Volume 1

A dark urban fantasy novel about power, memory, and identity.

In a world where abilities can be bought and sold, one boy becomes the most dangerous product

ever created.

The Day the Sky Broke

Ten years before Kai Ren learned the truth about himself, the sky fractured like glass.

Rifts opened above cities across the world. Monsters poured through, unstoppable and merciless.

Governments failed, armies collapsed, and humanity faced extinction. Then, without warning,

certain humans awakened strange abilities born from Rift energy.

They were called Hunters — saviors blessed with supernatural power.

But power always attracts greed.

Behind the shining success of Hunters, a hidden economy grew in silence. Abilities could be

extracted, preserved, and transferred. Wealthy elites bought strength. Criminal empires forged

artificial heroes.

The underground network became known as the Shadow Market.

And deep within that market, experiments began — experiments meant to create the perfect vessel

for power.

Neon District Rain

Rain never truly stopped in Neon District.

It only changed intensity.

Kai Ren walked beneath flickering holographic advertisements, his hood pulled low as neon reflections bled across wet asphalt. Above him, giant screens displayed smiling Hunters posing like celebrities.

“Humanity’s Shield!” one headline flashed.

Kai didn’t look up.

He adjusted the black case chained to his wrist. The metal felt colder than the rain, humming faintly — almost like something inside was breathing.

A voice crackled through his earpiece.

“Delivery window: eight minutes,” his handler said. “No delays.”

Kai sighed. “You always say that like I have a choice.”

Static answered him.

That was normal. Couriers weren’t meant to ask questions.

A group of Hunters passed at the end of the street, laughing loudly, their armor glowing faintly with Rift energy. Civilians stepped aside instinctively.

Heroes.

Kai wondered what it felt like to be admired instead of invisible.

Then every streetlight went out at once.

Darkness swallowed the alley.

Footsteps echoed behind him.

Slow.

Deliberate.

Kai turned.

Masked figures dropped from rooftops, landing silently around him.

One spoke through a distorted voice modulator.

“Package secured. Eliminate courier.”

Kai’s stomach dropped.

“…You’ve got the wrong guy,” he muttered.

The first explosion answered him.

Pain had color.

Kai learned that instantly.

Black light poured into him, cold and burning at the same time. His lungs forgot how to breathe as something forced its way through his veins.

Then came the memories.

Not images.

Lives.

He stood confirming battlefield coordinates while artillery screamed overhead — except he had never been a soldier.

A woman held a child, whispering goodbye as her body turned into light.

A man begged teammates not to betray him before a blade pierced his chest.

Voices overlapped.

Fear.

Love.

Rage.

Regret.

Thousands of emotions crashed together until Kai screamed — but no sound escaped.

Inside the storm, a child’s voice cried softly.

“Don’t forget me…”

Darkness consumed everything.

First Conversation with Lena( Chapter 3)

Kai woke to the smell of instant coffee.

He sat upright instantly, shadows twitching along the walls like startled animals.

“Relax,” a woman’s voice said. “If I wanted you dead, you wouldn’t be awake.”

Across the room sat Lena, boots on a cluttered table, casually scrolling through multiple floating data screens.

Short silver hair. Sharp eyes. A pistol resting beside her mug.

“You kidnapped me?” Kai asked.

“I rescued you,” she corrected. “Huge difference.”

Kai tried to stand — pain stabbed through his body. Shadows flared instinctively, stretching toward her.

She didn’t move.

Instead, she smirked.

“Yeah,” she said quietly. “That confirms it.”

“Confirms what?”

Lena leaned forward.

“You’re not just carrying an ability.”

Her gaze hardened.

“You’re carrying a graveyard.”

Silence filled the room.

Outside, distant sirens echoed through underground tunnels.

Kai swallowed. “I don’t understand anything that’s happening.”

Lena studied him for a long moment before speaking softly.

“That’s because someone erased your right to understand.

Hours later

The underground market smelled like rust and desperation.

Cages lined the corridor.

Inside them sat people — frightened, exhausted, some glowing faintly with unstable abilities.

Auction lights flickered overhead.

“Lot 23,” a dealer announced loudly. “Healing fragment, high compatibility rate!”

Kai’s hands trembled.

He could hear the fragments inside him reacting — anger, grief, recognition.

These weren’t objects.

They were pieces of lives.

He stepped forward.

Shadows spread silently across the floor.

The lights burst one by one.

Darkness swallowed the auction hall.

Panic erupted.

“What’s happening—?!”

Kai’s voice cut through the chaos.

“Tonight,” he said quietly, “nobody gets sold.”

The shadows rose like waves.

Locks snapped open.

Cages fell apart.

For the first time, the fragments inside him felt… calm.

They sat on a rooftop overlooking the ruined skyline.

For once, no one was chasing them.

Lena tossed him a drink can.

“You know,” she said, staring at the horizon, “I used to work for the Market.”

Kai froze.

She laughed softly. “Yeah. Shocked?”

“Why tell me now?”

Her expression grew distant.

“I sold information that got people killed. Told myself it was survival.” She paused. “Then I saw kids being traded like spare parts.”

Wind moved through the broken buildings.

“So I started sabotaging deals,” she continued. “That’s when they marked me for execution.”

Kai looked at her carefully.

“So saving me…?”

She smiled faintly.

“…might be my way of fixing something.”

For the first time, Kai realized she wasn’t fearless.

She was guilty.

When Kai closed his eyes inside the ritual chamber, he didn’t see darkness.

He saw an ocean made of memories.

Figures stood across the endless water — warriors, civilians, strangers from different eras.

All watching him.

One stepped forward.

A woman glowing with fading light.

“You carry our endings,” she said gently.

Kai shook his head. “I never asked for this.”

“No,” she agreed. “But you listened.”

More figures approached.

Instead of attacking, they knelt.

Not in submission.

In trust.

The ocean of memories grew quiet.

For the first time, the voices stopped screaming.

And Kai understood.

Power wasn’t forcing them to obey.

They had chosen him.

A small town slept peacefully under clear skies.

No Rift alarms.

No Hunter broadcasts.

Just ordinary life.

A young boy tripped while running home — before hitting the ground, shadows lifted him gently upright.

He looked around, confused.

Across the street stood a figure wearing a dark coat.

Face hidden.

Watching silently.

The figure turned and walked away before anyone noticed.

High above, the sky remained whole.

For now.

Kai Ren disappeared into the crowd, carrying thousands of memories — but finally walking with his own.

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