The world returned to Aiden in shards.
A sharp breath. A pounding skull. Cold stone against his cheek.
He forced his eyes open. Dust drifted through the collapsed chamber, coating shattered runes, cracked pillars, and broken training equipment. The Trial hall—the place that had been blinding with energy moments ago—was now a ruin.
Aiden pushed himself up with shaking arms.
Still alive… somehow.
His gaze fell on the floor. Scattered around him were remnants of the other candidates: shattered weapons, torn robes, shattered mana crystals, and cracked amulets still faintly glowing. Not a single student remained. No sounds. Only the eerie hum of lingering energy.
Aiden picked up a broken dagger, its edge chipped, and felt a chill. They were here. And then they were gone.
His pulse quickened.
The system flickered violently on his arm. The glowing tattoo had gone wild during the explosion—and now it blinked with new warnings.
[SYSTEM WARNING…]
[ERROR: CORE PATHWAY FAILURE]
[RECALIBRATING USER IDENTITY…]
Aiden's throat tightened. "What… is it doing?"
The interface broke into shards of blue light before reforming slowly.
[USER: AIDEN VALE]
[LEVEL: 0]
Then a new line appeared.
[Soul Integrity: 37%]
Aiden's stomach dropped. 37%?
[WARNING: YOU SHOULD NOT BE ALIVE]
The system wasn't joking.
He staggered toward the remnants of a shattered mana orb. Its energy still throbbed faintly, like a heartbeat. Aiden reached out, touching it lightly. The pulse ran through him, sharp and alien, reminding him of the surge he had just unleashed.
A deep rumble shook the chamber. Dust fell from the ceiling, and remaining shards of debris clinked together like tiny warning bells. Then… he saw it.
A figure. Cloaked. Standing among the debris. Face hidden. Calm. Heavy.
Aiden froze.
The figure stepped closer. The ground beneath seemed to pulse with unnatural gravity.
"You shouldn't be here," the figure said, voice steady, echoing as if from everywhere and nowhere at once.
Aiden swallowed. "Neither should you."
The figure's gaze lingered on the scattered weapons and robes. "The Trial collapsed. It rejected everyone else… except you."
Aiden's blood ran cold. "Why me?"
The figure tilted its head. "Because your existence… your very soul… does not fit what this world expects."
Before Aiden could respond, the ground shook violently. The remaining debris—broken weapons, torn robes, shattered amulets—levitated slightly, spinning with residual mana. The air thickened.
The system chimed:
[WARNING: SYSTEM INSTABILITY DETECTED]
[USER CORE AT RISK]
Aiden gritted his teeth, gripping a broken staff from another candidate. His hands shook, but he forced himself to stand.
The faceless figure stepped back into the shadows. "Aiden Vale… your life is no longer your own."
Then, without another word, the figure vanished, leaving only the broken items and lingering pulse of corrupted mana.
Aiden stared at the scattered belongings. His chest heaved.
Everyone's gone. The Trial… the other students…
His jaw tightened. "Fine," he whispered. "Then I'll find out the truth myself."
He grabbed a cracked amulet from the floor—a faint glow still pulsing from its core—and tucked it into his bag. Evidence. Clues. Anything that could help him understand what had just happened.
The path ahead was uncertain. Dangerous. And lonely.
But it was the only one he had left.
Aiden stepped forward into the darkened ruins, his every instinct screaming that this was only the beginning.
---