A tired-looking young man dragged himself across the walkway, the sun burning down his back, his legs barely able to carry him. His suit was disheveled, and his eyes sunken in, his jet-black hair now a hot mess. He oozed sweat and desperation. Fifteen hours straight, he had worked for fifteen hours. His fingers ached, his brain pounded; everything was killing him. Rion was tired of life as a whole.
He walked by a store and noticed a vending machine at the side that sold snacks. He paused, his gaze lingering on it for a bit before he dug his hand into his trouser pocket and pulled out a bill. He wobbled his way over to the machine; the smell of wet cigarette stubs and piss filled the air around it.
'Tsk, humans are uncultured,' he thought as he slipped the bill inside and pushed the button for the one he wanted—a Snooker chocolate bar. The bar dropped out, and he picked it up. "Guess I'm lucky today; it didn't get stuck," he muttered. He ripped open the package, took a bite of it, and allowed the sweetness to wash over his tongue, then started walking again.
This was the only sweetness he could look forward to, the only treat he could enjoy, because everything else to him was gray, heavy, and filled with pain. After he lost his parents at the very young age of twelve, he clawed through life, studying and becoming the top of his class, earning himself scholarships to study.
It was hell to keep those scholarships. He had no friends, no love, no fun, everything he devoted his life to was the books, in hopes that they would structure his future. And the only time he finally got a friend, and a girlfriend, they ended up cheating on him together.
'People will hurt you, people will break you, but the chocolate bar only brings sweetness.'
After that, he focused on his academics even more and believed he would reach the top with the use of his intellect. But when he was done, he discovered a few key words: nepotism, bribery, and connections. He learned that your brain can only take you so far.
In the current world he lived in, there were classes of people, the Awakened, the rich, and then people like him, the useless. What exactly were the Awakened? Well, they were people Rion couldn't bother himself with, so he didn't think about them, until he lifted the chocolate up to his mouth and then noticed something forming on his hand.
It was a mark. As it grew, it began burning, so hot that Rion couldn't hold onto the chocolate, and it fell to the ground. He stared at the mark, face twisted in fear and pain. It kept growing until it formed into a three-point star turned upside down, and then it stopped.
"No, no, no, this can't be real," Rion spoke, his eyes wide in fear and confusion. He knew what this mark meant, but how could something like this be happening to him?
Long ago, humanity tampered with certain powers beyond their human control. They touched things that should never have been touched—all in their hunt for resources, and that opened a gate that could no longer be closed, a gate that changed everything for the planet.
The gate to the God's Domain was opened—a place where up was down and down was up. The logic of humanity fell apart; nothing made sense anymore. From the depths of the gates came creatures known as Domain Monsters. They terrified humanity, destroying everything in their wake and almost bringing the absolute destruction of all humanity.
Until one day, the first Awakened was born, the first Hunter, from the blood of a Domain Monster. It was an accident—an accident that forever changed the trajectory of humanity, creating people that could gain abilities strong enough to battle the monsters and aid humanity.
After many years, humanity finally managed to drive the monsters back, but the gates could never be closed. And so, the Hunters were created. From childbirth, all children received a mandatory injection, and if they had any latent power tied to the Domain, they would awaken one day and immediately have to head into the Domain.
When someone awakened, they would receive a mark and be sent in immediately. In the past, the Awakened were allowed to stay outside, but their abilities soon started affecting them and turned them into uncontrollable monsters that sought to kill. Those within the gates didn't, so it was believed that they must enter the gate immediately after awakening, to join the fight for humanity.
Rion stared at the mark, his heart racing, pounding in his chest so hard he felt like he would faint. He tried to keep himself composed, but then a man walked out from the corner, cigarette in hand. He locked eyes with Rion, then his gaze drifted to Rion's hand, where he saw the mark. Immediately, he stepped back.
"No, no, please, you don't understand," Rion tried to talk to the man, but he immediately pulled out his phone and dialed a number.
"Please, no, stop, calm down," Rion begged, but the call was already connected, and to make matters worse, it was a video call. The man pointed the screen at Rion, revealing him to whoever was there, as it was a one-way video call.
The man cut the call, looked at Rion with fear in his eyes, and turned back the way he came.
At this point, Rion understood that there was no running from this. He walked to the wall beside the vending machine, placed his back against it, and slid down to the ground, head slightly tilted to look at the sky one more time.
Inside him, he was scared and anticipating. He didn't know what exactly to feel. He slowly lifted his hand and looked at the mark; he didn't know what to think about it.
"Sigh, it can't be worse than what I live already," he muttered.
SCREECH
A car pulled over, a black,SUV with tinted glasses. Two men came out of the back in black suits and glasses, heading straight for Rion.