Something Unregistered

The night sky over Noxvale was never truly dark. There was always a faint glow—streetlamps buzzing in the fog, digital billboards burning on towers, and a crimson haze that had long forgotten the meaning of stars.

But tonight... felt different.

At the old docks of Ward 03, the sea breeze reeked of salt and rust. Mist slipped between derelict cranes and hollow shipping containers, blanketing the port like a funeral shroud.

Footsteps echoed. Measured. Cautious. Weaving through chains and crates.

"Location confirmed. One body. Status unverified."

The voice in Rael's earpiece was calm. Flat.

He stood near a pile of splintered wood, eyes fixed on something just beyond the yellow police tape.

A body.

Or something that used to be a body.

Lying face-up. Skin melted like wax. Blackened in places. Eyes wide open—yet hollow.

No blood. No visible wounds. But no signs of life either.

Rael crouched beside it. He didn't touch the corpse. He only listened.

There was a pulse. Faint. But not from the body. From underneath it.

"Male. Early thirties. No ID. No registered Gift," Rael murmured—half to his comms, half to himself.

He closed his eyes.

Sense—his Gift—activated.

And the world changed.

Sounds vanished. Air thickened. The ground beneath the body... trembled.

Rael opened his eyes.

A blurred shape. Unformed. Like a creature still under construction.

Something not from this world.

A remnant of summoning. Residual Gift energy. But not from the victim.

"So he was just... the door."

Rael stood.

"Not the killer. Not even the victim. Just... residue."

His eyes drifted toward the dark corridor leading deeper into the ship graveyard. A single red light from an old surveillance camera blinked once.

Then—movement.

Not human. Not machine. More like... the air itself screaming.

Rael said nothing. He moved. Feet slammed the ground. His body spun to the side.

The attack missed.

Dust scattered. The corpse lifted slightly, then slumped back like wet sand.

Rael landed softly, fingers already at the trigger on his wrist. But—

Nothing. Just air. And the bitter scent of iron.

"You summoned something you couldn't bind, huh?"

He spoke into the darkness.

No reply.

But in his mind, a word began to take shape. A concept that defied logic.

Tier-0.

Rael didn’t smile. But his heartbeat changed—just slightly.

He pressed his earpiece. His voice remained flat, but his eyes sharpened like a predator catching the scent of prey.

"Requesting escalation. Black Code. This wasn’t an accident. Target unseen. Possible Tier classification... unconfirmed."

Silence. Then static. Then—

"Approved. Black Case Protocol engaged."

Rael stared one last time into the shadows.

Something was still out there. Watching.

And tonight, Noxvale wouldn’t sleep.