Chapter 2: System Breach
A pulse.
Then silence.
Samuel's eyes fluttered open to a ceiling he didn't recognize sleek, metallic, and faintly illuminated with pulsing blue veins like living circuitry. He wasn't on the cracked pavement of the alley anymore. He wasn't in the city at all.
He sat up slowly. A wave of dizziness rolled through him, but it wasn't pain. It was more like… calibration. His surroundings shimmered like a simulation waiting to finish rendering.
Then it happened.
A soft chime echoed in the space, and before his eyes appeared a semi-transparent screen hovering in the air, shifting with his gaze.
> [Initializing...]
ASCENSION PROTOCOL DETECTED
Vital Signs: STABILIZED
Soul Code: ACCEPTED
Welcome, Samuel Gray. You are now linked to the Ascension System.
His breath caught in his throat. This wasn't a dream. This wasn't some feverish hallucination.
> Do you wish to proceed with synchronization? [Y/N]
Samuel reached out instinctively. His finger passed through the "Y" on the hologram like swiping through air. The world shuddered.
Then, it changed.
A jolt of energy raced through his veins, not like electricity, but something deeper. Primal. As though something long dormant had awoken in his blood. The room twisted and contracted into a vortex of symbols and numbers before solidifying into another vision—a virtual interface, now fully active.
> Samuel Gray - Class: Unbound
Level: 1
Attributes:
Strength: 5
Vitality: 4
Intelligence: 6
Agility: 5
Willpower: 7
> New Trait Acquired: "Awakened Soul"
"You survived the threshold. You are no longer ordinary."
Samuel blinked. A system? Stats? Traits? Like a video game?
He stood up, glancing at his arms. His skin was glowing faintly beneath the surface lines of light, like circuits under flesh. He could feel something new inside himself. Awareness. Connection. As if his mind had been uncapped, and now the universe had become a grid of possibilities.
What the hell is happening to me?
The world pulsed again and then collapsed into darkness.
He awoke this time for real.
Or so it seemed.
Cold. Hard. The alley again.
The rain had stopped, and the distant hum of sirens filled the city air. He was lying on the same pavement where he'd fallen. But the wound was gone. No blood, no pain, just the ragged drying smear on his torn shirt.
And the system interface was still there.
Floating calmly at eye level, like it belonged to him now.
> Quest Activated: SURVIVE THE NEXT TWENTY-FOUR HOURS
Reward: Class Unlock & System Stability
"You're kidding me," Samuel muttered, voice rasping.
He forced himself to his feet, shaky but whole. The pain from the beating, the stab—gone. Replaced with a slow-burning fire in his chest. Adrenaline mixed with something else. Resolve.
The street was quiet now. The drunk man who'd stabbed him was gone. No sign of a struggle, no sirens approaching. Nothing.
Samuel staggered toward his apartment, paranoia setting in. Every passing pedestrian seemed sharper, more vivid. He could see tiny details now scuffed shoes, quick glances, concealed weapons. He knew things he shouldn't, and he couldn't explain how.
He reached his building, a crumbling cube of concrete and rust, and took the stairs three at a time. His body moved faster. Lighter.
Inside his apartment, he locked the door and pressed his back to it. The place was still as depressing as before one-room layout, stained tiles, peeling wallpaper, and the constant hum of a dying fridge. But everything felt different. Charged.
The interface was still open in his vision.
> WARNING: Anomaly Detected - Surveillance Drone Active Nearby
Skill Unlocked: "Pulse Scan" (Rank F)
Samuel's heart pounded. He moved to the window and activated the skill without thinking.
A ripple of invisible force emitted from him, and in a flash, a red outline appeared hovering behind a billboard across the street. A surveillance drone. Government? Corporate? Someone was watching.
> OPTIONAL OBJECTIVE: Neutralize Surveillance
Reward: Cloaking Subsystem
He stared at the floating prompt, then at his hand. How the hell was he supposed to neutralize anything?
As if answering the thought, a new window blinked to life:
> Tutorial Combat Simulation Ready. Would you like to begin?
Samuel didn't hesitate this time. "Yes."
The room warped again—only this time, he remained standing, fully aware. A digital construct emerged in his mind: a faceless figure lunging at him. Instinct took over.
He moved.
Ducked under the strike, countered with a palm strike. He didn't know how he was doing it—his body just did. Like muscle memory downloaded straight into his brain.
> Combat Style: Adaptive Echo Form Initialized
Experience Gained: +20 XP
System Integration: 11%
When the simulation ended, he was panting. Sweating. But he wasn't afraid anymore.
He was awake.
That night, Samuel didn't sleep. He spent hours exploring the system, navigating stats, skills, hidden menus, and the vague outline of something far larger than he could yet understand. The Ascension Protocol wasn't just a gift. It was a path.
But it was also a test.
Someone or something had chosen him. And now, the city he thought he knew would never be the same again.
And neither would he.