Quick muffled steps along with the sound of monster's growling and vehicles moving freely, resounded throughout the vast run-down city.

Old ruins and remnants of what was once a great city was all which could be seen around as the young man ran with all he had. His ragged and tattered clothes, along with his worn-out shoe soles, made his situation much worse than he had originally expected.

His lungs and heart filled with pain from the lack of rest and oxygen. It was the hardest and longest he had ever ran in his life. For he knew what awaited him if he stopped.

So he continued to run. His pants getting seemingly heavier with each passing second, but he continued to push forth. After all, for the first time ever since he was born, he had found his hope.

"Stop right there!"

"If you don't, we'll kill you!!"

Voices resounded from behind him, they were already catching up, even though he had gotten a head start.

"Damn, Hunters…" The young man muttered with hateful eyes.

'I'll kill them…' He thought to himself as he continued to run.

But despite thinking that, even he knew the difference in strength between him and a hunter. Even he wouldn't stand a chance against the lowest ranking ones, if they caught him, it'd be instant death.

He desperately looked around at the broken down buildings surrounding him, when suddenly, he felt a chill go down his spine.

It was a feeling he knew too well, blood lust. He subconsciously, leapt to the left to avoid it, causing him to roll over as he landed.

The moment managed to scrape his left arm on the floor, giving it a few cuts, but as he got up, he noticed a much bigger, deeper cut which seemed to have recently formed on his shoulder.

It was as if a knife had grazed it as it slashed by. Blood quickly began to flow down, shortly after. The cause was obvious, right before he had jumped he had heard a sound similar to a jet go by him. It was a wind spell.

'Those fuckers…!'

They were really aiming to kill him. After getting up, with no other options, he quickly changed his course to the left and ran into the broken down building which was beside him.

The entrance was broken down and the coast was seemingly clear, entering a building was his worst option at this point as he'd have no way to escape. In worst case scenario, it'd be infested with monster's, and in that case, it'd really be over. Despite knowing that, he didn't have any time to think it through. And so, he dashed inside.

————————————————————

A group of four men, could be seen running, pursuing after a target. They each carried strange advanced rifles and wore cloaks which covered their Armour and build, but just by looking, one could tell that they were big.

They stopped in front of a broken down building before scouting and looking around. One of the men, signaled at the one on the back, to keep watch outside, and make sure nothing got in or out. He was most likely the one calling the shots as the man quickly complied.

The other three, including the one calling the shots, walked inside, quickly scouting the inside of the building as they did so.

"Anything on the radar?" He asked, looking around.

"Well then, fix it, and while you fix it. Stay down here, Me and Scavenger are searching upstairs." Said the man as he flashed a light up the stair case.

It was dark, broken glass filled the floors as filth filled the air. Dirty, and unkempt. There were only two visible floors from the outside. Originally, there would have been more, but whatever was there, was torn off, leaving only a two-story building.

"Tsk, somethings wrong with the radar. It won't stop bugging out." Replied the scouter

"Well then, fix it, and while you fix it. Stay down here, Me and Scavenger are searching upstairs." Said the man as he flashed a light up the stair case.

After making sure there was nothing there, they both began heading up the stairs.

"What if I find the kid?" The scouter asked

"Kill him, but make sure nothing happens to the artifact." Said the leader

"Understood." He replied with a wide and excited smile.

——————————————

Quiet, too quiet. The only sound the young man had heard, was a conversation coming from downstairs, but that had only lasted for a moment, ever since, there's been no sound.

The young man hid quietly in a cold and dark room on the second floor, behind a large, broken down wardrobe, barely tall enough to cover his height.

He sat still, forcing himself not to make a move or sound, however his nerves showed no mercy as the more he tried to hold it in, the harder it became to breathe. His heart was racing, demanding more and more oxygen.

His quiet, yet fast paced breaths, grew ever so quicker and louder. The feeling of standing in the palm of death's hands, had never felt so real before to him.

But he hadn't given up. All he had to do was sit quietly, and wait for them to go. That was the only choice he had.

