Kaelen stood and dressed in training clothes, moving carefully. He woke early despite still feeling the sore from Kira's mark left on him.
The academy grounds were empty in the pre-dawn darkness. A few lights glowed in distant windows, early risers keeping their own schedules. The air carried autumn's approaching chill, though after yesterday's fight, it felt almost warm by comparison.
Kaelen moved through his routine.
Fifty push-ups. His arms protested the first ten, then settled into rhythm.
Fifty pull-ups. The low rail supported his weight without issue, though his grip felt weaker than usual.
Five miles. His pace was slower today, his body conserving energy for recovery.
By the time he finished, the sun had begun its rise over the academy's eastern towers.
[Daily Quest Complete: Physical Conditioning]
[Rewards: +30 XP (Base & System) | +1 Stat Point]
[Base Level: 9] (960/2300 XP)
[System Level: 7] (1660/2100 XP)
[Stat Points: 19]
[Weekly Quest Progress: Daily Quests (4/7)]
Four days down. Three to go.
Kaelen wiped sweat from his face and headed back to shower. The hot water helped loosen his muscles, washing away the lingering stiffness. By the time he dressed in his uniform and checked his schedule, he felt almost normal again.
Classes started at nine. Club training at four. Then team assignments for Saturday's mission.
One step at a time.
...
9:00 AM
Professor Halvern's Combat Theory class was already half-full when Kaelen arrived. He found a seat near the middle, settling in as other students filtered through the door.
The lecture covered tactical positioning in confined spaces, information that felt immediately relevant given Saturday's mission. Kaelen took notes carefully, absorbing details about sight lines, choke points, and how to use limited space as an advantage rather than a constraint.
Between classes, students moved through the corridors. A few glanced at Kaelen as he passed, recognition flickering before they looked away. Word about yesterday's fight had spread through the usual channels.
"Did you see that Spatial Lance? Went straight through her leg..."
"Heard the temperature dropped to minus fifteen..."
"He barely won though. She had him the entire time..."
"Barely? He was dominating..."
Kaelen kept walking, ignoring the whispers. The fight was over. Won was won, regardless of how close it had been.
...
12:30 PM
The cafeteria buzzed with midday chaos. Kaelen collected his tray and navigated through the crowd to the usual table near the windows.
Kaelen sat down, setting his tray beside Lira's.
"How are you holding up?" Lira asked.
"Better than yesterday," Kaelen said. "Still sore, but manageable."
"Good." She glanced over. "You were moving like an old man this morning. Noticed you taking the stairs slower."
"The cold got deeper than I expected," Kaelen admitted.
Sera's voice cut through the conversation, calm and matter-of-fact. "Environmental fighters are dangerous precisely because the damage isn't always obvious. Hypothermia, heat exhaustion, oxygen deprivation... they kill you slowly while you're focused on the direct threat."
"Matthias wasn't this complicated," Kaelen said.
Torven's deep voice rumbled through the conversation. "You adapted well. Most fighters would have tried to overpower the environmental effect. You recognized the attrition and ended it fast."
"Barely fast enough."
"But enough." Torven set down his fork, his amber eyes steady. "That's what matters."
The conversation paused for a moment, comfortable silence settling over the table.
Then Kaelen spoke. "I have a club mission this Saturday."
Everyone looked up immediately.
Lira set her tablet aside. "What kind of mission?"
"Investigation," Kaelen said. "Abandoned pre-Descent research facility in the western Scourged Zone. We're documenting interior conditions and identifying the source of some anomalous aetheric readings."
Daniel's fingers were already moving toward his tablet. "Which facility? There are dozens of abandoned sites in that sector."
"Sector 4-C. Don't know the specific designation."
Daniel pulled up information quickly, his eyes scanning rapidly. "Sector 4-C... that's deeper than your survey site from last week. Not as secured. Patrol routes are less frequent." He paused, reading something. "Oh. This is interesting."
"What?" Lira asked.
"The facility was evacuated suddenly. Pre-Descent era, obviously, but the records indicate it wasn't a planned shutdown. There was an incident." Daniel zoomed in on a document fragment. "Something about dimensional resonance experiments going unstable. Then the Descent happened before anyone could investigate properly."
Sera's expression didn't change, but her attention sharpened. "Dimensional resonance. That's reality manipulation at a fundamental level."
