Crack—
The sound wasn't real this time. It was only in Kayden's head — an echo of the punch that sent Ragna flying across the classroom yesterday. An echo of the moment everything changed.
He walked through the school gates the next morning, and every eye snapped toward him. People didn't whisper this time. They stared — openly, fearfully, like he was something they couldn't explain.
Kayden hated it.
His steps felt heavy, as if each one pushed him deeper into a world he didn't understand.
Students pulled their legs out of his way. One girl gasped and hid behind her locker door. A group of boys stepped aside like a wave parting before him.
He wanted to shout, I'm normal!
But he couldn't. Not after what he did. Even he knew humans didn't send grown boys flying like leaves in a storm.
He took a long breath and walked inside.
By the time he reached the hallway leading to his class, rumors had already mutated into monsters.
"He broke three ribs!"
"No— he cracked the floor!"
"I heard he's possessed."
"Something glowed on his arm— I swear!"
None of it was true.
But the truth wasn't better.
Kayden entered the classroom. No one dared sit beside him. His desk stood like an island, untouched.
Even Eren couldn't bring himself to say a word.
Kayden forced himself into the seat, staring straight ahead, jaw clenched. Classes blurred. Teachers stuttered when their eyes landed on him, pretending nothing was wrong while flinching every time he shifted in his chair.
By noon everyone had already forgotten about Ragna's blood on the tiles — but not about Kayden.
When class ended, he walked outside, head down. He hoped the crowd gossiping in the hallway would just move aside quietly.
Instead, the hallway went silent.
A metal locker slammed.
Kayden stopped walking.
The Vex Crew stood there — minus Ragna. Jex, the second-in-command, stepped forward, face bruised with anger.
"You thought you embarrassed us yesterday," Jex growled, eyes burning. "But you embarrassed the whole crew."
Kayden didn't want another fight.
Not today.
Not when the sigil on his arm was burning faintly like a warning.
"I don't have time for this," he said, his voice low.
But Jex shoved him.
"Make time."
The hallway gasped.
Something flickered in Kayden… not anger, not fear… something older. Something primal. A surge ran through his arm where the sigil glowed under his sleeve.
Kayden breathed hard.
"Jex," he said slowly, "walk. Away."
The Vex crew laughed.
"You think we're scared of you because you got lucky yesterday?" Jex barked. "Ragna will be back, and next time—"
A teacher's voice echoed from a distance.
"That's enough!"
The crew stepped back—reluctantly.
But their eyes promised something darker, something planned.
Kayden didn't wait. He walked out of the school building, chest tight, breath uneven.
When he got home, the place smelled like antiseptic. His parents were still bandaged, still weak. He had left school early just to check on them — maybe because he was scared of what he was becoming.
His mother tried to sit up.
"Kayden… you're home early."
"You shouldn't move," he said softly, helping her rest her head against the pillow.
His father tried to speak through the pain.
"They came for you… you must be careful."
Kayden clenched his fist.
"If they come again," he muttered, "I won't let them walk away."
His mother reached for his hand.
"No, Kayden. Don't go down that path."
But he didn't know any other path.
Not after what they did.
Not after what the sigil kept whispering beneath his skin— an energy he didn't understand.
As he left their room, his mind kept repeating one thing:
Someone is behind all this.
The Vex Crew were violent, but they weren't strategic. The attack on his home felt orchestrated. Planned. Something bigger.
And when he reached his own room, when he closed the door and sat on the bed, the sigil pulsed.
Once.
Twice.
Like a heartbeat trying to sync with his.
He grabbed his arm in frustration.
"What are you?" he whispered.
"Why now? Why me?"
Silence.
Then—
A faint echo in his mind.
Not words.
A presence.
As if someone… somewhere… had turned their attention toward him.
Kayden froze.
Far away — in a place that wasn't Earth, not fully — the Architect observed through a projection of shifting symbols. Lines of code mixed with ancient runes hovered in the air.
One symbol glowed brightest of all:
Kayden's Sigil.
"It has awakened," the Architect murmured.
A hooded figure behind him spoke cautiously.
"Should we initiate the First Trial?"
"Not yet," the Architect replied. "The boy is unstable. His emotions override him too easily."
"And if he becomes a threat?"
A smile touched the Architect's lips — calm, cold.
"That is why we created the System Users. If Kayden becomes uncontrollable… they will neutralize him."
The hooded figure bowed.
"But watch him closely," the Architect added. "His power is surfacing faster than expected."
Back at school, whispers about Kayden didn't fade — they multiplied.
Videos of his punch spread quietly from phone to phone. Teachers discussed him behind closed doors. Some students switched seats to avoid sitting near his usual area.
Some feared him.
Some admired him.
Some wanted to use him.
And the Vex Crew…
They wanted revenge.
Jex slammed a fist against a table in their hideout.
"We attack him again," he growled.
"We finish what we started."
"But Ragna is still injured—"
"I don't care!" Jex yelled. "Kayden humiliated us. That monster—"
He stopped when he saw someone enter the room quietly.
A man in a long black coat.
A man none of them recognized.
But the moment he spoke, the air felt heavier.
"If it's Kayden you want… you'll get your chance soon."
Jex frowned. "Who are you?"
"Someone with the same enemy as you… and a message."
He tossed something onto the table.
A recorder.
The Vex Crew stared.
"What's this?"
"Instructions," the man said. "Follow them… and Kayden won't see the next sunrise."
He smiled faintly.
Then disappeared.
Literally.
Jex swallowed hard.
For the first time since joining the Vex Crew…
he felt fear.
By evening, Kayden stood outside his house, staring at the dim sky.
Nothing felt normal anymore.
Not his arm.
Not his strength.
Not the world around him.
He felt watched.
Not by the Vex Crew.
By something else.
Something bigger.
He looked at his glowing arm.
"What are you trying to warn me about…?"
The sigil flickered again.
Cold wind swept through the street.
Somewhere in that moment — as if the universe itself was holding its breath — Kayden felt it:
A danger approaching.
A trial coming.
Something that would change everything.
He didn't know when.
He didn't know how.
But the storm was already here.