The Hall of Conduction pulsed with anticipation.
Kenzo Arclight Voltrax stood at the center of the Resonance Ring, his feet planted on conduits etched with centuries of trial-born circuitry. Charged mist hissed from vents around the perimeter as glyphs flickered to life. The trial was ancient, sacred—designed to force the awakening of a Voltraxian's soul-bound ability: their Unique Skill.
High above, House Elders, scholars, and Essencia theorists watched silently. Among them, Lady Arinya sat, unreadable. Her son had trained for this moment since infancy.
And now, he stood alone.
The mechanical gate hissed open.
From it emerged a behemoth—twelve meters tall, its body built from interlocking darksteel plates. A Resonance Construct, encoded with combat algorithms and artificially synced to destabilize a candidate's Essencia flow.
Its core glowed orange.
Its arms ended in rotating magnetic cleavers.
It was not a test.
It was a trigger.
Kenzo exhaled. He could feel the Essencia in the air—charged particles clinging to the chamber like invisible dust. His Soul Core thrummed, but only faintly.
He darted forward, weaving low and fast. A pulse shot from his right palm—an electromagnetic burst aimed at the construct's exposed elbow joint.
Thud.
The construct absorbed it. Barely staggered.
Then it countered.
A cleaver swung down. Kenzo dodged, grazing his shoulder as the impact cratered the floor beside him. Sparks flew. The force rippled through the magnetic grid, warping the very air.
He rolled and launched a polarity repulsion burst—but the construct's field adapted.
Again, and again, Kenzo struck.
Each attack was technical. Calculated.
But his soul remained silent.
No spark.
No awakening.
No resonance.
Above, the Elders began to whisper.
"He's precise… but his core's inert."
"No resonance shift detected. How disappointing."
Lady Arinya's hands gripped her armrest tighter.
Kenzo stumbled, breath ragged. He'd been struck twice now. His ribs ached. His fingers tingled from field overuse.
The golem was adapting—replicating his energy patterns and nullifying them.
His techniques weren't enough.
Why isn't it awakening?
What am I missing?
He clenched his fists, sweat and blood dripping from his chin.
The construct charged again, both cleavers spinning, magnetic blades roaring with anti-essence static.
Kenzo raised a barrier.
CRASH.
It shattered instantly, hurling him back into the wall. The impact knocked the breath out of him. Sparks licked his skin.
He dropped to his knees.
The air buzzed with charged silence.
And then—
A pulse.
Not from the room.
From inside.
A single, cold click deep in his Soul Core. Like a key turning.
Then, a voice.
Not external.
But part of him.
Calm. Resonant. Metallic.
"Unique Skill: Magnetize Veins."
[Passive Skill Unlocked.]
Your body has become a reactive node for Essencia-charged magnetism.
You may attract, repel, or suspend metallic weapons, armor, and particles within your zone of influence.
Kenzo's breath hitched.
Around him, the air shifted. Tiny glints of metallic dust suspended mid-air began to swirl.
His fingers trembled—no, vibrated—with ambient charge. His veins glowed faintly beneath the skin, running like thin silver filaments.
The construct moved.
But this time—so did everything else.
The nearby debris—metal shards, bolts, even parts of the construct's own armor—jerked toward Kenzo like he was a living magnet.
He rose to his feet slowly.
The magnetic hum in the air grew louder.
And his eyes shone with focused intensity.
From above, alarms flickered.
"Essencia pattern shift detected—!"
"Core field re-aligned—"
"He's awakened."
Lady Arinya stood.
Her voice was soft but fierce.
"…He's not like the others."