The words wouldn't leave him.
Because you were chosen.
Kai sat for a long time on the rooftop, staring at nothing, the blue glow still flickering faintly in his mind's eye. He tried closing his eyes, shaking his head, even whispering curses at himself. The letters stayed.
Chosen for what? He wasn't special. He wasn't rich. He wasn't one of the higher-born ability users that sometimes passed through the slums on "missions" nobody explained. He was Kai Arven another nameless face surviving off scraps.
Unless…
No. He cut the thought before it grew teeth. He'd learned that lesson young. The moment you thought you were different, the world made sure to remind you where you belonged.
The sky above the slums never showed stars. Too much smoke, too much neon bleeding down from the upper city. But Kai stared upward anyway, trying to drown himself in the murk.
[System functions available: Limited testing advised.]
The words crawled across his vision again. He clenched his fists.
"You're not real."
[Denial detected. System stability unaffected.]
The calmness of the answer scraped against his nerves. He forced himself to breathe through his teeth. If this wasn't real, then talking back to it was madness. And if it was real… then maybe madness was safer than ignoring it.
Kai dragged himself upright and climbed down from the rooftop. The ladder was nothing more than a welded frame of metal bars, cold under his hands. Below, the alleys breathed their usual stink of damp rot and smoke.
He needed proof. Real proof. Something he could see, touch, fight if he had to.
The alley spat him out near a trash fire. A few others huddled around it, faces gaunt, eyes too tired to care when he passed. One of the children coughed, the sound ragged. Another tugged a blanket tighter, as if that could keep the cold out of bones that had been cold for years.
Kai slowed. His eyes flicked toward them, then away. He wanted to stop. He wanted to hand over the half-loaf of stale bread he'd hidden in his bag. But want didn't mean much here. He needed strength first. If he couldn't stand, he couldn't protect anyone. Not even himself.
That thought was bitter. It tasted like ash.
The system pulsed again.
[Skill: Analyze – Available.]
His jaw tightened. He turned his gaze toward a rusted tin can near the fire. "Analyze."
[Object: Tin can.
Material: Rusted metal.
Condition: Fragile. Breakable with minimal force.]
A snort escaped him. "Useful," he muttered under his breath. Still, the detail had been instant, sharp. Too sharp for imagination.
His eyes shifted toward the coughing child. A sick feeling crawled into his throat, but curiosity pressed harder. "Analyze."
[Human child. Malnourished.
Status: Illness detected (Respiratory infection).
Threat: None.]
Kai's chest constricted. The screen blurred for a moment, not from the system but from his own vision. He looked away, biting down on the urge to do something reckless.
The system hadn't lied. It couldn't have known details like that. Unless it was real. Unless everything was real.
He walked. Fast. Away from the fire, away from the children, away from the proof he didn't want but had found anyway. His footsteps echoed sharp against the wet concrete.
[Skill: Perception – Active.]
The world shifted. Subtle, but there. Every scrape of shoe against stone, every drip of water down rusted pipes he felt them more clearly. Sounds layered over each other, distinct instead of muddled. He could hear the creak of wood three alleys away. The scratch of claws in the dark.
Claws.
He froze.
There, down the alley, a shadow moved. Small, low to the ground, but too smooth, too deliberate to be just another rat.
Kai's pulse thudded in his ears. He crouched low, forcing his breathing silent. His eyes locked on the shape, and the system answered his intent.
[Mutated Rat – Tier 0 Beast]
[Health: 20 of 20]
[Threat: Minimal]
The same as before. But this time, the creature wasn't in a trash heap. It was moving, hunting. Its fur bristled in jagged patches, skin stretched too tight over bones. Its eyes glowed faintly red.
Kai's hands trembled. He'd seen beasts from afar, once or twice. He'd heard screams when they attacked the slums. He'd never faced one alone.
The rat's nose twitched. Its head snapped toward him.
"Shit."
It lunged.
Instinct shoved him sideways. The rat's claws raked the wall where he'd been crouched, sparks scratching off concrete. Its teeth snapped air.
Kai scrambled back, heart slamming against his ribs. His mind screamed to run, but the system burned words into his skull.
[Combat engaged.]
[Skill usage advised.]
"Like hell I know how!" he spat, kicking at the creature. His foot connected with its ribs. The rat screeched, body skidding against stone, but it was already twisting to strike again.
Kai's eyes darted. Loose brick. Rusted pipe. Trash. Nothing that screamed "weapon." Nothing except
His hand shot out, grabbing the pipe. Rust flaked against his palm. He raised it, shaky, as the rat came again.
[Analyze target? Yes or No]
"Yes!" he barked.
[Weak point detected: Neck. Bone structure fragile.]
The system's words flashed just as the rat leapt. Kai thrust forward, pipe aimed with desperate precision. The jagged edge struck the rat's throat. A sick crack followed.
The beast convulsed, squealed once, then went limp.
Kai stood over it, chest heaving, pipe still clutched tight. The system glowed again.
[Target eliminated.]
[Experience gained: +10]
[Level increased → 2.]
He stared. His grip slackened until the pipe clattered against the stone.
Level. He had… leveled up? Like some old game?
But the rat at his feet was real. Its blood was real, soaking into the alley floor. His pounding heart was real.
His mouth was dry. He crouched again, pressing a hand against his face. The cold, rusted stink of blood crawled up his nose.
Not a dream.
Not madness.
Real.
Far above, beyond the smog and neon, something else stirred.
At the hidden edges of the city, signals blinked on quiet screens. Watcher surveillance units machines that had monitored the slums for decades registered a ripple.
Not large. Barely a spark. But enough.
[Unregistered energy signature detected.]
[Origin: Sector 7 slums.]
For years, Kai had been nothing but a name on a list, a boy flagged for unusual memory retention, monitored but never touched. But now, his status shifted.
[Possible Awakening. Report to Command.]
The signal leapt into hidden channels, climbing to eyes that had been waiting for decades.
The Watchers turned their gaze on him.
Kai didn't know it yet.
All he knew was the rat at his feet and the glow in his head that wouldn't leave.
He whispered, almost trembling. "What the hell are you doing to me?"
And for the second time that night, the voice not just text, but voice slid through his mind like a whisper of breath.
Testing. Preparing.
His eyes widened. His pulse stopped, then thundered back faster than ever.
He wasn't imagining it.
He wasn't alone.