Kenji's eyes snapped open to absolute darkness.
For a moment, panic seized his chest.
Where was he? The musty basement smell hit him first, followed by the cramped sensation of the gaming capsule around his body.
Memory flooded back—the hidden basement, the impossible machine, the glowing button he'd pressed in a moment of desperate curiosity.
How long was I out?
He tried to move, but his limbs felt heavy, disconnected. Then, like a switch being flipped, text materialized in his vision, not on a screen, but floating directly in his mind with crystalline clarity.
[System Initialization: 100% Complete]
[Neural Interface: Stable]
[Biological Integration: Successful]
[Welcome to Aethelgard Online: Legacy Mode]
Kenji's breath caught. This was impossible. The game had been dead for thirty years. Everyone knew that.
[Displaying User Status]
A translucent blue window expanded before his eyes, filled with information that made his heart race:
Player: Kenji Nakamura
Class: Void Walker [Unique]
Level: 1EXP: 0/100
Stats:
Strength: 8 Agility: 12 Intelligence: 15 Wisdom: 13 Endurance: 10 Luck: 7 Void Affinity: 25 [Unique Stat]
Skills:
[Void Sight] - Level 1
[Shadow Step] - Level 1
[Spatial Awareness] - Level 1
Titles:
[First of His Kind] - You are the first Void Walker in thirty years
[System Anomaly] - Your existence breaks conventional rules
"This... this can't be real," Kenji whispered, his voice echoing in the capsule's confined space.
[Reality Confirmation: 99.7% Authentic]
[System Note: You are experiencing a genuine awakening through Legacy Protocol]
[Warning: Your awakening signature is unique. Concealment recommended.]
The capsule door hissed open automatically, and Kenji stumbled out on unsteady legs.
The basement looked exactly the same, but everything felt different. Colors seemed more vivid, shadows deeper.
He could sense the exact dimensions of the room without looking—as if the space itself was whispering its secrets to him.
Is this what having powers feels like?
[Void Sight Activated]
Suddenly, Kenji could see things that shouldn't exist. Faint energy traces lingered in the air—golden threads where sunlight had once touched, blue wisps marking where water had dripped, and something else.
Dark purple streams of energy that seemed to flow from... nowhere.
"Void energy," he breathed, understanding flooding through him instinctively.
He focused on one of the purple streams, reaching out tentatively. The energy responded, coiling around his finger like a living thing.
It felt cold but not unpleasant, like touching liquid starlight.
[Skill Progression: Void Sight +1 EXP]
[New Skill Unlocked: Void Manipulation - Level 1]
A notification chimed in his mind, and suddenly he understood.
This system wasn't just showing him information—it was actively helping him grow stronger.
Every use of his abilities would make him more powerful.
Just like in the old stories about the first Awakened.
Kenji experimented, willing the void energy to take shape. It formed a small orb of pure darkness that seemed to absorb light from around it.
When he released his concentration, it dissipated like smoke.
"Incredible," he murmured, then froze.
Footsteps. Heavy boots on wood, directly above him.
Someone's in my house.
[Spatial Awareness Activated]
[Detecting: 3 Hostile Entities]
[Threat Level: High]
[Recommendation: Immediate Evasion]
Kenji's newly awakened senses painted a clear picture. Three figures moved through his living room with practiced efficiency.
They weren't burglars; their movements were too coordinated, too purposeful.
They're looking for something. Or someone.
"Energy signature confirmed," a cold female voice drifted down through the floorboards. "Massive awakening event detected at these coordinates approximately forty-seven minutes ago."
"Impossible," a gruff male voice replied. "All Legacy Capsules were destroyed after the Shutdown Protocol. The Council made sure of that."
"Apparently, they missed one," a third voice—younger, nervous. "Sir, if someone just awakened with a Legacy System, the implications are—"
"I know what the implications are," the woman cut him off sharply. "Find the source. If there's a new player, we need to bring them in. By force if necessary."
Council? Legacy System? Force?
Kenji's mind raced. These people knew about the capsule, knew about systems like his. And they clearly didn't want him to have it.
