In a dirty alley on Earth-616, where the night smelled like rust and old noodles, a man named John was running for his life.
His breath came in rough gasps. His worn-out shoes slapped against wet concrete, splashing dirty water on his pants. Behind him, a gang of street thugs shouted and laughed, getting closer with every step.
"Get back here, you rat!"
John didn't look back. He didn't need to. He could hear the click of cheap knives and the scrape of a metal bat dragging along the ground. Their laughter was sharp and cruel, promising pain if they caught him.
He jumped over a trash can, landing hard and almost falling. His chest burned, and his legs felt like they were on fire. Regret filled his mind.
He should have stayed quiet. Should have kept his head down.
But he didn't.
And now they were going to kill him.
A bottle shattered on the wall beside him. Glass flew past his cheek, cutting him slightly.
He turned into a construction site, weaving between steel beams and piles of bricks. Neon lights from the street blinked through the rain, but no one was around to help. No one cared.
His foot slipped on the wet ground, but he caught himself and kept running, breath tearing through his lungs. The shadows felt thick, hiding him for now.
"Don't let him get away!"
Their voices echoed in the empty site. John pressed himself against a cold metal pole, trying to calm his breathing. His heart pounded so loud it hurt.
Then, everything stopped.
Literally.
The world froze.
John blinked, confused.
The rain stopped in mid-air. The footsteps and shouting vanished. The neon lights flickered, then froze. Even the cold wind stopped.
John tried to move, but his body felt heavy, like he was underwater. The world felt strange, almost fake.
Then, a soft bell sound rang in his head.
"You have been Selected."
A bright light shot out from the small, rusty pendant around his neck. It was nothing special, just an old piece of metal he found in a junk shop as a kid. But now, it glowed like a star, lighting up the dark construction site.
Another voice spoke, calm and deep.
"Welcome, Chosen Child of Sky. Your fate no longer belongs to Earth."
Before John could even scream, the world around him shattered like glass.
He woke in white.
Nothing else. Just endless, bright white.
John blinked, his mind foggy. His breath caught in his throat as he looked around, but there was nowhere to look—no floor, no ceiling, no walls. Only the glow.
He tried to move and found he could stand, somehow, in this place with nothing to stand on. His body felt strange. Light. Free.
He touched his ribs, where he knew bruises and cuts should have been. Gone. His hands moved over his skin, checking the places where he had been hurt, but the pain was gone.
All the small scars he had collected from street fights and bad choices? Gone.
A soft wind that wasn't wind moved around him, brushing against his hair and skin.
"Where… am I?" he whispered.
Then he noticed it.
A figure.
Standing, or floating, a little distance away, dressed in flowing robes that moved like smoke. The figure's face was hidden by a hood, and light shimmered around it.
It spoke, but the words felt too big, too heavy for John's tired, muddy mind to understand. The voice was deep, layered, echoing like a memory of thunder.
"… chosen… sky… legacy…"
John tried to focus, but the words slipped away. His head hurt, his mind too tired to catch the meaning.
"What are you saying?" he tried to ask, but his voice was swallowed by the white.
The figure lifted a hand, and the pendant around John's neck pulsed with a cold light.
"Trial… awaken… power…"
Those were the only words he caught before the light swallowed everything.
John slammed into the sand.
He fell face-first, the air knocked out of him. Sand scratched his skin and got into his mouth and nose.
Groaning, he rolled onto his back, coughing and spitting out sand. Tears filled his eyes as he blinked, trying to see clearly.
Above him was a sky he had never seen before.
It was purple and dark blue, with streaks of silver light flashing across it. A huge glowing ring floated in the sky, pulsing slowly like it was alive.
"What the hell…" John's voice was small and shaky.
He sat up, brushing sand off his dirty hair and face. His ribs hurt, and his hands were scraped, but he was alive. The ground was warm and rough under his fingers.
This wasn't a dream.
This wasn't a hallucination.
"Where… am I?" he whispered.
No one answered.
The wind blew softly, warm and dry, carrying the smell of dust.
John slowly stood up, looking around. All he could see was desert—black and purple sand dunes, sharp black rocks sticking out of the ground, and hills that stretched far into the distance.
His shoes sank slightly in the sand as he moved. The sand crunched under his feet.
Then, something appeared in front of his eyes.
A floating screen, like a hologram, with glowing letters.
[Synchronization Rate: 1.5%]
John stepped back, shocked, almost falling over. The screen changed.
