The rain hadn't stopped in three days. Gray clouds pressed down on the world like they were trying to smother it—appropriate, considering that's exactly how fifteen-year-old Kaelith Vire felt.
He stood at the edge of the abandoned skyscraper in downtown New Eden, a city that gleamed with technological marvels and hidden rot. The year was 2140, and the world had long since lost its soul.
Kaelith's school called him a delinquent. His neighbors whispered about the Vires—"bad blood," they said. His family? They barely noticed him unless they needed someone to blame.
He closed his eyes, arms outstretched, the wind tugging at his soaked hoodie like it, too, wanted him gone. His fingers trembled, but not from fear. There was none left in him. Only exhaustion.
"Maybe if I'm lucky, they won't even come looking."
But then—
[SYSTEM INITIATED]
Welcome, Kaelith Vire. Candidate #0001 Selected for Prototype: ASCENSION PROTOCOL SYSTEM.
Awakening Parameters... COMPLETE.
Fatal event prevented. System integrated.
Kaelith stumbled back as a surge of warmth flooded through his veins. His body straightened involuntarily. A screen blinked in front of his eyes, translucent and glowing with runes he didn't recognize, yet somehow understood.
He dropped to his knees, coughing, heart racing. He hadn't jumped—he'd been pulled back.
"What... the hell is this?" he whispered.
You have been chosen. This world broke you. Now it will kneel.
Kaelith's breaths came shallow and quick. The cold wind no longer bit into his skin—it was drowned beneath the warmth pulsing through his veins like molten light.
[Vital Signs Stabilized]
Mental State: Critical
System Directive: Prevent termination. Guide host to reclaim purpose.
"Reclaim purpose?" Kaelith muttered, still kneeling on the cracked rooftop, blinking rain from his lashes. "You're too late for that."
But the screen stayed.
New Objective: Survive. Evolve. Ascend.
Starter Pack Available. Open? [Y/N]
His hand hovered. For a moment, all the self-hatred surged back like a wave trying to drown him again. But some quiet instinct made his finger move.
Y.
There was a quiet hum, like the system had taken a breath.
[Starter Pack Acquired]
• Ability: Soul Echo (Lv. 1) — Sense the pain hidden in others' emotions.
• Trait: Null Heart — Emotional numbness protects against manipulation.
• Passive: Mental Reconstruction — Willpower strengthens with each hardship survived.
• System Perk: Access to Protocol Upgrades, locked until Level 5.
The moment the words appeared, Kaelith felt something shift in his head—like someone had stitched invisible steel wires through his spine, forcing him to stand a little straighter.
And for the first time in years, he felt something different: power. Not much. Not enough. But something.
"If this is a sick dream," he whispered, "then don't wake me up."
The rain eased into a soft drizzle. Behind him, the city lights buzzed, unaware that something had just changed. Not the world—
Him.
And the world would feel it soon enough.
Kaelith walked the empty streets of New Eden with his hood pulled low, hands clenched in the pockets of his worn hoodie. The system screen had faded, but he could still feel it humming at the edge of his consciousness—alive, waiting.
His footsteps echoed through alleys littered with neon light and rot. The city was high-tech, sure—drone patrols, synthetic food vendors, floating advertisements begging you to "Upgrade Your Mind"—but none of it changed how filthy the underlevels were. He'd always lived down here. Forgotten. Unseen.
He reached the small apartment his family barely let him call home. The lock was broken—again—so he just pushed the door open.
His older brother was on the couch, eyes glued to his screen, mouth stuffed with processed chips. "Where the hell you been?" he grunted. No concern. Just irritation.
Kaelith didn't answer.
His mother was passed out in the back room. The house reeked of old booze and something worse—resentment. No one cared where he had been. No one noticed he had almost never come back.
But he wasn't angry.
Not anymore.
He was done feeling anything.
That night, Kaelith stood in the broken bathroom, water dripping from the ceiling. He stared into the cracked mirror. His reflection looked like a ghost.
"I won't feel," he said quietly. "I won't beg. I won't break."
The system responded instantly.
[Mental Reconstruction: Activated]
Willpower +1
Pain resisted. Emotional pathways stabilizing.
He dropped to the floor and began to do push-ups. His arms shook from exhaustion, but he didn't stop. When he collapsed, he did sit-ups. Then squats. Then stood under the freezing shower until his breath became ice.
[System Notification: Physical exertion detected.]
Attribute Gained: Endurance +1
You are now Level 1. XP: 6/100
He smirked bitterly.
"So that's how it works."
A new screen flashed.
Daily Missions Unlocked
• Survive another day [✔]
• Physical Training: 2 hours [In Progress]
• Resist Verbal Abuse [Pending]
• Upgrade System Protocol: 0/1
This was no longer just a system.
This was a war plan.
And Kaelith Vire—the boy they broke—was going to become something terrifying. Not to be loved. Not to be admired.
To be undeniable.
He kept moving until his limbs felt like stone. Every muscle burned. Every breath scraped his throat raw. But it was better than thinking. Better than feeling.
It was nearly 3 a.m. when he finally dragged himself to the thin mattress on the floor. The springs poked through. He didn't care. He stared up at the stained ceiling, listening to the muffled sounds of arguing from the next room.
His brother's voice—loud, bitter.
His mother, screaming back.
"You're the reason Dad left!"
"He was already gone—he just needed an excuse!"
Kaelith shut his eyes. The words weren't new. Just noise now.
[Soul Echo Activated: Range - 5 meters]
Detected Emotion: Resentment. Guilt. Fear. Rage.
Processing… Suppressing External Emotional Influence.
The system numbed the sting of it, muffling the emotions like thick glass between him and the world. It was strange. For the first time, he wasn't drowning in it. He could feel it, but it didn't control him.
You are no longer theirs to break.
That line—it wasn't in his head. The system had spoken it.
And it felt... real.
He sat up, eyes sharp.
"Then I'll rebuild myself from the ground up," he whispered. "I'll become someone they'll never touch again. Someone no one dares to forget."
The system responded immediately.
[New Protocol Unlocked: "Path of Sovereignty"]
Focus: Power Acquisition. Emotional Isolation. Influence Mastery.
Progress: 0.02%
Kaelith smiled. It wasn't warm. It was thin and sharp as a blade.
Tomorrow, he'd go to school. He'd wear the same tired uniform. He'd sit in the back. He wouldn't speak.
But he was watching now. Listening. Growing.
And no one—not his mother, not his brother, not this decaying city—had any idea what had just been born in the shadows of their neglect.