Xylo stood at the back of the induction hall, his hands shoved deep into his hoodie pockets. High above, the holographic banner of the Leo Agency glowed with a sickeningly bright gold light.
"Next," a recruiter barked.
Xylo stepped forward. He was 19, lean, and tired of the pitying looks. He placed his hand on the Testing Monolith, a device meant to sync a human's soul with the frequency of a Zodiac King.
Usually, the stone would glow blue (Aries), green (Virgo), or red (Scorpio).
But when Xylo touched it, the Monolith stayed dead. Cold. Gray.
"Rejected," the recruiter sighed, not even looking up. "That's the twelfth time this month, kid. Give it up. Some people are just born to be 'Normals.' Go get a desk job."
Xylo didn't argue. He ignored the snickers from the other recruits—the "chosen" ones who were already sparking with minor electricity or increased muscle mass. He walked out of the Agency HQ and into the rain-slicked streets of the city.
He didn't know that deep within his DNA, a lock was waiting for a key. He didn't know that the 12 Gods weren't rejecting him because he was "nothing."
They were rejecting him because they were terrified of what was already inside him.
Xylo pushed open the door, the scent of home—his mother's cooking and old books—usually his sanctuary. "Mom? I'm back. Another 'Zero' at the testing center today."
His mother looked up from the kitchen, a gentle, knowing smile on her face. She didn't look disappointed. She never did. "A 'Zero' today doesn't mean a 'Zero' tomorrow, Xylo," she said, her voice like a calm tide. "Don't worry. Maybe in the future, you will have powers that no one has ever seen. Powers that don't come from their golden statues."
Xylo just sighed, grabbed his jacket, and headed out for a walk to clear his head and look for "Normal" job postings.
But when he returned two hours later, the air was different. It was cold. Metallic.
"Mom?"
The silence was the first thing that hit him. Then, the sight.
The living room was a canvas of crimson. His mother lay in the center of the wreckage, her life extinguished. Xylo stood frozen, his breath hitching in his chest. First his father, years ago... then his siblings... and now, her. He was the last leaf on a dying family tree.
As he knelt beside her, his grief began to warp. The sadness was being replaced by a terrifying, cold pressure rising from the base of his spine.
Somewhere in the city, the 12 Monoliths in the Agency HQs vibrated for a split second. A signal they hadn't seen in thousands of years.
* Author - HARUKI . EXE
* Co-author - AIYA.SO