Chapter 1: The hero's daughter
The city of Veyra never truly slept.
Even after midnight, its streets glowed beneath towers of glass and steel. Neon signs painted the roads in silver and blue, while distant sirens reminded everyone that danger was never more than a few streets away.
Heroes watched from rooftops.
Villains watched from shadows.
And ordinary people tried not to look up.
Aira stood on the edge of a twelve-story building, her black jacket moving slightly in the cold wind.
Below her, the city looked almost peaceful.
Almost.
She stared at the streets without saying a word.
People often called heroes symbols of hope.
Aira had never understood that.
Hope was fragile.
Hope could disappear in seconds.
What mattered was what you did when it did.
A faint blue glow appeared around her fingers.
She closed her hand.
The light vanished.
“Too much power again.”
Aira looked over her shoulder.
A young hero stood behind her, still wearing his training uniform.
“You've been standing here for twenty minutes,” he said. “Command is asking where you went.”
“I needed air.”
“You could've used the balcony.”
“I don't like balconies.”
He blinked.
“Why?”
“Too many conversations.”
The hero stared at her for a moment.
Then he sighed.
“You know, Aira, you could try being nice once in a while.”
“I am nice.”
“You told Captain Ren that his strategy was terrible.”
“It was.”
“You walked away while he was still talking.”
“He was still talking because he didn't understand.”
The hero rubbed his forehead.
“Forget it.”
Aira turned back toward the city.
That was usually how conversations with her ended.
She wasn't cruel.
At least, she didn't think she was.
She simply didn't see a reason to pretend.
Most people smiled when they were happy.
Aira rarely smiled.
Most people cried when they were hurt.
Aira had forgotten how.
And most people trusted easily.
Aira trusted almost no one.
There was only one person she had ever trusted without question.
Her brother.
Kael.
Aira's expression changed for the briefest moment.
Then it disappeared.
She stepped away from the edge.
“I'm going home.”
The other hero frowned.
“You live alone, right?”
Aira paused.
“Yes.”
“You don't get lonely?”
She looked at him.
“No.”
It was a lie.
But she had become very good at those.
---
Aira's apartment was small, quiet, and almost completely empty.
There were no photographs on the walls.
No decorations.
No trophies.
Only a small wooden table beside the window and a single black box sitting on top of it.
She removed her gloves and placed them beside the box.
For several seconds, she simply stared at it.
Then she opened it.
Inside were two old photographs.
The first showed a man wearing a hero's uniform, standing proudly beneath the symbol of the old Hero League.
Her father.
The second showed a woman dressed in dark armor.
Her mother.
Villain.
Hero.
Two people who should never have stood beside each other.
Yet they had.
Aira picked up the first photograph.
She remembered almost nothing about her father's voice anymore.
She remembered his hands.
His laugh.
The way he used to tell her that being a hero wasn't about being powerful.
It was about choosing to protect someone when nobody else would.
Her mother had taught her something different.
Power was dangerous.
Not because power itself was evil.
Because people could become cruel when they believed they had enough of it.
Aira had spent years trying to understand which lesson mattered more.
She still didn't know.
She placed the photographs back into the box.
Tomorrow was the anniversary.
The day both of her parents had died.
Aira didn't like anniversaries.
They made memories louder.
---
The next morning, rain covered Veyra.
Aira stood in front of two graves at the edge of the old memorial garden.
Her father's grave was on the left.
Her mother's was on the right.
There were no crowds.
No reporters.
No heroes.
Aira preferred it that way.
She placed two white flowers between the graves.
For a while, she said nothing.
Then she whispered,
“I came.”
The rain tapped softly against the stone.
Aira lowered her gaze.
“I know you both hated this place.”
A tiny smile almost appeared.
“Dad said cemeteries were depressing.”
She looked toward her mother's grave.
“Mom said they were peaceful.”
The smile disappeared.
“You were both wrong.”
Silence answered her.
Aira sat on the wet bench nearby.
For a moment, she allowed herself to remember.
A little girl running through their old house.
Her father chasing after her.
Her mother pretending to be annoyed.
Kael laughing somewhere behind them.
Kael.
Her brother.
Aira closed her eyes.
They had once been inseparable.
Before the Hero League.
Before the Villain League.
Before everyone decided that their family had to choose a side.
She didn't know where Kael was now.
She hadn't seen him in months.
But she knew one thing.
He was alive.
And somewhere in this city, her brother was watching the same rain.
---
Aira's communicator suddenly vibrated.
She looked at the screen.
EMERGENCY ALERT
DISTRICT 7
CIVILIAN THREAT DETECTED
Her expression immediately changed.
The memories disappeared.
The hero returned.
Aira stood.
“Sorry,” she whispered to the graves.
Then she ran.
---
District 7 was chaos.
A damaged transport vehicle had crashed into a storefront. People were running through the streets while emergency alarms echoed between buildings.
Aira landed on the pavement.
Her eyes immediately scanned the area.
Three civilians trapped.
One child crying near the sidewalk.
Aira moved.
She didn't hesitate.
A wave of energy burst from her hand, pushing the damaged vehicle away from the building.
Metal screamed against concrete.
The civilians escaped.
Then Aira noticed the child.
A little girl stood frozen in the middle of the street.
A falling piece of debris was heading toward her.
Aira's eyes widened.
“Move!”
The girl didn't.
Aira sprinted forward.
A barrier of blue energy appeared around them just before the debris struck.
BOOM.
Dust filled the street.
When it cleared, Aira was kneeling beside the girl.
The child stared at her with wide eyes.
“Are you a hero?”
Aira looked at the ruined street.
Then back at the girl.
“Yes.”
The girl smiled.
“You saved me.”
Aira didn't know what to say.
So she simply stood and held out her hand.
“Come on.”
The girl grabbed it.
Aira walked her toward the rescue workers.
Halfway there, the child looked up.
“What's your name?”
“Aira.”
“I'm Mina.”
Aira nodded.
“Nice to meet you, Mina.”
Mina smiled.
Aira almost smiled back.
Almost.
As she handed the girl to the rescue team, something caught Aira's attention.
Across the street.
On the roof of an abandoned building.
A figure stood beneath the rain.
Black coat.
Dark mask.
Watching.
Aira's entire body went still.
The figure didn't attack.
Didn't move.
It simply looked at her.
Then it disappeared behind the rooftop wall.
Aira stared at the empty space.
Her communicator crackled.
“Aira! Status?”
She didn't answer.
Because for the first time in months, she recognized the way that figure had stood.
The way it tilted its head.
The way it watched without fear.
Aira's hand slowly curled into a fist.
There was only one person she knew who stood like that.
One person who had always watched her from a distance before suddenly appearing beside her.
Her brother.
Kael.
Aira looked toward the rooftop.
Her voice was barely a whisper.
“Kael…”
And somewhere beyond the rain, a shadow moved.
The past had found her.
And this time, it wasn't coming back quietly.
