Ren was walking home from his training with Cain while reviewing his lesson.
"Man, I can't wait to attune."
From Ren's lessons, he knew that the Attuned, commonly known as strikers, had fantastical powers that no normal human could have.
Even now, Cain, a Class 3 Wizard, was basically swinging Ren around as he pleased. Without even moving a single step!
Ren felt a shiver as he recalled his training.
'I'm definitely going to pay him back someday...!'
However, he knew that that day wouldn't be any time soon. If he wanted to even fight on equal terms with Cain he'd have to attune first, then train with his core and become a Class 2 marked, then enhance his Ether and become a Class 3 Wizard at least.
If he wanted to beat Cain, then he'd have to either be a very experienced Wizard, or overcome "the barrier" and become a Class 4 Warlock.
'Yeah, no way.'
In any case, Ren still had to wait till he's 18 in two years to satisfy the conditions of the attunement selection.
Ren sighed.
'I know the dangers of attuning early, but I'm ready! If only that Cain can approve my early application.'
Ren continued walking home when he heard a loud bang followed by the sound of groaning metal.
He looked toward the the direction of the sound, and his eyes widened in shock.
"T-the city wall...!"
The city wall had a large, tumor-like bump in it. As Ren was dazedly staring at the bump, more and more bumps were starting to form on the big one and around it.
Until finally, the towering, sturdy, barrier protecting the city was breached. And the invaders started flooding in.
'Spirits?! I-I have to go tell the strikers!'
As Ren was about to turn around and head back to the striker headquarters, he saw the stars in the sky, even though it was barely evening.
Red, blue, and green stars filled the sky. Coloring the sky in a random, erratic pattern.
'What... is that?'
Ren asked in fear.
Then the stars fell.
Explosions rang all around Ren as the stars, no the spirits landed all around him.
Ren's mind abandoned alerting the strikers and went straight to his family
'Mom, Dad... Sarah!'
Ren ran straight to his home, moving through the alleyways and avoiding the crowds of panicked people and the areas where spirits landed.
When he finally arrived. What he saw sent a shiver down his spine.
His house, his childhood home, the place where so many memories were made was standing there, burning and beginning to crumble.
"No!"
Ren rushed into the building, disregarding his safety. He ran to the basement, the most secure part of the house. But what met his eyes there almost broke him.
Two burnt, bloodied bodies were in front of the door, seemingly keeping it shut.
"Mom... Dad..."
Ren's tears sizzled in the surrounding heat as he beheld his parents' corpses.
Then, he slowly approached the door and opened it using the safety code he knew.
"Please, I'm begging you please be alright, Sarah."
Ren kept pleasing and hoping under his breath as he opened the door and heard a faint sound of a little girl crying.
"Sarah!"
Ren rushed down the stairs and reached the basement. There, he saw a small eight year old girl that looked like him clutching her knees and crying in the corner.
"Sarah it's me, Ren!" Ren shouted with relief in his voice as he saw his sister.
The little girl looked up at him with her eyes full of tears.
"Ren!" Sarah cried out while rushing at her brother.
"Mom and Dad... they... they didn't make it."
Sarah said through her tears while Ren just hugged her in silence, tears streaming down his face as well.
'We need to get to the shelter.'
While the bunker was safe for now, they couldn't stay here long as the house could crumble over them or an earth spirit could crash on it any time. The disaster shelter was much safer, with strikers guarding it and a more reinforced structure.
"Sarah. We need to go to the shelter, there are specters everywhere out there and we aren't safe here."
Sarah just looked at her brother with red eyes and nodded.
"Okay."
Ren took his sister up the stairs and covered her eyes near the top.
"I'm covering your eyes to protect them from the fire, just stay close and we'll be out soon."
Sarah nodded, then Ren carried her and held her tightly while covering her eyes.
He then ascended the rest of the stairs and passed by their parents' bodies. Giving them one last glance before running out of the house before it collapsed.
Ren uncovered his sister's eyes.
"It's okay now we're out."
Ren said to his sister as she looked behind him with a terrified expression.
Ren looked behind him and saw a tall, humanoid figure made up of flames next to his house.
'Oh no. No! Why is it here?!'
Ren was terrified as he looked at the spirit, it was taller than him by more than half a meter, towering at over two and a half meters tall.
'That... That's definitely a spectre. Thankfully it seems it hasn't noticed us yet, but it's blocking the way to the shelter!'
Ren took his sister and rushed towards the neighboring building.
'What do I do... What do I do?!'
Ren looked over the corner, at where the spectre was currently at and remembered the layout of this district. They were currently at the end of an alleyway between buildings, the spectre is in the middle of the street now, and blocking any escape.
