A pale lean boy with blue eyes and dark hair was sitting upright on a hospital bed staring blankly at the wall across the small room. He had bandages all over his ribs and one tightly wound across his scalp. He hadn't moved in a while, just sat there pondering how he had managed to survive the catastrophe that left him in this sorry state. In his right hand, he held a small, empty glass of water, and in his left a jug filled to the brim. He poured, raised the glass, and drained it in one gulp like a starved child. Then he stared at the glass for a bit before muttering in a low, somber voice, "Crazy… crazy world."
Truth be told, this really was a crazy world.
Ren had woken up only a few hours ago in this hospital. He had no idea how long it had been since the disaster, how he had even managed to survive it, or which district he was in at the moment. His family was gone, his friends gone, the city he used to call home destroyed. And yet, despite it all, he forced a strained smile as his gaze drifted from the glass to the bed beside him, where his little sister, the only other survivor, lay fast asleep clutching a small, worn brown teddy bear to her chest.
He was really glad that she too, had somehow managed to survive.
Ren sighed and poured a bit more water into his glass. Just as before, he drank it greedily and then frowned. "Why has my throat been so dry since I woke up?"
He refilled the glass and gulped it down… but the dryness and thirst only got worse.
"What the hell?" He let the glass slip onto the bed and raised the jug, drinking straight from it until it was empty.
Yet… it wasn't enough. He was still thirsty, so thirsty he began coughing and gasping for air.
Ren tilted the jug high, desperate for even a drop, but when nothing came, he threw it aside and began scratching his throat as if that would make him feel any better.
"Aaahh… damn it! What is this?"
The thirst was so bad now that he could feel a searing migraine lance through his skull. He tried to rise, but his battered body refused him. Gritting his teeth, he scanned the room until his gaze fell on a small fishbowl with a few goldfish swimming slowly inside.
'Ren, don't do it… don't do it… don't…' The thought barely echoed in his mind before his hands shot forward, seizing the bowl. Then he lifted it to his lips and drank every drop of water.
***
Outside the hospital, just a few blocks away, a middle-aged man in a worn police uniform leaned against his car. The name on his ID read Kevin. He dragged on a cigarette, and beads of sweat rolled down his neck, not from the heat but rather from the icy chill that had settled over him as he stared at the tablet in his hands.
'Man… How the hell is this even possible?'
He flicked the screen revealing satellite images of District 6: a city that was just recently reduced to rubble. Skyscrapers were toppled, streets cracked open like dried earth, and everywhere lay the silent bodies of victims. Some had their blood drained, their pale, hollowed faces frozen in terror.
The man's jaw tightened and the horror burned behind his eyes as he scrolled further.
Then a photograph appeared of a man walking calmly away from the ruins, carrying a severed head in one hand.
Kevin knew what this man was. He was one of those beings who called themselves Viran, and probably the reason District 6 was in the ruined state it was now.
Virans were rare and highly feared elemental beings born with powers far beyond human comprehension. Yet they lived quietly among ordinary people, woven into the fabric of society.
Most civilians knew they existed: those strange individuals who could manipulate water, ignite flame, or fracture the earth with a glance. Some worked with the government, helping curb crime or advancing key industries. A handful were revered, even worshipped in secret.
But true knowledge about Virans, the origin of their power, their limits, remained buried beneath layers of rumor and half-truths. Most people went their entire lives without ever meeting one in person.
Only the highest levels of government and the upper echelons of law enforcement possessed fragments of the truth. And even they feared what they didn't fully understand, because within the Viran race existed a handful so powerful, so far removed from human limitation, they were spoken of like gods.
But still, for two powerful Virans to clash in the middle of a city, leveling an entire district and killing everyone in it, was beyond anything anyone could have imagined.
'I thought there were rules to prevent stuff like this?'
Kevin was still lost in thought when the sound of approaching footsteps pulled him back.
A woman rounded the corner, slipping her phone into her coat pocket as she walked briskly toward him, her black ponytail swaying with each step.
"What do we have?" Kevin asked when she stopped in front of him.
