You were in gym class, just sparring with your friends when— WOOM —everything went dead silent. Everyone was gone. The air felt heavy and dim. You took a step— sploosh —and looked down. The ground was like a shallow puddle, water pooling just above your feet. Confused, you stepped out of the sparring ring and pushed open the doors.

The whole gym was flooded—ankle-deep water everywhere, but no one in sight. You kept walking for what felt like minutes, the sound of your footsteps echoing in this drowned hallway.

Then— CRASH! Something smashed down in front of you. You stumbled back, eyes wide.A tall, pin-haired girl lay in the water— ARIA?! And next to her— KEN?! What the hell was going on? Bewildered, you turned your head

And froze. There was a guy standing there—but not a normal guy. His skin looked like carved marble, gleaming and alien, with ridges down his arms like plated armor.

Your heart pounded. The thing lunged at you. Instinct kicked in—you threw your arms up just in time. The hit rattled through your bones, but you stayed on your feet. It hurt like hell, but you were alive.

No time to breathe—its fist smashed into you again, this time square in the gut. You felt the impact before you even saw it—your body flew back and skidded through the shallow water.

“You’re a strong one…”

the alien rasped, voice like metal scraping stone. It dropped into a low boxing stance and rushed you again. You wiped the blood from your lip, pushed yourself up, and planted your feet. Your fists came up

“Challenge accepted.”

Your fist crashed into its jaw—hard enough to send it skidding back, water spraying around its feet. It stayed standing. So did you