********************************************

Kazuki Tenno trudged through the crowded streets of Lumosport, a city built on the bones of Ether veins. Towering spires buzzed faintly with Etheric energy, their glow a constant reminder of the power Kazuki would never have. Born without even a flicker of Ether, he was an outcast in a society that revered it. The Hunters, powerful raiders who delved into dungeons and secured society's future, were a distant dream for someone like him.

His father’s repair shop was where he belonged, fixing broken dungeon gear and sweeping up dust. But Kazuki’s heart yearned for adventure—a chance to prove himself.

One evening, while delivering tools to a Hunter guild, Kazuki overheard a heated discussion. A small team of rookie Hunters had discovered an anomaly in a Tier-One dungeon. The leader, a brash swordsman named Hideo, dismissed the danger. “It’s just a dungeon flare—probably a faulty Ether vein,” he said, laughing.

Kazuki’s curiosity burned brighter than his common sense. That night, he slipped away from home and followed the Hunters into the dungeon, desperate to see what they were talking about.

The dungeon was a dark, winding labyrinth of jagged stone and glowing crystals. Kazuki crept behind the group, careful not to make a sound. As they delved deeper, the air grew thick, and the light of their Ether-fueled torches began to flicker.

When they reached the anomaly, the Hunters froze. Before them was a pulsing chamber filled with an unnatural, electric-blue glow. The energy felt different from Ether—wild, volatile, and alive.

“I don’t like this,” murmured one of the Hunters, clutching her spear tightly.

The glow intensified, and suddenly, the chamber erupted in chaos. The energy lashed out like lightning, striking the walls and floor. The Hunters screamed as their Ether shields failed to repel the onslaught. One by one, they fell, incapacitated by the unrelenting force.

Kazuki barely had time to react before the energy struck him, piercing through his chest like a blade of fire. His vision blurred as he collapsed, his body consumed by the brilliant light.

---

When Kazuki awoke, he was lying in complete darkness. For a moment, he thought he had died, but a faint neon glow pulsed beneath his skin, illuminating the veins in his hands. The chamber was gone, replaced by the ruins of the collapsed dungeon.

Pain seared through his body. Every movement sent electric jolts through his nerves, and his breaths came in ragged gasps. His hands trembled as the glow intensified, sparks of neon energy jumping between his fingertips. He tried to calm himself, but the light only grew brighter, hotter.

Panic set in. Kazuki’s arms jerked involuntarily, and a surge of energy shot out, carving a glowing scar into the stone wall. The blast left him gasping for air, his vision swimming.

“What… what is happening to me?” he whispered, clutching his chest.

The answer came not from within but from a disembodied voice.

“Your body has been altered,” said a cold, mechanical tone. “The energy you encountered was Neon—a power that predates Ether and exists beyond its control. It has bonded to you. But this power is unstable and will destroy you if not properly contained.”

Kazuki stumbled to his feet, his glowing arms casting eerie shadows on the walls. “Who are you? What are you?”

“I am *Aurion,* the caretaker of the Neon Protocol. You are now its host.”

Before Kazuki could question further, a tremor shook the ruins. The dungeon was collapsing. Rocks tumbled around him, and the distant roar of awakened monsters echoed through the tunnels.

Kazuki tried to run, but his legs buckled under the weight of the Neon energy coursing through him. Sparks danced along the ground, scorching the earth with every step. He clutched at his chest, where the energy burned the hottest, threatening to burst free.

“Contain it!” Aurion commanded. “Focus your mind, or the power will consume you!”

Kazuki’s vision blurred as the pain grew unbearable. In desperation, he slammed his hand against the wall, and the energy surged outward, forming a glowing blade of pure light. The force propelled him forward, slicing through the falling debris.

He stumbled out of the collapsing ruins just as the entrance caved in behind him. Collapsing onto the ground, Kazuki gasped for air, his body trembling. The neon glow dimmed, but the pain lingered.

“You must learn control,or else picture your death” Aurion said. “This power is a double-edged sword. Without discipline, it will destroy not only you but everything around you.”

Kazuki clenched his fists, his heart pounding. The glow from his body flickered erratically, like a storm trapped under his skin. He didn’t know why he had been chosen or what Neon truly was, but one thing was clear: his life would never be the same.

And if he couldn’t master this power, it wouldn’t be a life worth living at all.

**********************************************

Kazuki Tenno’s eyes fluttered open to an unfamiliar world—a void filled with shifting, pulsing lights. His body glowed faintly with veins of electric blue energy coursing beneath his skin. The pain in his chest was unbearable, as if something inside him was burning to break free.

“Where… am I?” Kazuki muttered, his voice trembling.

“You have been altered,” came a cold, mechanical voice.

Kazuki’s head snapped toward the sound. Standing before him was a figure—an artificial humanoid constructed of smooth, glowing metal. Its featureless face shimmered with lines of light, and its presence radiated a strange calm.

“I am *Aurion,* caretaker of the Neon Protocol,” the figure said. “The energy you encountered has bonded to your body. You are now its host.”

