Every day began the same as it should be—the sun rose to chase the moon away, the people crowded the streets for work. This normalcy, so precious in this dying world, bored Luciel.
It had been two months since he killed the drunken bastard. The memory of that day had faded away, only to be remembered by the ashes from his scarlet flame. The ability he'd acquired felt more like a curse than a blessing.
To most normal dwellers in the slums, it didn't matter if the whole world was burning as long as they could survive one more day.
But now that Luciel had become the owner of the scarlet flame, he couldn't pretend to be ordinary anymore. Whether he liked it or not, he had to change his mindset. Thinking like an ordinary person now would be fatal to his life.
As a wanderer and a seasoned survivalist, he had obviously heard whispers of the world of the supernatural. This world was dominated by those who had similar supernatural abilities to Luciel, and they were called Resonators.
Like a frog in a well, he didn't know of this world until he escaped from the slums and ventured into the Districts of the Noxio Federation. He had long been living outside the prestigious Districts of the Noxio Federation where the useless in the eyes of the Federation were left to rot, so it made sense that there was a gap of information.
The Noxio Federation didn't care much about its Outlands. The Districts, however, were a different story. Twenty-four Districts, each had its purposes and inner workings, were the target of Luciel's next plan.
Of course, entering the Districts wasn't a simple endeavor. Even District 24, or District Omega, was difficult to enter without a proper plan. It was manageable, though.
Even though Outlands dwellers feared the Districts, what they didn't know was that distinction of class ran rampant in the Districts as well. District Omega, for example, was an Outer District, boasting poorer security and higher crime rate than those of Inner Districts.
That was how Luciel was able to sneak in District Omega easily. From what he'd gathered, District Omega took pride in their black market system. Sellers and buyers were ensured of complete anonymity and safety while handling deals.
The authorities having no interest in controlling District Omega was another cherry on top, so crimes such as corruption and money laundering were frequent.
That didn't matter to Luciel. What mattered was the complete anonymity part. He needed money to survive, and he definitely couldn't reveal the fact that he was a Resonator.
Usually, one would think that by revealing himself as a Resonator at a young age would grant him a life of luxury befitting of a genius, and that thought flashed in his mind as well.
However, he stumbled upon a crucial piece of information that saved his life: throughout all recorded history, no one had ever awakened before the age of sixteen.
He was an anomaly. There were no rules or precedent for that. If he were to reveal himself to the whole world, especially in the Federation, he could bid his life farewell. Only fear, speculation, and questions that drew the wrong kind of attention.
In any case, he'd determined to hide himself for as long as possible, but he was ambitious as well. How could he not be? Stagnation meant death in a world like this. He didn't want to stay in the Outlands forever.
So with the power he had, he could now do what Resonators had always done—hunt for Hollow Creatures. It was the fastest way to make money.
He heard that materials from Hollow Creatures could sell decently on the black market. If the odds were in his favor, he could fetch a Hollow Core and be rich enough to last for at least a month.
Of course, he had to study about Hollow Creatures. He couldn't exactly run in to fight one only to realize it was beyond what he could handle, right? And so for weeks, he heard through the grapevine and collected information about this Hollow thing in general.
What a Hollow Breakout was, how Hollow Creatures looked like, classification of Hollow Creatures, and so on. He filtered out the unnecessary information for now and only focused on what to do for survival: how to recognize a Low-Stratum Hollow, where its weak points were, and how to harvest the loot before Resonators or patrols swept in.
Then came the September rain. He'd determined to risk his life on a Low-Stratum Hollow. Hollow Creatures were classified into different Strata, and the lowest was Stratum One. He heard that sometimes Stratum One or Two Hollows leaked into the Outlands during minor Breakouts—not that he'd ever seen one.
Although it was clear that Hollow Breakouts happened often. Before becoming a Resonator, he'd always wondered why there were frequent sirens in the Districts. It turned out to be evacuation orders whenever a Breakout occurred.
