Hero

"Yes, my Seraph."

Aira appeared by the window, wings folded tight behind her. The glistening morning light broke across her feathers, outlining each one with a golden glow.

"What was that back there?" Ren asked flatly.

Aira lifted her fingers over her bottom lip, brows narrowing. "It seems it was a regular lesser demon, although strong enough to..."

"No. Not that." Ren interrupted, lifting a palm to his face, studying it. "What was that ability I used."

"I don't know." Aira lowered her hand and faced him fully. "It appears you conjured pure mana. I haven't seen it so pure before though."

"I thought you said MP is the crux to increase your mana capacity?", he returned. 

"Yes, that's true. However, this may be a result of you not having any points in the stats MP interacts with, unusual effects can appear."

Ren tapped his mark on his hand. His interface materialized in front of him.

His eyes widened as he scanned it. There, something he didn't notice before stood out to him.

Ren Kurosawa
Level: 5
Class: Arcanis Seer

"It seems I was given a class as well," he murmured.

Aira didn’t react. Not even a blink. That silence told him more than any explanation. The fact he received a class meant this was a legitimate path. And, either she didn't know what that class meant, or she knew exactly what it meant and was hiding it from him. 

His thoughts drifted back to the fight. He couldn't explain the weird sensation he had experienced. It was almost as if with each blast, he manipulated his very essence outward. And the deepest part of his soul was telling him to keep following down that path.

His eyes shifted to the bottom of the screen where his Faith Points ticked one. He was so caught up in recent events he wasn't even aware he had leveled up. 

His fingers moved toward the interface, before in desperation, now with intention. He placed the point into MP, then closed the interface. 

The moment it vanished, his vision began to blur as the room seemed to tilt. Sound began to sharpen around him. The clatter of dishes downstairs, water running through pipes, the quiet brush of wind against his window. 

He lost balance, collapsing on the bed. He pressed his palms against his ears as if that could shut it all out.

The silhouette of Aira hovered over him. Her calls were drowned out by the noise until he lost consciousness.

__________

"Yes, let me know when you're finished." Sayaka laid her phone back on the kitchen table, now spotless.

She took a breath.

The house was quieter now. Nothing but the hum of the space heater nestled in the corner of the living room.

She removed the dish towel over her shoulder and walked out toward where the washing machine was, throwing it in a hamper next to it.

Stepping out of the room, she walked toward the sofa where not even a day ago she sat under a thick blanket with their mother.

She turned around, falling backward on it's leather.

It still had a comforting scent. A scent that still hugged her like she was a kid all over again, being the one protected and loved.

She limped a leg over the edge, resting a hand on her forehead and laying the other on her stomach.
"Are we even safe Rafael?" she whispered. "Are we learning about the world fast enough?"

He slowly came to focus, steady near the base of her feet.
"The depends on the dedication and skills of both Seraph and Human. One can not win this war without the other." he paused. "That, or an exceptional hero rises from the Seraphs."

Sayaka lifted her leg up, curling her body in the leather.
"Hero, huh?" She whispered, taking in a deep breath. "I wonder if such a thing exists."

Her heavy eyes slowly blinked close as her face relaxed, as if once more it rested on her mom's lap.

__________

Faint noises crescendoed in the darkness as Ren stirred awake.

A set of lights ahead forced him to shield his eyes, but it wasn't pain he felt, it was confusion. He removed his hand to a world below. Tiny lights sparkled on the terrain. Then he realized the shape of what he could see. It was Japan, spread out like a vast map beneath him. The tiny lights were cities glowing faintly with thousands of smaller ones. 

He looked up, noticing he was floating in a makeshift sky, as dark as space should be. A pinch of white caught his eye, turning his gaze to his sides.

Wings.

White wings stretched from his bare back, each feather sharp and bright as if lit from the inside. He jolted at the sight, but the shock evaporated quickly. Something about this place asked for his focus to look outward, not inward.

"Aira?" He called into the void.

Silence answered him.

A shimmer below caught his attention. It was different than the layered lights of the cities. Then, he caught multiples of them around Japan, shimmering at certain points on the landscape. Not bright enough to be light, yet he could tell light bounced from each half-sphere, causing distorted ripples on their surfaces.

"Are these... active Spatial Zones?"

The moment he formed the thought, the world began to fold into itself pulling him back into darkness.

A familiar voice faintly called for Ren somewhere between the path of consciousness and the darkness he had left behind.  

"Ren. Ren. Ren, please…"

He drew a breath and his eyes opened.

Aira hovered inches above him, wings tucked in tight. Her face was tense, her hands pressed lightly to his cheeks as if afraid he’d slip away again.

"You’re awake…" Her voice trembled with relief.

"I’m okay," he said, pushing himself upright. His vision wasn’t fractured anymore. The noise he heard before...the overlapping sounds, the pressure...was gone. His body felt aligned, as if something inside him had not just shifted and healed, but evolved.

Aira exhaled shakily. "I couldn’t reach you. Your consciousness was completely closed off to me. Where were you?"

Ren hesitated. He didn’t know how to phrase it without sounding insane. "I don’t know. I remember… floating over Japan. I had wings. In fact, they looked like yours. I tried calling for you but there was no response."

Aira’s eyes widened, confusion mixing with worry. "My wings... over Japan." She caught herself, lowering her gaze. "I haven't heard of that happening before. Regardless, wherever you were, I’m just glad you’ve returned to me, my Seraph. How do you feel now?"

"Better than before I passed out." He stood, steady on his feet this time.

A faint sensation brushed his mind. Ren lifted a hand to silence her before she spoke again.

Aira understood immediately and closed her lips, watching.

He shut his eyes.

At once, his awareness stretched outward like a ripple. Not sight. Not sound. Something deeper.

The first presence he sensed was inside the house: Sayaka, asleep on the sofa. Wrapped in herself, small and exhausted. A faint outline hovered around her with no shape, no detail, just a soft aura of something… watching. Guarding.

I wonder if that's Rafael? he asked himself, his focus drifting farther beyond the walls of their home.

His awareness extended down the street, out into the late morning air.

There was something else he noticed. A pull. A distortion. Like the world didn't align perfectly in a singular spot.

His eyes opened.

"Let’s go," he said.

Aira nodded without question.

Ren changed into fresh clothes, then stepped silently into the hall. He pulled out clean blanket from the main closest and continued quietly below. Sayaka was curled up exactly where he sensed her, breathing softly. He placed the blanket over her shoulders, fixing it so that it covered her feet. He carefully stepped back to avoid waking her.

He paused, studying her face for a moment more, before walking toward the door and slipping out with Aira following behind.

The morning was still. Crows lined street lamps after him as if telling him he is going the right way.

He walked for several minutes, letting the pull guide him. Every step made the sensation stronger. When he reached the end of the street, something in the air shimmered like glass. It was barely visible, just a faint warp in the space ahead. If he hadn’t sensed it beforehand, he would have walked right into it.

Ren extended a hand and brushed his fingers across it. The surface bent further around his touch. Smaller distorted ripples traced the motion before fading.

"So this is…" he murmured. "A spatial zone. And I can… see the edge of it."

The distortion pulsed once, daring him inside.

__________

Fun Fact: Classes are given based on skill allocation.