2026-02-11 05:34:26Kael trembled in his thin shirt, clutching a single duffel bag containing all of his worldly things, at 2 a.m. He was meant to leave at daybreak, but security had woken him up early.
"Special instructions from Mr. Darius," the guard remarked, pushing him toward the roof access. "He wants to say goodbye personally."
Kael stood on the edge, looking down at the city lights far below, which merged into neon streaks.
"Isn't this a beautiful view?"
Darius emerged from the shadows with a glass of amber drink in his hand; he was not wearing a coat, and the cold didn't bother S-rank awakeners.
"What do you want, Darius?""Kael gripped the bag tighter. "I'm leaving. Isn't this enough?"
"Leaving?"Darius chuckled, swirling his drink." Oh, Kael. You are very naive. Leaving suggests that you have somewhere to go. "Leaving implies a future."
He took a cautious sip.
"The father's disownment documents are detailed. No money. No connections. No name. You'll die on the streets in a week. Most likely, starvation will occur. Perhaps a low-level thug chooses to beat the former Ashworth heir to death for fun."
"I'll survive," Kael replied, his voice wavering, "and I'll find a way to help Luna."
Darius groaned and placed his drink on the railing. "That is exactly the problem. You know, 'The Tragic Death of Luna Ashworth' is a very delicate story I'm creating. It should be clean. Poetic."
He moved closer, and Kael backed up until his heels met the low safety wall.
"Having an angry, discredited brother rushing around trying to'save' her. Creating scandals? Begging for money? This undermines the aesthetic. "It complicates the story."
"You're sick," Kael said.
"I'm efficient," Darius corrected, checking his watch at 2:15 a.m. The ideal time for a heartbroken young man, crushed by public humiliation and familial rejection, to make a fatal decision."
Kael's blood turned cold. "Darius, don't—"
"You heard, Father. "You're not family anymore." Darius's smirk faded, and his usually sarcastic eyes went dark. "It's time to make it official."
His hand moved, but this time it was a shove rather than a punch.
Kael's chest was hit with increased strength like a battering ram.
The feet left the ground, and gravity vanished.
Kael flailed, gripping Darius' jacket, but his fingers slid on the silk, and he tipped backward over the balcony.
The wind blasted in his ears.
As he descended past the forty-ninth story, time seemed to pause, and he noticed a glimpse of movement through the reinforced glass of a bedroom window.
Luna.
She was awake and looking right at him.
Her eyes widened in horror, and she screamed—a soundless, fearful shape in her mouth—as she reached for the glass, her thin fingers pressing against the barrier separating her from his death.
I failed her, Kael reflected, and the revelation hurt more than the impending hit. I pledged to save her, but I failed.
He closed his eyes and waited for the end.
It didn't arrive.
The rushing wind ceased, the city noise receded, and the sensation of falling froze.
Kael opened his eyes.
He was hung in mid-air, fifty stories aloft, with traffic below him frozen in streaks of light, and Darius leaning over the railing, his face frozen in a mask of cruel joy.
The world had become gray. It was silent and still.
Then the skies ripped open.
A jagged, vertical crack erupted in the air directly next to him, showing not stars, but a whirling, utter darkness that felt heavier than the world below.
"Child of rage..."
The voice did not originate from his ears; it vibrated in his bones and tasted of iron and old blood.
"Disregarded by those who should be protecting you. "Betrayed by your own blood."
Kael attempted to speak, but his voice had vanished; he drifted in the gray quiet, peering into the abyss.
Seven crimson eyes appeared in the darkness, massive, ancient, and filled with a hunger that made Kael's soul quiver.
"Your world's authority rejected you because you were destined for something bigger. Something... hungrier."
The thing transformed, a mass of shadows merging into a vaguely humanoid shape that dwarfed the tower next to them.
"I'm the Nexus. The space in between realities. "The hunger in the void."
The crimson eyes concentrated on Kael.
"I'm offering you a contract, tiny broken thing. I provide you the ability to consume all who have harmed you. "To absorb their strength and make it your own."
Kael recovered his voice, which sounded tinny in the silence. "What is... What's the price?"
"Price? Ah. Nothing is free. You will be my anchor, my link to reality. I want to... "Taste this planet.
Kael stared up at Darius' frozen face, his smug conviction that he had won, and then down at Luna's window, her scared expression frozen in time.
Will I be strong enough?" Kael inquired, "Strong enough to save her?"
The Nexus appeared to laugh, emitting a sound similar to tectonic plates grinding together.
"Strong enough to make the gods kneel. Strong enough to devour the Sun. Do you accept?"
Kael didn't pause; the fear and despair were gone, leaving just the cold, biting wrath.
"Yes," he muttered, "make them all pay."
The seven eyes flashed.
"Done."
Kael screamed as his body was torn apart and patched back together, cell by cell, with void energy. Shadows erupted from the rift and slammed into his chest, giving him the sensation of being injected with both liquid nitrogen and molten lead at the same time.
The grey world shattered.
Time has restarted.
Kael hit the ground.
CRACK.
Pain erupted—then went instantly.
He lay on the concrete pavement of the private alley behind the tower, his legs fractured and his spine dust-covered.
Instead, black mist swirled around his limbs, bones snapped back into place with agonizing crunches, and torn flesh knitted together.
Kael gasped, breathing in air that tasted of ozone and city smog, and pushed himself upward.
He was alive.
More than living.
He gazed at his hands, and veins of dark purple energy pulsed beneath his skin before vanishing. When he clinched his fist, the air surrounding them warped and rippled like heat haze.
A blue holographic screen appeared before his eyes.
[NEXUS INTEGRATION IS COMPLETE].