That was why Luciel was leisurely waiting for the siren outside a run-down drug store. The moment the warning was announced, he would come to the crux of the Breakout and follow the trails of escaped Hollows. Sneakily, of course.
As Luciel paced around the abandoned store, he thought of nothing. His steps were even and uniformed, his breathing was in rhythm. He showed no nervousness at all despite the imminent battle against a Hollow.
Because that was just how it was. Survival.
Nothing had changed. The only thing that changed was his targets—from humans to Hollow Creatures.
He waited until night came. His body sprawled on the wooden floorboard as he gazed the night sky, thinking, 'When is that siren going to go off?'
As luck would have it, it happened.
The siren rang loudly and incessantly through the depth of night for a couple minutes until an announcement came through.
[This is an emergency announcement. There has been sightings of a Hollow Breakout west of District Omega, near the Burson Bank. If you are near the Breakout Zone, evacuate immediately and seek nearby authorities. Help is on the way. This is not a drill. I repeat...]
"Burson Bank, huh? I'm a few blocks away," he muttered.
Luciel had, of course, learned the map of District Omega thoroughly. He had also wandered around the District, so he knew the ins and outs more than the typical locals here.
Without much thought, he stood up from the wooden floorboard and ran through the night, barely containing his excitement for his first hunt. He broke no sweat as he sprinted through the dark alleyways of the District.
He ran the determined path that he had planned. Patrol routes would be chaotic during the Breakout, so he took advantage of that and kept to the shadows.
He glanced upward and saw Resonator flares arched high above. This meant he had to watch far from the sideline, lest he wanted to be noticed by Resonators on patrol.
The sirens gradually became louder as he approached the Breakout Zone, or it could've been his mind alerting of imminent danger, but he didn't care. An opportunity to test himself was here. An opportunity to make money and live somewhat comfortably was here. No way he would ever miss that chance.
He soon arrived at the designated vantage point, invisible to the naked eye. Although there were some unplannable risks such as a Resonator having abilities related to sniffing out people, Luciel believed his plan could be executed successfully.
The noise started to thicken around the Breakout Zone. By the sound of voices and footsteps, he estimated ten to twenty people had arrived to deal with the Breakout. He decided to take a peek and watch the scene unfold.
What caught his eye was the fragmented slit hovering just over the road, resembling a portal. Locals called it a Distortion. Seeing it himself was a good experience to learn more about this supernatural world.
There, beyond the Distortion, monsters of ugly, grotesque shapes started jumping out. The air twisted, heavy with the stench of Hollow Energy. Resonators, holding different weapons, readied their stance with a serious but confident expression.
After all, Luciel had analyzed that these Hollows were of Low-Stratum. He even knew some of them by name.
However, Low-Stratum Hollows meant this was Low-Class Breakout, and a Low-Class Breakout usually brought forth an army of Low-Stratum Creatures, much like an army of ants.
This worked in Luciel's favor because there was a higher chance of Hollows escaping the confine of these Resonators. Moreover, because these Hollows were only of Low-Stratum, patrols in the Outlands would start at least a week later. It made sense since the local authorities cared more about reestablishing order and safety of the District rather than the status of the Outlands.
If a few Outlanders died because of these measly Hollows, might as well let them have a chance at a next life, right?
Anyway, the ensuing battle marched on for thirty minutes. At this point, it was safe to assume that some Hollows had escaped to the Outlands, so Luciel started slithering his way out of the District.
He had to go a roundabout way, of course, to avoid the eyes of the authorities nearby.
Soon enough, he got out of District Omega. He breathed in the familiar reek of the Outlands and smiled awkwardly.
'Hah... Long time no see, home,' he remarked sarcastically before embarking on the adventure to find fugitive Hollows.
He walked tirelessly, following the distinct smell of these creatures before noticing a clique of them on a flat barren plane.
Luciel unknowingly licked his lips, signaling that it was time for a feast.