The café was warm, the soft light of the hanging lamps spilling across the tables, cutting through the dusk that had settled over the city. The streets outside were alive with the usual bustle of city life—people heading home from work, groups of friends laughing as they passed by, the distant hum of cars. Nina stretched her arms, letting out …

Vincent woke up to the familiar dim light creeping through the curtains. His body was still, but his mind was already churning, pulling back to the last conversation he had with Ellen. “The answers to your problems, Vincent, lie in the core reason for the monsters’ appearance. You need to understand where all this—awakenings, monsters, dungeons—comes from. Only then will …

Vincent woke up with a start, the faint morning light filtering through the curtains. His head felt heavy, a dull ache behind his eyes. He pushed aside the tangled sheets and sat up. He stood, dragging himself to the bathroom. The cold tiles under his feet sent a slight shiver through him as he approached the sink. He turned on …

In the world of awakeners, strength wasn’t set in stone. Upon awakening, individuals were ranked from E to S, with E being the lowest and S reserved for those with unimaginable power. However, a person’s initial rank didn’t necessarily determine their limits. While awakening at a low rank suggested a lack of natural strength or ability, anyone could break past …

The training room buzzed with the low murmur of new awakeners gathered in clusters, some eyeing the array of weapons laid out along the walls, replicas of real blades, daggers, staffs, and guns designed for training purposes. But even as imitations, the sight of the weapons stirred a mix of nervousness and excitement in the group. Vincent stood near the …

After a month Vincent stood at the foot of Horizon Guild’s massive corporate building, its towering glass windows reflecting the morning sun. The air was filled with a nervous tension that was hard to ignore. Around him, other unregistered awakeners milled about, some chatting in low voices, others standing alone, lost in thought. They had all received the same call—an …

Vincent sat in the sterile, minimalistic office, his gaze flicking to the strange, almost too-clean walls. Ellen, the therapist, was seated across from him. She is young—he could tell by her soft features and the way she moved, with a kind of quiet energy. But there was something else about her, something that made him uneasy. Mysterious, like a puzzle …

Vincent was running. The world around him twisted, folding into itself like a paper. The colors of the city, of the park, bled into a thick, syrupy haze, stretching beyond recognition. Buildings shifted into impossible shapes—walls bending where they shouldn’t, corridors looping back onto themselves. He could hear the hum of something, far off but growing closer, like the low …

Vincent was running. The world around him twisted, folding into itself like a paper. The colors of the city, of the park, bled into a thick, syrupy haze, stretching beyond recognition. Buildings shifted into impossible shapes—walls bending where they shouldn’t, corridors looping back onto themselves. He could hear the hum of something, far off but growing closer, like the low …

Nina leaned back in her chair, her fingers tapping rhythmically on the armrest. The room was dim, save for the glow of a large screen in front of her. On it played a grainy video—the security footage from the park incident, where Vincent had effortlessly taken down three monsters. Three A-rank monsters. It wasn’t her first time watching it, nor …