The fire-wielder's smirk was a death sentence. "Burn him," she commanded. Two grunts lunged with crackling shock-staves while the third raised a rattling flechette pistol. Amber light bloomed in the leader's palm, coalescing into a searing sphere. Heat washed over Kael, singeing his hair. **ENERGY: 22/105. ADVANCED ANALYSIS: ACTIVE (-3/min). SURVIVAL PROBABILITY: 12%... 11%...**
*No.* The denial wasn't just his own. It roared from the core of the Crucible, a divine imperative buried in his bones. **ABILITY MANIFESTATION PROTOCOL: EMERGENCY ENGAGEMENT!** The system's cold voice cracked with something akin to fury.
Agony detonated within Kael. It wasn't physical pain; it was reality *unraveling*.
1. **Time:** His vision fractured. He saw *two* realities superimposed:
* **Present:** The flechette pistol discharging a cloud of razors. The shock-staves thrusting. The fireball screaming towards his chest.
* **Future (2 seconds):** Razors embedding in the wall where he *would have been*. Staves meeting empty air. The fireball exploding against the sealed vault door, showering sparks. **SKILL ACQUIRED: FORESIGHT (LV.1). ENERGY COST: 5/sec.**
2. **Space:** The air around him *itched*, the fabric of the chamber feeling thin, malleable. He perceived the empty space behind the grunt with the pistol – five feet away, safe behind a corroded vat. An instinct screamed: *Go there!* **SKILL ACQUIRED: BLINK (LV.1). RANGE: 5 METERS. ENERGY COST: 15/BLINK.**
3. **Lightning:** Raw power, furious and wild, surged up his spine, gathering in his palms. It crackled along his nerves, demanding release. **SKILL ACQUIRED: BOLT (LV.1). DAMAGE: LOW. RANGE: 10 METERS. ENERGY COST: 20/BOLT.**
It happened faster than thought, driven by the Crucible's desperate override and Kael's own will to survive (**WIL: 16**).
**Foresight Active! (ENG: 17/105)**
The future image burned bright. He saw the paths of death.
**Blink Activated! Target: Behind Vat. (ENG: 2/105)**
Space *folded*. One moment he was before the fireball, the next he was crouching behind the heavy chemical vat. *Disorientation. Nausea.* Razors *thunked* into the space he vacated. Staves clashed against nothing. The fireball *whumped* against the vault door, heat blasting past his cover.
Shouts of confusion erupted. "Where'd he go?!" "Check behind!"
**Bolt Charging! (Target: Flechette Pistol Grunt)**
Kael thrust his hand out from behind the vat. Lightning, raw and blue-white, jagged from his palm with a deafening *CRACK*. It wasn't aimed, it was *hurled*. It struck the grunt's pistol hand. The man shrieked, convulsing as the weapon exploded in a shower of sparks and molten metal, shredding his arm. **CRITICAL HIT! EXP GAINED: 30 (Grunt 3). ENERGY: 0/105. WARNING: ENERGY DEPLETION!**
The backlash was immediate. Kael collapsed against the vat, vision graying. His muscles trembled violently. Using all three powers simultaneously had burned his Energy to zero. He was utterly vulnerable.
The fire-wielder's eyes blazed with fury and shock. "Ability user! Get him NOW!" The two remaining grunts charged around the vat.
Kael couldn't Blink. He couldn't summon another Bolt. Foresight flickered weakly, showing him a boot stomping towards his face, a shock-stave descending. But with **Energy: 0**, he couldn't *act* on the knowledge. He braced, raising his arms weakly.
Suddenly, a heavy *thump* echoed from the chamber entrance. A new figure stood there – tall, clad in dark, reinforced synth-leather, a neutral expression on a sharp-featured face. His presence radiated calm authority. The fire-wielder spun, her flames guttering slightly. "Who the hell—?"
The newcomer's voice was cool, cutting through the tension. "City Watch. Lower Enforcement Division." He didn't brandish a weapon; he didn't need to. His bio-electric signature, sensed by Kael's weakened Energy Sense, was a controlled storm – powerful and contained. A high-grade combatant. "This annex is under restricted quarantine due to residual toxins. You are trespassing and discharging unsanctioned abilities. Stand down."
The fire-wielder hesitated, rage warring with caution. Her remaining grunts froze. The newcomer took a single step forward. "I won't ask again."
