Noah Shepherd woke to the familiar thud of something heavy crashing against the garage wall. It was obviously Derp, his oversized foster brother, waking him up horribly for fun. The vibration rattled the thin metal roof overhead, sending a sprinkle of dust onto Noah's face. The young man didn't open his eyes right away. He just lay there on the deflated air mattress that served as his bed, breathing in the stale mix of oil, rust, and mildew that clung to everything in this corner of the garage. Another day of being eighteen years old, he thought bitterly. Another day of pretending this is normal. The rain outside was a steady roar, pounding like it wanted to get in. Noah finally cracked his eyes open and stared at the underside of the wooden staircase that loomed over him. The ceiling was his constant reminder that he lived beneath everyone else in this house. Literally. "Noah!" Mindy's voice exploded from inside the main house, venomous enough to cut through the walls. "I swea

The hybrids' skins split open, revealing scales. Claws extended from their limbs like knives, and their eyes glowed sickly yellow with rage. It was the dark side of hybridization—feral mutation. It happened rarely, creating deadly, powerful creatures that could not be countered without heavy firepower. One of the feral hybrids locked eyes with the crowd and roared, spraying spittle. It swung a jagged metal pole torn from a seat, smashing a man's skull with casual brutality. Blood sprayed across the windows. Noah froze. This is real. This is how it ends—ripped apart in a subway because the world has always hated me. How will Lia live on her own during her last days? Piper grabbed his arm. "Noah, we have to run—" It was too late to escape. The lead feral charged straight through the panicking crowd, barreling towards them. "Oh fu—" Then—a blur of motion passed before them. A young woman dropped from the overhead handrails where she had been standing unnoticed, landing between the fe

[Initiating Eternal Equations: 1/3] [Equation 1: TimeTailor] [Confirm execution: Y/N] The scientist could have kissed Aegis on the lips if it were a human. "You finished the task just in time, old friend. You never disappoint. Confirmed! Begin execution!" [Set Time Speed: x01, x0.5, x0.25, x0.1] TimeTailor was one of the three eternal God Formula equations that Griffin had worked on for decades. Controlling the speed of time was deemed impossible, but not for Aegis, which could replicate the creator's power. Eternal Equations did not require mana to execute, but could be used only once by an advanced user. Griffin needed to make it count. "One-fourth the speed of time should give me enough to keep Dagon in check and roll out my plan. Let's go for x0.25." [Equation 1: TimeTailor: 0,25] [Activated!] Abruptly, everything slowed down. The progress of Dagon's downward plunge was also affected. In fact, the entire world seemed to have caught its breath. It was only Griffin's though

The Shepherds always pushed Noah to attend Concord Academy. It was because adoptive parents wouldn't get the allowances if at least one of the foster children didn't attend classes. Noah covered his sister with two old blankets and put her to sleep. He left food and water beside her mattress before leaving. It was the final week of senior high school at Concord Academy. Noah had already planned his future after graduation. The young man aspired to secure a paid internship as a skilled worker at Providence Technologies, one of the world's leading conglomerates. Then he could rent an apartment and provide healthcare for Lia by himself. Right now, every day was agony, tolerating the horrible Shepherds and their abuses. Noah walked on the footpath with a canvas bag slung over his shoulder, daydreaming about his future. He reached the Academy's gate and pulled down his hood. The watchman looked at his ID card and scoffed. Area G's children had a G watermark on the ID. Noah entered th

"What do you think of her?" a voice asked him. Noah turned in his seat to see Piper Lee join him with his plate of food. The cafeteria was bustling with students, waiting for the test results from Providence. It was a series of interviews and medical tests while tethered to a supercomputer. Noah had found the tests boring. He found a rickety table in the back that nobody else ever used. The young man had assumed he wouldn't be disturbed until Piper found him. Piper was a cyborg, although a low-key one. Only one of his eyes was bionic. The natural eye was fixed on him while the mechanical one was trained at the other end of the cafeteria, where the popular students hung out. "Tell me. Come on. What do you think of her?" "Who are you talking about?" Noah asked timidly, wishing that Piper would leave him alone. He had spoken to the boy a few times before, but those occasions were purely accidental or forced. At the moment, he found no acceptable reason the cyborg would approach him o