ep 1
It was Friday evening. 6:42 PM.
Bucharest pulsed under the dim glow of sunset, the air thick with dust, heated asphalt, and delayed hopes.
Seth had just stepped out of the subway, a shopping bag in one hand and his phone vibrating in the other. A message from his wife:
**"Hurry home, Maia made pancakes for you ❤️."**
He smiled wide. The kind of smile that blooms in your chest, not just your face. Everything he had ever wanted was waiting on the sixth floor of a modest apartment building in Titan: a loving wife, a little girl who drew hearts on the walls, and a small flat that always smelled like fresh coffee and warm cinnamon.
And then — the sky broke.
A roar of twisted metal and fire rolled across the city. A car was flung like a toy into the side of a building. The asphalt buckled under a colossal force. A massive shadow fell from the sky, tearing apart the fragile balance of an ordinary evening.
People screamed. A child was ripped from their mother's arms by a shockwave.
Seth froze, watching as the roof of his building was shattered by a bluish explosion that made windows scream and the sky weep flames.
It wasn't a terrorist attack.
It wasn't a natural disaster.
It was a *Savior*.
One of those born after the Genom Project — the new generation of superpowered humans — glorified, worshipped, feared.
But their power was unstable. And their decisions... deadly.
That evening, Strykos, a mutant hunter, was chasing a target through the city blocks.
He picked the wrong apartment.
He launched an explosion that swallowed three floors and killed ten people.
Among them: Seth's wife and daughter.
The media wrapped it all up in one neat phrase:
**"Collateral damage in a national security incident."**
Seth got no explanations. Not even a *"we're sorry."*
Only a sealed bag that clinked with two melted toys and a burned blanket.
And with them — everything he was, everything he loved — turned to ash.
Something broke inside him.
Something that couldn't be fixed.
He wasn't looking for justice anymore.
He wanted the truth. And after the truth… vengeance.
Every Savior would pay. In blood.
After the tragedy, Seth became a ghost. He didn't speak. He didn't eat. He didn't dream.
Night after night, he returned to the ruins of the building, sitting exactly where his daughter's room had once been.
Where the walls had once pulsed with Maia's laughter.
One night, as rain lashed the city and wind howled through the rubble, Seth heard a strange sound — like a deep, ancient breath rising from underground.
Drawn by the sound, Seth stumbled down into the shattered remains of the building's foundation...
He dug. With his bare hands. With cracked nails. With pain in his flesh.
And he found a black stone, perfectly round, pulsing in the darkness like a living heart.
He touched it.
Time stopped.
Rain froze in midair.
And a voice slipped into his mind, ancient and deep as death itself:
**"You, scorched by others' fire, you are my chosen. Heir to the Ancient Essence. The last Apex."**
In an instant, Seth was ripped from reality and hurled into a primeval void, where giant fangs, burning eyes, and scale-covered wings floated through a spiral of memories.
There, the spirit of the First Apex spoke of a broken balance:
**"When mankind forgot fear, the creatures hid.
When 'heroes' began destroying without judgment, I fell into slumber.
But you… you are the fire reborn from ash."**
Seth didn't understand it all. Not yet. But when he woke up, his heart beat differently.
His skin tightened near a lie.
In dreams, he saw beings others couldn't — shadows among people, hidden in skin and flesh, disguised as normal.
Dizzy from everything that had happened, he felt the urge to scream.
It was a scream that didn't seem human. The air rippled. A creature hidden inside a man on the street was ripped from its body and turned to ash.
It was his first awakening. The first manifestation of the **Ancient Apex**.
Seth collapsed to the ground, faint from exhaustion.
He woke up in a hospital, and as he opened his eyes, a system appeared in front of him.
[System Updated.]
Level: 1 – Stabilized
Transformations available: 0/10
Note: Creating a creature will trigger a permanent bond. Use wisely.
Emotional detection: 40% Stable.
Abilities
Ancient Eye
You see what others can't.
You can detect hidden truths, illusions, and the true potential within people — including what they could become, if transformed.
Roar of the Apex
Your voice commands fear.
All your servants instinctively obey when they hear it. Even enemies may freeze, overcome by dread.
Absorption
Their power becomes yours.
You can absorb the abilities of one of your servants, permanently gaining their strength. But once taken, they're gone forever.
Not understanding what was happening, a tic appeared in his mind, remembering everything.
Seth activated the Ancient Eye, and suddenly, everything around him took on a shade of grey.
In the corner of the room, the ash shadow floated around the assistant like a ghost born from a nightmare.
It didn't look at him, didn't move, but he felt its presence. It was like an ancient instinct awoken from too long a sleep.
Seth felt a cold shiver down his spine.
His heart beat irregularly.
He had the impression that if he kept the ability activated, the real world would crack under the weight of that "what could have been."
— No, no... Not now. Not like this.
In a sudden impulse, he closed his eyes and turned his head.
And as if at an unseen sign, the Ancient Eye closed. The world returned to its known form.
The walls were white again. The assistant turned toward him and smiled, with a surgical mask pulled under her chin.
— Ah, I see you've woken up. The others say you had a nervous breakdown. You're lucky... they found you collapsed on the street. Do you remember anything?
Seth looked at her silently, feeling the blood boiling beneath his skin.
— No... not really.
But his mind screamed.
He remembered everything. The explosion. The fire. The scream. The creature torn from flesh.
And now... the shadows.
Seth closed his eyes. He breathed heavily.
Part of him wanted to scream again.
Another... just wanted to forget.
But forgetting was no longer an option.
Not after seeing what the world could become.
Not after seeing what he could become.
Seth remained in the hospital bed.
Not because he felt safe. Not because he needed rest.
But because he didn't know where to go. Not yet.
The room was quiet, except for the faint buzzing of the neon light and a wall-mounted TV running a news channel.
"Today, at 12:00 GMT, the conquest of Therion Prime was officially completed. The mission, led by a special team of rescuers from the Genom Project, has succeeded in stabilizing living conditions for the colonists. While tensions remain on Earth regarding control of these individuals with special abilities, most international leaders view this step as essential in expanding human civilization beyond the solar system."
On the screen was an image of a purple sky and soldiers in shining armor stepping onto the soil of another world, with the flag of the "United Earth Council" waving behind them.
Seth clenched his fist.
One of the rescuers on screen had the same silhouette as Strykos.
That murderer of innocents is now an interstellar hero.
The hospital room door opened gently.
— Have... have you been waiting long?
A familiar voice. Warm. Trembling.
Seth slowly turned.
In the doorway stood Victor, an old high school friend. Slightly graying hair, deep dark circles, a worn leather jacket soaked from the rain.
— Man... I heard what happened. I don't know what to say. I came as soon as I heard...
Seth didn't say anything. He just looked at him, his eyes dry from so much silent crying.
Victor closed the door and slowly approached, placing a bag on the nightstand.
— I brought... those chocolate biscuits, you know, the ones we used to eat in high school before exams. I didn't know what else to bring.
Seth turned his gaze back to the TV, where a presenter was enthusiastically saying:
"Many children now dream of becoming superheroes, and the Genom Program has become a symbol of hope and progress."
Victor grumbled, shaking his head:
— A symbol of hope, huh? The world bows before them, and you... you bury your family. It's not right.
Seth rubbed his hand over his face.
— You know what the worst part is?
— What?
— That I could... take it all. Everything I love. Everything I am. I can see how the world would break from them.
Victor froze.
— What... what do you mean?
Seth looked him straight in the eyes for the first time. Calm. Cold. With a slight violet gleam in his iris.