A dull ringing echoed in Kane's ears as his eyes slowly fluttered open. His body ached, as though he had run through a battlefield carrying a mountain on his back. For a moment, he didn't recognize the dark, cold chamber he was lying in—until a new sound chimed softly in his head.
[System Update Completed.][Artifact: Fully Activated.][New Interface Unlocked.]
His blurry vision cleared, and with a breathless blink, Kane saw something entirely new before him. A translucent blue screen hovered in his sight, detailed far beyond anything the system had shown him before.
— Status Interface —
Name: Kane Wylder
Level: 1
Experience: 0/100
HP: 100/100
Stamina: 100/100
Mana: 50/50
Attributes:
Strength: 15
Agility: 14
Endurance: 16
Intelligence: 12
Perception: 13
Willpower: 18
Talents: [Tactical Instincts], [Infinite Storage], [Drone Deployment]
Skills: Locked until level progression.
Kane exhaled slowly, his chest tightening. So this… is what the full system looks like after merging the artifact. It wasn't just a survival tool anymore—it had become a complete framework. Levels, attributes, talents… he could grow stronger in a quantifiable way.
But the wonder could wait. He pushed himself up and glanced at the table of research papers scattered nearby. Without hesitation, he swept them into his Infinite Storage. Every record, every classified folder, even the rusting cabinets themselves—he claimed it all.
Room by room, Kane worked through the depot, pulling experimental weapons, crates of old tech, and sealed containers into his storage. Some were half-disassembled prototypes, others brimming with strange ammo and energy cells. In the deepest recesses of the chamber, more machines sat dormant, long forgotten by the world outside. He claimed those too.
By the time he returned to the sealed chamber door, the depot had been stripped bare.
Just as he was about to leave, a sharp beep echoed through his earpiece. Maya's strained voice came through.
"Kane! It's Reina—she suddenly collapsed! We can't wake her up! Lena's with her, but she's not responding at all. What should we do!?"
Kane's heart clenched. His little sister. He didn't even hesitate. With a thought, he pulled from Infinite Storage a sleek black suit—the kind of experimental armor that belonged in secret military labs, not buried under a mountain.
The exosuit unfolded like living metal, snapping onto his body in segments. HUD displays lit up across his vision, mapping out terrain, altitude, and systems. He skimmed through its records, checking its schematics and safety logs. No chance I fly blind with this thing, he told himself.
The logs mentioned high-output thrusters, an experimental energy cycle… and then his HUD blinked a fresh notification.
[System Notification: Experimental Flight Suit Detected.][Integration Complete. Suit Energy Core Linked to System Principle.][Result: Infinite Energy Supply Established.]
Kane blinked in disbelief. Infinite energy…? He clenched his fists and the suit's servos hummed in perfect harmony. He stepped toward the depot's outer cliff, the mountain wind howling past the open ledge.
His sister's face flashed in his mind. Alone. Crying. Unconscious.
There was no time to waste.
Without another thought, Kane launched himself from the mountain peak. The thrusters roared to life, stabilizers locking in instantly. He shot into the skies like a missile, the HUD painting the horizon with tactical overlays. No dip in energy, no sputter of power—the suit flew as though the world itself was fueling him.
And beneath the rushing wind, another faint notification flickered.
[Artifact Synchronization: Ongoing.][Full Potential… not yet revealed.]
Kane gritted his teeth, eyes burning with determination. Whatever the artifact had awakened, whatever the system had become—he would master it. But first, he had to get home.
Reina needed him.
The mountain winds screamed around Kane as he pushed the flight suit to its absolute limit. Thrusters howled with a piercing roar, streaks of blue flame cutting the sky as he broke through clouds like a spear of light.
The suit's HUD warned him of speed thresholds, but Kane ignored them. He needed to get to Reina.
Down below, in the valley cities, radar stations lit up like Christmas trees.
"Control, unidentified missile signature detected! Vector approaching high velocity, no IFF tag!""Scramble alert! Is this hostile ordnance?!"
But before they could act, the suit's systems pulsed with a faint shimmer.
[Stealth Protocol: Activated.][Camouflage Field Engaged.]
On the radars, the blazing signal flickered—then vanished. Controllers were left staring at blank screens, panic still rising in their voices as they scrambled for confirmation. To them, the "missile" had simply disappeared.
Kane didn't care. His eyes were fixed on the horizon. Within minutes, the outline of his island fortress came into view—expansive, looming, stitched together from both legal and "acquired" landmasses.
The suit responded smoothly, angling his descent with perfect stability. He streaked toward the main villa, engines softening their roar as he approached the balcony outside Reina's room. With a final burst, Kane landed soundlessly, the reinforced flooring trembling under the impact.
The moment his boots touched the ground, the flight suit shimmered. Segments detached, folded, and collapsed into nothingness before slipping into Infinite Storage. By the time he stepped through the balcony doors, Kane looked no different from when he had left—just a brother rushing to his sister's side.
Inside, the sight made his heart clench.
Reina lay in her small bed, her tiny hands clenched against the sheets, her breathing faint but steady. Maya knelt at one side, her face pale with worry. Lena stood on the other, holding a damp cloth to Reina's forehead, her own composure cracking as she bit her lip.
"Kane!" Maya's voice broke with relief the moment she saw him. "She just—she wouldn't wake up! We tried everything—"
Kane crossed the room in an instant, his hand reaching for Reina's forehead. The moment his skin touched her, a surge coursed through him.
A pulse. Warm. Familiar. The artifact's energy.
Kane's eyes widened faintly. She's… awakening.
The same power that had rewritten his destiny was now flowing through his little sister. But unlike him, her two-year-old body wasn't strong enough to handle the sudden surge. She would need time, perhaps days, for her body to adapt. For her spirit to align with the artifact's bond.
But Kane said nothing. He forced his expression into calm, reassuring warmth as he turned to the worried faces of Maya and Lena.
"The doctor already told me this might happen," Kane said evenly, his voice steady and deliberate. "It's not life-threatening."
Maya blinked, stunned. "It's… not?"
Kane nodded. "Reina's been carrying a heavy trauma ever since our parents died. The doctor warned me—her mind sometimes relives that trauma in her sleep. If it overwhelms her, she might fall unconscious like this. It looks scary, but it's not dangerous. She just needs rest… and she needs me nearby. The doctor was clear—if I leave her alone too much, the trauma could resurface."
Both women exhaled, the tension draining from their bodies.
Lena closed her eyes, her grip on Reina's hand loosening. "So… she just needs time. She'll wake up on her own?"
"Yes." Kane brushed a strand of hair from Reina's forehead, his voice softening. "She'll wake up soon. All she needs right now is peace."
Maya collapsed back into her chair, her relief visible in every movement. "I thought we were losing her…"
Kane stayed by the bedside, holding his little sister's hand gently. Inside, his mind burned with the truth. She wasn't just resting. She was transforming—just like he had.
But no one else needed to know that. Not yet.
For now, she was safe. And Kane intended to make sure she stayed that way.