Kaito woke to the sound of beeping.
Slow. Steady. Mechanical.
His eyes opened to a white ceiling and bright lights. The air smelled of antiseptic and metal. His body felt heavy, like he was sinking into the bed.
A hospital?
No.
The walls were reinforced steel. The lights were shielded. The machines around him hummed with high‑grade energy cores.
A Guild medical ward.
He tried to sit up, but pain shot through his ribs. His muscles trembled. His breath caught.
A soft chime echoed inside his skull.
His HUD flickered to life.
[Recovery Program: 72% Complete]
[Muscle Integrity: Stabilizing]
[Cardiac Strain: High]
[Emotional Dampening: Active]
Kaito blinked slowly.
He felt… nothing.
No fear.
No confusion.
No anger.
No relief.
Just a quiet emptiness, like someone had turned down the volume on his emotions.
The door slid open.
A woman in a dark Guild uniform stepped inside. Her coat bore the silver emblem of the Rift Response Division. Her hair was tied back in a tight braid, and her eyes were sharp, assessing.
"Good. You're awake," she said. "I'm Captain Rena Sato. I have questions."
Kaito tried to speak, but his throat was dry. "Mei… is she—?"
"She's alive," Rena said. "Thanks to you."
He exhaled slowly. Not relief. Just acknowledgment.
Rena pulled up a holographic tablet. "You fought a Tier 3 Aberrant Brute. Alone. Without powers. And you won."
Her eyes narrowed.
"That shouldn't be possible."
Kaito didn't answer.
He didn't know what to say.
He didn't know how to explain the Atlas Protocol.
Rena tapped the tablet. A projection appeared above it—footage from the market. Kaito saw himself fighting the Riftspawn, moving faster than he ever had, striking with impossible strength.
He watched himself break the creature's core.
He felt nothing.
Rena watched him carefully. "You're calm. Too calm. Most people who survive a Riftspawn attack shake for hours."
Kaito looked at his hands. They were wrapped in bandages. His knuckles were bruised. His fingers trembled slightly.
"I'm tired," he said.
It wasn't a lie.
Rena crossed her arms. "A second rift opened right after you collapsed. We contained it. But the timing is suspicious."
Kaito frowned. "Suspicious how?"
Rena leaned closer. "Rifts don't open twice in the same location within minutes. It's never happened before."
She paused.
"Until you."
Kaito's HUD flickered.
[Warning: Stress levels rising]
He ignored it.
"I didn't cause anything," he said quietly.
"Maybe," Rena replied. "But the Guild wants answers. And until we get them, you're not leaving this facility."
Kaito looked at the ceiling. "I need to see my sister."
"You will," Rena said. "After the doctors clear you."
She turned to leave, then paused at the door.
"One more thing," she said. "When you fought the Riftspawn… your eyes changed."
Kaito blinked. "Changed?"
"They glowed," Rena said. "Like a mutant's."
She left before he could respond.
Kaito stared at the closed door.
His eyes glowed?
He opened his HUD.
[Status]
Potential: 4.2%
Surge Residue: Active]
Emotional Dampening: Level 1]
Level 1?
There were levels?
He scrolled down.
[Emotional Dampening — Description]
Reduces emotional interference during combat.
Side effects: muted emotional response, delayed empathy, reduced fear.
Higher levels may cause long‑term psychological changes.
Kaito's chest tightened.
Not fear.
Just… pressure.
He closed the menu.
A nurse entered, carrying a tray. "Mr. Kaito, you need to eat something."
He nodded. She placed the tray on the table and left. Kaito stared at the food—rice, vegetables, soup. Mei would have told him to eat before it got cold.
He lifted the spoon.
He tasted nothing.
Not the food.
Not the warmth.
Not the comfort.
Just texture.
He set the spoon down.
The door opened again.
This time, it was Mei.
She rushed to his bedside, eyes red from crying. "Kaito! You're awake!"
She hugged him gently, careful of his injuries.
Kaito hugged her back.
He felt her warmth.
He felt her shaking.
He felt her relief.
But inside?
Nothing.
Just quiet.
Mei pulled back, wiping her eyes. "You saved me. You saved that child. You—" Her voice broke. "You almost died."
Kaito touched her shoulder. "I'm okay."
"You're not okay," she said. "You collapsed. You weren't breathing. They said your heart almost stopped."
Kaito looked at his hands again. "I'm alive."
Mei stared at him. "Why do you sound like that?"
"Like what?"
"Like you don't care."
Kaito didn't answer.
Because he didn't know how.
Mei took his hand. "Kaito… what happened to you?"
He opened his mouth—
—but the lights flickered.
A siren blared.
Rena's voice echoed through the speakers.
"All personnel, prepare for emergency lockdown. Unidentified energy spike detected. Possible rift formation."
Mei's eyes widened. "Not again…"
Kaito's HUD activated instantly.
[Warning: Rift energy detected]
[Distance: 42 meters]
[Threat Level: Unknown]
Unknown?
That wasn't good.
Rena burst into the room. "Kaito, stay in bed. Mei, step back."
The walls vibrated.
A deep hum filled the air.
Kaito felt it in his bones.
The same pressure he felt in the market.
The same distortion.
The same wrongness.
His HUD flashed red.
[Warning: Rift energy signature matches previous anomaly]
[Warning: Surge residue detected in proximity]
[Warning: Possible link between user and rift activity]
Kaito's breath caught.
A link?
To rifts?
Mei grabbed his arm. "Kaito, what does that mean?"
He didn't know.
He didn't want to know.
The lights dimmed.
The air rippled.
A tear formed in the corner of the room—small, unstable, glowing with violent energy.
A rift.
Inside the Guild facility.
Rena drew her weapon. "Everyone behind me!"
The rift widened.
Something moved inside it.
Something large.
Something metallic.
Kaito's HUD screamed warnings.
[Warning: Threat Level — Unable to classify]
[Warning: Surge recommended for survival]
[Warning: User body not fully recovered]
[Warning: Emotional dampening may increase permanently]
Kaito stared at the rift.
At the creature emerging.
At Mei trembling beside him.
At Rena preparing to fight.
His body was weak.
His heart was unstable.
His emotions were fading.
But he knew one thing:
If he didn't act, they would all die.
He tried to stand.
Pain tore through him. His legs shook violently.
Mei grabbed his arm, panic in her voice. "Kaito, stop! You can't even stand! You'll die if you try to fight again!"
He didn't look at her.
He couldn't.
"If I don't move… everyone dies."
He opened the Surge menu with a thought, ignoring the agony spreading through his chest.
The rift split wider.
The creature stepped through.
Kaito selected Confirm—
—and the world exploded in white.