It was the year 2016. Kai was 6 years old.
Kai walked into the school building. He was dreading the whole day because he got teased every day by his classmates for not having any kind of ability. But he was a little happy today because his mom had packed his favorite lunch: a spicy chicken wrap. Once he sat down, the teasing already began.
"Ewwww, stay away from us. He might infect us with whatever non-ability disease he has!" Leo, a kid in his class, said while he stood up from his seat and ran as far as he could from Kai's table.
Some kids did the same, and others covered their nose and mouth with their shirts. This happened every day, but Kai couldn't care less. He didn't need friends, he had his mom and big sister.
"Stop it, Leo. One more comment and I'm sending you to the principal's office," the teacher said. But she also didn't like to be near Kai, which was understandable. No one had ever heard of someone who didn't have any kind of ability. All abilities were weak because Earth didn't have enough magic to fully support them, but having no ability at all was unheard of.
Kai survived the day, and once he walked out of the school building, his face lit up. His mom was waiting outside the car, waving with a smile on her face.
"Over here, Kai!" she shouted.
Kai ran to her and gave her a big hug. His mom ran her hand through his light blue hair.
"How was school today, sweetie?" she asked.
"The same as every day. But I'm so happy you came to pick me up, Mommy," he said happily.
They both got into the car and drove home. They were singing along to songs, talking, and having a great time. But then Kai saw something lying on the road from a distance: a huge red puddle under what looked like a body.
"Mommy, what's that?" Kai asked.
His mom couldn't see it clearly from that distance, but once she did, "SHIT-" she cursed while quickly covering his eyes with her hand. It looked like a woman had been hit by a car, but the car was nowhere to be seen. She didn't see anyone at the scene, so she decided to stop and call for help while covering his eyes the entire time.
Once the paramedics and authorities arrived, they asked to speak with her. She turned to Kai and said, "Baby, can you do something for Mommy? Mommy's going to put you in the trunk for a second, and I'll give you my phone so you can play some fun games. But you have to promise me you won't try to look, okay?"
Kai looked utterly confused and very curious about what had happened, but he could never disobey his mom. "Okay, Mommy. I promise," he replied.
His mom gave him her phone and placed him in the trunk with his back facing the scene. Kai's mom walked to the scene, her face showing pure horror. The body was being examined while the authorities tried to figure out what had happened.
"What's your name, ma'am?" an officer asked.
"Lucy," she replied.
"What's your ability, Lucy?" he asked, because that was standard procedure since abilities were often used in crimes.
"I can control my body temperature, but I don't understand why that matters. She was obviously hit by a car, and there's no blood on mine, so instead of asking me these questions, you should find the person who really did this!" she complained angrily.
"Ma'am, this is a road where only a few cars drive per day, and this looks very fresh. So instead of getting angry, let us do our job, okay? And we don't know for sure that she was hit by a car, because it's very unlikely she was walking here. This road is only for vehicles, there are no sidewalks in this area and-"
The officer was cut off by a paramedic examining the body.
"Sir, no one is to blame for this. She has the phobia mark. There was no avoiding this. She probably had a phobia of cars, so she got hit by one once the phobia's piece of soul was full of fear," the paramedic explained.
Lucy was confused. Everyone had heard of phobias, but it was never really talked about since it only created more fear.
The paramedic sighed. "You're better off not knowing, ma'am. Just wait for us to clean this up, and then you and your kid can continue your day."
Lucy was still confused, but she accepted it because deep down she didn't really want to know. The paramedics cleaned up, and the police filed a report. Once she got the green light to drive again, she opened the trunk and saw Kai laughing while watching funny videos. As she saw that, she immediately forgot the whole situation and hugged him. They drove home again as if nothing had happened.
As they arrived, Kai's mom asked what he wanted for dinner.
"Something really spicy!" he said.
Lucy laughed. "Sure honey. I'll make it extra spicy for you."
"Is Kira eating with us tonight?" Kai asked.
"No, sweetie. Your sister is a big girl now, and she asked if she could stay at a friend's house until 8," his mom answered.
Kai looked disappointed. "Aww, okay. Can I at least stay up until she gets home?"
"Fine, only for tonight," she said skeptically.
Kai was so happy that he hugged his mom. That night, Lucy cooked, they ate, and they spent the rest of the evening watching TV. After a while, 8 o'clock arrived, but there was no sign of Kira.
"Mommy, where is Kira?" Kai asked.
Kai's mom rolled her eyes. "Typical teenage behavior. I don't know when she's coming, baby, but I'll call her right now."
She picked up her phone and called Kira's number.
"The person you are trying to reach is currently unavailable."
Lucy's heart dropped. She was panicking now.
"Baby, I don't think you can stay up for Kira tonight, so go to bed, okay? Have sweet dreams, and don't forget to brush your teeth," she said, trying to stay calm.
She kissed his forehead, and he went upstairs.
Two hours passed, and it was now 10 p.m. Kai's mom was stressing and pacing around the room the whole time. What if she got kidnapped? What if she got hurt? she thought to herself. She had called Kira at least twenty-five times in the last two hours. She could barely breathe anymore: she was having a full panic attack. Just as she was about to call the police, the front door opened.
Kira stood there, completely unharmed.
Lucy ran to her crying and pulled her into a tight hug. "Baby, where the hell were you? I was worried sick something might have happened to you! I thought someone hurt you!" she cried while holding her.
Kira rolled her eyes. "Sorry, Mom, but I'm 15 now. A curfew at 8 is insane," Kira said, annoyed.
After Lucy calmed down a little, her worry turned into anger.