"Yeah," Daniel said quietly. "Whatever they were working on, it was advanced even by pre-Descent standards."
Torven leaned forward slightly. "Expected threats?"
"E-rank beasts confirmed," Kaelen said. "D-rank possible but unconfirmed. The facility's been abandoned for decades, so scavenger-class beasts probably nested inside."
"Nesting beasts are territorial," Torven said. "They'll defend their space aggressively."
"I know."
Lira's silver eyes were sharp with concern. "This sounds dangerous."
"It is," Kaelen admitted. "But we'll have academy observers with us. Sentinel-rank minimum. They won't interfere unless there's immediate danger."
"That's reassuring," Lira said, though her tone suggested otherwise.
"Who's on your team?" Sera asked.
"Don't know yet. Assignments get posted this afternoon during club training."
Daniel looked up from his tablet. "When do you leave?"
"Saturday morning. Six AM departure. Estimated return is evening, somewhere between five and seven PM."
"Long day," Torven observed.
"Yeah."
The table fell silent for a moment, everyone processing the information.
Then Lira spoke, her voice careful. "Be smart out there. Don't take unnecessary risks."
"I won't," Kaelen said.
"I mean it, Kael. You have a habit of pushing yourself too hard." Her expression softened slightly. "Just... come back in one piece."
"I will."
Sera's crystalline gaze was steady. "If you encounter something above your capability, retreat immediately. Pride isn't worth dying for."
"Understood."
Daniel fidgeted with his glasses, clearly wanting to say something but not quite managing it. Finally, he just nodded. "Good luck."
"Thanks."
The conversation shifted to other topics after that.
But the weight of Saturday's mission lingered in the back of Kaelen's mind, a constant presence that refused to be ignored.
By the time lunch ended, he felt centered. His friends were concerned, but they trusted him. That meant something.
...
Unique Combat Division Training Hall - 4:00 PM
The training hall was already filling when Kaelen arrived. All thirty-two first-year Unique Combat students gathered in loose clusters, conversations blending into a low hum of anticipation.
Kaelen found a spot near the middle. Vyne appeared beside him moments later, her silver-white hair catching the overhead lights.
"Ready for assignments?" she asked, violet eyes gleaming.
"As ready as I can be," Kaelen replied.
"Think you'll lead again?"
"Maybe. Mira said I earned it after from last time."
"You did." Vyne's expression shifted slightly, becoming more thoughtful. "Just don't get overconfident. This mission sounds harder."
"I know."
Before they could continue, Instructor Mira entered through the main doors. Conversations died immediately. She wore her usual practical training clothes, and her amber-gold eyes swept across the assembled students with sharp attention.
"Form up," Mira said simply.
The students organized themselves into rough lines.
Mira walked to the center of the hall. "Before assignments, we're running enclosed-space combat drills. You need to understand how fighting changes when visibility drops and space constrains movement."
She gestured, and several students moved to adjust the hall's lighting. The overhead illumination dimmed dramatically, reducing visibility to maybe ten meters. Shadow consumed the far corners of the hall.
"Pair up," Mira directed. "One attacker, one defender. Attacker's goal is to land three clean hits. Defender's goal is to evade and counter. Rotate every five minutes. Use the darkness. Use the limited space. Adapt."
The students moved immediately, forming pairs. Kaelen found himself matched with Seraphine, the tall girl with color-shifting eyes whose Adaptive Evolution allowed her body to develop real-time countermeasures to threats.
They faced each other in the dimmed light.
"Ready?" Seraphine asked, her voice calm.
"Ready."
Mira's voice carried across the hall. "Begin."
Seraphine moved first, using the darkness to mask her approach. Her footsteps were nearly silent, her form blending into shadow. Kaelen activated Spatial Awareness, his three-meter detection radius expanding outward.
There. Moving left, circling to flank.
Kaelen turned to intercept, but Seraphine had already adjusted, reading his reaction and adapting her path. She came in fast, her hand reaching for his shoulder.
Kaelen used Flash Step, blurring backward.
[–19 A.E.]
[A.E.: 461/480]
The movement put distance between them, but in the enclosed space, distance was limited. Seraphine closed the gap quickly, her body already adapting to his spatial manipulation. Her skin took on a faint shimmer, some kind of resistance forming.
The drill continued, fast exchanges in limited visibility. Kaelen managed one hit. Seraphine landed two. Neither could establish full control.
