World Rejector

Chapter 2: Amber

I stared at my hands.

The street was silent, except for the distant hum of neon signs and the occasional sound of a passing car. But my mind wasn’t on that.

It was on the fact that I was still alive.

The Iron pipes disappeared completely.

No wreckage. No debris. No scorch marks. It wasn’t broken or vaporized—it was like it had never existed in the first place.

I swallowed hard, flexing my fingers.

“What… did I just do?”

A system message had appeared before I lost consciousness.

[SYSTEM ACTIVATED] Ability Acquired: WORLD REJECTER

World Rejector. A power that let me reject things from existence.

I clenched my jaw.

This wasn’t a normal ability.

I had seen dozens of ability users—people who could control fire, enhance their speed, manipulate gravity. But this?

This wasn’t creation or manipulation.

It was erasure.

And that terrified me.

I was never supposed to have an ability.

And yet, here I was.

I needed to test it.

To understand how it worked.

I needed to know if I had just gotten the strongest power in the world—or the most dangerous curse.

…

I made my way back to my apartment, heart still hammering in my chest. The room was small, barely enough for a bed, desk, and closet. A mess of textbooks and clothes littered the floor. I ignored them and grabbed a pen from my desk, holding it in my palm.

“Okay…” I took a breath. “What did I do before?”

The iron pipes disappeared when I was about to die.

I think I should try it on my pen.

I focused.

Reject.

At first, nothing happened.

Then, the pen trembled.

I felt something—an invisible force tugging at it, like the universe itself was trying to erase it from reality. My skin prickled as the pen vanished.

No smoke. No disintegration. It was just… gone.

I gasped, stumbling backward.

I turned my palm over, shaking it, as if the pen would fall out.

But there was nothing.

No traces. No evidence it ever existed.

I gritted my teeth. This isn’t normal.

It wasn’t just destruction. Even if something explodes, it leaves pieces behind. Even if something burns, ashes remain.

But when I used World Rejector… reality itself seemed to act as if the object never existed at all.

I shivered.

“This ability… is terrifying.”

What if I lost control? What if I touched someone? Would they just cease to be?

I needed to be careful. If I wasn’t, this power could kill people without leaving a single trace.

“I have to be in control.”

And I had to make sure I never used it by accident.

…

Testing more would have to wait. My head was pounding, exhaustion creeping up on me. I threw myself onto my bed, burying my face into the pillow.

“I’ll figure this out tomorrow.”

At least, that was the plan.

The next morning, I woke up still groggy, rubbing my face. I needed to clear my head, so I decided to take a walk. The fresh air would help.

I left my apartment and headed toward the back alley behind the complex.

This is will be first training to know the limit of my ability.

“Maybe if I reject just a small piece of rock…”

I hesitated, then placed my palm against the wall.

“If I use my ability in this building does that mean everything will disapeare? I heard that imagination is a key point in using abilities. Maybe if I just imagine to make this wall dissapeared and touch it…”

A deep shudder ran through the stone. Then, without a sound, a massive chunk of the wall simply vanished.

My eyes widened. “Whoa!!”

A gust of warm air hit me.

Then, a piercing scream.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!!!”

My stomach dropped.

Through the hole I had just erased, I saw a girl.

A beautiful girl. A completely naked girl.

She stood frozen in a steaming bathroom, droplets of water running down her smooth skin. Her soaked pinkish hair clung to her body, her amber eyes wide with shock. A single towel lay on the floor beside her, completely useless now.

For a second, neither of us moved.

I opened my mouth to explain—

“PERVERT!!!”

Before I could react, the girl thrust her hand forward.

A massive fireball exploded toward me.

My instincts took over.

Without thinking, I raised my hand—

“Reject.”

The flames vanished.

No smoke. No impact. They were simply gone.

The girl froze. Her crimson eyes widened in shock.

“…What?”

She took a step forward, the steam swirling around her. Her hands trembled, the flickering flames around her fingertips suddenly uncertain.

She wasn’t scared.

She was angry.

“My flames don’t work… That makes no sense.”

Her voice was sharp, almost breathless with frustration.

I raised my hands defensively. “L-Look, I can explain—!”

She didn’t care.

Before I could react, her fist slammed into my face.

Pain exploded through my skull, and the last thing I saw before losing consciousness was her furious expression.

…

I woke up groggy, my head pounding like I had taken a steel bat to the face.

When my vision cleared, I realized something far worse.

I was tied to a chair.

Thick ropes bound my wrists and ankles, restricting every movement. The dimly lit room smelled faintly of something… metallic.

Then I saw them.

A table full of torture tools.

Scalpels, pliers, a whip, and even a blowtorch.