The young man, looked down at the strange capsule which he carried. It was made of some type of unbelievably durable metal, and contained a strange red crystal which was surrounded by some an also durable glass.

There were also strange visible circuit patterns engraved in the glass and metal. However, the young man had no clue as to what it meant or was.

Whatever it was, it was clearly valuable, the fact that they had chased him, with the intent to kill for this long, was proof of that fact.

The longer he stared at it, the colder he felt, the dimmer the pain all over his body grew. He also noticed that the blood off his right shoulder was seeping towards the capsule, but had no means to stop it or clean it, nor was he worried about it.

'I found it… I won't hand it over… Even if I have to die…'

*Snap*

Suddenly, the sound of a snap resounded through the room and as he looked up to see what it was, he found himself staring straight at the face a grown man with wide open eyes and a smile which sent chills down his spine.

"Found you~" He muttered excitedly

In that moment, a single word popped up in the young man's mind as he felt as if he saw his life flash past his eyes. 'Death'. His life was over.

"Get up." He ordered as he pointed the gun at the young man's face

The young man slowly got up from his hiding spot with his head hung low and his arm wrapped tightly around the capsule.

Happy that the artifact was kept safe with the young man, the man quickly moved his hand toward the trigger to finish him off and steal it. When suddenly he noticed, the young man was smiling.

Confused, before finishing him off, he wanted to know what could have been so funny, but right before he asked.

*Boom!*

The sound of an explosion came from downstairs, following the sound of gunshots being fired off rapidly. The faint sound of electric bursts could also be heard.

"What!?" He asked as he turned to the doorway.

Faint glows could be seen coming from the hallway. Their weren't any windows in their room so he couldn't exactly see what was happening.

"Hey!? What's going on down there?" He asked as he placed his arm on his ear

[W-We're under attack! It's a horde! R-Requesting Back-up!]

"A WHAT!?"

"Ha… Hahaha…"

Suddenly, the young man started to laugh. A cold, yet joyful laugh, just strong enough to send chills down the man's spine. He now knew that the young man did something.

"Y- It was you! What did you do?!" He asked as his finger was placed firmly onto the trigger.

Upon seeing this, the smile wiped itself off the young man's face as he muttered.

"Again… And again… And Again… And Again. You enjoyed it, didn't you? You hunters take things from others with no regard for how it might affect them, then you use your power and authority to silence them…"

The capsule on the young man's arm began to slightly glow a bright red as he said so, causing the man's worries to grow.

*Bang*

"I SAID WHAT DID YOU DO!?" He asked after firing off a warning shot right next to the young man's head

He missed on purpose, warning that the next shot was going to be a hit. Despite that, the young man didn't stop.

"And now you're coming after me… Physically, I'd never be able to beat you which is why…"

He pulled out a cracked sphere out of his pocket. Sphere was the shape it resembled, but it was no where near being a perfect sphere in terms of shapes. It looked more identical to a frozen tear.

Upon seeing it, the hunter's eyes widened as his arm began to tremble. He could no longer steady his aim as he appeared to recognize what it was.

[DEFENSE BREACHED!! REQUESTING BACKUP!! H-HELP!!]

"GAAAAAAAH!"

"BOSS- AAAAAAAH!"

"WE CAN'T-"

The sound of screaming came from down stairs as growls and the shrieks of monsters could be heard, all the while the man continued to panic.

"A-An… Angel's T-Tear… H-How!? HOW DOES A NOBODY LIKE YOU HAVE IT!?" He shouted as he pointed the gun once again at the young man.

Angel's tear. No one knew for sure what it was, there were many theories. But the most believed one was a sphere formed from the compression of magic in a way different to the formation of a magic stone. It was confusing but this way, supposedly attracted all the monsters in the area, giving it, it's name. The tear of an angel.

Because of how dangerous it was, having one in one's possession was illegal, and it would be seen as a nationwide offense, to not only the city or safe point where one was residing, but to the people in it.

Just carrying it, would result in one being legally sentenced to death after unimaginable torture to find out the source. Selling it or buying it on the market was also illegal. They weren't allowed to be brought anywhere near cities.

Yet this young man, had it. How.

