The Infinite Genesis System

Chapter 8: T.I.G.S: The Beginning of Fate

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"Sometimes fate doesn't knock.

It tears open the world and reaches for you.

The weak call it misfortune. History remembers it as the beginning of legends."

_Chronicles of the World Scar: Chapter 8_

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******

The Rift Fiend moved.

Its obsidian claw descended toward Kalexi.

Instinct took over. Kalexi threw himself into a roll.

BOOOOM!!

The claw slammed into the ground where he had stood only a heartbeat earlier. Stone exploded in every direction, the earth buckling beneath the impact as chunks of rock were ripped free like paper.

The shockwave hurled Kalexi through the air. Jagged shards scraped across his academy uniform, tearing cloth and drawing thin lines of blood across his skin.

CRAAASH!!

His body slammed into a wooden market stall. The table splintered beneath him, collapsing into a pile of broken timber.

"...Ugh...!"

Pain erupted through his back. For a moment, his vision blurred, his ears rang, and every breath burned.

Groaning, Kalexi forced himself onto one knee.

The Rift Fiend watched him, its massive head tilting slightly—almost curiously. Then all six crimson eyes glowed brighter. Not with rage, but with excitement.

As though it had finally found what it had been searching for.

"KALEXI!!"

Daren charged.

Every instinct screamed at him to run. Every ounce of reason told him it was suicide. He ignored them all. There was no fear left inside him—only one single thought.

Protect my son.

Snatching a discarded wooden spear from the roadside, he hurled himself toward the monster without hesitation. "Get away from him!"

The spear shot forward.

CLANG!!

It struck the Fiend's shoulder... and shattered instantly. Fragments of wood scattered harmlessly across the street, and the creature didn't even flinch.

Slowly, deliberately, it turned its head toward Daren.

For the first time, horror crossed Daren's face. His attack had accomplished absolutely nothing.

Kalexi's heart stopped.

"DAD!!"

"GET AWAY FROM THERE!!"

His voice cracked as he screamed, but Daren never moved. Not even a single step. He planted himself firmly between his son and the monster, his hands trembling and his breathing coming in ragged bursts. His knees wanted to give way, yet he stood.

If the creature wanted Kalexi, then it would have to kill his father first.

For Daren, there had never been another choice.

High above, Elder Miya saw everything. Her expression changed instantly.

"...No!"

Without another thought, she leaned forward as her crimson hawk folded its enormous wings.

FWOOOSH!

The Genesis plunged toward the streets like a crimson meteor, wind screaming around them. Faster, faster, faster... but she already knew.

She wasn't going to make it.

Not far away, Cedric's eyes widened. His Silvermane Sovereign Lion let out a thunderous roar before launching across the rooftops. Its massive body bounded from building to building, each leap shattering tiles beneath its paws.

Cedric gritted his teeth. "Move!"

The lion pushed itself even harder, yet the distance remained cruel. Too far. Far too far.

The Watch reacted as well. Several Vessels abandoned their battles and turned toward the marketplace. Winged Genesis folded their wings into steep dives while others sprinted across rooftops.

Everyone moved. Everyone tried.

Yet reality remained unchanged: no one could reach them in time.

The Rift Fiend slowly raised its claw, its six crimson eyes never leaving Daren. A suffocating pressure blanketed the street as the creature brought its arm down—slowly, almost mockingly, as though savoring the terror before the kill.

Kalexi felt his blood run cold. "...DAAAAD!!"

His scream echoed across the marketplace.

TOK.

A single sound. Soft, gentle—the tap of a wooden cane against stone.

It wasn't loud. It wasn't explosive.

Yet the world fell silent.

The wind stopped, the dust froze in the air, and even the Fiend halted mid-strike, its claw hanging less than a finger's breadth from Daren's face. Time itself seemed uncertain whether it should continue.

No one understood what had happened. No one... except the Fiend.

Its six burning eyes widened, and for the first time, fear appeared within them.

A calm voice drifted through the silence.

"Bullying children... at your age?" A faint sigh followed. "How shameless."

The Rift Fiend stiffened. Slowly, almost reluctantly, it withdrew its claw and turned around.