"If I say you have to be home at 8, then you need to be home at 8 sharp, you brat! And why did you turn off your phone? At least let me know what you're doing! And Kai was so disappointed when you weren't home when you said you would be, and-"
Kira cut her off.
"GOD FUCKING DAMMIT MOM, JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!"
She stormed upstairs.
"DONT YOU CUSS IN MY HOUSE KIRA! AND IF I WERE YOU I WOULD BE NICE TO THE ONLY FAMILY YOU HAVE!" Lucy shouted after her.
Kira acted like she didn't care, but she felt a little guilty about Kai. She decided to check if he was still awake. When she opened his door, she saw Kai crying. Kai was almost never sad, so she immediately ran to hug him.
"Damn, Kai, you should be asleep. Why are you still awake and crying?" Kira asked.
"B-because I don't like it when you and Mommy fight," he cried. "Can't you just do what Mommy tells you to?"
Kira felt guilty, though still slightly annoyed. "Kai… you wouldn't understand yet. You'll get it when you're older. Just try to sleep, okay? Goodnight."
She left the room and went to her own.
It was the year 2019 now. Kai was 9.
During the last three years, Kira had been rebelling more and more. She often came home hours late. Sometimes she came home drunk or high, and every time she did, Lucy would have panic attacks, terrified that something had happened to her daughter. Kira was out late again, but Kai didn't think much of it. He was in his room playing video games.
After a while, he suddenly heard the front door.
Kira must be home, he thought.
But he didn't hear any yelling like usual.
Confused, he went downstairs.
No one was there.
He figured his mom was probably driving around looking for Kira.
A few hours passed before the front door opened again.
Kai went downstairs once more.
It was Kira.
"Kira, Mom is probably out looking for you. You can't let her drive around worried this late at night," he said, slightly annoyed.
"Calm down, dude. Let's just call her or something," she replied.
They called her.
The phone kept ringing… and ringing… and ringing…
No answer.
Kira sighed. "Let's just go to bed. She'll be back in the morning. Better question, why are you still awake? You're 9. Go to bed."
Kai rolled his eyes and went upstairs.
Morning arrived. When Kai checked the time, he was shocked. It was already 10 a.m., and no one had woken him up. Just as he was about to check his mom's room, the doorbell rang. He went downstairs and opened the front door.
A strange man stood outside. He wore a weird outfit and carried some kind of weapon over his shoulder. The man looked hesitant.
"Hey kid… is, uh… someone older home?" he asked.
Kai looked confused.
"No. It's just me right now. My sister is at school, and I don't know if my mom is home. I was about to check. Why?"
The man looked at him with pure pity.
"Can I come in? I need to tell you something… and you might want to sit down for this."
He showed his ID.
"Look, I'm with the phobia slayers. It's safe."
Kai hesitated but let him in. They sat down. The man sighed, clearly reluctant to speak.
"I need to ask a few questions first. Did your mom have any fears that you know of?"
Kai was completely lost.
"I mean… yeah. She always had panic attacks when my sister didn't answer her phone. She was always scared something bad happened to her."
The man nodded slowly.
"…Then we were right."
He looked at Kai sadly.
"I'm sorry to tell you this, kid… but your mother has died because of a phobia."
He placed a hand on his chest.
"My condolences."
Silence filled the room.
Kai couldn't speak. He couldn't cry. He just stared at the floor while his heartbeat raced and his vision narrowed. It didn't feel real.
"Child Protective Services will come later today to figure out what to do with-"
Kai interrupted him, quiet tears streaming down his face.
"tell me everything about phobia's. I dont care that i'm still a kid. i will get revenge. I don't care how, but i will avenge my mother."
The man was shocked. A 9-year-old handling grief like this was rare.
"…Alright."
He took a deep breath.
"There is another world called Metum, connected to ours by a hidden portal. In Metum, human fears take physical form as different monsters. These monsters are called phobias. When a person develops an intense fear- a real phobia, the creature in Metum sends a fragment of its soul into the human world. That fragment attaches itself to the person who formed the fear and merges with their soul. From that moment on, the fragment collects fear. Every time the person feels afraid of that thing, the fragment fills up with fear. When the fragment becomes half full, a mark appears somewhere on the person's body: a red heart inside a black circle. Once that mark appears, the person's fate is set in stone. If the phobia is discovered early enough, the soul fragment can be exorcised. But that can only be done if the mark hasn't appeared yet. But if the fear continues to grow, the fragment eventually fills completely. When it becomes full, the phobia temporarily takes control of the person's soul. It forces a death connected to the fear itself, hoping that witnesses will become traumatized and develop the same fear. After the death, the fragment breaks away and returns to Metum. The phobia consumes the collected fear and becomes stronger. Once the fragment breaks away from the human soul, the human soul also goes to Metum, and works as a protecting layer around the phobia's hart since their hart floats in a hole in their forehead.
Your mother died from traumatophobia: the fear of physical injury or someone being seriously hurt. Her constant fear that something terrible would happen to your sister allowed the phobia to form. we found her dead in an alley, covered in physical injuries.''
Before he could continue, another man suddenly walked through the door.
"DUDE WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING? YOU CAN NOT TELL THAT TO A CHILD YOU DUMBASS!"
He grabbed the man and started dragging him outside.
"Sorry for your loss, little one," the second man said while pulling his colleague away.
"WAIT!" Kai shouted.
The slayers stopped in their tracks and turned around.
"How can I become a phobia slayer?" Kai asked.
The men exchanged confused looks.
"It's a very dangerous job," one of them said. "But if you really want to… when you reach high school, you'll need to enroll at Phobia High."
He was dragged away again, and they disappeared.
Kai stood there, fists clenched, crying.
He was determined.
He was going to become… a phobia slayer.