"Shoot. We're both dead either ways. I have a few regrets but it's fine… After all, that look on your face…"

A smile could once again be seen on his face as he muttered "To see such a prideful peace of shit make such a face… It's such a great feeling…"

The artifact began to glow brighter and brighter as more and more blood began to flow through it's circuits. The wound on the young man's arm was only getting worse.

And upon hearing those words, the man snapped. He pressed down tightly on the trigger aiming straight at the young man's chest, causing a concentrated yellow electric volt to be discharged straight after.

In that instant, as the yellow volt passed through him, hole was formed on the young man's chest before he fell over. He landed on his back, quickly breaking the angel's tear, causing a loud ear piercing scream to be released.

It was in this moment, that the man had realized, he had made a mistake. He felt his heart sink as he slowly turned back to the door.

The more broken it became, the more monsters it would attract, but now it had completely shattered.

The artifact rested on top of the young man's chest which now had blood pouring out at crazy rates. There was no saving him. It was over.

However, even in that situation, with the light of the glowing artifact on his chest, blinding his sight, he still curled his hand into a fist and raised his middle finger pointing it at the now horrified hunter as he muttered.

"I… to…ld… you…"

However, the hunter was too distracted by the glowing artifact to hear it.

"I-It's not over… Right… This artifact… It might be able to save me… I'll just-"

The man was interrupted, as a dark shadow passed through the room in a single motion. In that instant, the walls and everything in the room, including the man, was cut.

His waist was slashed in half, causing his the top half of his body to slide off before flopping to the ground.

And that was the last thing the young man saw, before everything turned dark.

*Clang* *Clang* *Clang*

The repeated sound of clanging at a steady pace, resounded throughout the cold and quiet mine.

There, a young man, could be seen, using his whole body weight as he swung his pickax, down at the stone, in a desperate search for a valuable metal or ore.

Three hours had passed since he had started, but unfortunately, his luck seemed to run out as he couldn't find a single rare ore.

The reason being, he was mining at one of the branch areas to the main mining area, no one except for him, mined there for many reasons.

The unhealthy amount of dust, the lack of valuable ores and the danger of monsters as hunters had yet to explore the area. It was in no way, in the conditions for there to be people mining it. Yet the higher ups didn't care. In a way, it was beneficial to them, so they didn't put nay restrictions in the area.

*Clang* *Clang*

The young man knew that mining there would be bad for his health, but he kept it up. The reason was simple, he wasn't allowed to mine in the main area.

He hadn't done anything wrong, nor had he been banned from doing so. It was because of the miners there. Their greed knew no bounds, they would even steal any valuable ores someone who was barely old enough to be considered an adult could find.

Even if it were a child, there's no doubt that they would steal it. That was how society of the time, now was.

"Just coal today… huh…?" The young man asked as he picked up the pieces before throwing them on top of his metal cart.

'How many hours has it been?' He wondered as he looked down the empty mine halls

With no way to tell the time, he would usually rely on his own body clock or just count. However, today he had been to out of his game to focus on that.

If he stayed for too long, it would be dangerous in many ways, which is why he always made sure to stay for at most two hours.

It was just about reaching his time to leave, so he decided to give up just after a few more hits.

*Clang* *Clang* *Clang*

Again and again, he would hit at the same spot, at the same corner, gradually expanding it over time. It had worked mid-game, but now that it was end-game, he was getting nothing, he had gotten as much coal as he could from that spot.

*Clang* *Clang*

His next objective was to look for a new spot, before heading home. And just as he gave off his last hit to finish things off for the day. He hit something, through the rocks and rubble.

*Cling*

It made a different, yet similar sound. The feeling was also different. It didn't feel like he was hitting rocks or coal.

Confused, he looked over to see what it was, and for the first time in a long time, he felt his heart sink. But it wasn't due to fear.

"A-Ah… N-No way… Oh shit…" He muttered as he stared straight at it.

What came from the area where he was mining, was not rocks, or fuel which he could sell, but a capsule. This was amazing, because miners had the right to whatever they found in the cave, and this, despite all the rubble and dust, it was glowing.

