The night was heavy with silence.
Pash's body lay motionless on the darkened ground, the faint orange glow of the cube dimming beside him. The once-pulsing energy was still — not fading, yet no longer alive. The air itself seemed to mourn, the eerie quiet settling like a shroud. Around him, the bodies of soldiers in uniform remained where they'd fallen, frozen in grim repose.
His breath was gone, but somewhere within, his mind drifted — unmoored, sinking deep into memory.
---
Flashback — Years Earlier
Foxtrot City. Foxtrot General Hospital.
"Mr. Fahmy?"
A nurse in blue scrubs emerged from the delivery room, her voice gentle but firm.
"Oh, yes — it's me," replied a weary man with dark circles under his eyes. His name was Fahmy, younger and tired, yet a flicker of anticipation danced behind his exhaustion.
"Come with me, please," said the nurse, flashing a soft smile before turning toward the room.
He turned to the small boy beside him — a sleepy Pash, barely eleven drooling on the waiting bench.
"Pash, come on — let's go meet your mom," his father said, chuckling as he nudged him awake.
"Hmmm?" Pash rubbed his eyes, blinking, his tiny legs wobbling as he followed. The antiseptic scent of the hallway filled his nostrils — sterile yet oddly soothing. To him, it was a smell of comfort, of something beginning.
They entered the room.
"Congratulations! It's a baby girl," the nurse announced warmly. Though they had known it for months, the sound of it still sent joy rippling through the air.
Fahmy hurried to his wife's bedside. She looked tired, her face slick with sweat, yet her eyes shimmered with joy. She had insisted on a natural birth, believing it would forge a deeper bond with her child.
Pash remembered the way his father's expression changed — the exhaustion melting into pure, tearful happiness. It was, perhaps, the first time he had ever seen his father cry.
"Pash… dear," his mother whispered weakly, "come… come meet your baby sister."
He approached, his small hands trembling as she placed the tiny bundle into his arms. The baby's cheeks were round, impossibly soft — her warmth seeped into him like sunlight.
"What should we name her?" his mother asked, smiling faintly at Fahmy.
"I… don't know yet," his father said, scratching his head.
Pash gazed down at his sister — the little heartbeat sleeping against his chest. "I think I do," he said softly.
"Oh?" his father asked.
"I was reading about ancient Egypt. There was a name — Nefri. It means beautiful, good, perfect…" He trailed off, smiling faintly. "I think it suits her."
Fahmy raised a brow. "Huh. Not bad. Maybe a little short?"
But his mother's face lit up with pride. "No, I love it. Nefri. What a beautiful name."
At that moment, Pash made a silent promise — a child's vow born from the warmth of that tiny heartbeat. He would protect her. Always.
---
Return to the Present
"How… could I forget?"
Tears welled beneath his closed lids, rolling down his face to the ground beneath him.
He could still hear her laughter — little Nefri, running through the house, tugging at his sleeves. That day, he'd sworn never to give up. Never to fail her.
"Who will help her when I'm gone?" His mind screamed through the haze. "Who will be there when she's sick, when she graduates, when she gets married?"
His heart thudded, faint but defiant.
"Damn it… I won't die here."
The cube pulsed again — faintly at first, then brighter.
"I will live. No matter what."
The words formed in his mind, fierce and trembling.
"I'll protect her — my sister, my family… Caoimhe!"
His body convulsed, blood seeping from his eyes, the crimson glow merging with the cube's fiery light. Faces flashed before him — Nefri, his father, his mother, Caoimhe, his grandmother — each one fueling the storm within.
The cube began to vibrate violently, its hum turning into a shrill crescendo.
"NO!" His voice roared in his head. "I will not die!"
BUZZZZZ!
He reached forward, his trembling fingers grazing the cube's surface.
"Arrrghhh!"
A searing warmth coursed through him — fire, lightning, and life all at once. The energy flooded his veins, suffusing him with an unearthly glow.
Silence.
Then —
BIMMMMMM!
The cube shattered, its fragments dissolving into radiant orange light that enveloped Pash's body. The night sky blazed like dawn, an eruption so bright that even the defenders at the distant safety shelter turned their heads.
"What is that light?" one of them gasped, staring through the shimmering barrier.
But it wasn't just there.
Across the globe — in six distant lands — the same blinding phenomenon unfolded.
---
Country Alpha
A young woman stood at the heart of a war torn city, surrounded by soldiers forming a protective circle around her. Her eyes blazed with fierce determination as the cube before her ignited. The force around her spiraled upward like a tempest — divine, unstoppable.
---
Country Charlie
A young man with a sharp jawline and steel-gray eyes wiped blood from his sword. The blade glowed pure white, its light cutting through the night as the Scryvian before him fell, cleaved perfectly in two.
"I suppose the others are going through this too," he murmured with calm resolve. "Best I make haste."
He placed his hand upon the cube — and in a flash, his body was engulfed in radiant light.
---
Country Lima
A delicate girl, no older than eighteen, slipped quietly past a crumbled barricade.
"Phew… that was easier than I thought," she whispered with a playful grin.
The cube awaited her — untouched. She giggled softly, brushing her hair aside, and pressed her hand to its surface.
Light flared, wrapping around her like a cocoon.
---
Country Venezuela
On a shattered street, an Asian teenager stood alone amid fallen enemies. His twin katanas gleamed under the moonlight, their edges dripping with alien blood.
He smirked, eyes alight with mischief and pride. "Ha… since you're going to be my stepping stone to true strength, I'll flay you while speaking Japanese."
The Scryvian hissed in defiance.
He raised his blades in a cross stance, his energy spiking.
"Cut diagonally into separate worlds…"
He roared, voice thunderous —
(Konton Zan)!」
Chaos Slash!
Silver light erupted, cleaving the creature in two. The night trembled. He exhaled sharply, sheathing his blades with a grin.
"Time to join the others."
He touched the cube.
White brilliance consumed him.
---
Country Zulu
The battlefield reeked of smoke and blood. Corpses of Scryvians lay scattered like wilted shadows — and through them walked a woman.
Each step was a sinuous dance. Her long black hair shimmered under the red sky, and her hips swayed with effortless allure. The tight combat suit she wore clung like a lover's touch, outlining a figure both graceful and deadly.
She smiled — a teasing, dangerous smile — as her boot pressed on a dying Scryvian's chest. "Oh, don't look at me like that," she cooed, her voice smooth as silk. "You had your fun."
Her laughter — light, musical, and merciless — echoed across the desolation. Even from afar, soldiers watching her froze, torn between awe and terror.
"Now…" she purred, sauntering toward the cube, her fingers tracing the air as if caressing an unseen admirer. "Let's make something beautiful happen."
She tilted her head, eyes gleaming with wicked delight.
"Time to shine, darling."
Her touch met the cube — and light exploded, spiraling upward as her laughter rang through the storm.
---
A Hidden Chamber
Far away, in a place unseen by any mortal eye, Celine stood before a panoramic window.
Her silver hair caught the reflection of the blazing sky, her expression unreadable.
"Hmmm," she murmured, the corner of her lips curving into the faintest smile. "Finally… it has begun."
If one were to gaze down from the heavens, the Earth itself would seem to shimmer with a constellation of light — six radiant points blazing across the map.
The world had no idea what these awakenings meant.
But one thing was certain.
Everything… was about to change.