With a snarl, the fire-wielder extinguished her flames. "This isn't over, rat," she hissed towards Kael's hiding spot. She jerked her head at her men. "Move." They retreated swiftly, dragging their wounded comrade, leaving Kael alone with the newcomer.
The Watchman approached Kael, his gaze sweeping the destroyed Sentinel and the scorched vault door before settling on Kael. He noted the tremors, the exhaustion, the faint ozone smell clinging to him. "Quite the light show for a restricted zone," he remarked neutrally. "You look like you wrestled the Sentinel and lost."
Kael tried to speak, his voice a dry rasp. "They... attacked..."
"I saw the tail end. Self-defense against a known enforcer crew." The Watchman crouched, his eyes sharp. "Newly Awakened? Time, Space, *and* Lightning? That's... unusual." He didn't sound accusing, merely observant. "Manifestation under stress can be brutal. You need stabilization. Training. Before you burn yourself out or bring a building down."
He offered a hand. Kael stared at it, then slowly took it, letting the man pull him to his feet. He swayed, his Energy counter flickering: **ENG: 1/105 (Regeneration Resuming).**
"The Warrens are no place to learn control over that," the Watchman stated. "Especially not with a target on your back now. They'll be back, better prepared." He pulled a small, official-looking data-slate from his belt, tapped it, and projected a holographic emblem: a stylized tower wrapped in a lightning bolt. "The Ascendancy Awakened Academy. Entrance trials are in six weeks. They take raw talent, even from the gutter, if it's potent enough." He looked meaningfully at the scorch marks on the vault door and the sparking wreckage of the Sentinel. "You qualify."
He handed Kael a small chip. "Information packet. Location. Trial requirements. Consider it... a civic service. Untrained power is a hazard." He turned to leave. "Get your strength back. Then get off the streets. The Academy's your only real chance now."
The Watchman vanished into the gloom as silently as he appeared. Kael slumped back against the vat, the chip cold in his hand. He pulled up his status screen, the blue light illuminating his haggard face.
---
**<<< STATUS >>>**
**HOST:** Kael James
**SYSTEM:** War God's Crucible (Initiate Phase)
**AUTHORIZATION LEVEL:** Initiate (1)
**COMBAT GRADE:** 1
**LEVEL:** 7
**EXP:** 315/800
**ENG:** 3/105 *(Regen: 10/hr rest)*
**<<< ATTRIBUTES >>>**
**STR:** 10 | **AGI:** 12 | **VIT:** 15
**PER:** 13 | **WIL:** 16 | **ENG:** 3/105
**<<< ABILITIES >>>**
**- Time:** Manifested
**- Space:** Manifested
**- Lightning:** Manifested
**<<< SKILLS >>>**
**- System Synchronisation:** Lv. 1
**- Energy Sense (Passive):** Lv. 1
**- Foresight (Time - Active):** Lv. 1 (Cost: 5 ENG/sec)
**- Blink (Space - Active):** Lv. 1 (Range: 5m, Cost: 15 ENG)
**- Bolt (Lightning - Active):** Lv. 1 (Range: 10m, Cost: 20 ENG)
**<<< SYSTEM FUNCTIONS >>>**
**- Advanced Combat Analytics (3 ENG/min)**
**- Ability Manifestation Protocol (Complete)**
**- Skill Acquisition Interface**
**- Energy Infusion (Locked: Grade 2)**
**<<< OBJECTIVES >>>**
**- Immediate:** Achieve Grade 2 Combatant (Level 15) (46%)
**- New:** **Academy Trials:** Prepare for and pass the Ascendancy Awakened Academy entrance trials. (0%)
**- Unlock:** System Origin Data (Grade 3) (23%)
---
Divine sparks – Time, Space, Lightning – now smoldered within him. They were terrifying, exhilarating, and utterly draining. The gutter rat was gone. The thug hunter was gone. He was Kael James, Awakened. And the path forward was clear, carved in the blue light of the Crucible and the cold pragmatism of the Watchman's words.
He looked at the Academy chip. Six weeks. Six weeks to master powers that felt like holding live wires, to reach Level 15, to become Grade 2. Six weeks to prepare for a trial that would decide if he remained prey, or became something else entirely.
Pushing himself up, every muscle protesting, Kael limped towards the annex exit. The water tower wasn't sanctuary enough anymore. He needed a forge. He needed the Academy. The War God's legacy demanded it.