When Mira called time, both were breathing hard.
"Rotate," Mira directed.
Kaelen paired with Davrin next, the muscular boy with Kinetic Absorption. Then Elias, whose Conceptual Binding created impossible tactical scenarios. Then Kieran, who disappeared from perception entirely and had to be tracked through pure spatial awareness, which wasn't helpful.
By the time the drill session ended, Kaelen's aether reserves were down to seventy percent."Good work. Enclosed spaces eliminate your advantages and amplify your weaknesses. Remember that on Saturday."
She tapped her wristband, and a holographic display materialized above the floor, projecting information that floated where everyone could see.
"Team assignments," Mira announced.
The display shifted, showing four organized rosters.
[Team 1 - Northern Section]
[Leader: Roan Carver]
- Roan Carver
- Liora Vex
- Kieran Solis
- Davrin Hale
- Pedro Silva
- Liam O'Connell
- Omer Ben
- Lucia Fernández
[Team 2 - Eastern Section]
[Leader: Seraphine Lys]
- Seraphine Lys
- Oren Valis
- Maria Abdi
- Nomura Haddad
- Jonas Becker
- Zara Khan
- Anya Petrov
- Samuel Okoye
[Team 3 - Western Section]
[Leader: Kaelen Burn]
- Kaelen Burn
- Vyne Kayla
- Nyxara
- Elias Kaine
- Sofia Alvarez
- Kenji Nakamura
- Mira Sellen
- Mateo Rios
[Team 4 - Base Camp / Backup]
[Leader: Ibukun Ebunoluwa]
- Ibukun Ebunoluwa
- Prita Malhotra
- Lucas Moreau
- Wei Zhang
- Ethan Miller
- Astrid Johansen
- Mei Li Chen
- Claire Dubois
Kaelen stared at his roster. Vyne, as expected. Nyxara, the Sylth girl with Resonance Manipulation. Elias with Conceptual Binding. Sofia with Resonant Voice. Kenji with Shadow Partition. Mira with Environmental Mimicry. Mateo with Pulsebreak.
A solid team. Diverse capabilities, good tactical flexibility.
"RP reward," Mira continued. "Seven hundred RP per student upon mission completion. Additional fifty RP bonus for teams that document significant anomalies or recover valuable intelligence."
Seven hundred RP. That was substantial. More than double the survey mission's reward.
Which meant the academy expected this to be significantly more dangerous.
"Mission parameters are the same as briefed earlier this week," Mira said. "Investigation, documentation, sample collection. Engage threats only if necessary. Priority is intelligence gathering and safe return."
She dismissed the holographic display. "Team leaders, stay behind. Everyone else, dismissed."
The students began dispersing, conversations picking up immediately. Kaelen's teammates glanced at him as they passed, some nodding acknowledgment, others were simply heading for the exits.
Vyne lingered for a moment. "Western section. That's the deepest penetration into the facility."
"I know," Kaelen said.
"Should be fun." She smiled that knowing smile, then walked away before he could respond.
Kaelen moved toward the front where Mira waited with the other three team leaders. Roan stood with arms crossed, his expression serious. Seraphine looked calm and composed. Ibukun, the backup team leader, carried herself with quiet confidence.
Mira waited until the hall had mostly cleared before speaking.
"This briefing is for your awareness only," she began, her tone shifting to something more serious. "What I'm about to tell you doesn't leave this room unless absolutely necessary."
The four leaders exchanged glances.
"The facility wasn't just abandoned," Mira continued. "There was an incident. Pre-Descent era, dimensional resonance experiments went unstable. Details are sparse because most records were lost during the Descent, but we know the evacuation was sudden and unplanned."
She pulled up a holographic diagram of the facility, showing its interior layout in three-dimensional detail. "The anomalous aether readings we're investigating suggest something is still active inside after decades. We don't know what. Could be residual energy from the experiments. Could be equipment that never shut down. Could be something else entirely."
Roan spoke first. "Expected threat level?"
"E-rank beasts confirmed through remote observation," Mira said. "D-rank possible but unconfirmed. Structural hazards are likely, unstable floors, collapsed sections, environmental contamination from aether leakage."
She looked at each leader in turn. "Your academy observers are all Sentinel-rank or higher. They won't interfere unless there's immediate life-threatening danger. That means you're responsible for tactical decisions in the field."
