Prologue & Chapter One: The Masanori Crest

Prologue

Marino Masanori's feet plowed through the soft, crunchy snow. He had just been a witness to one of the most gruesome murders in all of Nimata.

Chapter One: The Masanori Crest

 "I'll see you soon, Marino!" Uemura shouted. The girl was nine, so Marino was the only one who was trusted enough to leave for anything on his own. 

This was nothing new to Marino- he had been doing this for as long as he could remember. His mother would always promise that she would be home in time for dinner- or really any important event, but always failed to show up, leaving all of the housework to him. Marino was greeted by the sharp crunch of snow as he stepped outside, the familiar cold of Nimata plastering his skin, and the frost-encrusted Masanori crest hanging above the old wooden mantle of their house.

 As he walked, he hummed himself a tune. It was a tedious song that he could never really seem to get right no matter how hard he tried. His parents used to sing the song to him when he was about Uemura's age, but he never really knew exactly what the lyrics were, after his father presumably died in an explosion that also killed one of Marino's brothers. 

 Finally, Marino reached the small town of Tsa, the town bordering Nimata, and was about a thirty-minute walk from where he lived. It was a nice place that sat on a cliff, overlooking the town of Gyōsha Supaisu, where most of the spices were grown. Tsa was a relatively small town with sparse citizens, and due to this, they had a plentiful amount of supplies that they didn't utilize. Marino made full use of this and always came here when shopping.

 Marino purchased a new hatchet- one that he was sure would be sufficient- and made his way back toward his house, where he was sure he would once again be greeted by his ever-pestering sister.

 Once he finally arrived home, Marino stepped through the gate of their manor and reached up to tap the crest that sat in the center of it, as he always did. As he stepped through the wooden doorframe, his face went dead still. He had never felt such intense fear in his life, and his body had no way of processing it. Strewn across the floor like children's toys- was his family, bloodied and unmoving. Marino, teary-eyed, finally regained his composure and stepped into the room, crushing an already broken glass plate. He looked down the hall, and fear crashed into his senses.

 His sister, Uemura, lay motionless on the floor-- he was certain that she might still have a chance of being alive…but his mother. His mother had come home when she said she would today, but that had been her definite undoing. Her body was mangled beyond recognition, and she lay almost frozen in a pool of blood. Next to her stood a man in some sort of uniform. He held a large combat knife in his left hand, and a piece of glass was stabbed into his right. Marino stepped back, observing the man's clothes- and to his dismay, it was an indisputable fact that he was a Raider. Raiders had been an enormous problem within the last 20 years since the King of Nimata had died, leaving most to their own devices. 

 Marino stepped back- and he froze with intense fear the instant the floorboards creaked underneath his feet. The raider, alerted by this noise, whipped around to look at him. His face was surprisingly chiseled, aside from a horrible cut that ran through his eye vertically across his face. Marino was plastered in a cold sweat and was frozen with fear, eyes locked in a staredown with the Raider.

 Dammit!! Marino thought to himself. No matter how hard he tried, he stayed frozen in place. This wasn't from fear anymore- he wanted to move- it was from something else. He struggled and struggled as the man continued to get closer and closer until he was inches from Marino's face.

 The man exhaled an icy cold breath, sizing Marino up. "Now just how did I miss you?" He said. Marino stared into his eyes with a mix of extreme anger and fear, his body seeming to tingle- as if undergoing an electric shock. "I was gone," Marino said, shivering with fear. The Raider outstretched his right arm to Marino's neck, knife in hand. "No matter," He said. "Even if you wanted to escape, you couldn't." He gestured down to Marino's feet- which were frozen in place with ice. Marino's eyes widened in shock as he stared in disbelief at this phenomenon.

 The Raider let out a short, pained laugh at Marino's expression. "You don't know what an Awakening is, do you?" Marino looked back up to him.

The static grew stronger.

 "N-no," Marino stuttered in response. The Raider seemed to find this rather amusing but kept his cold demeanor as he released the knife from Marino's neck. Was he not going to kill him? "Knowing as much won't help you when you're dead, so I'll spare you the lecture." The Raider swung his knife at Marino's chest before he could react.

 The knife flew across the room at insane speeds as it seemed to be repulsed by Marino's body. The Raider stared at Marino, surprised- as he was now coated in an electric aura. Marino was, at this point, no longer in control of his own body. It was acting on its own- purely on instinct. 

 The Raider once again took on his unwavering cold stare, as he was no longer surprised. Jagged blades of ice began to protrude from his arms, and a cold mist began to surround him. He spoke, but not to Marino- he seemed to be taking notes to himself. "Magnetism…? Or maybe electricity?" The Raider sprinted forward, clawed ice hand at the ready, and Marino unmoving. 

 The Raider swung with his claw- but just as he thought he had slashed Marino, he disappeared. The Raider looked around, puzzled. "If it was electricity, he should only be able to use it for external attacks-"

 The Raider was slammed into the ground by an unseen force. He cursed to himself and screamed at the air. "JUST WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU?!" 

Marino reappeared about five feet away from him, dusting off his shoulders. "I'm just about as in the dark as you are." 

 The Raider charged Marino, slicing wildly, but every time, Marino seemed to vibrate and then dodge every slash. Marino's thoughts raged, trying to figure out what he was doing and how he was doing it, but it was purely instinctual. After dodging another slash, Marino stopped in front of the Raider. "I suppose it's time that we wrap this up, huh?" The Raider laughed. "Sure, kid." He outstretched his hand, before letting loose a blast of liquid nitrogen at insane speeds. 

 Marino attempted to dodge, but it was futile, and the blast connected. The nitrogen seemed to burn with cold as it froze Marino's entire left half, jagged spikes of ice beginning to form. Marino could no longer feel anything, his entire body going numb with pain. The raider sighed nonchalantly, his claws of ice disappearing. "The frostbite will finish you off in about an hour. Hold your head high, kid. You almost gave me a challenge." The raider then turned away, exiting the house.

Marino just stood there. It had been a good half hour since The Raider had left, and to nobody's surprise, Marino's condition had only worsened-

Marino's head swung to the side as he heard a door open. He focused his eyes, and could barely make out a vague figure, seemingly female. She said something, but the ringing in Marino's ears drowned out any traces of sound. The woman seemed to sigh, before placing her hand on his head. A rush of warmth overwhelmed Marino's head, a brief feeling of ecstasy, before he passed out.