“What… what is this power? What’s happening to me?” Kazuki demanded, his voice rising in panic as he noticed his glowing hands sparking with volatile energy.

Aurion’s voice remained steady. “The energy within you is called *Neon,* an artificial power created long before the rise of Ether. Unlike Ether, which flows naturally through the world, Neon is synthetic—powerful but unstable. It rejected its previous vessels, destroying them. You are the first to survive its assimilation.”

The words sank in slowly, each one more horrifying than the last. “Why me?” Kazuki whispered.

“That remains unclear. What is certain is that you cannot control it yet. Without discipline, this power will consume you.”

Before Kazuki could process Aurion’s warning, the void began to tremble. The glowing lights faded, and his surroundings shifted. He was no longer in the void but lying on cold, jagged stone. The faint light of the dungeon entrance illuminated the ruined chamber around him.

Kazuki struggled to his feet, his body heavy and unsteady. The Neon within him flickered erratically, sending sparks skittering across the floor. Every step felt like dragging a storm chained to his soul.

The collapsed dungeon groaned ominously, and Kazuki realized he wasn’t alone. A low growl echoed through the chamber. Turning toward the sound, he saw a hulking, shadowy beast—its eyes glowing a sickly yellow. The creature had been drawn to the energy emanating from him.

Kazuki’s heart raced as the beast lunged. He raised his hands instinctively, and a surge of Neon erupted from his palms. The energy struck the creature with explosive force, sending it crashing into the wall. The blast left Kazuki gasping, his arms trembling.

But the monster wasn’t defeated. It rose, snarling, and charged again. Kazuki tried to summon the Neon once more, but the energy refused to obey. His hands sparked uselessly as the beast closed the distance.

“Focus!” Aurion’s voice rang in his mind. “The power will not respond to fear.”

Kazuki gritted his teeth and willed the Neon to return. Pain shot through his body as the energy flared to life, forming a glowing blade in his hand. With a desperate cry, he swung the blade as the beast pounced. The Neon sliced cleanly through the creature, its body dissolving into ash.

Kazuki collapsed to his knees, the Neon blade dissipating as exhaustion overtook him. His vision blurred, and he could barely hear Aurion’s voice over the sound of his own ragged breathing.

“You survived,” Aurion said. “But this is only the beginning. Without mastery, this power will destroy everything around you—and yourself.”

Kazuki’s struggles didn’t end with his escape from the dungeon. He stumbled back into Lumosport under the cover of darkness, his body still glowing faintly. Weeks had passed since the dungeon collapse, and he quickly learned that he had been presumed dead. The news was a small blessing—no one would question his sudden transformation.

However, rumors of a glowing figure began to spread throughout the city. Kazuki, unable to fully control the Neon coursing through him, accidentally left marks of his presence wherever he went. Walls scorched with bright streaks of light, faint traces of his glow seen in the shadows—people started calling him the Neon Phantom.

These rumors eventually reached the ears of the Ethereal Order, the governing body that controlled Ether and policed etheric use. To them, any etheric user outside of the Order was a threat to be eliminated.

One night, while hiding in the abandoned industrial district, Kazuki felt a familiar tremor in the air. He turned to see a group of figures in dark uniforms—the Order’s Hunters. They were elite operatives trained to eliminate rogue users of ether, and their eyes glowed faintly with Etheric energy.

“You’re the Neon Phantom, aren’t you?” the lead Hunter said, stepping forward. Her voice was sharp and unyielding.

Kazuki tensed, the Neon within him sparking uncontrollably. “No I'm not!! Just leave me alone! I don't want any trouble😵‍💫”

“Trouble?” The woman smirked, summoning a creature of pure Ether in her hand. “You’re using unknown power. That makes you trouble by definition.”

The Hunters attacked, and Kazuki was forced to defend himself. The fight was chaotic—Kazuki’s Neon flared wildly, forming lightning bolts and explosions of light without his control. Each attack drained his energy, leaving him weaker and more desperate. The Hunters, disciplined and methodical, began to corner him.

When it seemed like he couldn’t hold out any longer, an unexpected ally appeared. A young Hunter with auburn hair and a nervous expression stepped into the fray, deflecting one of the Order’s attacks.

“Leave him alone!” she shouted, her voice shaking but determined.

Kazuki didn’t know who she was or why she was helping him, but her intervention gave him the opening he needed to escape. Together, they fled into the shadows, leaving the Order behind.

As they caught their breath in an abandoned warehouse, the girl introduced herself as Haruka Sato, a rookie Hunter disillusioned with the Order’s strict rules.

“You’ve got a strange power,” Haruka said, glancing at the faint glow still emanating from Kazuki’s hands. “But you’re not a monster. You just need help.”

Kazuki stared at her, uncertain whether to trust her. But in a world that now saw him as a threat, her words were the first hint of hope he’d found.

“Maybe,” he said quietly. “But if I don’t figure this out soon, I might become one.”

"But, then again why did you save me?! Now the Order is going to hunt you down!"

"Don't worry about it, for now you need rest"

Unbeknownst to them, the Ethereal Order wasn’t done. Their hunt for the Neon Phantom had just begun.