Mira reached into her jacket and pulled out four small devices, each one no larger than a thumb. They pulsed faintly with blue light.
"Emergency beacons," she said, handing one to each leader. "These are separate from your standard academy communication devices. Single button activation. Press it, and I respond directly within three minutes. Use them only in genuine emergencies."
Kaelen accepted his beacon, feeling its weight. It was surprisingly heavy for something so small.
Mira's amber eyes locked onto his. "Your team handled the Crystal Serpent well last week. This might be harder. The enclosed space limits your mobility advantages. Trust your instincts, and don't hesitate to extract if things go wrong."
"Understood," Kaelen said.
She looked at the other leaders. "Same applies to all of you. Mission success means everyone comes back. Intelligence gathering isn't worth casualties."
Silence settled over the small group.
Then Seraphine spoke, her voice measured. "What if we find something significant? Something that requires deeper investigation than our mission parameters allow?"
"Document it thoroughly and report immediately," Mira said. "Do not engage with anything beyond your capability. The academy will send specialized teams for follow-up if necessary."
"And if the structure is too unstable?" Roan asked.
"Retreat. Building collapse kills just as effectively as beasts." Mira's expression was serious. "No heroics. Clear?"
All four leaders confirmed understanding.
"Good. Dismissed."
...
Evening - 7:00 PM
Kaelen gathered his team in one of the smaller practice rooms near the training wing. The space was quiet, isolated from the main corridors, with enough room for eight people to sit comfortably in a loose circle.
His teammates arrived gradually over the next few minutes. Vyne first, naturally, claiming a seat directly beside where Kaelen stood. Then Nyxara, her blue-gray Sylth skin catching the overhead lights. Elias with his thin-framed glasses and analytical expression. Sofia, whose Resonant Voice had proven devastating in the survey mission. Kenji, quiet and observant. Mira Sellen, still bouncing with barely contained energy. Mateo last, settling into the remaining seat calmly.
When everyone was present, Kaelen began.
"We're Team 3, western section of the facility. Our objective is investigation and documentation of the area we're assigned." He pulled up a holographic map from his wristband, projecting the facility's layout where everyone could see. "This is what we're walking into."
The three-dimensional diagram showed a sprawling complex of interconnected corridors and chambers. The western section, their assigned area, appeared to be primarily laboratories and research spaces.
"Expected threats are E-rank beasts, possibly D-rank," Kaelen continued. "Structural hazards are likely. Limited visibility in some areas. Our priority is intelligence gathering, not combat."
Elias leaned forward, studying the map. "What kind of research was conducted here?"
"Dimensional resonance experiments," Kaelen said. "Pre-Descent era. They were working on reality manipulation at a fundamental level. Something went wrong, and the facility was evacuated suddenly."
"And now something's still active inside after decades," Nyxara said quietly, her harmonic voice carrying a note of concern.
"That's what we're investigating," Kaelen confirmed.
Mateo spoke next, his tone practical. "Formation strategy for enclosed corridors?"
"Standard exploration formation," Kaelen said. "Kenji's shadows scout ahead for immediate threats. Nyxara and I provide mid-range awareness through detection and spatial mapping. Mateo and Mira handle close defense if we're engaged. Sofia's sonic attacks for crowd control or disruption. Elias as tactical support with conceptual binding. Vyne..." He glanced at her. "You do what you do."
Vyne smiled innocently. "I'll be very helpful."
"I'm sure you will."
Kenji's quiet voice cut through. "What if we encounter nesting beasts?"
"Document location and retreat if possible," Kaelen said. "Engage only if they're blocking our path and won't be deterred. Nesting beasts are territorial but usually rational. They'll retreat if the cost outweighs defending their nest."
"And if they don't retreat?" Sofia asked.
"Then we assess quickly. Can we handle it without casualties? If yes, we engage carefully. If no, we extract and call for backup." Kaelen met each teammate's eyes. "I'm not risking anyone for intelligence that can be gathered later with better resources."
Mateo nodded with approval. "Clear priorities. I can work with that."
Elias adjusted his glasses. "My Conceptual Binding can seal passages if we need to retreat. Lock doors, make walls impassable, that sort of thing. Gives us time to disengage safely."
"It will be good for everyone to be familiar with each others abilities. How long do the locks last, Elias?" Kaelen asked.
"Thirty seconds to a minute, depending on how much aether I put into it." Elias's expression was thoughtful. "Longer if I'm not maintaining other techniques simultaneously."