Host: Kael Ashworth
Status: Void Contractor (Hidden).
Core Ability: [DEVOUR] - absorb vanquished foes' powers.
Current Level: Nascent (0/3 abilities stored)
Mission: Prevent Luna Ashworth's Death.
[Time remaining: 6 months].
Warning: Each use of power brings beings from the void closer to Earth.
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Chapter 8
The Combat Assessment Hall at Apex Academy was designed to intimidate. It was a fifty-meter-wide hexagonal arena surrounded by energy barriers capable of containing S-rank attacks, with tiered seating rising on all sides like a modern coliseum. Hundreds of students watched from above as Kael stepped onto the reinforced floor, his footsteps echoing through the cavernous space."Candidate Kael Ashworth," the proctor said over the PA system. "Opponent: Training Drone Model B-4." "The goal is to incapacitate or destroy."Across the arena, a humanoid construct of polished steel hummed to life. Its eyes glowed crimson as internal systems powered up, and Kael recognized the model immediately—a combat drone programmed with B-rank martial arts and energy projection capabilities, standard testing fodder for aspiring elites.The drone shot itself forward with hydraulic speed, closing the distance in seconds, and aimed a punch capable of breaking concrete right at Kael's head.Kael didn't flinch;
Chapter 7
The morning sun filtered through the high windows of the Ashworth drawing room, illuminating dust motes that danced in the air like suspended gold. It was a stark contrast to the gloom that usually permeated the mansion, but the tension remained thick enough to choke on. Kael sat in a high-backed leather chair that had only been forbidden to him yesterday, watching the three strangers who sat across from him with predatory interest.Victor Ashworth stood by the hearth, his posture tight and unreadable, while Eleanor feigned to read a datapad in the corner, her eyes darting to Kael with fear and confusion.The man in the center of the opposing couch leaned forward, his suit impeccably tailored and his smile practiced to perfection. This was Dean Morrison of Apex Academy, the most prestigious institution for awakened youth in the hemisphere, and he usually made people wait, but today he looked like a man trying to solve a complex puzzle with half of the pieces missing."We followed the
Chapter 6
As Darius summoned his power, the air in the ballroom became immediately arid, the temperature spiking until condensation vanished from the champagne glasses held by trembling guests. He stood with his arms spread wide, flames wreathing his tailored suit like a living cloak that licked at the ceiling frescoes without burning the fabric."I hope you enjoyed your brief resurrection," Darius murmured, his words distorted by the roar of the flames rising in his palms. "Because this time, there won't be enough left over to bury."Kael stood twenty feet away with his hands in his pockets, looking bored despite the S-rank threat looming before him. He could feel the vibration of the building's foundation through the soles of his shoes, the earth beneath the marble waiting for his command, but he knew stone alone wouldn't be enough to stop it."Less talking, more burning," Kael went on: "Some of us have schedules to keep."Darius's face twisted into a snarl of pure arrogance. He thrust his ha
Chapter 5
The Ashworth Estate's Grand Ballroom sparkled like a diamond in the night, with crystal chandeliers hanging from vaulted ceilings, casting warm light on silk dresses and tailored suits that cost more than most citizens earned in a lifetime. Waiters weaved through the crowd, carrying trays of champagne and rare delicacies, weaving between the elite of society who had gathered to witness the coronation of the new heir.Darius Ashworth stood on the central dais, basking in the adoration. He looked every inch the golden prince, his smile practiced, and his S-Rank aura radiating a gentle warmth that kept the chill of the evening at bay. Victor Ashworth, beside him, looked proud for the first time in years, raising a glass to toast his only remaining son."To the future," Victor said, his voice echoing throughout the huge hall. "To strength. "To legacy.""To Darius!""The audience echoed, five hundred voices joined in sycophancy.The enormous oak doors at the far end of the ballroom swung wi
Chapter 4
The first sense was hunger, not pain.It gnawed at the edges of Kael's consciousness—a deep, ancient emptiness that demanded to be filled. He gasped, his lungs inflating with a rush of cold air that tasted of disinfectant and decay. When his eyes opened, he saw swirling patterns of energy dancing in the darkness above him, rather than the sterile white ceiling of a hospital.When he tried to sit up, his hand slammed against the metal, and the sheet covering him slid away, revealing naked skin that looked wrong. The bruises from the fall were gone, and the broken bones Darius had shattered were whole again. But beneath his pale skin, faint veins of violet light pulsed in rhythm with his heartbeat."Impossible," a voice whispered from the corner.Kael gently turned his head to see a man in green scrubs crushed against the far wall, his face drained of blood. He was a mortician, and his hands were shaking so fiercely that he dropped his tablet, shattering on the tile floor."The corpse,"
Chapter 3
Kael trembled in his thin shirt, clutching a single duffel bag containing all of his worldly things, at 2 a.m. He was meant to leave at daybreak, but security had woken him up early."Special instructions from Mr. Darius," the guard remarked, pushing him toward the roof access. "He wants to say goodbye personally."Kael stood on the edge, looking down at the city lights far below, which merged into neon streaks."Isn't this a beautiful view?"Darius emerged from the shadows with a glass of amber drink in his hand; he was not wearing a coat, and the cold didn't bother S-rank awakeners."What do you want, Darius?""Kael gripped the bag tighter. "I'm leaving. Isn't this enough?""Leaving?"Darius chuckled, swirling his drink." Oh, Kael. You are very naive. Leaving suggests that you have somewhere to go. "Leaving implies a future."He took a cautious sip."The father's disownment documents are detailed. No money. No connections. No name. You'll die on the streets in a week. Most likely, sta
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