Sleep was something Kael couldn't afford. He spent the night in his small home, and every sound of creaking metal or a distant shout made him jump. He was a prisoner in his own home, waiting for Grist's crew to show up. The fear felt like a cold knot in his stomach. But under the fear, a different feeling was growing: a deep, humming power that seemed to match his heartbeat. His body felt tight, like a loaded spring.
He didn't need to see the light to know when the sun came up. It started with a familiar and scary rush of power. This time, it wasn't a gentle warmth but felt like a huge fire inside him. Hot, massive energy filled every part of his body. He clenched his teeth and groaned as his muscles tightened hard, as if they were being remade with fire. For a few painful seconds, it felt like the change was too much and might tear his body apart. Then, just as fast as it started, the feeling went away, leaving a huge amount of strength behind.
The text in his mind was clear, exact, and totally crazy.
[System Notification]- Sunrise Escalation Complete.- Strength Coefficient Multiplied by Factor of Six.- New Strength Coefficient: 36.0
Kael opened his eyes, taking uneven breaths. He pushed himself up, and his hand sank two inches into the dirt floor like it was soft mud. He stared at the perfect handprint and felt dizzy. Yesterday, he was six times stronger than a normal man. Today, that strength had been multiplied by six again. The numbers didn't feel real, but the power was very real and scary. The air around him felt thin, as if he could punch a hole right through it.
He knew he couldn't stay. Grist's crew would come, and now he was so strong he wouldn't just hurt them. He would kill them. The thought made him sick. He had to run, to get out of the Sump.
He grabbed the small chest with his parents' things and put it in his bag. Just as he was about to move the iron bar blocking his door, a loud bang came from the entrance.
"We know you're in there, rat!" a voice shouted from outside. "Grist wants to see you. You broke his arm and hurt his pride. You're going to pay."
They were here. His blood turned cold. He was trapped.
The iron bar he used as a door lock started to bend as three or four men pushed on it from the other side. It was a huge piece of steel that he used to struggle to move. Now, watching it bend so easily felt strange and unreal.
With a final, loud, painful sound of metal, the bar was pushed in. Four men, armed with metal pipes and sharp blades, jumped into the room. It was Grist's crew, and they looked angry and greedy.
"Nowhere to run," the leader, a thin, strong man with a bad scar on his lip, said with a mean smile. "This will be fun."
Kael backed away with his hands up. "I don't want any trouble."
"Too late for that," the man said, stepping forward. "Just give us what you have, and we'll make this quick."
Kael's mind was racing. He could feel the power under his skin, like a wild animal trying to get out. He had to control it. As the first man ran at him, swinging a pipe, Kael moved. He didn't try to be fast, but the world seemed to slow down. The pipe moved through the air very slowly. He stepped toward the man and grabbed the weapon to stop it.
His fingers closed around the lead pipe. The man's swing stopped suddenly. The man's eyes got wide as Kael, without much effort, crushed the pipe in his hand. The metal crumpled like paper.
Silence. The other three men froze, their mouths hanging open in shock.
Kael dropped the ruined pipe. He looked at the scared man in front of him. "I told you," he said, his voice shaking a little. "I don't want trouble."
The scarred man was the first to snap out of it, his shock turning to fear. He looked at his friends. "Don't just stand there! He's just one kid! Get him!"
They all charged at once. Kael dodged a knife, the blade just missing his ear. He pushed the attacker, trying to be careful with his strength, but the man still flew across the room and hit the wall hard. A third man swung a crowbar. Kael caught it and twisted it out of the man's hands. He held the solid steel bar for a second, then, on a scary impulse, he bent it into a 'U' shape.
He threw the bent crowbar at their feet. It landed with a heavy clang that showed they had lost.
The last two men, including the leader, stared at the bent crowbar, then at Kael. They couldn't understand his power. This wasn't a fight; it was a death sentence. Their bravery disappeared, replaced by the fear of a small animal facing a hunter.
In that quiet moment, a new sound was heard. It was the soft hiss of advanced machines and the thud of boots landing outside.
Three people appeared at the entrance, blocking the light. They wore armor that fit them perfectly, made of a dull black metal with silver lines. Their faces were hidden by helmets with dark glass. They moved with a quiet skill that was not from the Sump, and they looked deadly and skilled. On their shoulders was a design of a silver falcon's head.
The leader of the three stepped forward. His helmet pulled back with a soft click, showing the face of the man Valerius Kaelen had called 'Captain'. He had sharp features and a serious look. His dark eyes looked over the room—at the scared thugs, the bent crowbar, and finally, at Kael. The Captain wasn't surprised, he just calmly studied everything.
"Kael of House Kaelen?" the Captain asked. His voice was calm and well-spoken, and it sounded very out of place in the dirty room.
Kael stared, unable to speak. Grist's men looked like they were about to pass out.
"We received your beacon," the Captain said, looking at Kael's bag for a second. "Lord Valerius sends his hello. He was… happy to hear you were still alive."
House Kaelen? Lord Valerius? The names were new to him. "Who… who are you?" Kael finally asked.
"I am Captain Thorne, of the Argent Hand, the sworn guards of the Kaelen family," he said. "And you, boy, are in a lot of trouble."
Thorne took another step into the room. "The energy from that beacon was one thing. But this display of power is the sign of an uncontrolled, pre-awakening state. It's releasing a massive energy signal. The Union will have detected it by now."
"The Union?" Kael asked, his head spinning.
"The group that rules over the Awakened all over the world," Thorne explained. "What is happening to you isn't a full Awakening. It's the stage right before it. Your power is unstable because you are on the very edge of Awakening. Your strength is growing wildly for one reason: you are about to Awaken."
Thorne pointed at him. "In your current state, you are a walking time bomb. Your power has no structure, so it just keeps building. To the Union, an unregistered person who is about to Awaken is a threat to public safety. When their Enforcers arrive, they won't try to help you. They will see you as a bomb that's about to go off, and they will neutralize you."
The words hit Kael hard. He was being hunted by Grist's crew, and now by this powerful group he'd never heard of.
"When a person Awakens," Thorne went on, "they awaken their own inner System. It's a tool that lets them understand and control their abilities—their stats, talents, and magic. Your System has started to activate, but because you haven't fully Awakened, it's just pouring all that unstable energy into the only thing it can: your physical strength."
So that's what it was. A natural process, not a broken tool.
"Once you complete the official Awakening ceremony," Thorne said, "your power will become stable. This crazy daily growth will stop, and your strength will become normal again. From then on, you'll get stronger by training, like every other Awakened person. The ceremony will fully unlock your System, showing you all of your stats and talents, and give you the control you need."
He pointed to the entrance. "Your grandfather, Lord Valerius, is offering you protection to do this safely. Come with us. Leave this place behind. We will guide you through your Awakening, and you can take your place as a son of House Kaelen."
He stopped to let Kael think about it. "Or you can stay here and wait for the Union's Enforcers. It's your choice. But you don't have much time."
Kael looked at the professional soldiers of the Argent Hand, then at Grist's scared thugs. He thought of the endless poverty, the dirt, and the sad life in the Sump. And he thought of the power inside him, a ticking time bomb that would get six times stronger at the next sunrise.
There was no choice at all.
"I'll go," Kael said, his voice was almost a whisper.
A small, rare smile appeared on Captain Thorne's lips. "A wise decision, my Lord."