No one knows exactly what caused the Fracture—some say it was a failed scientific experiment, others believe it was divine punishment. But everyone agrees on one thing: the world changed overnight.
Decades ago, the skies cracked with violet lightning during a storm that lasted for seven days. People across the city experienced seizures, hallucinations, or dreams of blinding light and unearthly whispers. When it ended, a fraction of the population woke up different—marked. Changed.
They could bend fire, manipulate metal, walk through dreams, speak to machines. But every gift came with a curse. A backlash. Some lost their memories. Others developed uncontrollable urges, mental fractures, or bled internally when they used their abilities. They were no longer just human—they were something else entirely.
They were called Shatterborn—those born from the shattering of the natural order.
Impact on Society
At first, they were worshipped. Celebrities. Gods among men. But admiration quickly turned into fear when the first Shatterborn Massacre happened—an emotional outburst by a boy who burned down a shopping district in seconds. Over the next few months, more incidents followed. People began to whisper: "They are dangerous. Unstable. Broken."
Governments and corporate syndicates united under the pretense of protection. In truth, it was about control.
They passed the Veil Decree, a law that mandated all Shatterborns be registered, tracked, and confined to the Undercity—a decaying network of tunnels, broken tech, and criminal havens beneath the surface of the metropolis.
Some accepted their fate. Others rebelled.
In the decades since, the surface world forgot them—seeing Shatterborns only as myths or threats. But in the shadows, Shatterborns formed syndicates, black markets, rogue families. They survived. Evolved. Learned the cost of their powers and the limits of their chains.
And now… a new era is coming.
Perfect. Let's give the Shatterborns structure—something to organize the chaos within them, and something Asher can rebel against or navigate through.
Abilities manifest in many forms, but over time, patterns emerged. Shatterborns are categorized by the Dominion of their power and the Nature of their backlash.
1. Elementals
Power: Control over elements — fire, ice, lightning, wind, metal, etc.
Typical Backlash: Physical decay. The more they use their powers, the more their body breaks down—burns, frostbite, nerve damage.
Known For: Destructive combat. Often used in underground fights.
2. Phantasms
Power: Illusion, emotion manipulation, dreamwalking, fear projection.
Typical Backlash: Mental instability. Hallucinations, memory loss, or multiple personalities.
Known For: Spies, interrogators, blackmailers.
3. Kinetics
Power: Enhanced strength, speed, reflexes, gravity shifts, telekinesis.
Typical Backlash: Pain feedback. Every action sends shockwaves of pain into their nerves.
Known For: Enforcers. Used as bodyguards or hitmen.
4. Echoes
Power: Time distortion, precognition, retrocognition.
Typical Backlash: Temporal dissonance. They lose track of real time, sometimes trapped in visions of past or future.
Known For: Oracles, trackers, seers for powerful syndicates.
5. Silents
Power: Technomancy, data manipulation, hacking through thought.
Typical Backlash: Identity corrosion. The more they use their power, the more detached they become—forgetting their name, their memories, even their voice.
Known For: Ghost hackers, information dealers.
6. Binders
Power: Binding souls, creating pacts, summoning spectral weapons or entities.
Typical Backlash: Soul bleed. They start losing pieces of themselves—emotions, humanity, even their own shadow.
Known For: Ritualists, dark contract dealers.
MAJOR FACTIONS IN THE UNDERCITY
The Ember Fangs
Mostly Elementals and Kinetics.
Brutal, militarized gang known for controlling energy sources and running arena fights.
Led by a pyrokinetic warlord called Dross.
Nocturne Veil
Made up of Phantasms and Echoes.
Specialized in blackmail, secrets, psychological warfare.
Led by a mysterious woman known as Mire, who has never been seen in person—only felt in dreams.
Circuit Saints
Dominated by Silents.
Control the data and surveillance networks of the Undercity.
Their leader is a former human named Node, now more code than flesh.
The Broken Creed
Rogue collection of Binders and radicals who reject all surface-world laws.
Treat Shatterborn powers as divine gifts to reclaim the surface.
Their prophet-leader, Kael Vox, claims the Fracture was only the beginning.
The Hollow Guard
Vigilantes, mostly Echoes and Kinetics.
Seek justice and balance in the chaos.
Once believed dead, now rumored to be reborn under a masked leader.