The Day It All Began

BOOM!

In the blink of an eye, multiple explosions reduced several buildings and structures at the edge of the great city of Azarock to mere particles of dust, the shockwave emitted from the explosions rippled through the air—sending several debris of rocks and building chunks in every direction.

"Run Roy!" A distressed voice exclaimed to his son, the catastrophe that befell their very city was too great for anyone to withstand.

"Roy!!" A feminine voice called out to the same child.

A huge chunk of rock from one of the destroyed buildings descended towards the child who had fallen to his face, his knee bruised after tripping on a rock as he attempted to save his own life.

"Roy!" The feminine voice called out again, sprinting towards the child with all the speed her legs permitted her.

[Two hours earlier]

"Go Magna!" A child voiced out within the confines of his living room. Gazing upon their fifty inch television, him and his parents watched with extreme happiness, the headlines which stated that their city's mightiest hero, Magna, had finally defeated the man who posed a great threat to their towns prosperity.

This child, Roy Hiroto, is nine year old who lived in the city of Azarock. Being the only child of his parents, he was beloved and showered with love and affection as his brilliance proved to be a fabulous thing to be proud of.

"Hey mom, dad, do you think I can be like Magna? A hero who will be able to save the whole world?" As kids we all had dreams, people we looked up too and admired wholeheartedly.

His parents chuckled, fully aware that it was an impossible dream to follow. Unlike the fortunate ones in Azarock, Roy and his family were unable to awaken the Soul-core — a supernatural phenomenon within an individual that allowed them to achieve supernatural abilities.

"You don't need to become like Magna to make a difference, you are special the way you are because you can inspire people. Much like you inspired us." His mother replied, crafting a radiant smile which left a warm feeling in the heart of her son.

Growing up as a child, Roy possessed an undying passion, some might call it the will of fire, to continue in the footsteps of those heroes he looked up to. However...

[Currently]

"Roy!" His parents exclaimed, simultaneously pushing him away seconds before the huge chunk of rock could crush his feeble body.

The boy pushed further to the ground, groaned slightly as his leg was covered in bruises from his mistep previously.

"Mother....father.." He uttered softly, holding his head tightly as he raised his body from the ground.

Turning to face his parents who had saved him momentarily, ridden by disbelief, his eyes expanded beyond the limits it normally could.

"Mother! Father!"

He sprinted swiftly towards his parents whose lower half of their bodies were crushed by the large rock.

"Mother! Father!" He cried out, attempting to push the rock away from them with tears rolling down his cheeks uncontrollably.

Balls of flames descended swiftly around them, produced by the menace who attacked their neighborhood.

"It's...no use Roy." With a less audible voice, his mother spoke with blood dripping down her mouth.

"Save..yourself Roy, while you still can." His father chimed in, his consciousness slowly fading away.

Levitating in the air several meters away from them, Magna engaged in combat with the progenitor of the chaos that rained down upon them.

"Magna! Magna!"

Roy called out to his idol.

"Please help me! Please save my mom and dad!" He pleaded, unfortunately for Roy, Magna didn't answer his call. It could be that he was far away from them.

A trail of Gasoline that leaked from a nearby car was set ablaze from the flames thrown by the menace. Like a ferocious predator, the flames headed swiftly towards the car.

Realizing this, Roy cried even more, attempting to push away the rock that crushed his parents.

"Run... Roy.. please." With her final words, his mother's consciousness faded completely, as well as that of his father's.

Closing his eyes and gritting his teeth, he ran away swiftly from them. Before he could cover a considerable distance, the car nearby exploded, engulfing everything in sight including his parents in flames.

The shockwave arising by the explosion knocked him off his feet, sending him flying into a broken wall before ultimately falling to the ground.

Truly the casualties that resulted from the battle between Magna and his nemesis was one Roy could not comprehend.

Groaning in pain, the young child rose to his feet and gazed upon the destruction right in front of him.

"Mother!! Father!!" Coming back to his senses, he understood what had become of his parents and as a result, he weeped heavily on his knees.

Gazing into the sky with his teary eyes, Roy's sights was set on Magna who smiled radiantly after putting an end to his battle.

Gritting his teeth in anger, Roy glanced at the number one hero in Azarock and the criminal he fought with rage in his eyes. None of this would have happened if Magna didn't neglect the golden rule of heroism—protect the weak.

Following this incident, six years passed since the death of his parents and nothing changed. Everytime he witnessed the never-ending battle between the heroes and villains, the scene of his parents demise was constantly replayed in his head.

"Do you know what it feels like to be trapped within a continuous loop? Where you relive the single most painful moment of your life? Devoid of happiness, mental peace, where the concept of life and death itself doesn't matter anymore."

Looking back at his history, very little could understand this. The heroes we all looked up to, the heroes we all adored and wished to become, in reality none of those petty dreams mattered anymore. He came to realize that putting faith in those heroes became the reason he lost everything.

"That is what it means to suffer a fate far worse than death."