Morning in the Irregular Wing wasn't marked by bells.
It was marked by pain.
Aiden woke on the cold floor of a narrow room, muscles screaming like he'd been crushed and rebuilt wrong.
[STAMINA: 12%]
[MUSCLE DAMAGE: MODERATE]
[RECOVERY RATE: SLOWED — LIMITER ACTIVE]
"…Fantastic," he muttered.
He pushed himself upright.
Every movement burned, but it was different from yesterday—
sharper, clearer.
Real pain.
Not system-suppressed.
Not buffered.
Honest.
The door slid open without warning.
Kade stood there.
"You're late," he said.
Aiden blinked.
"…Late for what?"
Kade tossed him a ragged set of weights.
"Warm-up."
Aiden stared.
"They weigh more than I do."
Kade nodded.
"Good."
The System flickered weakly:
[PHYSICAL STRAIN DETECTED]
[RECOMMENDATION: REDUCE LOAD]
Kade didn't react.
Aiden picked up the weights.
His arms screamed immediately.
He dropped them.
Kade didn't say anything.
Aiden picked them up again.
This time, he didn't drop them.
Minutes passed.
Sweat poured down his face.
His vision blurred.
[STAMINA: 6%]
Kade finally spoke.
"Again."
Aiden clenched his teeth and lifted.
The System flickered, then stopped giving warnings.
That worried him more than when it screamed.
After what felt like hours, Kade waved him forward.
"Combat stance."
Aiden barely raised his fists.
Kade attacked.
No mercy.
No holding back.
Aiden was thrown.
Swept.
Pinned.
Again and again.
But this time—
He lasted longer.
A strike he barely avoided.
A sweep he partially blocked.
Kade paused.
"…You're learning."
Aiden gasped.
"Don't… sound so surprised."
Kade's eyes sharpened.
"Pain teaches faster than rewards."
Aiden remembered the Mark burning into his chest.
The System whispering You should not exist.
"…Yeah," he said quietly. "I noticed."
Training didn't stop.
Not when Aiden collapsed.
Not when his hands went numb.
Not when blood soaked the floor.
The System finally chimed:
[WARNING: HOST NEURAL LOAD EXCEEDS SAFE PARAMETERS]
Kade crouched in front of him.
"Look at me."
Aiden forced his eyes open.
"You feel weaker," Kade said.
"But you're not."
He tapped Aiden's chest—just above the sealed Mark.
"You're learning how to move without permission."
Aiden swallowed.
"…Will the limiter ever come off?"
Kade stood.
"Yes."
Aiden's heart jumped.
"When?"
"When the system believes it can control you."
Silence.
"…And can it?" Aiden asked.
Kade looked back at him.
"No."
The lights flickered faintly.
Somewhere, something was watching.
The System whispered faintly:
[ANOMALOUS PROGRESS DETECTED]
Aiden lay back, exhausted, but smiling.
"…Good."