Morning came late to Ares. The sky was still tinted violet from the night's breach, and even the sun seemed hesitant to rise. Aiden stood on the balcony of his assigned quarters, the city spread out beneath him, calm on the surface, trembling underneath.
He hadn't slept. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw the crystal again, saw that shadowed hand reaching out from the void. The marks on his skin glowed faintly, pulsing in rhythm with his heartbeat.
When Lira entered, she tossed him a small packet. "Energy ration. Breakfast of champions."
He caught it without looking. "You don't sleep either?"
"Couldn't," she said, leaning against the railing. "Too many questions and not enough answers." She paused, studying his arm. "It's spreading, isn't it?"
Aiden glanced down. The markings had crept farther, curling across his shoulder like living ink. "Yeah. Every time I use my power, it grows stronger."
Lira frowned. "You sure that's a good thing?"
He didn't answer. Instead, the communicator on his wrist lit up, projecting a message in midair.
> Directive from the Guild Council
Subject: Sector Nine Incident Debrief
Attendance Required: Aiden Cross, Lira Vance
Lira sighed. "Guess we're not getting any rest after all."
The Guild Hall was quieter than usual. Raiders passed by with hushed voices, their glances wary. Word of the inner breach had already spread, and so had the rumors, about the man whose power tore the rift apart.
The meeting chamber felt colder than before. The five Guild Masters waited in the same formation, though their expressions were different, less curious, more cautious.
The silver-haired Master spoke first. "You've caused quite an uproar, Aiden Cross."
Aiden crossed his arms. "Would you rather the city be gone?"
A ripple of amusement crossed one Master's face, quickly hidden. The woman cloaked in light leaned forward. "We reviewed the records from the Sector Nine breach. The readings around you exceeded Class-S parameters. Yet you are unranked."
"Maybe your scanners need an update," Lira said flatly.
The silver-haired man ignored her. "We also found traces of artificial mana signatures under the city. Energy channels no one in the Guild authorized."
Aiden frowned. "Meaning?"
"It means someone's been using the city's barrier grid to conduct private experiments," the woman replied. "Experiments similar to what occurred during the ancient Dominion Project."
The name hit Aiden like a spark. "The Dominion Project?"
The Masters exchanged uneasy glances.
The silver-haired one spoke again. "That information is classified. Suffice it to say, the project was designed to harness rift energy directly to merge human will with dimensional power. It failed. Catastrophically."
Lira narrowed her eyes. "Failed experiments don't usually leave behind living subjects."
Aiden looked between them. "You think I'm part of that project?"
The room was silent for a long moment. Then the Master in the crimson coat said quietly, "We don't think. We know."
He pressed a button on the table. The room's lights dimmed, and a holographic projection appeared, an old file, labeled DOMINION_01. Inside was a photo of a boy hooked to cables, his body surrounded by dark energy patterns identical to the ones on Aiden's arm.
Lira stared. "That's… you."
Aiden felt the air leave his lungs. He didn't remember any of it. The image didn't even look real. "I don't...how could I..."
The silver-haired Master continued, "The project was abandoned twenty years ago after the primary subject vanished. The data was sealed. Until last night, we thought it was lost forever."
Aiden's hands clenched. "So I'm a weapon you built and forgot about?"
"No," said the woman softly. "A weapon that refused to stay buried."
Before he could speak again, the alarms flared once more, sharp, repeating tones echoing through the Guild Hall. The Masters rose instantly, exchanging rapid commands.
"Report!"
A voice crackled through the intercom. "Unidentified mana surge near the core barrier! It's destabilizing from the inside!"
The silver-haired Master turned to Aiden. "Whatever is happening, your power is tied to it. Go, stop it, before the entire barrier collapses."
Aiden hesitated. "And if I can't?"
"Then the city burns."
The barrier core lay beneath the Guild Hall, a vast chamber of glowing runes and suspended crystals. Energy pulsed through the air like veins of light. When Aiden and Lira arrived, technicians were already fleeing, shouting warnings.
A massive fissure had opened in the floor, radiating black light. At its center hovered a sphere of energy that twisted reality around it.
Lira's voice was tense. "It's another rift."
"No." Aiden stepped closer, feeling the pull of his Dominion react. "It's not a rift, it's a call."
The markings on his arm flared, reacting to the energy. The system appeared before his eyes.
> Dominion Signal Detected.
Incoming Transmission:
You are incomplete. Join the source.
The voice in his mind returned, calm, patient, almost gentle.
"You cannot resist what you are. The Guild used you to open the door, and now the other side remembers your name."
Aiden gritted his teeth. "If they're calling me, they're going to regret it."
He stepped into the light. Power surged up through him, flooding his veins. His Dominion pulsed outward, clashing against the black sphere in a storm of raw energy. The air cracked, and fragments of memory rushed through him, scientists in white coats, runes etched into walls, his own voice screaming as the experiment spiraled out of control.
Lira shouted, "Aiden, stop! You're overloading the core!"
"I can control it!"
The sphere shattered with a deafening roar. A wave of energy swept through the chamber, knocking everyone to the ground. When the light faded, the fissure had closed but Aiden was gone.
Lira scrambled to her feet, searching. "Aiden!"
Her communicator hissed with static. Then a faint voice came through.
"I'm… not in Ares anymore."
The line went dead.
She stared at the still-glowing floor where he had vanished. The markings there were different, ancient, circular, and pulsing faintly, like a heartbeat from another world.
When Aiden opened his eyes, he stood in a place that wasn't the city. The sky above him was black glass, reflecting no stars. Ruins stretched in every direction, and in the distance, he saw figures moving, tall, armored, carrying weapons made of light.
The system flickered once more.
> Location Update: Dominion Layer - Floor 1
Objective: Conquer the First Domain.
Aiden exhaled, gripping his sword. "So this is where it really begins."