Fluxborn:The Shattered MirrorBook 1: Awakened Flux - Rise of the Echo

Elena Rivera didn't believe in miracles, gods, or energy that flowed through the soul. She believed in cracked sidewalks, forgotten homework, and greasy dishes piled sky-high after closing time.The morning heat clung to the cracked windows of her family's restaurant like syrup. The fan above the kitchen door spun lazily, as useless as her third attempt at passing physics. She balanced two trays of steaming arroz con pollo while dodging her younger brother's soccer ball for the second time that morning."Seriously, Marco?" she snapped, lifting her leg just in time. "One day that ball's going to land in the soup."Marco grinned from behind the counter. "Then the soup will taste better."Elena rolled her eyes. "You're lucky you're cute."The bell above the front door jingled, drawing her attention. A pair of men in suits entered — one tall and lean, the other built like a refrigerator. They sat at a corner table, both glancing around the room as if expecting something. Or someone.Elena didn't recognize them. They didn't belong here.Neither did she, if she was honest.She'd been feeling it for years now — the itch under her skin. The sense that something was wrong with her, not in a tragic, dramatic way… just off. Disconnected. Like the world was a painting hung slightly crooked, and everyone else just walked past it without noticing.That feeling had gotten worse over the past few months. People looked different. Sometimes, if she focused too hard, she could see strange shimmer-like a ripple in the air — especially around certain people on the street. Flux, her mind whispered, a word she'd heard in whispered rumors and late-night conspiracy videos. But that wasn't real.Was it?She delivered the plates and retreated to the kitchen, trying to shake the tension rising in her chest. But as she passed by the window, she froze.Outside, across the street, two figures stood facing each other like gunfighters at high noon. One wore a black jacket lined with blue symbols that shimmered faintly. The other crouched low, muscles taut, a strange glow radiating from his fists.And then it happened.The air cracked — not like thunder, but like reality splitting at the seams.A blue-white flash erupted from the crouched man's hand. A shockwave followed, shattering nearby car windows. People screamed. The man in the jacket raised a glowing arm and deflected the blast with a ripple of translucent energy."Flux…" Elena breathed, forgetting to breathe.The two began to fight in earnest. Every strike sent ripples through the air, as if the laws of physics were being rewritten in real time. Blows that should've killed landed with explosive grace, flares of light and color marking each movement.She pressed against the glass, eyes wide, adrenaline surging. It wasn't just real — it was terrifying and beautiful all at once.Suddenly, one of the fighters turned sharply. His eyes locked with hers.Elena stumbled back, heart hammering. Had he seen her? Could he sense her?The door burst open. Her father, Ramon, charged in, apron flying. "Elena, get away from the window!""They're fighting with— I think it's Flux, Papá—""I don't care what it is! Go get your brother!"She sprinted to Marco, scooped him up, and ducked behind the counter. The clash outside intensified. Another explosion rocked the building. Dust rained from the ceiling."Elena," Marco whispered, voice shaking, "Are we going to die?"She looked at her little brother — too young to know what any of this meant. Too innocent to understand how small and powerless they were.She hugged him tightly. "Not today."But something inside her stirred. A knot she'd buried under years of being "the disappointing kid." A slow-burning fire behind her ribs. It whispered the same thing her mind refused to believe:You were never meant to be normal.And outside, the impossible battle raged on — not just between two strangers, but between the world she thought she knew and the one that was about to change her forever.