Bound By Fury:The Forced Path

Two days had passed since Akira's world came crashing down.

Akira simply lay in the hospital bed, staring blankly at the ceiling, his mind a maelstrom of grief and anger.

Physical pain from his injuries did little to impress him compared to the turmoil racking his mind.

His door creaked open, and a woman entered.

She was in her early thirties, commanding presence, and an aura of authority and strength that stirred the air around her.

Her eyes were red from crying, and her face a mask of sorrow and resolve.

"I am Eri," she introduced herself.

"Akira Shoto?"

Eri asked gently as she approached his bed.

Her voice was soft, but there was firmness to it that demanded attention.

Akira turned his head slowly, his eyes meeting hers.

"Yes, that's me."

"Who're you?"

"I'm Eri."

"I was a good friend of your father,"

She answered with a slight shake in her voice.

"I'm also a high-ranking A-rank STAR."

Akira's heart skipped a beat at the mention of his father.

"I came here because...because I want to help you avenge him."

The word vengeance flared something inside Akira.

Forced by his mind, he tugged himself up a bit higher.

"Why would you help me?"

She took a deep breath and steadied herself, tears in her eyes as she spoke.

"Your father and I were close enough to consider each other friends."

"He was more than a friend he is like a mentor to me."

"When I heard what happened I couldn't just stand by."

"I want to see justice done for him and I believe you can help."

Akira cast his gaze aside, his mind racing with thoughts.

"What am I supposed to do?"

"I am just a weakling i have nothing to offer."

Eri shook her head with a stern expression.

"You are not just a weakling."

"I got news"

"That the fortune of your father has been left to you."

"That fortune comes in handy."

"The devices he created to trace Nightfall-the ones behind everything-it's still under your possession."

"That technology is what we need to track down and bring those guilty before us."

Akira stared into her face as the meaning of her words slowly dawned on him.

"So you're telling me that I can also make a difference without superpowers?"

Eri nodded, her face a mask of determination.

"Right."

"With your resources and access to your father's technology, we'll be able to track Nightfall and get the intel we need."

"And you have my word I will do everything in my power to ensure we bring them to justice."

"Of course this is only can happen if you only agree."

Akira exhaled a deep breath and spoke words of consideration.

Working with her had been intimidating, but it provided a way out-a means to convert his anger and sorrow into something constructive.

"Alright"

He said at last, his voice level but firm.

"I'll do it."

"I'll take care of everything we may need"

A glimmer of relief danced across Eri's face as she leaned forward and grasped his hand.

"Thank you Akira."

"I know this is a lot to ask, but we must move fast, really fast."

"Your father was an incredible man, and his death cannot remain unpunished."

Akira nodded a fire grew in his eyes.

Still in shock due to the traumatizing event, this chance for acting, seeking justice about his parents, gave him some sense.

"Let's do this."

Eri squeezed his hand softly; her eyes showed deep sadness and hope.

"We will, together."

"I promise."

As Eri left the room, Akira was left with cautious optimism.

He had a plan, a way to avenge his family, and a trusted ally to help him through the perils that lay ahead.

Akira stared at his mother through the glass window of her hospital room.

The soft, steady beep of the heart monitor was the only indication of life-a painful reminder of the silence that now dominated what once was a vibrant presence.

He clenched his fists, silently

After i got out of the spital stepping into the base of the team I was in, two new faces were there to greet me on entering-two people I knew about but had not really worked with to date.

Eri introduced them with the same seriousness she took everything else, and I felt this weird sensation of excitement and tension mix in my chest.

"This is Mia,"

Eri motioned to a woman leaned casually against the wall, her posture languid-but her eyes sharp.

She had short, dark hair, with a slight smirk that showed she knew just about what you were thinking before you said it.

"She's our intelligence expert. "

"If there's information to be found, Mia is the one that digs it up."

Mia nodded at me, giving me a once-over that was little more than a glance.

"So you're the kid with the inheritance and the vendetta,"

She said, her smirk flowering into a grin.

"Nice to meet you, Akira."

"I'm looking forward to seeing what you can bring to the table."

I met her gaze, liking the forthrightness.

"Hope I'm not running behind schedule.

Eri motioned beside her to a tall, muscular figure.

"And this is Entoa. "

"He's our combat specialist-he handles anything that needs… a heavier approach.

Entoa inclined his head, an inch, impassive.