A red crimson glow could be seen coming from inside of it, he couldn't tell what it was, but judging from the faint glow, it was definitely worth something more than coal.

He slowly moved his hand towards it before grabbing it and hastily looking around, making sure that no one was there to see it.

It was rather big, the length could be compared to the length of his hand up to his elbow. A cylinder capsule.

The more he looked at it and held it, the more he began to fantasize of the things he could do with it, in case of it being worth a lot.

'I can finally get out of this hellhole…' He thought to himself

But despite that, he wasn't too hopeful, for all he knew it could be nothing.

"And even if it is something… Who would I sell it to? I'd just end up getting robbed."

It was a troublesome situation, but it couldn't be avoided. So to that, he thought up of a simple solution.

"Oh well, I'll just kill anyone who tries to take it." He said as he happily placed away the capsule underneath his shirt.

He then looked at his cart and let out a sigh of relief.

"This should be enough for a few meals…" He muttered before grabbing on to it's handle.

Then with a strong pull, the cart began to move, staying right behind him as he walked through the mine.

'I wonder how many thousands this'll go worth…'

—————————————

In the year 2053, a world-wide catastrophe changed all logic within the world. Scientists had discovered a magical catalyst and after breaking it, the earth was hit by a magic surge, completely affecting all of it's natural components.

The surge caused global catastrophes, mutations in animals and plants and there have been cases where people have claimed that it opened cases to different dimensions. All while adding magic to everyone's daily lives.

Millions of people died, those who mutated, were either given magical powers and had their abilities greatly enhanced, or died due to their body not being able to handle all the power.

Worst cases ended up from the animals and insects. Snakes, lions, tigers, pets. They all mutated and were considered as monsters. Eventually it became an all out war with these mutated monsters, and catastrophes.

This war not only pushed humanity to the brink of extinction, but it ruined most civilizations. If a person were to stroll the world, they would mostly encounter wastelands or areas which lacked all logic.

Snow in a desert, or it being hot in the the north pole. All of this, because of magic. That is without including the interdimentional portals which were opened around the earth.

Humanity would have been extinct, if not for the fact that they too received mutations. Thanks to the magical surge, people were either born or given a set amount of magic power. The amount received could increase with training. But of course, like everything in life. There was a limit.

On top of magic being granted, there were also humans who received mutation and gained supernatural abilities. They were refereed to as edicts. These powers were obtained during the mana surge. Marks which were engraved in people's body from the mana, giving them supernatural powers.

And these powers could genetically via birth, with the possibility of variation, depending on the parents.

Some were more talented than others. Others more powerful. Those with power survived, those without it, unfortunately met their doom.

However, within all the hell which had occurred on earth. There were safe spots, It wasn't accessible to everyone. Some had conditions to enter, but they were relatively safe.

Some were schools while others were refugees. The numbers were few as the number of humans existent in society had dropped considerably. There were other races trying to take over earth, aside from the monsters. Hence these places were created.

There was one thing for sure, about this so called "new world." There was no such thing as fairness.

The young man took residence in the city of Zalpha, one of the few refugees currently available for humanity. It was known as the city of mines

Even this young man, who had recently turned sixteen, had to spend his days dedicated to working in a mine just to make a living. Risking his life everyday as he did so.

"Twelve Nova." Said The man

The young man had now reached the entrance of the mine, here he was talking to a man known as Hendrick. Tall, muscular, and short gray hair above his intimidating eyes covered by goggles and always calm and composed. He was one of the men, miners would claim their Money from, by selling any ores they would find.

"Twelve? How long have we known each other for, Sir. Hendrick? Can't I get a little extra from being a regular?" He asked

"Fifteen Nova." Replied Hendrick

"Deal." Said the young man with a smile as he pushed over the Cart to Hendrick's side.

Following that, Hendrick Grabbed 15 Copper coins in which he handed to the young man and the young man took it happily.

"Thanks for doing business with me and the extra." Said the young man as he walked away.

Before he could get far enough however, he was stopped by Hendrick who said "Wait."