Cold sweat dripped down my back.

“You’re awake.”

The voice was smooth but laced with venom.

I turned my head and saw her.

The naked girl. Well, not naked anymore.

She stepped closer, picking up a scalpel from the table. She twirled it between her fingers.

I gulped.

“H-Hey, listen, I can explain—”

“Explain?” Her voice was ice-cold. “You erased my wall. You saw me naked. Do you think simple words can undo what happened?”

I tried to move, but the ropes were tight.

“Look, I swear it was an accident!”

“An accident?!” she snapped, slamming the scalpel into the wooden table with a thunk. “Because of you, I can’t marry anymore! Do you have any idea what that means?!”

I blinked. “Wait… what?”

Her crimson eyes narrowed.

“You saw my bare skin. In my family, that means my value as a woman is ruined. Simply killing you isn’t enough.”

I stared at her, dumbfounded.

“So… you’re going to torture me?”

She smirked, running a finger along the whip.

“Yes. You’ll pay for this… with your screams.”

“Hey! hold on! Why do you even have those in your room?!”

I asked.

She tilted her head before answering. “Personal hobby.”

“What kind of hobby involves a blowtorch and saws?!”

I struggled against the ropes, my heart racing. I had to think fast.

“Okay, okay! Look, I really didn’t mean to—”

She picked up a pair of pliers.

I paled. “W-Wait! WAIT! LISTEN TO ME!”

She ignored me and took a step forward.

I panicked.

And then—I activated my ability.

The ropes binding my wrists vanished.

Her eyes widened. “What—?!”

Not wasting a second, I placed my hand on my legs…

The ropes around my ankles disappeared.

I was free. I lunged backward, toppling the chair as I scrambled away.

But before I could escape—

A flaming fist stopped inches from my face.

My breath caught in my throat.

She didn’t look angry anymore.

She looked… intrigued.

A slow, dangerous smile crept across her lips.

“Oh…?” she murmured, flames flickering at her fingertips. “Now things are getting interesting.”

Then, she attacked.

Flames erupted from her hands, a relentless barrage of fireballs flying at me. I barely had time to react, my instinct kicking in as I threw my hands up—

“Reject!”

The flames disappeared the moment they touched me.

She narrowed her eyes and increased the intensity. The entire room lit up as scorching waves of fire came crashing down. But none of it could touch me.

I rejected everything.

There was no limit, I guess…

My heart pounded in my chest. I can erase anything I reject…

Her frustration grew. “Damn it! This is ridiculous!”

She clenched her fists, her flames fizzling out.

We were both breathing hard now. The air was thick with tension.

Finally, after a long pause, she crossed her arms and gave me a long, unreadable look.

“…You just awakened your ability, didn’t you?”

I nodded slowly, still on edge. “Yeah.”

She exhaled, shaking her head. “That’s terrifying.”

She turned away, walking to the other side of the room before speaking again.

“The name’s Amber.”

I stayed silent.

She glanced back at me, her amber eyes gleaming. Her name is a match with her eyes.

“With that super overpowered ability, you’re probably the most useful I’ve ever met.”

I hesitated. “Still… I can’t control it.”

Amber smirked. “Then, join me.”

I blinked.

“What?”

She leaned against the table, arms crossed. “I’m the leader of a group that hunts down criminals and rogue ability users in New Silicon Valley. We bring justice to the scum who abuse their power.”

I frowned. “Why me?”

Her smirk deepened. “Because I like your ability.” She pointed at me. “You’d be a great addition to the team.”

I wasn’t sure what she was thinking.

But if I wanted to understand my power—

If I wanted to learn how to control it—

This might be the best chance I had.

“Fine,” I said. “I’ll join you.”

Amber’s smile widened.

“Well, you don’t have much of a choice after all.” She pointed her thumb at the gaping hole in the wall I had erased. “You have to pay me for the reconstruction of my wall.”

I blinked.

“That’s… fair, I guess.”

She smirked wider.

“Plus, I took photos.”

I froze. “Photos?”

Amber held up her phone, flipping the screen toward me with a wicked grin. “This is your photos while you are unconsious. I’ll label you as a creep.”

My face went pale. “You wouldn’t.”

“Oh, I would,” she purred. “And if you refuse to join my team… well, I’m sure the whole city would love to see Noah the Wall-Peeping Pervert go viral.”

I groaned, burying my face in my hands. “You’re evil.”

Amber gave an innocent shrug. “I prefer resourceful.”

I sighed. “Fine… I’ll join you and your team. I want to learn more about controlling my ability after all.”

“Okay. Welcome to the team!”

At that moment, I never knew what kind of trouble awaited me when I joined Amber.