"Good to know." Kaelen looked at Kenji. "Your shadows can scout how far ahead?"
"Twenty meters maximum range for reliable information," Kenji said. "Farther than that and I lose detail. In complete darkness, I can push to thirty meters, but the shadows become harder to control."
"And your resonance manipulation?" Kaelen asked Nyxara.
"I can sense aether vibrations within fifteen meters," the Sylth girl replied. "Living things, active techniques, environmental anomalies. They all produce unique frequencies. I can identify general threat level but not specific details. And i can reshape matter."
Kaelen absorbed the information, mentally mapping capabilities. "Okay. So our advance warning system is Kenji's shadows at twenty meters, Nyxara's resonance at fifteen, and my Spatial Awareness at three. Layered detection should give us enough time to respond before walking into trouble."
Mira raised her hand eagerly. "What about my Environmental Mimicry? If I touch the facility walls, I can copy their properties. Stone skin, metal hardness, whatever the structure's made from."
"Defensive option only if we're engaged," Kaelen confirmed. "How long does the mimicry last?"
"Thirty seconds per activation. I can reapply immediately by touching the material again, but there's about a five-second window where I'm vulnerable during the transition."
Kaelen nodded. "So you're our anchor if things get chaotic. Copy the strongest material available and hold position while others maneuver."
"Got it."
Sofia spoke next. "My Resonant Voice works best in enclosed spaces. The sound reflects and amplifies. But I need to be careful not to destabilize the structure itself if the building's already compromised."
"Controlled output only," Kaelen agreed. "We don't want to bring the ceiling down on ourselves."
Mateo's deep voice rumbled. "My Pulsebreak has the same concern. Shockwaves through solid surfaces can crack foundations if I'm not careful."
"Then we coordinate before either of you use maximum output," Kaelen said. "Check with Nyxara first. If she's sensing structural instability, we adjust tactics."
The team spent the next hour going through contingency protocols. What happens if they get separated? Rally points, emergency signals, how to navigate back to the entrance. What if someone gets injured? Who carries medical supplies, how to stabilize and extract. What if they encounter something beyond their capability? Immediate retreat procedures, beacon activation, defensive formation while waiting for backup.
By the time they finished, it was past eight PM. The team looked tired but confident.
"One more thing," Kaelen said as they prepared to leave. "This mission is dangerous. More dangerous than the survey. But i believe we will do good, we have diverse capabilities. Trust each other, communicate clearly, and we'll be fine."
He met each person's eyes. "Questions?"
Silence.
"Good. Get rest tomorrow. Saturday morning, six AM, western transport hub. Don't be late."
The team dispersed gradually. Mateo and Kenji left together, discussing shadow-pulse combinations for crowd control. Sofia and Mira walked out chatting about sonic resonance and environmental acoustics. Elias departed quietly, already absorbed in his own thoughts.
Nyxara lingered for a moment. "You plan well," she said, her harmonic voice carrying approval. "Better than my last team."
"Thanks," Kaelen said.
"Just remember, the facility has been abandoned for decades. Whatever's inside has had time to adapt, to claim the space as its own." Her solid black eyes were unreadable. "Respect that."
Then she left, leaving Kaelen alone with Vyne.
"She's right, you know," Vyne said, still sitting on the bench. "Old places have a way of becoming... unpredictable."
"Speaking from experience?" Kaelen asked.
"Maybe." Vyne stood, stretching. "Or maybe I just have good instincts." She walked toward the door, then paused. "Saturday's going to be interesting. Stay safe."
"I'll do my best."
She left, humming something cheerful.
Kaelen stood alone in the empty practice room for a moment, processing everything.
Then he pulled up his System interface.
[Weekly Quest: Adaptive Trials]
[Progress]
- Complete 7 Daily Quests Consecutively (4/7)
- Win 3 Sanctioned Sparring Matches (1/3)
- Complete 3 RP Missions (0/3)
- Kill 5 F-Rank Beasts (0/5)
- Cultivate for 10+ Hours (12/10) (Complete)
- Complete 1 Club Mission (0/1)
- Allocate 5 Stat Points (5/5) (Complete)
[Categories Complete: 2/7]
[Categories In Progress: 3/7]
Saturday's mission would cover the club requirement. If he encountered beasts and managed kills, that would help with the beast-hunting category. And he'd arranged two more sparring matches for Friday.
