Fragments

Ch.1 - Initiation

Rays of sunlight peeked through gaps in the blinds, illuminating the small apartment the silver-haired man lived in. The alarm placed beside the bed rang for a moment but was immediately stopped, he'd already been awake for several hours. Min-jun laid in bed, fully clothed and yet without the strength to get up. He knew what awaited him today and felt nervous. "I don't know myself," he thought. "No memory exists. No records of who I was in the past. I woke up one day, scared and confused, and have been living this way ever since..." He stretched an arm out and looked over his clothing. It was nothing unordinary for him: a black, long-sleeved shirt, an unbuttoned red vest on top, black trousers with some crimson red stripes along the hips, and all of that was topped off with military-esque boots. "It feels strange and lonely. But, that ends now- the Selection Ceremony begins today. I will obtain my own magic, my own form of strength." That thought finally got Min to get up. He looked over to his alarm clock one last time during a stretch, checking the time. "7:15, that's enough time."

After preparing some breakfast he could bring with himself, that being a sandwich, he left the apartment complex and headed to the nearby bus station. Min's half-closed eyes darted around the street as he walked through it - people of similar age to Min were outside, all heading to varying bus stops that'd take them to one place: the Ceremony.
Once he was on the bus, he leaned against the window and looked out, seeing a massive structure that surrounded the entire city. A wall separated those inside the city from something outside. Creatures dubbed as Reapers have been appearing for several centuries now. They're humans, driven mad and transformed by the lack of magic in their body. "Not all cities are walled off," Min thought to himself as he imagined the wasteland beyond the city's borders. "That wall hasn't provided much protection but it's better than being left out in the open." Parts of the planet are controlled entirely by Reapers, even though most of the time they're disorganised nomads. This city existed dangerously close to one of those "regions", and Min lived quite close to the grey wall. Thanks to that, rent didn't cost much.

After a short wait at the bus station, the heavy, rusty vehicle arrived and allowed everyone to board it. Its destination? The headquarters of Aegis, a militaristic company designed for protection against Reapers and other threats. The central building of Aegis was tasked with handling the Ceremony everyone was headed to. Min however, didn't just want to participate in the Ceremony, he wished to work in Aegis as a Guardian, a protector. And he desired to find out who he truly is.
Just a few stops before the destination would be reached, something went wrong. The bus stopped at a red light, and like a missile, something rammed into its side and toppled it over. The metal was dented heavily, glass was shattered and everyone fell from their seats, Min included.
"...what?" He asked himself after recovering from the shock. He looked up, seeing the damaged portion of the vehicle. "Holes in the metal... A Reaper?"
Unlike Min, who stood up and began looking for the threat, almost everyone else had frantically escaped the vehicle, only those who were injured or unconscious stayed behind. A lady in a red dress laid amidst the broken glass in the back of the bus, bleeding from her head. "Dammit, we're close to Aegis so they should come quickly, but how-." The thought was cut short as heavy stomping echoed from above. A creature slid inside the bus through a broken window, finally revealing its grotesque self. "...how did you appear so quickly, without anyone noticing?" Min asked while raising his fists at the creature. This didn't feel right. They're right by the headquarters of Aegis and nobody saw this thing's approach? It felt strange, but there wasn't any time for wasteful thinking. Min was facing a mutated beast whose pinky and index finger were transformed into large, sharp claws made of bone. It was unnaturally tall despite heavily resembling a human, its eyes were completely black and its jaw was riddled with sharp teeth. "I'll have to somehow protect everyone before Aegis arrives- but can I even hold it back?" The high-strung atmosphere between Min and the beast felt unbearable. Right as Min was about to initiate the imminent battle however, the beast glanced at the woman in red in the back of the bus. It let out a grunt and drew its spiked arm back, charging at Min, who stood in its way. Right as the beast's arm was about to impale Min, he parried the attack and turned it into a one-armed shoulder throw, slamming the heavy beast's body into the shards of glass and metal. "Not even a cut, I can't damage this thing." While on its back, the beast quickly got a hold of Min's arm and jerked it forward, throwing the silver-haired man head-first into a seat. The beast quickly stood back up, meanwhile Min was dazed from the impact.