Silent, his staring eyes unyielding, he wore a calm confidence akin to the stillness of the middle of a hurricane. Muscular, stretched with the blemishes of battles fought and won, his eyes were softer than anything else.

"Akira,"

He said, curt and straightforward, in a low, even tone.

"Heard much about you."

"Takes guts to get into this line of work without powers.

I shrugged, keeping my tone light.

"Guess I'll just have to get creative, then."

A flicker of approval crossed Entoa's face.

"Good answer."

"It takes more than just power to make someone strong.

"Thank you" - Akira replied

One year later

In one year, I've gone from the darkest place of my life to something else."

"Not to light, but to focus."

"Eri and her crew have been tireless."

"From them, I learned all about the structure of Earthly power: how STARS are ranked, how strength is measured, and the simple fact that, on this world only power matters."

"So basically."

E-ranks are stronger than any ordinary human but still the weakest of the awakeneds."

"Then, there were the D-ranks-they could handle what an E-rank couldn't."

"The pattern goes on: C-rank, stronger than D; B-rank stronger than C, and so forth."

"Finally, there were the A-ranks, like Eri."

"Formidable was the word-strong, not just in strength but in the leading aspect."

"An A-rank would wipe out small units or command a team of STARS with ease."

Above them all are the S-ranks, practically legends each, capable of destroying a city without breaking a sweat."

"They're powerful, they're rare, but they're not the end of the line."

"Not here."

"Earth's true monsters-the SS-ranks-could destroy whole countries if they wanted to."

"They stand at the pinnacle of power. well, almost..."

"Because then there's the National Level STARS. "

"Less than the fingers on one hand, they aren't bound by laws, treaties, or restrictions."

"They are the law."

"If they say a mountain moves, people start pushing."

"They're unparalleled. Unbreakable."

And here I am — unawakened, unranked — chasing down the people responsible for reducing my life to ashes.

"Now a commoner in a world ruled by gods."

"And here they are, the species I hate with my every single cell more than anything in the world: Demonic Humans."

"Just thinking about them sends me into a rage that is impossible to describe with words."

"They're nothing like us, not like STARS, with limits, with rules.

"Crazy" does not even begin to describe it."

"The need for power is there, but in truth, they are consumed by it, some sort of warped hunger that grows in intensity the more horrific they become.

Unlike STARS, their ranks do not follow any order.

"They do not play by the same rules or have the same limits."

"They pull power from something darker, something nobody understands yet."|

"What we know is that they are unpredictable."

"After every fight, they return stronger, as if each fight, each drop of chaos fuels them, turns them into something more monstrous."

"It doesn't matter if they were powerless to begin with."

"Anyone, any human without a hint of awakening, can turn into one of them tainted, corrupted. Nightfall… it's the place who has gathered most of those monsters and now become their nest.

A place of congregation for these monsters, a warped command center controlling them like puppets."

"And that's my revenge."

"They had taken all that was dear to me, and every ounce of my anger, every bit of grief, is aimed right at them."

Then one day I was fascinated by the weird, shining photo of a material Eri had laid on the desk between us.

"This wasn't any ordinary metal."

"What is it?" 

Eri's voice was neutral, but the implication of what she said hung in the air.

"This material comes from some of the most dangerous dungeons on Earth,"

Eri said.

"Places even the veteran STARS avoid."

"No one has ever successfully raided the sites it's harvested from."

"So… what can it do? - Akira asked

Eri moved closer, her eyes fixed on the metal, as if that held all the answers.

"Your father was working on technology that could interface with memory."

"This material is the missing piece."

"With it, we could reconstruct the events of that night,"

She said, her tone thick with emotion.

"Akira, that could show the faces of the Nightfall agents who were there."

My heartbeat echoed in my ears; thoughts tumbled over each other while I tried to wrap my brain around what she'd just said.

"You're telling me… this thing could bring those faces to life?"

"Give us the faces of who was there that night?

Eri nodded, her eyes being relenting. "Exactly."

"Your father's designs were revolutionary, Akira."

"With this, we can make your memories tangible. "

"If we see them, we can identify them. "

"We finally get to know exactly who took everything from you."

"To think that I actually might see them, that I actually might be able to find them felt finally like having a weapon with which to aim at the ghosts that haunted me.

"Let's do this"- Akira Said

"But there is a big problem to use this"- Eri muttered

"WHAT!??"