CHAPTER ONE: ASHES OF INNOCENCE
In a world where every human had a special ability, some called it a gift.
But for me...
It was a curse
I remember it like it was just yesterday.
Every detail burned into my memory like the flames that devoured my childhood.
The way the morning light hit the walls.
The sound of Elise humming in the kitchen, dragging her bunny around by the ear.
The smell of toasted bread and warm milk.
Then
MICHAEL! Can you come down the stairs? You're going to be late for class!"
My mom's voice.
Gentle but firm, like always.
I was twelve.
Still half-asleep.
Still thinking about the girl in class who sat two rows over and how I was going to show her the dumb magic trick I learned with my fingers.
I didn't know it was the last normal moment I'd ever have.
I came down the stairs slow, like always. Half-dressed, bag on one shoulder, shoes in hand.
"Elise, give your brother his water bottle," Mom said, fussing with my collar. Elise giggled and threw it instead. It hit the wall.
"Nice aim, little psycho," I muttered with a grin. She stuck her tongue out.
Dad was sitting by the radio, sipping coffee like he didn't have the weight of the world on his shoulders. He had *that* look distant, tense. Like he knew something was coming but couldn't say it.
Eat fast he said without looking at me. "I'll drop you off."
I didn't ask why.
I should have.
Because ten minutes later, the sky cracked open.
It started with a pulse in the air like the world held its breath.
Then the front door shattered, and the wind rushed in with heat and thunder and him.
Valerian...
Cape snapping behind him like a war banner.
Eyes glowing like twin suns.
Hands clenched, jaw tight. Not like a hero, but everyone admired him...
But for me
He is executioner
"Darius Calix. You are under judgment."
That was my father's name.
That was my warning.
The next few seconds moved like a nightmare underwater.
My father stood.
My mother screamed.
Elise clung to my leg.
I couldn't move.
Dad tried to speak tried to reason. "There are children here," he said.
But Valerian didn't listen.
He raised his hand. The floor quaked. The kitchen burst into flames.
Elise screamed.
I grabbed her.
We ran.
But only I made it out.
I watched our home collapse behind me.
Listened to the screams turn to silence.
Felt the fire kiss my back as I dove through the gate.
I heard my mother screaming in agony because she was burning alive and you know what's the sad part is? i can't even do anything i just run because that's the only thing i know.
At that moment i realize that having a gift a special ability doesn't make you a hero but makes you a monster
That was the day the hero came to my house.
That was the day he killed my family.
And the world thanked him for it.
I wake up sometimes thinking I can still smell the smoke.
It's been twelve years.
But the memory doesn't fade.
It festers.
People say time heals everything.
They're wrong.
Time doesn't heal. It hides. It buries. It teaches you to smile while you bleed.
After the fire, they dragged me through courtrooms and crowded foster homes, calling me "the miracle boy."
Reporters shoved cameras in my face.
Psychologists fed me words like "survivor," "trauma," "resilience."
But none of them saw what I saw.
None of them heard my sister's scream right before the ceiling collapsed.
None of them cared that the man who killed my family got medals, parades, and statues built in his name.
They just patted me on the head, shoved me into broken homes, and told me to move on.
I didn't move on.
I evolved.
My gift my so-called "ability" awakened after that day. Maybe it was the trauma. Maybe it was something inside me that cracked wide open in the fire. I don't even know what to call it anymore.
It doesn't shine.
It doesn't glow.
It burns.
Like me.
Most people get abilities that make them stronger, faster, better. Mine?
Mine feeds on pain. It remembers every wound and turns it into something darker.
Something lethal.
I trained it in silence. Kept it buried deep like a blade under the ribs. No one knows what I can do. I made sure of it.
I'm not interested in fame.
Not in justice.
Not in being another "hero" in a world full of liars wearing capes.
I want one thing.
Him.
Valerian.
The shining symbol of hope. The man who took everything from me and walked away untouched.
I don't care how powerful he is.
He has a weakness.
All heroes do.
And I've spent every day since that fire learning how to break them.
He doesn't know it yet…
But I'm coming.