Chapter 1

"Where am I? Oh, right, school... I need to go now, I think," the young teenager mumbled to himself. He wore a white polo adorned with a school logo over his chest paired with well-tailored black slacks and polished black leather shoes.

He observed the room with familiarity. A room is structured with simple, plain white walls, a brown ceiling, and floor tiles designed like a wooden pattern. One that caught his attention the most was the window in his room.

Witnessing the outside was a regret, even for a dream; noises appeared suddenly out of nowhere. Car alarms, explosions, strange howling noises, screaming in terror, crying—everything was a mess, panicking like the end of the world suddenly fell before them.

"Wha...what the hell is happening here?!"

He also didn't get spared among the people in the fear and panic that gripped them. Without needing to know what was happening, his instinct urged him to run and leave the house to seek safety. 

He was trembling as he backed away before turning back to run quickly towards the door. He reached the doorknob with his hands trembling as he turned the doorknob.

Stepping outside and leaving the room behind, he found himself next to a ruined city. He was surprised, and no fear was felt, but what surprised him were the creatures spread throughout the area. 

Those creatures standing before him were numerous, insects and birds larger than vehicles; each might be a different type of insect or bird, but one common thing was found: the purple vein around their bodies was glowing. 

Not far from him, he saw a giant, dark purple hue crack throbbing in the midair, a rift. In the rift, more and more creatures were drawn towards it; some of them had a form of fluid connected to them, and the rift was like sucking their life essence. Those creatures were no longer getting sucked, the purple veins losing their color and turning white before the said creatures faded into the world.

Not wanting to pay more attention, his eyes wandered around the site, and among the debris, he found a broken glass that could reflect himself. The reflection shows himself as taller and more manly than when he last saw himself cowering inside the room. His face might resemble what he was, but more features were shown—a part that was not supposed for humans to have. 

His skin was dull like dead flesh, his cheeks were almost wrapped in purple veins, and his supposed-to-be black eyes were now purple. 

"I see, I was one of them. That's right. How could I forget what they have done? They must pay thousands for what they have taken. A life for a life," he said in the silence of the air.

He walked slowly, approaching the giant rift. He slowly reached for it. If the rift was the one sucking the life essence of the creatures, this man standing before the rift was and will be the one in turn to suck the rift. The man's body was slowly becoming covered with more purple veins, and his eyes were shining purple light, which later exploded and turned into a purple particle almost similar to clouds colored in purple to human eyes.

"Wait, what?!" Inside another room different from before, a young boy suddenly wakes up from a nightmare where he sees himself exploding. He was breathing and calming himself, like he did feel and experience the dream he had. 

"Ughh, I hate having that dream. I should've stopped watching too much horror." He mumbled, like watching horror was just breathing for him, despite trembling before even the horror movie began.

"Kevin! Kevin! Breakfast is ready! Get down now!" He could hear his mother's voice outside his room. 

"Coming," he replied. Kevin got out of bed and started folding the blanket and organizing the pillows he had used before leaving the room. When he reached for the door, his body was a little hesitant.

"Why do I feel something will happen if I open this door? Do dreams affect people's thinking?" he pondered silently.

"You don't hold back speaking what's on your mind, do you?" the door retorted, startling Kevin.

"Ahhh! The door spoke!? I knew it! This has to be another dream!" Kevin shouted, his face carved with a surprised expression.

"Ohh, silly you, Aunt told me to get you. You're taking your time," Kevin's childhood friend interrupted as she swung the door open. The girl was a foreigner from afar but lived in the household of Alexandro, her father's trusted friend. She is currently staying here due to her father's work responsibilities, and he can't let his daughter live alone in their house. 

For some unknown reason, she was born with unique dark blue hair and violet eyes that stood out since they held a shade similar to purple—a hue that brought fear among the surviving residents, secured away from the infected. Still, an infected distinguishing feature should show purple veins across the body, an indicative sign of infection.

Kevin's voice held a mixture of slight confusion and relief as he glanced at Iris. His childhood friend met his gaze with a sad expression—a hint of wanting the attention of her only family.

"Yeah, my father contacted your parents last night and told them that he has an urgent matter to attend to and mentioned I'll stay here for a while longer." The air between them became heavier as each second passed.

"Come on, cheer up! You're too beautiful to wear such a sad face! It's a waste if you keep that up, you know?" Kevin said, carving a gentle smile into his face as he reached out to pat Iris's head.

A faint smile finally shows at the corners of Iris's lips, but her eyes still hold a little sadness. "You know, for someone young? You always know how to sweet-talk every moment you have a chance," she replied with a deep sigh, releasing a breath that carried a hint of blue.

"Hahaha, well, I will try my best." Kevin giggled awkwardly, forcing a smile.

"It's not a compliment, Kevin. Sometimes, I do wonder if one day I'll see you out there, sweet-talking every girl you meet! You did take your father's advice seriously," Iris said with a trace of teasing concern mixed in her voice.

Kevin's face shifts to his usual expression. "Seriously, what kind of person do you think I am?"

Before Iris could respond, Kevin's father called out from downstairs, interrupting their conversation. "Kevin! Iris! What's taking you two so long? Breakfast is ready! It will get cold sooner!"

"We should go," Iris said softly.

Nodding in agreement, Kevin and Iris made their way downstairs, joining them for breakfast.

"Good morning, Mom. Good morning, Dad." Kevin greeted his parents with a warm smile as he entered the dining room. The scent of freshly cooked breakfast greeted him.

"Good morning, Kevin." His mother and father greet him back.

Taking their seats around the table, the family began to eat, the clinking of spoons and forks against plates going along with the usual bond the family had, conversation.

"I heard there's a MrV outbreak not far from our city," Kevin's mother raised, her voice carrying a trace of concern.

Kevin's father nodded, agreeing, "Yes, I heard about that too. Soon, it might get closer to our city. We might need to start packing and leave as soon as possible."

"What about the city's defender and repellant? Aren't they supposed to keep us safe?" Kevin said in worry and curiosity.

Everyone looks at Kevin with a confused expression. 'Is there something on my face? Why is everyone looking at me like that? I'm just asking a question,' Kevin thought.

His sudden rise of the question met with a short silence, and Kevin, who looked confused and a little self-conscious, asked himself, 'What's wrong? Why is everyone looking at me like that? I'm just asking.'

"What's wrong? Something on my face?" Kevin questions.

His father sighed, exchanging glances with Kevin's mother. "You're not aware? You know that a city's defenders do not specialize in fighting, but defending and securing citizens is what they specialize in; without the repellent, those infected won't decrease right? The thing is, most of our city's repellant has been redeployed somewhere else. We're left with a little protection here and mainly relying on the defenders."

Kevin's eyes widened in surprise. "Redeployed again? Doesn't the GR, make sure that every city has enough defenders and repellants to protect the citizens from infected? Every time the GR redeployed a repellant somewhere, another city would end up getting swarmed by infected."

His father shook his head. "I know how you feel, but, unfortunately, it's not that simple. You know that the GR has to make this kind of decision, if they let a single Rift Warden evolve even with a low chance, it will cause massive destruction if it succeeds."

"..." Kevin didn't answer or question further; his father was right. You can't just sacrifice a single city for the birth of a destruction that could affect the most later on.

Feeling the heaviness of the conversation, Kevin's mother steps in with a gentle smile. "Let's not talk about it further. Now, let's enjoy our meal, shall we?"

The pressure eased slightly as they returned their attention to their plates.