"What's wrong?" The young man asked as he turned

"What's that thing sticking out of your back." He asked

It was the capsule he had found. He had hidden it inside his shirt in case there were still any people in the mine and to not draw any unwanted attention, but it appears he couldn't get past the attentive Hendrick.

"It's nothing." Said the young man after giving Hendrick another smile as he stared straight at him.

"Is that so." Replied Hendrick as he understood what the young man was trying to say.

"Is that all?" The young man asked

"Yeah." Replied Hendrick

Upon hearing this, the young man nodded before leaving and right as he left, he was certain he had heard the words "Be careful".

"What a strange guy."

'Sometimes you think he cares about you, other times, he pays you so little you can't help but hate him.'

After exiting the mine through the entrance, the young man realized that he had indeed lost track of time and that it was already night time.

This was bad, very bad, as many scummy hunters would usually be out working at this time, purposely near the mine. And there were less miners active, meaning no evidence for them.

Fortunately for the young man, no hunters could be seen, except for the guards at the mine entrance. They didn't give a shit about him and that was why he liked them.

Ahead of the young man, and the mine was a broken down city. It was once a large-well inhabited urban city where many people lived in peace, enjoying their boring yet stressful lives, however now, it was simply ruins.

"The city of ruins…"

At night, it was rather terrifying, and the young man knew fully well why. However, he wasn't scared. He knew his way around it, and had already experienced many near-death experiences in it.

'The monsters are out at this time, going there is a bad idea…'

The young man had planned to stop by there and do some scavenging while avoiding monsters, but it was night-time already. He was tired and monsters were more active, the risk was too high.

'Guess I'll wait till I get home.'

As he left the mine and began walking down the road, he noticed a vehicle arrive. It was a vehicle full of hunters, exactly four. Worst thing was, all of them looked like bad news.

They all had strange strange tattoos which resembled wolves on their shoulders and they wore short sleeved Armour and gloves which seemed to have magical or advanced technological properties.

Whatever it was, they were all well equipped, and even had rifles attached around their back. Engaging with them or even messing with them in anyway was not an option.

Ignoring them, the young man continued to walk, in the direction of the city, when suddenly they called out to him.

"Hey, you. The kid with white hair, over there, stop." He said

Without looking back, the young man stopped in his tracks and stood still. Seeing this. The man asked a question.

"Where are you from?" He asked

"Zalpha." He replied

"Not that, I meant what area."

'Near the slums'

"Nobleman area, with my uncle." He replied

Of course it was a lie, but they liked going for the weak and poor so showing that he had support was the best course of action.

"Bullshit, then what are you doing near the mines?" He asked

"I came to collect something for my uncle."

"So your hands became worn-out and your clothes full of dust?" He asked

"…"

"What's that on your back?"

"…"

"You deaf? I said, what's that on your-"

Before the man could finish, the young man suddenly dashed forward before running as hard as he could. The hunters were all surprised yet wary.

"That's suspicious." Said the man leading them

"Do we go after him?" Another asked

"Why not, I'm in the mood for another hunt." Replied their leader with a wide grin

***

The young man pushed forward with his right leg, before quickly shifting over to his left and pushing again. A process typically used in the activity referred to as running. But for the young man, it was a secret technique of life and death.

There were no rooms for mistakes. Not too fast, but definitely not slow, all to priorities stamina and distance.

He had already reached the ruins, and was forced to head in this direction as they would just find a way to deal with him in the city. It wasn't safe at all, especially not when hunters were after you.

"Stop right there!"

"If you don't, we'll kill you!!"

Voices resounded from behind him, they were already catching up, even though he had gotten a head start.

"Great… Just my lucky day. I'm warning them now, this is a bad idea…"

——————————————-

Fast forward, and that brings us up to now.

"I… to…ld… you…"

However, the hunter was too distracted by the glowing artifact to hear it.

"I-It's not over… Right… This artifact… It might be able to save me… I'll just-"

The man was interrupted, as a dark shadow passed through the room in a single motion. In that instant, the walls and everything in the room, including the man, was cut.

His waist was slashed in half, causing his the top half of his body to slide off before flopping to the ground.

And that was the last thing the young man saw, before everything turned dark.

***