The room did not empty when the screen went black.
It tightened.
---
"…thirty percent isn't enough," a director said, voice low.
"It will never be enough if we keep waiting," another replied.
"We're running out of Hybrids."
"We're already out."
---
Silence pressed down on the room.
Then the man at the center spoke again.
Calm. Certain.
"Then we stop waiting for them."
All eyes turned to him.
"We find the ones who can become them."
---
"…and how do you plan to do that without causing mass panic?" a woman asked.
He didn't hesitate.
"We don't tell them."
---
A faint shift passed through the room.
Not shock.
Acceptance.
---
"A public event," he continued. "Controlled. Invited. Wide reach."
"…a selection," someone murmured.
He nodded once.
"A celebration on the surface."
"…and beneath it?"
"…a harvest."
---
No one argued after that.
---
The next day—
The school didn't feel like a school.
It felt like a festival.
---
Lights strung across buildings.
Music playing from speakers.
Students laughing, running, crowding around food stands.
Families everywhere—siblings, parents, people who didn't belong to the campus.
No uniforms required.
No structure.
Just noise.
Just life.
---
"Okay, this is definitely too much for a 'school event,'" Ryden said, already grabbing two drinks at once.
"It's crowded," Mira added, eyes scanning. "Too crowded."
Kael said nothing.
He was looking at something else.
---
Lyra stood beside him.
Quiet.
Still.
A cup in her hands again.
Steam rising slowly.
---
"…you sure you're okay being here?" Kael asked.
She nodded lightly.
"…I wanted to come."
Her voice was soft.
But something about it felt… distant.
---
"Then stay close," he said.
---
On stage, the principal stepped forward, smiling as if everything was normal.
"Welcome, everyone! Today is a celebration—"
Most people weren't listening.
---
Then another figure walked up beside him.
---
The air changed instantly.
---
"…that's not just a guest," Mira muttered.
---
The man didn't raise his voice.
He didn't need to.
"…thank you for gathering."
---
And then—
The sky opened.
---
A sharp mechanical hum tore through the air.
---
Kael looked up immediately.
"…what—"
---
Drones.
Hundreds.
No—
More.
---
They dropped from above like rain.
Fast.
Precise.
Unavoidable.
---
Before panic could fully spread—
They activated.
---
Scanning beams lit up the entire area.
---
"What is this?!"
"Hey, is this part of the—?!"
"Why are they scanning us?!"
---
The drones moved through the crowd.
Passing over faces.
Bodies.
Bones.
---
Kael felt it again.
That cold, invasive sensation.
Like something reaching inside him.
---
Beside him—
Lyra stopped.
---
Completely.
---
Then—
The drones reacted.
---
Dozens shifted direction at once.
---
Toward her.
---
"Target confirmed."
---
The voice echoed everywhere.
---
"Hybrid Compatibility: 99%"
---
Silence hit like a shockwave.
---
"…what?" Ryden froze.
Mira's eyes narrowed sharply.
---
Kael stepped forward.
"Hey—what are you doing—"
---
More drones surrounded him.
---
"Meta(H) Compatibility Detected."
---
His body tensed.
---
"Restrain all viable candidates."
---
Chaos exploded.
---
Chains shot out.
Metal locked around wrists.
Students screamed.
Some tried to run—
They didn't make it far.
---
"LET GO OF ME—!"
"What is this?!"
"Kael—!"
---
Blindfolds dropped.
Darkness swallowed everything.
---
But not everyone was taken.
---
Those the drones passed over—
Froze.
---
"…no compatibility detected."
---
The ground beneath them—
Shifted.
---
At first, no one understood.
---
Then—
It opened.
---
Screams tore through the air.
---
"What the hell—?!"
"THE FLOOR—!"
---
A massive split tore across the ground.
Darkness below.
Endless.
---
Some fell immediately.
Others clung to the edges, screaming.
---
"HELP ME—!"
"DON'T LET ME—!"
---
No one helped.
No one could.
---
Because something moved inside the darkness.
---
Shapes.
Wrong.
Waiting.
---
The first one reached up.
---
A hand—
Not a hand—
Wrapped around a student's arm.
---
Pulled.
---
Gone.
---
Screaming cut off instantly.
---
Then more.
---
Those who were "not compatible"—
Fell.
Or were taken.
---
The ground sealed slowly behind them.
Like nothing had happened.
---
Above—
The selected remained.
Bound.
Silent.
Shaking.
---
Elsewhere—
The doors of the Facility opened.
---
Two figures stepped out.
---
The same two from the battlefield.
---
Now clear.
---
**Kairo Vance** — lightning user, sharp eyes, restless energy
**Selene Aris** — shadow wielder, calm, precise, unreadable
---
"Deployment confirmed," a voice echoed.
---
They didn't respond.
They moved.
---
Back to the chaos.
---
Drones struggled to contain everything.
Too many targets.
Too much resistance.
---
Kairo appeared first.
Lightning cracked across the ground as he landed.
"Move!"
---
Selene followed—
Already gone before she touched the ground.
---
A group of restrained students broke free.
Panicking.
Running.
---
Selene appeared in front of them.
Silent.
---
"Stop."
---
They didn't.
---
The shadows moved.
---
Wrapped.
Pinned.
---
Kairo grabbed another mid-run, slamming him to the ground—not violently enough to kill, but enough to stop him.
"Stay down!"
---
One student lashed out—
Power awakening uncontrollably.
---
A burst of energy—
Wild—
Unstable—
---
Selene moved instantly.
Intercepted.
Neutralized.
---
"Untrained," she muttered.
---
Another scream—
---
A D2 fragment broke through the closing ground.
---
Small.
But active.
---
It lunged—
---
Kairo reacted instantly.
Lightning struck.
Direct hit.
---
It twitched.
Adapted—
---
Selene cut through it.
Clean.
Precise.
---
Gone.
---
"…they're leaking through already," Kairo said under his breath.
---
"Focus," Selene replied.
---
The remaining selected were secured.
One by one.
---
Kael.
Ryden.
Mira.
Lyra.
---
Four among them.
---
Twelve others.
---
Fourteen total.
---
The chosen.
---
Darkness.
---
Then light.
---
They stood in a cold room.
Rows.
Silent.
Bound.
---
The screen turned on.
---
Footage began.
---
Kairo.
Selene.
Fighting.
Destroying.
Surviving.
---
"You have been selected," the voice echoed.
---
"This is your reality now."
---
Images flashed.
---
D2.
Hybrids.
Failures.
Experiments.
---
"Power is not given."
"It is taken."
"It is borrowed."
"It is controlled."
---
The chamber appeared again.
---
The girl inside.
---
"Artificial Hybrid Program."
---
"Compatibility: 30%"
---
Silence.
---
Then—
Lyra's image.
---
Still.
Calm.
---
"Compatibility: 99%"
---
Even the scientists froze.
---
"…impossible…"
---
"She's beyond stable…"
---
Kael didn't speak.
Didn't move.
---
But something inside him—
Shifted.
---
The screen flickered.
---
And for a moment—
---
Lyra's image…
moved.
---
Not in reality.
---
But on the screen.
---
Her eyes—
---
Opened.
---
Black.
---
Watching.
---
The lights cut out.
---
Silence swallowed everything.
---
And somewhere deep in the facility—
Something awakened.