Ren looked at the alleyway he found a couple debris from their house but the one next was relatively unharmed. The wall at the end of the alley was to high to jump over with his sister and there was no other way out than the street.
'Damn it...'
Ren tried his best to think of a way out while hugging his sister, and looking around.
Then suddenly, it started raining and Ren's eyes landed on a fallen pipe.
'Rain should make the spectre weaker... and it shouldn't be that much stronger than me since it's only Class 2... I've also trained with Cain on how to take down spirits.'
Ren stood there, Staring at the pipe while considering his next move.
'All I need to do is break it's essence, it's already weakened and the rain should help uncover it's location.'
Ren gathered his resolve and picked up the pipe.
"Phew... This should do. Sarah, big brother is gonna go beat up that bad guy and be right back. Don't go anywhere okay?"
Sarah looked at him with shocked eyes.
"Weren't we going to the shelter?"
"That guy is blocking the way so I'm just gonna beat him up and come get you, it won't take long! I promise."
Ren assured his sister while trying his best to keep calm.
"... Okay, be careful!"
Sarah said while remembering how her brother protected her so many times before.
"Good. Remem, don't move from here!"
Ren stressed as he got up and looked over the corner once again.
The spectre was moving down the street while burning the houses it passed by, however it seemed fainter, weaker due to the rain.
Ren let out a deep breath and rushed to the next alleyway trying to sneak behind the spectre.
After reaching the alleyway and looking over the corner at the spectre once again, he noticed a red orb in the middle of its thigh.
'That must be its spirit essence.'
A spirit's spirit essence was the core of their being, and their biggest weakness. A class 2 Spectre's essence was stronger than a class 1 Spark's, but not by a lot.
Ren believed if he could ambush it with a strong enough hit, he could break the essence. So that's what he did.
Ren waited till the moment the spectre was burning another house with its body.
Then, he jumped out, ran towards the spectre, and hit the essence as hard as he could.
The essence cracked from Ren's well-trained strike.
But it didn't break.
Ren held his footing as he looked up at the spectre. It was looking at him with its two blazing, crimson eyes.
He then felt a kick to his abdomen as he was launched back a few steps.
Ren almost fell as he saw his tunic catching flame. He hurriedly patted it down with his wet hands before it could spread, all the while staring the spectre down.
'That hit wasn't as powerful as Cain's, but the fire is dangerous.'
Ren was getting into stance as the spectre rushed at him in a tackle. He sidestepped the tackle while delivering another strike to the essence, this one not having as much of an effect, yet damaging it nonetheless.
He then jumped back and watched as the spectre stopped in it's tracks and turned around whith its leg coming towards him in a strong kick.
He blocked the kick with his pipe, but it got knocked out of his hand from the force of the hit, flying out into one of the buildings.
"Damn it!"
Ren gritted his teeth and punched the essence while the spectre was still kicking, combining the force and cracking the essence even more.
His right arm got badly burned, blisters and discolored crispy flesh adorning it. Coupled with searing pain, but the core was almost broken. All he had to do was give it one more blow.
As Ren staggered due to the pain, the spectre delivered a punch right into his right arm, burning it even more, and launching him backwards.
"Argh!"
Ren's mind was sent reeling as even more pain assaulted his now broken arm.
He looked at the spectre through teary eyes and clenched his jaw.
'One more... Just... One more hit.'
Ren began running at the spectre and readied his left fist to punch the essence, rushing at it in a last ditch effort.
The spectre also moved and swung its fist towards Ren's left side.
Ren abandoned the punch blocked the swing with his raised fist, he then kicked the essence with his right leg, utilizing the force of both his rush and the Spectre's punch.
The essence finally broke and the spectre suddenly gathered towards it, and burst into an area of warm air.
Ren was launched back by the burst of ether and barely landed as he fell to one knee.
He was hurt, bruised, broken and burned, but... he won. He beat a class 2 spectre as a normal human.
Ren was in a world of pain right now, and couldn't think well, but he got up and limped slowly towards the alleyway his sister was in, groaning with every step.
Just as he reached the ruins of his house a sudden quake occured, knocking Ren down to one knee again. He looked up as he saw a boulder rolling through the building next to his house, crushing it in the process.
"Sarah!"
Ren shouted, running towards the alleyway without caring for his battered body. But it was too late, all he saw there was rubble. No sign of his sister in sight.
"NOOO!"
Ren cried out with all his strength as the boulder began rolling towards him.
It didn't get to reach him though as it was cut by a sudden wind blade mid roll collapsing into a burst of earth ether.
Ren looked at the source of the wind blade as he looked down at the rubble.
"Why..."