Aiden inhaled slowly as his name echoed across the Awakening Grounds.
The crowd turned, still buzzing from Emilia's dual affinity awakening. She'd set the bar impossibly high. Now all eyes were on him—not just as the son of two top-ranked Awakened, but as her closest friend.
He stepped forward calmly. No excitement. No fear. Just quiet resolve.
In his past life, he had awakened a 3-star Lightning Affinity—rare, admired, but not extraordinary. It hadn't been enough. Not to change anything. Not to stop what came after.
*This life is different. It has to be.*
He placed his hand on the Elemental Crystal.
For a second, nothing.
Then—**a sharp blue light** burst from the orb, vibrant and wild, crackling like thunder in the air.
"Lightning Affinity—3 stars!" the announcer declared.
Murmurs of approval rippled through the crowd. Lightning was one of the rarer affinities, and 3 stars marked him as a high-tier talent. Not as dazzling as Emilia's awakening, but still well beyond the norm.
Then, without warning, the orb shifted.
The blue flickered.
A strange **silver hue** began to spread, swirling with hints of violet and deep void-like black. The crystal trembled, glowing with an unstable, shifting light—neither bright nor dark, but something… other.
Gasps followed.
The announcer's voice faltered. "A second affinity...?"
Silence fell as everyone leaned closer.
"...Chaos Affinity—3 stars."
The crowd froze.
Chaos.
A name from old legends. A force whispered in myth—never seen, never confirmed.
There were no known users. No records. Just fragments from ancient stories—heroes who bent reality, monsters who tore through dimensions. Fiction, most believed.
And yet… the crystal had spoken.
Aiden pulled his hand back, staring at it quietly.
*This… wasn't in my past life.*
He hadn't awakened Chaos before. Something had changed. Whether it was fate or the ripple of his rebirth, he didn't know—but he could feel it deep in his bones.
Behind the shock, a heavy silence lingered. People didn't know whether to cheer or retreat.
Emilia broke through it first, grabbing his arm. "You have *got* to be kidding me."
He looked at her, surprised. "What?"
"Lightning and Chaos?" she whispered, eyes wide. "I get one impossible affinity and you have to one-up me with a myth?"
"I didn't plan this," he said honestly.
She gave him a look that was part glare, part awe. "obviously you can't plan this silly"
He gave a small smile. "yeah yeah"
Their playful back-and-forth returned, but under it all, Aiden couldn't stop thinking.
*What is Chaos? And why now?*
He glanced toward his parents.
Den's arms were crossed, expression unreadable. Elisa covered her mouth, tears in her eyes—but not from fear. From pride.
Aiden stood there, letting the moment settle. The noise, the whispers, the speculation... none of it mattered.
It's possible this affinity was related to his regression and how he died ,maybe related to that dreadful rift.
In previous life he had started training too late,he was arrogant because of his 3 stars affinity but kinda jealous of emilia,s affinity he couldn't keep up with her growth so choose easy way out giving up and acting like he didn't gave a damn.
By the time he gained his sense calamity had struck and he was left in the dust some many 2 stars had surpassed him
He had worked hard then harder than anyone else but it was too late emilia was killed so were his parents he reached level 5 years after their death as he was one of the few survivor not because of skill but pure luck.but now he knew all the secrets he learnt too late,all the experience,drive to grow from start and new power this time he will save everyone.
*This is my second chance.*
*And I'll make it count.*,