Standing quietly in the middle of the ruined street was an old man dressed in simple gray robes—the same old man who had watched the Awakening Ceremony from afar. Plain robes, an ordinary wooden cane, and brown hair streaked lightly with silver framed a weathered face hidden behind a neatly kept beard.

His eyes were calm, kind, and ancient, like someone who had watched countless generations rise and fade away. He looked no different from a harmless grandfather taking an afternoon stroll, yet he stood before the Rift Fiend without the slightest hint of fear.

As though the monster before him was nothing more than an inconvenience.

ROOOAAARRRRR!!!

The Rift Fiend erupted in fury. Its roar shook the marketplace, windows shattered, and the ground trembled beneath its feet.

Then—it charged.

Like a crimson-black blur, the monster lunged toward the old man, claws tearing through the air with enough force to split stone.

The old man merely sighed. "I was hoping... you'd be polite."

He slowly raised his wooden cane. No battle stance, no dramatic aura, no overwhelming display of power. He simply stood there, waiting.

The Rift Fiend reached him in an instant, its obsidian claw sweeping down, determined to cleave him in two.

Yet the moment it entered the old man's reach, it stopped.

Not because it wanted to, but because it couldn't. An invisible pressure descended upon the Fiend, crushing it from every direction. Its body trembled violently, its muscles strained, and its six crimson eyes flared with savage defiance as it struggled to break free.

No matter how hard it fought, it couldn't move another inch.

The old man looked at it almost sympathetically. Then he gently tapped its forehead with the tip of his cane.

TOK.

The sound was soft—almost laughably soft. For a heartbeat, nothing happened.

Then... craaack...

A tiny crack appeared where the cane had touched, thin as a strand of hair. Another followed, then another. Within seconds, hundreds of cracks spread across the Fiend's body like a shattered mirror.

The creature stared down at itself, its six glowing eyes widening as it finally understood: it hadn't attacked a human; it had challenged something far beyond its comprehension.

Its body slowly crumbled apart—not into flesh or blood, but into countless fragments of black, ash-like flames that the wind carried away until nothing remained.

The Rift Fiend simply ceased to exist.

Kalexi stood frozen, his mouth hanging open. One hand clutched his aching side where he'd crashed into the market stall while his mind refused to process what he had just witnessed.

"...W-What..." he whispered from afar, yet the old man heard him. "...did you just do?"

The old man casually dusted off his sleeve before glancing toward him. "You mean, that?" He gave a small shrug. "I just hit it with my cane. It was making too much noise."

"..."

Kalexi blinked. "...You... WHAT?!"

The old man looked genuinely puzzled. "I hit it with my cane." He lifted it slightly, as if presenting evidence.

Kalexi slowly turned toward the empty space where the Rift Fiend had stood, then back to the old man's ordinary wooden cane, then back to the empty street.

"...That... doesn't explain anything!"

The old man smiled warmly. "It explains the important part."

A silver blur descended from above!

BOOM!

The Silvermane Sovereign Lion landed beside Kalexi, its massive paws cracking the stone beneath them. Cedric had come as fast as he could, but he had still been too late.

A gust of wind swept through the ruined street as Elder Miya arrived atop her crimson hawk. The moment her eyes fell upon the old man, her expression froze in shock and disbelief.

Then, without the slightest hesitation, she jumped down from her Genesis and bowed deeply, one knee touching the ground with her head lowered in complete respect.

"...Senior."

Cedric's pupils contracted. He had never seen the Guardian of Ashvale bow to anyone—not even the Head of House Ashborn.

Another figure landed beside the old man: Headmaster Marcus. The instant he saw the old man, his stern expression melted into reverence as he lowered his head.

"So... you truly came."

One after another, the members of the Watch who recognized him all bowed. Not a single one remained standing, and the entire street fell silent.

Only Kalexi, Daren, and a few confused villagers remained frozen in place.

The old man scratched his beard awkwardly. "Oh dear... I've told all of you countless times... you don't have to do this."

Marcus smiled faintly. "Forgive us, but we cannot. You honor Ashvale simply by appearing."

The old man let out a helpless sigh. "You people really are stubborn."

Kalexi blinked several times, his eyes wandering from Elder Miya to Marcus, to Cedric, and then back to the harmless-looking old man. His brain struggled to make sense of what he was seeing.

"...Who..." he whispered under his breath. "...is this old man?"

