——Arc 1: Fractured Reality ——
Akira Noctis was going to die today.
He just didn't know it yet.
The sky was wrong.
Not in a way people could describe. The clouds still drifted lazily across a soft blue canvas, sunlight warmed the streets, and life continued as it always had. Conversations blended into the air, footsteps echoed across the pavement, and the world moved forward without hesitation.
Everything looked normal.
And yet—
Something felt… broken.
Like reality itself had developed invisible cracks.
Like something unseen was watching.
Waiting.
Akira felt it.
A faint unease, subtle but persistent, like a whisper brushing against his thoughts. It didn't make sense. It wasn't something he could explain.
He was only eight.
To him, the world was simple—a place where small joys lasted forever, where holding someone's hand meant safety, where nothing truly ended.
And yet…
Somewhere deep inside him—
There was a fear.
The fear of losing her.
He just never thought it would happen today.
"Akira! Hurry up! It's going to melt!"
That voice erased everything.
Warm. Gentle. Safe.
Akira turned instantly, his face lighting up. "Coming, Mom!"
His mother stood beside a roadside stall, holding two ice creams, shielding them from the sun. Her smile was soft, filled with quiet love that made the world feel stable.
Real.
Unbreakable.
Akira ran toward her, his steps light and carefree. The air carried the scent of summer—warm dust, sweetness, and something comforting that wrapped around him like a promise.
"You're too slow," she teased.
"That's because you didn't wait!" he protested.
She laughed softly. "Then next time, I won't buy you one."
"That's unfair!"
Their laughter blended into the world. A man passed by talking on his phone. A bicycle rolled lazily down the street. Somewhere in the distance, a dog barked.
Everything was peaceful.
Everything was safe.
Tick… tick… tick…
Akira stopped.
The sound was faint.
Barely there.
But once it reached him—
It refused to leave.
"…Mom?"
"What is it?"
"Don't you hear that?"
"Hear what?"
Tick… tick… tick…
Closer.
Not louder—
Closer.
A chill ran down his spine.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
Akira slowly lifted his gaze toward the sky.
And his heart stopped.
The sky…
…was cracked.
Not like broken glass.
Not something physical.
Something deeper.
Something wrong on a level he couldn't understand.
Like existence itself was splitting apart.
"…What is that…?"
Fear wrapped around him.
Cold.
Heavy.
Unavoidable.
💥 BOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
The world exploded.
A truck lost control.
It tore through the street like a force of destruction.
Metal screamed.
Glass shattered.
Fire erupted.
People screamed.
"RUN!!"
"MOVE!!"
Chaos swallowed everything.
"AKIRA!!"
His mother dropped the ice creams.
They hit the ground.
Melting.
Forgotten.
She ran toward him.
Fast.
Desperate.
Terrified.
The ground exploded between them.
The shockwave slammed into Akira's body, throwing him backward. He hit the ground hard, pain tearing through him as his vision spun violently and his ears rang with a piercing sound.
He tried to move.
He couldn't.
The truck was coming.
Straight at him.
Too fast.
Too close.
Too unavoidable.
This was death.
"Mom!!"
She reached out.
Her hand stretched toward him.
But the distance—
Felt infinite.
Time slowed.
Tick… tick… tick…
The screams faded.
The fire dimmed.
The world disappeared.
Only the ticking remained.
And then—
A voice.
"Balance must be maintained."
Akira's breath trembled violently.
"…Who…?"
"Life cannot exceed death."
The truck loomed above him.
Its shadow swallowed everything.
"AKIRAAAAAA!!!"
"Do you wish to live?"
Everything stopped.
Akira looked at her.
Her shaking hands.
Her desperate eyes.
Her tears.
He didn't want this to end.
He didn't want to disappear.
He didn't want to leave her.
"…I don't want to die…"
Silence.
Then—
Everything froze.
The flames.
The truck.
The air.
Time itself.
Akira felt his body lift.
Weightless.
Disconnected.
A crack formed.
Not in the sky.
Not on the ground.
In reality itself.
From it—
Darkness leaked.
Watching.
Something that controlled life and death—
Had noticed him.
"Request accepted."
The world trembled.
"Death… denied."
💀 BOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
The truck—
Vanished.
Erased.
Reality snapped back violently.
Akira collapsed.
Alive.
"…I… survived…?"
Impossible.
"AKIRA!!"
His mother ran toward him and pulled him into her arms, holding him tightly, desperately, as if trying to confirm he was truly alive.
"You're safe… you're safe…"
Akira clung to her.
"I thought I was going to die…"
She smiled softly.
"But you didn't. You're here… and that's enough."
Her warmth surrounded him.
Her heartbeat—
Steady.
Real.
For a moment—
Everything was okay.
And then—
Her body stiffened.
"…Mom?"
Her grip weakened.
"…Akira…"
"…why… does it hurt…?"
A drop of blood fell.
Then another.
Then more.
"No…"
Her body collapsed.
"NO!!"
He caught her.
Shaking.
Breaking.
"Stay with me! PLEASE!!"
Her breathing faded.
Her eyes dimmed.
"…Akira…"
A faint smile.
"Live… okay…?"
💀 Silence.
Her hand slipped.
Gone.
"…Mom?"
No response.
"…MOM!!!"
His scream shattered everything.
And at that exact moment—
Across the world—
Lives were taken.
A man collapsed mid-step.
A child stopped breathing.
A heart stopped.
Thousands.
Because one life—
Refused to end.
Tick… tick… tick…
The sound returned.
Inside him.
His chest burned violently.
"Debt… recorded."
Akira's eyes widened.
"…What…?"
"Life denied… must be repaid."
"No… no… NO…"
"Equivalent loss has been executed."
"GIVE HER BACK!!"
He screamed into the sky.
Into reality.
Into existence itself.
"…Take me instead…"
Silence.
Far beyond reality—
Something observed.
NULL.
A presence without form.
Without emotion.
Without mercy.
"An anomaly has been created."
"Balance disrupted."
Its gaze fixed on the boy.
"If one life refuses death…"
Darkness spread infinitely.
"Then something equally precious must be taken."
Back on Earth—
Akira held her lifeless body.
Tears falling endlessly.
"…I'll fix this…"
His voice trembled.
But did not break.
"I don't care what it takes…"
"I'll bring you back…"
Tick… tick… tick…
His heartbeat changed.
Not a heartbeat anymore.
A countdown.
And from that moment—
Akira Noctis became something the world was never meant to create.
A boy who cannot die.
A debt that cannot be erased.
A path that will destroy everything.