Still on track for enhanced rewards.
Kaelen dismissed the interface and headed back to his dorm.
...
Sparring Match Board - 8:30 PM
Kaelen stopped by the Training Wing on his way back, checking the sanctioned match board one more time.
He found two students with open challenges that fit his schedule.
[Open Challenge - Dane Cross (Novice, Bronze)]
Preferred Opponent: Mage or Unique class
Time: Friday, 2:00 PM
[Open Challenge - Lin Mei (Novice, Bronze)]
Preferred Opponent: Any rank, any class
Time: Friday, 7:00 PM
Kaelen sent challenge acceptances to both. Within minutes, confirmations came through.
[Match Confirmed: Dane Cross vs Kaelen Burn - Friday 2:00 PM, Combat Dome 5]
[Match Confirmed: Lin Mei vs Kaelen Burn - Friday 7:00 PM, Combat Dome 4]
Two fights. Five hours apart. Both Novice rank.
He'd need to win both to complete the sparring requirement.
Kaelen dismissed the notifications and continued toward his dorm.
...
Kaelen's Dorm Room - 9:00 PM
The room was quiet when he entered. Kaelen locked the door behind him, drew the curtains, and sat cross-legged on the floor.
He pulled out Lira's harmonizing stone from his desk drawer, feeling its gentle pulse against his palm.
Tonight, he had time.
He could cultivate deeply.
Kaelen closed his eyes and let his consciousness turn inward.
...
The harmonizing stone's pulse synchronized with his heartbeat, creating a rhythm that guided his focus. Aether flowed through his body like rivers of light, channels connecting his core to every part of him.
His core sat at his center, a dense sphere of compressed power that pulsed with each breath. It was still small, still developing, but the foundation was solid and stable now.
Latent Stage. The beginning of the cultivation.
Bond Stage would come eventually, but it was still distant. Weeks away, maybe months. The transition required deeper integration between core and channels, tighter compression, more refined control.
But that was future concern. Tonight, he focused on the present.
Breathe in. Aether drawn from the environment, filtering through skin and muscle, pulled toward the core.
Breathe out. Energy cycled through the core, purified, compressed, then pushed back out through the channels to nourish body and mind.
Breathe in. The cycle repeated.
Time became meaningless.
An hour passed. Then two. Then three.
Kaelen's awareness drifted deeper, his focus narrowing until there was nothing but the internal landscape of his cultivation. The harmonizing stone kept him anchored, preventing him from losing himself completely in the meditative state.
The core compressed slowly. It wasn't visible, but he could feel it. Each cycle tightening the density slightly, refining the structure incrementally. The channels smoothed out, imperfections correcting themselves as energy flowed through them again and again.
Four hours. Five.
At some point, understanding flickered at the edge of his perception.
The insight hovered just beyond full comprehension, too complex to grasp entirely. But he felt its shape.
Then it faded, slipping away like water through fingers.
Kaelen didn't chase it. Forced understanding led to false conclusions. Better to let it come naturally, when he was ready.
He returned to the rhythm. Breathe in. Breathe out. Flow and compress. Refine and stabilize.
Six hours passed.
When Kaelen finally opened his eyes, the room was dark. The city lights through the window had shifted position dramatically. Time had passed, though he didn't know exactly how much.
He checked his wristband. 3:17 AM.
Six hours and seventeen minutes.
His body felt stiff from holding the same position for so long, but his mind was clear.
[Cultivation Progress Updated]
[Total Hours: 18/10]
Kaelen stared at the notification for a long moment. Eighteen hours. He'd exceeded the requirement significantly.
The extra time wouldn't be wasted. Every hour spent cultivating built the foundation for future growth, even if it didn't show immediate results.
He stood slowly, his muscles was protesting. He stretched carefully, working circulation back into limbs that had been still for too long.
The harmonizing stone sat on the floor where he'd placed it.
Kaelen picked it up carefully, wrapping it in cloth before setting it on his desk. He'd return it to Lira after the weekend, but for now, it had served its purpose well.
His eyes fell on something he hadn't thought about in weeks.
The pendant.
It sat on his desk, a simple silver chain with a small gear shaped charm. It has some patterns etched on it. His mother had given it to him before he'd departed, pressing it into his hand with quiet insistence.
"Keep this with you," she'd said, her voice soft. "Always."
