Alex stood inside the NSS-9 awakening machine, and suddenly—
The world blurred.
The bright, sterile hall around him sizzled and twisted into darkness as the machine overloaded.
He faintly heard voices, distant and strained:
The doctor shouted, "Shut it down!"
Riya is crying, "Alex!"
Soldiers rushing forward
But everything became distant.
Faded.
Muted.
And then—nothing.
His consciousness sank deeper…
and deeper…
into a cold, endless void.
Inside the Void: The Ancient Presence
When Alex opened his eyes, he wasn't in the assembly hall anymore.
He wasn't anywhere.
He floated in an endless, silent darkness.
No ground beneath his feet.
No light to guide him.
No sound.
No air.
Nothing but absolute stillness, a vacuum that threatened to pull his consciousness apart.
He tried to speak, but even his own voice was snared and lost.
Then—
Thoom…
Thoom…
Thoom…
A deep, rhythmic vibration pulsed through the void, reverberating directly in his soul.
A soft white light appeared far ahead, growing brighter and brighter.
The darkness peeled away as the light formed into a pristine, glowing sphere—floating utterly alone in the infinite black.
Alex stared at it, confusion quickly turning into a cold, profound dread.
"What… is that?" he whispered, his own words now foreign and lost in the silence.
The white sphere pulsed like a monstrous, cosmic heartbeat.
Curiosity—or an irresistible draw—pulled him forward.
He reached out, his hand trembling, and touched it.
The instant his finger brushed the glowing surface—
FLASH!
A blinding white light swallowed everything.
The System Merges
The white sphere didn't speak.
It displayed no messages.
No screens.
No symbols.
It simply slid through Alex's skin and melted into his chest—
quiet, smooth, and invisible.
Alex felt it latch onto his very essence, his soul.
No voice.
No AI.
No system window.
Just a presence.
Cold.
Ancient.
Silent.
Like a dormant, slumbering beast wrapping itself around the core of his heart.
Alex gasped, suddenly frantic for air.
His chest felt agonizingly heavy—
as if there were now two synchronized heartbeats inside him.
Thump…
…thump.
He clutched his shirt, eyes wide with terror.
"What… what was that?"
Before he could think, the void shattered—
And the real world snapped back with a violent, deafening roar.
Return to Reality: The Mask
Alex's eyes shot open.
He tumbled out of the NSS-9 chamber, collapsing painfully onto the metal floor.
Riya's voice was a cracked, desperate sound of panic.
"Alex! Can you hear me!?"
The white-bearded old man— General Andrew—
And several elite awakened soldiers rushed toward the machine, their expressions carved in stone.
The doctor stared at the machine's screen, a look of utter horror freezing on her face.
The NSS-9 hologram glitched wildly—
symbols flickering, scrambling—
Before finally stabilizing with an ominous hiss.
Everyone held their breath, the silence thicker than the darkness of the void.
The final Awakening Result appeared:
[Awakening Power Level: E+]
[Spiritual Energy: Low]
[Potential: Minimal]
The entire hall collectively gasped, but the shock quickly morphed into a stunned release.
"What? E+?"
"After all that explosion?"
"I thought he was an S-rank! Thank god he's not…"
"It would have been chaos."
Some students laughed, their tension releasing in nervous, cruel bursts.
Leon smirked, a relieved and ugly pride settling on his face.
"So he's trash. Just a loser."
The doctor blinked, her confusion palpable.
"This… this simply doesn't compute."
But Riya looked at Alex with pure, overriding concern, her gaze free of judgment.
Alex lay there, sweating, trembling, not from the fall, but because inside his chest… that silent, second heartbeat continued its steady rhythm.
Thump… thump… thump…
The machine had lied.
His true power—
The Dimension Core
—had masked and hidden itself.
A silent message echoed in his mind, not as words, but as an absolute, crushing instinct:
Your true power must stay hidden.
A Glimpse of Power
Alex sat up slowly, his body stiff.
For a split second—
His vision fractured.
The floor rippled like black liquid.
The air twisted and pulled.
Space itself warped, bending around him.
He froze, his breath catching.
Nobody else noticed. They were focused on the screen, on the disappointing rank.
Only Alex felt it.
His heart hammered—the two beats struggling against each other.
His "E+" wasn't real.
It was a shield.
A silent, ancient system had awakened—
and it absolutely refused to be exposed.
The Silent Power Stirs
As the doctor helped Alex stand, the chilling presence inside him pulsed again.
Thoom.
A surge rushed through him.
His sight cleared to a razor's edge.
His hearing sharpened, picking up distant whispers.
His breathing steadied, becoming deep and even.
He felt stronger, more stable than he ever had before.
Riya leaned close, her voice a low, concerned whisper:
"Alex… you look different. Are you okay?"
Leon scoffed, his voice loud and venomous.
"What's special about an E+ loser? Get on with it!"
Alex ignored him because he felt something odd… not anger, but a profound, burning jealousy from Leon.
He turned and saw Leon glaring at him, his face contorted in a dark mix of rage and relief.
Alex blinked.
Did I do something wrong? Why does he look at me like that?
Before he could think further—
"Next!"
The doctor called, relieved to move on from the near-catastrophe.
Riya's Turn
Riya Stoneheart stepped forward with quiet grace.
Alex pulled the chamber chair out for her again, a simple, automatic gesture of care.
Riya smiled softly, her eyes lingering on his face in silent reassurance.
This time, her smile didn't reach Leon.
Because Leon's raw anger exploded in his chest.
He clenched his fists, tiny, bright sparks of fire flickering and dancing around his palms.
"Why is she still smiling at him?"
The doctor cleared her throat, anxious to maintain order.
"Begin analysis."
Riya stepped into the chamber.
The hologram immediately lit up with confident, striking colors:
[Awakening Power Level: A (Telekinesis)]
[Spiritual Energy: A]
[Potential Grade: High]
Gasps—genuine admiration this time—filled the hall again.
"A-Rank!"
"A telekinetic! Unstoppable!"
"Riya Stoneheart is truly amazing!"
Riya stepped out gracefully, but her eyes drifted back to Alex—
still worried, still confused about the true nature of the E+ boy who now held a terrifying secret.
Others Follow
"Next!"
A boy stepped in.
[Awakening Power Level: C]
"Next!"
A girl stepped in.
[Awakening Power Level: D]
One by one, students awakened their abilities
Alex stood silently at the side, the center of an invisible storm…
He felt the second, cold heartbeat inside his chest.
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Author's Note:
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