The lift doors slid open with a whisper, and Nico stepped out into the most intimidating lobby he'd ever seen.
Even the air here felt different - crisp, dry, humming faintly as though the whole building was alive. The floor was an immaculate pane of black composite glass, so polished he could see the scuff marks on his own boots. Above, the vaulted ceiling arched like the inside of a cathedral, but instead of saints or stars, the panels projected shifting constellations of DNA strands and glowing atomic symbols.
Lex trailed half a step behind him, her expression a mix of curiosity and worry. She'd insisted on coming, saying, "Someone needs to make sure you don't faint halfway through and become a meme."
Now she was the one stealing glances at the holograms overhead, her mouth slightly open.
Rows of people sat in the waiting area - some teenagers bouncing nervously in their seats, some older men and women with the steady posture of military veterans. Everyone here had one thing in common: they were here to test or advance their Gene Ascension Level.
Nico tugged at the cuff of his sleeve. He didn't belong here.
Not because he wasn't capable - though, until recently, he'd never thought about it - but because this was the place where people came to measure themselves against the entire world. The Evaluation Hall wasn't just for show; it was the central record-keeping facility for Earth's Gene Authority. Once your genes were scanned, your profile existed forever in the public registry.
They called it transparency. Nico called it a great way to paint a target on your back.
"Stop frowning," Lex murmured beside him.
"I'm not frowning," Nico said automatically.
"You're doing the eyebrow thing. The one that says 'I'd rather be anywhere else'."
He exhaled, knowing she was right. "I would rather be anywhere else. Somewhere with coffee. Somewhere without giant glowing DNA models floating over my head."
Lex smiled faintly. "Just get it over with. Then we'll get your coffee. And a snack."
"You're making this sound like a dentist appointment."
"Same energy."
A man in a silver-gray uniform strode over, holding a thin tablet. His eyes flicked from Nico to the screen. "Nico Hale?"
Nico nodded.
"Follow me. Secondary chamber's ready." The man's tone was brisk, professional, but Nico caught the brief pause in his gaze - the kind people had when they recognized your name from a file they weren't supposed to read.
The secondary chamber was… strange. Smaller than the lobby, but brighter, with soft white light spilling from panels in the walls. A circular platform rose from the center of the floor, ringed by curved glass partitions. Around the edges, a cluster of examiners in lab coats worked at floating control panels.
"This is the standard Baseline Gene Test," one of the examiners explained without looking up. "It will scan your genome, identify awakened genes, and run a resonance check. Stand on the platform, please."
Lex gave him a thumbs-up. "I'll wait out here."
Nico stepped onto the platform, his boots clicking faintly against the surface.
The glass partitions slid closed around him, muting the outside world. A soft hum filled the air. His skin prickled - not painfully, but like static dancing just above it. A ring of light traced its way up from his feet to his head, and with it came a strange sensation… like someone gently pulling threads from inside his body.
On the other side of the glass, one examiner froze. "Reading… three concurrent gene signatures? That can't be right. He's untested."
Another leaned over the console. "Run it again. Maybe a sensor error."
The ring of light swept up his body again.
The first examiner's voice sharpened. "No error. This… this is multi-gene resonance at baseline. Three active signatures before Ascension Level 1."
The others exchanged glances - and not the casual, oh-that's-interesting kind. This was the tight-eyed, we-shouldn't-say-this-out-loud kind.
Nico felt something shift in his chest - a pulse that didn't come from his heartbeat. For an instant, the light in the chamber flickered blue, and every hair on his arms stood on end.
"Uh… what's that?" Nico called through the glass.
The lead examiner tapped frantically at his console. "Contain the resonance. Right now."
The hum in the chamber climbed from a low vibration to a sharp, metallic whine that made Nico's teeth ache. The platform beneath his feet began to tremble. On the other side of the glass, the examiners were no longer calmly typing; they were moving, leaning over each other's consoles, muttering rapid-fire commands.
A red line flashed across the ceiling.
Lex's muffled voice cut through the sound: "Nico! What's going on in there?"
"I'd like to know the same thing!" he shouted back.
The lead examiner's voice snapped over the intercom. "Do not move. Your genome is exhibiting resonance instability-we're attempting to dampen it."
Resonance instability.
It sounded clinical, harmless, like an odd reading on a scan. But Nico could feel it. It wasn't instability. It was… energy. Controlled, focused, and-at the same time-straining against something invisible.
It was like having a song stuck in his head, except the song was woven into every cell of his body, and it was getting louder.
A jagged crackle of light flickered along his right arm, bright enough to leave an afterimage in his vision. The glass partition nearest to him rippled as if it had been struck by a wave.
The youngest examiner swore under his breath. "That's not supposed to happen at Level Zero. What genes did the system detect?"
The lead examiner's eyes were locked on the scrolling readout. "Three primary signatures: Aquila Strength, Helios Adaptation, and Nyx Sensory."
Nico blinked. He knew enough about gene systems to recognize those names - people spent their entire lives trying to awaken just one of them. Aquila was raw, overwhelming force; Helios was advanced environmental adaptation; Nyx was heightened perception, the kind that could detect movements in complete darkness. All three, even at low levels, were considered elite-tier.
The problem was… they didn't coexist.
They weren't supposed to.
Each gene carried its own resonance pattern - combining incompatible patterns was like trying to sing three different songs at once.
Except his cells weren't fighting. They were harmonizing.
The humming in his body surged. He staggered forward instinctively, placing a hand against the glass. The moment his palm touched it, the entire partition glowed with the same blue light that had flickered earlier.
Then it shattered.
It didn't explode into sharp fragments - instead, it dissolved into glittering dust that hung in the air for a heartbeat before fading away completely.
Every examiner froze.
Lex didn't. She was already pushing through the doorway, her boots squealing against the slick floor as she ran to him. "What did you do?"
"I don't-" He broke off. He didn't feel hurt. In fact, he felt better. Stronger. His vision was sharper, colors richer. His hearing picked up the soft clicks of a console three rooms away. His skin no longer prickled - it thrummed.
The lead examiner found his voice. "Mr. Hale, I'm ending the test here for your safety."
"Safety?" Nico asked. "It's me that broke your glass. I'm fine. Shouldn't you be worried?"
The man's mouth tightened. "You don't understand. The resonance patterns we're reading are beyond standard parameters. If you were to trigger a cascade-"
"Too late," muttered another examiner, staring at the fluctuating readings. "It's already begun."
Lex put a hand on Nico's shoulder. "We're leaving."
"I agree," said the lead examiner, though his tone made it clear he meant something else entirely. "Escort them out."
Two uniformed attendants approached, too quickly for Nico's liking.
The prickling in his cells flared again, instinctively. Without meaning to, his grip on Lex tightened. He didn't want to fight but some quiet, ancient part of him did. It whispered of strength, of adaptability, of perception beyond human limits. It urged him to use it.
He took a deep breath and let go of her. "I can walk out on my own."
The attendants hesitated.
The lead examiner's eyes narrowed, as if he'd just seen something that confirmed a dangerous suspicion.