when seeing a person like this float in the air, wielding such a strange weapon. Yet Ravok knew where this creature was floating. It was floating in front of his house, readying its blade for something. Instinct took over as Ravok couldn't think about anything but what this thing might be doing. His body pushed itself forward, breaking out in a full sprint. The creature was still winding up, the scythe glowing with a form of energy that it was about to release. With a single slash, the weapon released a wave of black power, heading right for his house. There was nothing his body could do but jump right in front of it.

Ravoks mind was questioning himself as he moved. "Why… if it had enough strength to blow away his house… what good would it do if I blocked it?" Yet his body already moved, the wave connected with his skin. He could feel it sizzling, sliding into him, hurting a lot. But for some reason, the energy did not go straight through. Instead, it pushed him back into the house. It squeezed him, spreading his flesh apart in a moment that felt like years that couldn't be longer than a couple of seconds.

But before it could cut open his guts, the energy disappeared. It was fading away like a flame without fuel. He collapsed to the floor, his hand over the deep bleeding cut on his stomach as he looked up.

The creature stared at him, its two sunken eyes almost glowing with a bright yellow color. Its face awkwardly contorted to express emotion, but what that emotion was, Ravok didn't know.

"So… the protector lived through my attack… impressive…" The figure lowered itself as it raised its scythe once more. It seemed not to care that it had just hit a person, but that did not seem surprising to Ravok.

Ravok looked back through his front window. Inside he could see the lights were on. Inside were Cole and Sarah, clearly preparing a cake. Something about that made him smile. The fact that they tried so hard to make something that would make him happy was enough for him for his birthday. His eyes returned to the creature standing before him like it was giving him the time to enjoy his last moment before his world would be eternally black.

The weapon cut through the air coming closer with each millisecond. But it was suddenly interrupted by a large weapon flying through the air. Each time it turned on its axis, it made the sound of a helicopter's rotor blade. The moment it collided with the scythe, the creature immediately jumped backward-looking in the direction where the ax came from.