⟡ LEGACY STATUS INTERFACE ⟡Name: JohnRace: HumanOrigin Plane: Earth-616Synchronization Rate: 1.5%Legacy Type: Skyborne (Dormant)Status: Active Trial Phase
Abilities Unlocked: NonePassive Traits: None (Sync in Progress…)
"What is this?" he whispered, reaching out to touch the screen, but his hand passed through it like smoke.
Then, he felt something.
A warm feeling in his chest, spreading through his body. It felt like a second heartbeat, calm and steady.
His eyes caught something in the sand—a black stone with a strange symbol carved into it. Two moons touching each other with a small glowing dot in the middle.
He didn't know why, but he felt drawn to it.
He stepped forward and touched it.
The moment his fingers touched the stone, energy shot through him like lightning, but it didn't hurt. His vision blurred, colors and lights flashing in front of his eyes.
[Synchronization Progress Accelerated][Legacy Link Strengthened][Warning: Active Entities Detected Within Perimeter—3.4 km][Position Revealed to Nearby Participants]
The warmth inside him grew stronger. His hearing sharpened, and the wind sounded louder. The smell of the sand and the dry air became clear in his nose.
But he also felt something else.
A cold feeling in his stomach.
Someone was watching him.
Far across the dunes, hidden behind broken stone ruins, Keith watched a small map floating in front of him. A single red dot blinked on the map, moving slowly.
[Legacy Interface Upgrade: Tracking System Unlocked][Nearby Sync Signature Detected—Approximate Distance: 3.4 km][Entity Status: Active. Legacy Sync Spike Detected.]
Keith's eyes narrowed as he looked at the red dot.
Another participant.
Another Child of Sky.
And not too far away.
Keith closed the map and tightened his grip on the knife strapped to his leg. He didn't have any Legacy powers yet, but his instincts were sharp, and his body felt stronger here.
Without hesitation, he moved out from the ruins, steps quiet on the sand.
John was breathing hard, looking down at the black stone, his mind racing.
"Okay, John," he muttered to himself. "You're not dead. You're just… somewhere else."
He turned and looked around again. The purple sky, the black sand, the silence.
He felt it again. Eyes on him.
Then, he saw movement.
A man stepped out from behind a black rock, wearing dark clothes that moved quietly with him. His eyes were sharp, watching John carefully.
John turned quickly, dropping into a defensive stance, fists ready.
"Who are you?" he shouted.
The man stopped a few steps away, raising his hands to show they were empty.
"I'm like you," he said in a calm voice. "Another player."
John didn't relax, his eyes looking the man up and down. He looked strong and focused, like a soldier.
"Yeah? And what does that mean?"
The man pointed to the black stone.
"You touched that. It sent out a signal. Everyone nearby knows where you are now."
John's eyes widened, looking back at the stone.
"You're telling me I just called out to every killer nearby?"
"For everyone within 3.4 kilometers, yes," the man said.
John cursed under his breath, his heart pounding. "Great."
They stood in silence for a moment, staring at each other.
The man took a step closer.
"I'm not here to kill you," he said. "Not yet."
John let out a short, dry laugh. "That's comforting."
The man almost smiled. "That stone made your sync go faster. It will help you, but it also puts you in danger."
John looked back at the stone, the glow almost gone now. "I didn't even know what it was."
"You'll learn. Everything here is part of the test. This place doesn't give second chances."
"Test?" John asked, frowning.
The man nodded. "Legacy Games. A fight controlled by higher beings. Ninety-nine others are here, just like us. Only five will survive."
John felt the air leave his lungs. "And you're okay with that?"
"No," the man said simply. "But I've lived through worse."
Their eyes met, holding for a moment.
They didn't trust each other.
But neither of them wanted to be alone here.
The man held out his hand.
"Keith."
John hesitated, then grabbed his hand firmly.
"John."
Keith let go and looked around. "We need to move. Others will come."
"Fine," John said, wiping sweat from his forehead. "Lead the way, Mr. Silent."
Keith smirked slightly. "Stay close. Stay quiet."
They began walking together, boots crunching softly in the sand. The wind blew, carrying the dry smell of dust. Above them, the violet sky flashed with streaks of light, like the world was watching them.
Each step felt heavy, but they moved forward.
Two strangers, forced to trust each other in a place they didn't understand.
Two Children of Sky, chosen by something they couldn't see.
And the Games had only just begun.