Ten days ago...
"Elias, catch!"
A coin flew through the air.
Elias caught it with a grin.
His older brother laughed.
"See? You're getting better."
The two stood on a crowded street performing simple tricks for passing strangers.
Most people ignored them.
Some walked past as if they didn't exist.
A few dropped coins into their small box.
Not enough.
Never enough.
When the performance ended, they counted their earnings.
The result was disappointing.
Again.
"Can we buy food?" Elias asked.
His brother looked at the money.
Then at him.
"We can buy one meal."
Elias already knew what that meant.
His brother would pretend he wasn't hungry.
Just like always.
That night they sat beneath a bridge.
The city lights reflected off the river below.
Elias handed over half of his bread.
His brother shook his head.
"You eat it."
"You haven't eaten all day."
"I'm not hungry."
That was a lie.
Elias knew it.
His brother knew it.
But neither argued.
After a while Elias spoke.
"Do you think things will ever get better?"
His brother stared at the stars.
"Of course."
"How?"
His brother smiled.
"I don't know."
"But they will."
Elias wished he believed him.
The next day changed everything.
A black car stopped near their performance.
A man in a suit stepped out.
"You have talent," he told Elias's brother.
Nobody had ever said that before.
The man offered money.
Housing.
Education.
A future.
For the first time in years, hope appeared.
Life slowly improved.
They moved into a small apartment.
They ate proper meals.
Elias attended classes.
His brother performed at events.
For a while...
they were happy.
Then the comet appeared.
The entire world watched it cross the night sky.
Nobody knew it would change everything.
A week later, his brother discovered his power.
Fire.
A small flame appeared in his hand.
At first they both panicked.
Then they laughed.
It felt impossible.
Amazing.
His brother could create fire from nothing.
Tiny sparks became flames.
Tiny flames became blazing streams of heat.
"It's like magic," Elias whispered.
His brother smiled.
"Maybe life finally decided to be fair."
Those words would haunt him forever.
The government discovered the ability soon after.
At first they seemed supportive.
Researchers arrived.
Officials smiled.
They promised help.
Promised protection.
Promised answers.
His brother trusted them.
Then one day he never came home.
Hours passed.
Then days.
Finally an official arrived.
"There was an accident."
That was all they said.
No details.
No explanation.
No body.
Just an apology.
Elias refused to believe it.
Something felt wrong.
He searched.
Asked questions.
Followed people.
Eventually he found the truth.
Not from a document.
Not from evidence.
From a conversation.
Two researchers speaking carelessly.
"The fire user didn't survive."
"We pushed the experiment too far."
"He was only a kid."
The words shattered something inside him.
His brother hadn't died in an accident.
He had died in a laboratory.
Like an object.
Like a test subject.
Like he never mattered.
The following weeks were worse.
Much worse.
The apartment was taken away.
Nobody helped.
Nobody cared.
The same people who had praised his brother suddenly avoided him.
Teachers ignored him.
Neighbors whispered behind his back.
Some called his brother dangerous.
Others said he deserved it.
One man laughed and said,
"That's what happens when people play with things they shouldn't."
Elias nearly attacked him.
But what hurt most...
was that nobody stood up for his brother.
Not one person.
The world moved on.
As if he had never existed.
As if his life meant nothing.
As if his death meant nothing.
Little by little, Elias stopped seeing people as people.
All he saw were cowards.
Liars.
Bystanders.
A society that watched injustice happen and did nothing.
That night he sat alone in the rain.
Nobody came.
Nobody looked.
Nobody cared.
And for the first time...
Elias began to hate the world.
He hated them all!
Far beyond Earth...
in the endless darkness of space...
a colossal egg floated silently.
Ancient.
Sleeping.
Waiting.
Crack.
A fracture appeared across its surface.
Then another.
And another.
Something moved inside....