The sound of screaming sank into West's ear as he slowed his steps while walking down the street.
The sound echoed between concrete buildings still damp from the early-morning drizzle. A small crowd had gathered near the intersection two blocks from his apartment.
People lingered just far enough away to feel safe but close enough to watch.
West already knew what it was.
He sighed.
Another one.
A black sedan sat sideways in the middle of the road with its hood crushed inward like it had slammed into a wall at full speed. Smoke curled up from the engine. The front doors were torn clean off and tossed aside like scrap metal.
A man was pinned against a streetlight.
Pinned there by the air.
His feet dangled inches above the ground with his arms flailing uselessly as invisible pressure crushed his chest. Blood trickled from his mouth as he gasped for breath.
Standing in front of him were three young men in matching dark red jackets, stitched with a silver fang emblem.
Street-level gang.
West recognized the symbol instantly.
The Red Fangs.
One of the gang members who was a tall guy with braided hair and glowing amber eyes, clicked his tongue impatiently.
"I told you," the man said calmly, "don't skim."
The man pinned to the pole sobbed. "I-I swear, I'll pay it back—"
The air tightened.
The streetlight bent inward with a metallic shriek.
West felt the pressure from where he stood.
The gang member exhaled slowly, then snapped his fingers.
The invisible force vanished.
The man collapsed onto the pavement, coughing violently, clutching his chest like it might cave in again.
"That," the gang member said, "was your warning."
He turned.
That's when West noticed the police.
Two patrol cars were parked nearby. Lights on. Officers standing just beyond the gang members with hands resting lightly on their belts.
Not intervening.
Not moving.
One of the officers stepped forward cautiously and bowed his head.
"Everything resolved here, sir?"
The gang member glanced at him, unimpressed. "Yeah. We're done."
The officer nodded immediately. "Of course. Have a good day."
West rolled his eyes.
As expected, no arrests, no questions, no resistance.
The Red Fangs walked past the police like kings leaving a theater and boots crunching broken glass underfoot. The crowd parted instinctively to make room.
As they passed West, one of them glanced at him.
Their eyes met for half a second.
West felt a faint pressure ripple through his chest...
Power.
The gang member smirked faintly, then kept walking.
West released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.
"Disgusting," someone muttered nearby.
Another voice replied with a bitter tone. "At least they didn't kill him."
West shook his head and continued toward school.
This was normal now.
It had been for years.
---
Awakening hadn't come with a grand announcement.
No worldwide broadcast.
No divine revelation.
Just… people changing.
At first, it was isolated cases. Strange incidents. Strength that didn't make sense. People surviving things they shouldn't have. Rumors spread online, dismissed as hoaxes.
Then came the classifications.
Tier 0: Dormant. Unawakened.
Tier 1: Entry-level supernatural awakening.
Tier 2 and above: Rare. Dangerous. Untouchable.
The government tried to regulate it.
That lasted six months.
After the first Tier 2 leveled an entire city block during a confrontation, regulations quietly shifted into partnerships. Enforcement became negotiation.
And negotiation became submission.
Gangs rose first.
Street gangs that used to fight with knives and guns suddenly had members who could crush cars barehanded, manipulate elements, or warp space for a few seconds at a time. Territory stopped being about numbers and became about who had awakened.
Then came the Factions which were larger, older and more organized.
Groups that had existed in shadows long before Awakening: secret societies, legacy organizations, bloodline families—stepped into the light and claimed what they believed was theirs.
And finally, the Mafia Families.
The true rulers.
Their bloodlines produced awakenings more frequently. Their children awakened earlier. Their abilities were stronger, more refined. Some said it was genetics. Others whispered about ancient pacts and inherited power.
No one knew the full truth.
Only that when a Mafia Family claimed a city, the city obeyed.
West passed a massive digital billboard showing a smiling politician shaking hands with a sharply dressed man whose eyes glowed faintly crimson.
UNITY THROUGH COOPERATION, the slogan read.
Everyone knew what it meant.
---
He finally arrived at school.
The building looked the same as it always had—gray concrete, reinforced windows, security gates upgraded twice since Awakening began. Students streamed in through the entrance with high energy and loud voices.
West adjusted his backpack strap and stepped inside.
The hallway buzzed.
"Did you hear about the ruin they found last night?"
"My cousin's cousin is trying to get in with the Iron Serpents."
"Tier 1 awakeners get priority internships now."
Ruin~
That word carried weight.
West slowed slightly as a group of students huddled near the lockers with their phones and eyes wide.
"Downtown industrial zone," one of them said. "They sealed it already."
"Doesn't matter," another replied. "People will still rush it."
Ruins weren't ancient in the traditional sense.
They appeared after Awakening.
No one knew where they came from.
One day, a place was normal.
The next, it wasn't.
Reality twisted inward. Space bent. Buildings folded into impossible angles. Symbols appeared that no known language could translate. Anyone who entered without protection risked death—or worse.
But they also held rewards.
Artifacts. Techniques. Crystals that enhanced awakening. Relics that bonded to bloodlines. Even recorded abilities—fragments of power that could be inherited or implanted.
That's why everyone rushed them.
That's why gangs and factions fought wars over them.
And that's why the city never truly slept anymore.
West reached his classroom and took his seat near the window.
Outside, he could see the faint outline of the city skyline. Somewhere out there, ruins waited to be claimed. Somewhere out there, people climbed the hierarchy without looking back.
He rested his chin in his hand.
And somewhere out there, he thought, 'I'm still Tier 0.'
The system stirred faintly at the edge of his perception.
> [ Uncompleted Quest ]