prologue
Ethan vale had always known one thing about himself: he was ordinary. While others were born with the spark of extraordinary powers, he had nothing. No flames, no blades of light, no precognition—just the dull hum of normalcy. In a city where people with powers shaped everything from law enforcement to entertainment, being powerless was like being invisible.
And Ethan had learned to stay invisible.
He walked the crowded streets, a silent observer as heroes in training practiced their abilities in public arenas, drawing cheers from the onlookers. He felt neither jealousy nor fear—just the hollow pang of knowing he would never be like them.
That evening, he returned home to his tiny apartment, the weight of another uneventful day pressing down on him. He sat on the edge of his bed, staring at the ceiling, when a sharp, cold sensation ran through his veins. A flicker of light danced across his vision, and then—pain. A foreign presence. Something living.
He gasped, clutching his chest as a shadow of movement slithered beneath his skin. Panic rose in his throat. It felt intelligent, aware, invasive. And then, just as suddenly as it arrived, it anchored itself inside him.
When he opened his eyes, the world looked… different. He could feel the heartbeat of the city, the flow of energy from every person around him. His senses were sharper, faster, more attuned to everything he had ignored all his life.
And then he heard it—a voice. Not outside, but inside his head. Smooth, cold, calculating.
“Finally. We can begin.”
Ethan staggered, gripping his head, but the voice continued. It was patient, teasing, yet dangerous.
“Do you feel it? All the power you’ve never had… now it’s yours. But you’ll never be the same. Not entirely.”
The hours that followed were a blur. He tested his new abilities, and each attempt revealed something terrifying. Speed beyond comprehension, strength that could crush steel, senses that pierced walls. But each time he used them, he felt… a shift. A presence pressing against his thoughts, shaping his impulses.
By dawn, Ethan realized he wasn’t alone in his own mind. The parasite was not just a tool—it was a partner, a shadow that had its own agenda, its own voice. And the voice was patient. Calculating. Dark.
Days later, an unexpected letter arrived at his door, embossed with the insignia of the Hero Training Academy. Most people with powers were eager to receive such invitations, but for Ethan, the message was a challenge.
“We know what you are now,” he whispered to himself, the parasite’s voice echoing back, “and the world is about to notice you. Time to see if you can survive where heroes are made… and villains are born.”
For the first time in his life, Ethan felt something he had never known: purpose. But with it came a terrifying question—how much of himself would he lose before he became a true hero… or something far darker?
He stepped outside into the rising sun, the city buzzing with life and danger, and took his first steps toward the Academy—and toward a destiny that would test not just his strength, but his very humanity.
