Starless Nights

First, one night, as everyone was sleeping, a rebel named Vivina — who had been tasked with keeping watch and maintaining the fire — disappeared.

It was… suspicious.

But no one dug too deep. Maybe she got lost in the snow. Maybe she ran. Either way, they couldn't afford to search. Not in this weather.

Second, they spotted signs of life.

Far off in the distance, a mountain tiger. It was Awakened — that much was obvious. The way it moved, the way it looked back at them with cold, calculating eyes… it wasn't normal.

But it didn't attack.

Maybe it sensed the danger. Maybe it decided the group wasn't worth the risk.

Either way, they were lucky.

Lastly, there was trouble in the group. Kael — the scout and one of the few Awakened — was caught hoarding food. Some of the rations had mysteriously disappeared over the past few days… and now they knew why.

A heated argument broke out.

Kael defended himself, claiming that as one of the only real fighters among them, he needed the extra energy. That when things went south, they'd be depending on him — not the others — to survive.

The logic was sound.

But the trust was damaged.

And while the group argued, Vael kept thinking back to that mountain tiger.

How did it awaken? There were no mad scientists in the mountains experimenting on beasts. No injections. No labs.

When he asked Drako, the older rebel explained.

Sometimes, when a beast is pushed to the brink — when its life hangs by a thread — it can awaken naturally. Other times, it consumes the core of another Awakened creature.

And it wasn't just beasts.

Humans could do the same.

But there were a rare few who didn't need any of that.

They just… awakened.

No life-or-death scenario. No magical core. No ritual.

Just raw potential bursting into the world.

More often than not, those people became monsters on the battlefield.