The rain had a strange rhythm that day—tulad ng puso ni Elias, mabilis pero sabog. The kind of rain Manila knew well. Dirty, relentless, full of warning. Traffic was frozen along EDSA, horns blaring in disjointed bursts. Elias sat by the jeepney window, hoodie drawn low, headphones in, pretending not to exist.
It was just another ride home from his part-time job in Cubao. Another day of barely making enough to eat, of surviving a world that seemed to forget kids like him even existed.
His phone buzzed. A message from Benjo.
> "Bro u pauwi na? Sama ka sa PC later. May bagong patch."
Elias didn't reply.
His gaze drifted to the puddles outside—reflections of neon signs shimmering like ghost lights on water. Then he noticed something.
His shadow.
It wasn't moving right.
When the jeepney turned left at the Rotonda, everyone's shadows slid right—as expected. Except his. It lagged behind. Then… it looked up.
"Ha—" Elias barely whispered before a screech tore the air.
CRASH.
A delivery truck rammed into the side of the jeepney, crushing metal and bodies. Glass exploded like tiny stars. Screams were muffled by impact.
Elias felt himself thrown, his body pinned beneath bent steel. His vision blurred. He couldn't breathe. Blood pooled inside his mouth. His legs wouldn't move. Someone was crying—no, screaming.
Everything was fading.
Until he heard it.
A voice. Inside his mind.
> "Wake up."
No panic. Just certainty. Like someone flipping a switch in the dark.
> "Elias… wake up."
His eyes snapped open. Time slowed.
He gasped—and air filled his lungs.
The pain was gone. No broken bones. No glass. Just the roar of rain and twisted metal.
He sat up.
People screamed around him—staring, pointing. He looked down.
His shirt was torn, soaked in blood—his blood. But he was whole. Unscathed. Alive.
He turned to the ground.
His shadow was standing. On its own.
It loomed beside him—tall, inky black, faceless, shifting like smoke but with form. Like it had been waiting for him to see it.
Elias froze.
"W-What... are you?" he whispered.
The shadow tilted its head. Then—it mimicked his movement. Like a mirror that had learned how to breathe.
He backed away—but it followed. Closer. Closer. Until it was nearly touching his skin.
And then—
It entered him.
A rush of sensation tore through his spine. Cold, hot, electric. His heart stuttered.
Elias collapsed again, panting, shaking.
This was no dream.
This was real.
---
Somewhere nearby...
A security camera blinked red.
In an underground facility in Taguig, alarms flared.
A woman in a lab coat stared at the screen.
"Subject #9… has awakened."