[Skill Activated: Shadow Step]
[Warning: Insufficient Void Energy for full activation]
[Partial Success: Enhanced Stealth Available]
Instinctively, Kenji reached for the void energy around him. Darkness clung to his form like a second skin, and his footsteps became silent.
He moved to the basement stairs, each step perfectly soundless.
Through the gaps in the floorboards, he could see them now. Three figures in dark tactical gear, faces hidden behind masks. The woman held a device that pulsed with blue light—some kind of energy detector.
"The reading's getting stronger," she said, approaching the loose floorboard he'd discovered. "It's coming from below."
They know about the basement.
Kenji's newly awakened mind processed possibilities at lightning speed. He could try to hide, but they'd find him eventually.
He could try to run, but they were between him and the exit. Or...
He looked at the void energy swirling around him, remembering the sensation of manipulating it.
I could fight.
The thought should have terrified him. Yesterday, he was powerless, Kenji Nakamura, the family disappointment. But something had changed.
The system hadn't just given him abilities—it had given him confidence, clarity, purpose.
[Quest Activated: Survive the Retrieval Team]
[Objective: Escape or Neutralize Immediate Threat]
[Reward: 250 EXP, New Skill Unlock]
[Failure Condition: Capture or Death]
"A quest system, too?" Kenji whispered, a grin tugging at his lips despite the danger. "This keeps getting better."
The woman above pried open the loose floorboard, revealing the hidden stairwell. "Found it. There's a basement down here."
"I'll go first," the gruff man said. "If there's a newly awakened down there, they'll be disoriented. Easy to contain."
Easy to contain? We'll see about that.
Kenji positioned himself in the shadows beside the stairwell, void energy gathering around his hands. His heart hammered against his ribs, but it wasn't fear anymore—it was anticipation.
Heavy boots began descending the stairs. The beam of a flashlight cut through the darkness, sweeping left and right.
Kenji held his breath, letting the shadows embrace him completely.
[Shadow Step Ready]
[Void Manipulation Charged]
[Tactical Assessment: Strike Fast, Strike Hard]
The man reached the bottom of the stairs, weapon raised.
He was massive, easily twice Kenji's weight, with enhanced musculature that screamed veteran Awakened. In the old world, Kenji would have been helpless against him.
But this wasn't the old world anymore.
"Clear down here," the man called up. "But there's definitely been recent activity. And there's some kind of machine—"
Kenji struck.
[Shadow Step Activated]
Darkness wrapped around him like a cocoon, and suddenly he was behind the intruder.
Void energy flowed through his hands as he pressed them against the man's neck.
"Sweet dreams," Kenji whispered.
The man's eyes widened in shock, then rolled back as the void energy disrupted his nervous system. He collapsed without a sound.
[Skill Progression: Shadow Step +2 EXP]
[Skill Progression: Void Manipulation +3 EXP]
[Level Up! You are now Level 2]
[New Skill Unlocked: Void Drain - Level 1]
Power flooded through Kenji's body as he leveled up. He felt stronger, faster, more aware. The void energy around him responded more readily, and new possibilities opened in his mind.
"Rodriguez? Rodriguez, report!" the woman's voice called from above.
Kenji looked at the unconscious man, then at the gaming capsule. A plan began forming—desperate, probably stupid, but it was all he had.
[New Objective: Eliminate Remaining Threats]
[Tactical Recommendation: Use the Environment to Your Advantage]
He moved to the capsule, placing his hands on its surface. Void energy flowed into the machine, and suddenly, he could feel its internal systems, understand its purpose.
It wasn't just a gaming device—it was a direct link to something vast and hidden.
The real Aethelgard. It's still out there, isn't it?
"Rodriguez is down," the woman's voice was sharp with concern. "Move in. Non-lethal takedown authorized."
Two sets of footsteps began descending the stairs.
Kenji smiled in the darkness, void energy swirling around him like a living storm. For the first time in his life, he wasn't running from a fight.
He was about to win one.
[Boss Battle Initiated]
[Defeat the Retrieval Team to Unlock: Advanced Void Techniques]
[Remember: You are no longer powerless]
The words echoed in his mind as shadows deepened around him, and Kenji Nakamura—the Void Walker—prepared for his first real battle.
Let's see what a "zero-power" can really do.