He'd accepted it without question, tucked it away, and then... forgotten. The chaos of academy life, the fights, the training, the constant forward momentum had pushed it from his mind.
Kaelen picked up the pendant carefully, feeling its weight. The chain was delicate. It was beautiful in a simple way, catching the faint light from the window and refracting it into tiny rainbow patterns.
He thought of his mother. Her quiet strength, the way she'd smiled even when things were difficult, the pride in her eyes when he'd told her about the academy scholarship.
He wondered what she'd think of him now. Of where he was, what he'd become.
Kaelen activated Analytical Scan, curious about the pendant's properties. He'd never thought to examine it before, but now seemed like the right time.
[–5 A.E.]
The interface materialized, scanning the pendant.
[????]
[Type: ????]
[Properties: ????]
[Origin: ????]
Nothing. Just question marks.
Kaelen frowned and equipped the Aether Lens he'd received from last week's quest reward. The accessory enhanced his scanning ability, extending range and revealing additional detail tiers.
He activated Analytical Scan again.
[–5 A.E.]
[Enhanced Analytical Scan Lv. 2]
[????]
[Type: ????]
[Properties: ????]
[Origin: ????]
[Material: ????]
Still nothing. Even with the enhanced scan, the pendant's information remained completely blocked.
That was... unusual.
Items blocked his scanning ability when they were significantly above his level or had protective enchantments he couldn't pierce. But this was a simple pendant his mother had given him, an item his father didn't complete before his death. She wasn't a cultivator, had no access to advanced artifacts or techniques, neither was his father— if he could remember, that is.
So why couldn't he scan it?
Kaelen turned the pendant over in his hand, examining it closely. It seemed ordinary, clear and unmarked. The chain was simple silver, no visible engravings or modifications.
But the System couldn't read it at all.
He fastened the chain around his neck, tucking the pendant beneath his shirt where it rested against his chest. The metal was cool at first, then warmed quickly to match his body temperature.
His mother had told him to keep it with him always. He'd honor that, even if he didn't understand why.
Kaelen moved to his bed and lay down, pulling the blanket over himself. His body needed rest now.
Tomorrow was Friday. Two sparring matches. Then Saturday, the mission.
One step at a time.
He closed his eyes, the pendant's weight a subtle presence against his chest.
Sleep came slowly. His thoughts drifted between preparation and uncertainty, between confidence and the nagging awareness that Saturday might be more dangerous than any of them anticipated.
But eventually, exhaustion won.
Outside his window, the academy's lights shimmered against the darkness. The city below pulsed with late-night activity, students finishing projects, early risers beginning their routines, the endless cycle of academic life continuing without pause.
And somewhere in the western Scourged Zone, in the depths of an abandoned facility that had sat untouched for decades, something stirred.
...
Western Scourged Zone - Abandoned Research Facility
The facility stood silent in the darkness, its structure partially collapsed, overgrown with luminescent vegetation that pulsed faintly with bioluminescent blue-green light.
Inside, corridors stretched into shadow. Laboratories sat empty, equipment long since corroded or claimed by nature. The walls bore scars from whatever incident had forced the evacuation, blast marks and structural damage that spoke of violence.
But deeper inside, in sections that had remained sealed since the Descent, something moved.
Low sounds echoed through the corridors. It wasn't machinery. Not the wind whistling through broken windows.
Breathing.
Heavy, the sound of multiple creatures moving in coordinated patterns. The scrape of claws against metal. The shuffle of bodies adjusting position in cramped spaces.
In one of the central chambers, a nest had been built. Organic material woven together with scavenged debris, creating a structure that pulsed faintly with residual aether energy.
And within the nest, dozens of shapes shifted in the darkness.
Small ones, newly hatched. Larger ones, fully grown. All of them waiting.
The matriarch rested at the center, her form massive, easily twice the size of the others. Her eyes glowed faint amber in the darkness, intelligent and aware.
She had claimed this territory months ago, driven the previous inhabitants out or consumed them. The facility's abandoned corridors provided shelter. The lingering aether energy from the old experiments nourished her brood.
And now, her instincts warned of approaching threat.
The nest needed defending.
The matriarch's breathing deepened, a low rumble that vibrated through the chamber floor. Around her, the others responded, their bodies tensing, preparing.
They would wait.
And when the intruders came, they would protect what was theirs.