"I just got word from the hospital," she replied. "Two survivors from District 6 are awake. The girl's selectively mute, but we might be able to get some info from the boy."
"That's something," Kevin nodded, flicking his cigarette butt to the ground as he turned to enter the passenger seat. She was already sliding into the driver's side, adjusting the mirror quietly. The engine roared to life as they pulled away from the curb and drove toward the hospital.
***
Ren leaned back on the bed. His thirst had eased a little, and the migraine was no longer as searing as before. He wasn't exactly proud of what he had just done, but he had been so desperate that he saw no other choice. At this moment, he believed anyone in his position would probably have done the same thing.
'Thank goodness Anya didn't see me,' he thought, staring at his sister, who was still lying on the opposite bed with her back to him. He couldn't tell if she was awake or not.
Just then, Ren heard a knock on the door and a man in a worn police uniform stepped into the hospital room, followed by a young lady in a similar uniform and a black coat.
The man shivered as soon as he entered. 'Why is it so damn cold in here?' he thought, glancing around the small room. Then his expression twisted in confusion when he noticed the empty fishbowl sitting on the table beside the bed.
The woman, however, muttered tentatively, "Woah, it's freezing in here." She scanned the room before frowning at the inactive air conditioner. The eerie atmosphere made her skin crawl, and all she wanted was to get out.
Ren simply stared at them in silence. 'Aissh. What are the cops doing here? I'm not in the mood.'
The man cleared his throat, stepped forward, and held up his ID to begin the difficult conversation.
"Good day, Ren. Anya," he said with practiced calm. "I'm Officer Kevin, and this is my assistant, Ange. We're here to ask a few questions. I promise we won't take much of your time, I know you're still recovering. May I sit?"
Ren stared at him silently for a moment before nodding faintly.
Kevin pulled up a chair beside Ren and gave a small nod to Ange. She clicked her pen, flipped to a fresh page in her notebook, and prepared to take notes.
"How are you, by the way, Ren?" Kevin asked, his voice softening with genuine concern.
Ren's eyes met Kevin's briefly before he spoke, his voice flat and dry.
"Thirsty."
Kevin exchanged a quick glance with Ange. "Could you get him some water, please?"
Ange nodded and stepped out of the room to fetch a glass.
A minute later, she returned with a glass of water. Ren sat up slowly, a grimace flickering across his face. He took the glass without hesitation, drained it in one sharp gulp, and handed it back to her. Without a word, she set it down carefully on the table beside the empty fishbowl.
After a brief silence, Kevin cleared his throat and began, his tone calm but serious.
"You and your sister are in District 4 now. It's been a week since the incident."
He paused to let that settle, then added, "You were both found at the edge of the wreckage and brought here by the Department of Civil Recovery. You've been unconscious ever since."
Ren blinked slowly, processing the information. 'Oh... so that's what happened.'
Finally, he knew which district he was in, how he had been brought here, and how long he had been unconscious. It also gave him a small idea as to why his throat was probably this dry.
Kevin adjusted slightly in his seat.
"Can you please tell us what you remember, anything at all... before everything went… wrong?"
Ren didn't respond immediately. The room was silent for a moment before he let out a heavy sigh and began in a hesitant tone.
"…It was Anya's birthday."
His voice sounded detached, almost distant, as if he were recounting someone else's memory. "My family and I were at the park. We were just about to head home when a strange man approached my mom, Rhesa. I didn't hear everything, but they were arguing. Then…"
His brows knit together, and his voice dropped to a low murmur. "...He did something. I don't know what it was. But the clouds, they changed. They went dark... but not just dark. They were covered in something. I don't know if I should call it a veil. A veil of blood."
Ange's hand froze over her notebook. Ren continued, barely blinking.
"It started to rain. It wasn't water. It was red and warm. It smelled like iron. People started screaming... running... but it didn't help."
His eyes locked on Kevin's now. There was no fear in them, only a deep, still horror. "It wasn't the sky that changed. It felt like the world itself was shifting, something ancient and wrong, unraveling... And then I heard it..."