The old man turned toward him with a gentle smile. "So... you're Kalexi Rowan."

Kalexi straightened instinctively. "...Y-Yes, sir."

"I've been watching you."

Kalexi's expression stiffened. "...That somehow sounds even more terrifying than the monster that just attacked me."

For a second, silence hung in the air.

Then—"Hahaha!"

The old man's laughter rang through the street—genuine, warm, the kind of laughter that made the tension in the air melt away. He laughed so hard his shoulders shook.

"Oh... I like you, young Kalexi."

Kalexi rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Hehe... you praise me too much, sir."

The old man smiled knowingly. "I've lived long enough to trust my judgment."

His smile slowly faded as his gaze drifted toward the World Scar hanging above Ashvale. The warmth in his eyes vanished, replaced by something far older and far heavier.

"...So... it has begun again."

Marcus stepped forward, his voice unusually solemn. "Sir... that Fiend... was it one of those?"

The old man nodded once. "Yes. It was stronger than it should have been." A faint sigh escaped his lips. "Fortunately... I arrived in time."

He turned back toward Kalexi, his gentle smile returning. "You're safe now, young Rowan."

Kalexi opened his mouth to reply—but before a single word could leave his lips.

SLAAATZZZ!!

A violent tearing sound echoed across Ashvale. Everyone instinctively looked up.

The World Scar expanded. The colossal wound in the heavens stretched wider, opening like the jaws of some ancient beast. Dark clouds churned violently around it while crimson lightning raced through the sky, illuminating the village in blood-red flashes.

Then a terrifying pressure descended once more, crashing over Ashvale like an invisible mountain. Even the strongest Vessels staggered.

Marcus narrowed his eyes, Cedric instinctively tightened his grip around his gauntlets, and even the old man's expression hardened.

"...It's still reacting."

Far below, Daren finally allowed himself a breath of relief. His son was alive; that alone was enough. He turned toward Kalexi, a faint smile beginning to form.

Then space twisted.

Without warning, reality itself warped beside Kalexi as a swirling vortex of violet light tore open the air. It appeared so suddenly that no one had time to react.

The pull was immediate, violent, and merciless. Everything nearby was dragged toward it: wooden crates, broken stalls, shattered stone, and even the air itself as it was swallowed into the rift.

Kalexi's eyes widened. "W-What?!"

Instinctively, he grabbed onto a broken wooden plank buried beneath the ruined market stall, his fingers digging into the splintered wood as his arm muscles strained. But the pull only grew stronger.

"DAD!"

Daren's heart nearly stopped. "KALEXI!!"

Without hesitation, Daren threw himself toward his son, his hand stretching desperately through the air. Just a little farther... just a little more...

The old man's calm expression vanished for the first time, his pupils contracting. "...No."

In the next instant, he disappeared—not by running or flying, but simply by no longer being there. The space he had occupied rippled once before falling silent as he reappeared beside Kalexi almost instantly.

His hand shot toward the young man, but he was a heartbeat too late.

The vortex roared as its pull intensified a hundredfold. The wooden plank ripped free from the ground, and Kalexi, along with the shattered remains of the market stall, was dragged helplessly toward the rift.

"DAD!!"

"KALEXI!!"

Father and son reached for each other, their fingertips coming within inches.

FWOOOOSH!!

The Rift swallowed him. The violet vortex snapped shut, reality stitching itself back together and leaving behind only a faint, glowing purple scar hanging in the air.

The whole place went silent.

The old man stood before the fading mark, his outstretched hand slowly lowering as his eyes remained fixed on the place where Kalexi had vanished.

For the first time, a trace of concern crossed his face.

"...So," his voice was barely above a whisper. "...fate has finally begun."

He knew that something sleeping for countless years had just awakened. Whether it would become humanity's greatest hope or its greatest catastrophe, only time would decide.

Behind him, Daren collapsed to his knees, his eyes never leaving the spot where his son had disappeared.

"...Kalexi..." His voice broke, but no answer came.

Around them, the pressure from the World Scar gradually receded. The crimson lightning faded, and the heavens slowly calmed. Ashvale could breathe again.

But no one felt relieved—because every person present carried the same terrifying thought:

How could a boy who had failed to awaken his Genesis possibly survive after being dragged into the World Scar?