"Ugh..." A groan slipped from his throat as his hand found the edge of the bed. His arm trembled, muscles straining, but he managed to push himself upright. His eyelids felt like lead, but he forced them open.
The room swam into focus.
He sat there for a moment, with bowed head, breath coming in shallow pulls. The throb behind his eyes was irritating, but it was easing. Slowly.
Creak.
His feet pressed against the wooden floorboards as he rose. His knees buckled once, then held. He made it to the bathroom.
The water was cold. It shocked him fully awake, driving the last fog from his skull.
He lifted his head to the mirror.
His chest stopped.
His breath caught in his throat. His hand rose, fingers hovering inches from the glass, then curled back, uncertain to what action to take. He touched his own face instead. His jaw. The bridge of his nose. The hollows beneath his cheekbones.
The red streaks running through his hair had spread. What had been black threaded with crimson was now something else, red and black shifting into each other, the colors contracting and expanding like breath. His irises held rings of different shades, layers of crimson stacked on crimson.
His skin was smooth. Too smooth. The calluses from years of repairing aether-tech, the small scars from overheated conduits and slipping tools, all of it was gone. His palms looked like they had never held anything heavier than paper.
He had grown. He was taller now, standing just over six feet. His build had changed too: leaner, more defined. His skin, darker.
He stared at the reflection for a long time.
The same face. But different.
'System.'
The interface bloomed in his vision, blue and familiar, but the numbers made him pause.
[Base Evolution Complete]
[Host Status]
[Name: Kaelen Burn]
[Class: Chrononaut]
[Race: Demi-Human]
[Title: Unbreakable Will]
[Energy Level: Initiate Basic Control]
[Point Stage: Latent Stage]
[Classification: Unique]
[Ability Grade: S-Grade]
[Affinity: Aether Heart]
[Base Level: 20] <3270 / 7200 XP>
[System Level: 19] Pending.
[HP: 1,055 / 1,055]
[A.E: 1,555 / 1,555]
'Demi-Human.'
He read the word three times.
[Demi-Human: Your body has crossed the threshold of humanity. The blood that flows through your veins now carries something older, something that was waiting beneath the surface.]
[Racial skill section unlocked]
[New Racial Perks Unlocked]
[Heightened Senses]
[Type: Passive]
[Your senses sharpen beyond human limits. Sounds that were once muffled now carry weight. The dark is no longer an obstacle. The faint currents of aether that move through the world are now perceptible at the edge of your awareness.]
[Effect: Hearing: Detect sounds within 1km radius. Scent: Track any scent up to 500 meters—pheromones, blood, and more. Sight: See clearly in the dark as well as in the day; perceive faint aether currents in the air. When Spatial-Awareness is active, you can track enemy movements through sound alone, enabling combat without sight.]
'Is this why my head hurts so much?'
He pressed a palm to his temple. The throb was fading, but it left behind a strange fullness, like his skull had been stretched to make room for something new.
[Kin Resilience]
[Type: Passive]
[Your body has inherited the durability of the lineage from which your blood descends. Flesh and bone now hold together longer under punishment]
[Effect: +100% Physical resistance. +50 Vitality. +50 Defense.]
"My lineage?" he murmured.
[Primal Instinct]
[Type: Passive]
[A sixth sense that stirs when danger approaches: a gift from ancestors who survived by feeling the world before it struck]
[Effects: Detects hostile intent within 500 meters before an attack is launched. When Spatial Awareness is active, the two senses reinforce each other, granting near-perfect battlefield awareness within overlapping range.]
[Blood Memory]
[Type: Passive]
[Fragments of instinct inherited from the lineage that lingers in your blood. Against certain foes, those instincts surface without warning]
He gripped the sink. The ceramic was cold under his fingers. He could feel the grain of it, the tiny imperfections he had never noticed before.
"What's happening to me?"
Another notification chimed.
[Affinity Unlocked]
[Your evolution didn't just reshape flesh and bone. Something deeper stirred, a second core, an altered vessel, a new way for aether to move through you.]
[Aether Heart]
[Type: Affinity]
[A second pulse beats where no heart should be. It does not move blood. It moves the world]
[Nestled beside your heart, a crystal structure has formed, a dense knot of aether given shape and purpose. It beats in rhythm with your own heart, but its pulse is measured in aetheric cycles, not blood]
[Effect: Enhanced Cultivation: Cultivating is no longer a trial for you. Dual Circulation: Aether regeneration rate increases by 50%. Heartbeat Surge: Once per hour, you can overclock the Aether Heart for 10 seconds, all skill costs reduced by 30%, but after the surge, regeneration is halved for 10 minutes. Void Hunger: When your A.E. drops below 20%, regeneration spikes to 300% for 10 seconds. Once per 24 hours.]
[Note: The Aether Heart is not something you were born with. It grew from the crucible of the Void-billi, from the strain of fighting beyond your limits. It is proof that your body is learning to do what cultivation alone cannot. Can be evolved]
...
[Aether Regeneration Lv. 1]
[Type: Passive]
[Cost: None]
[Function: Automatically restores Aether Energy (A.E.) over time.]
[Base Rate (Out of Combat):
Regenerates 10% of base A.E. per minute]
[In Combat:
Regeneration is reduced to 5% of base A.E. per minute due to the strain of active engagement.]
[Aether Heart: Dual Circulation (Passive):
Increases A.E. regeneration by 10%.]
[Energy Resonance: 10% boost to A.E regeneration]
[Out of combat: 16% of base A.E. per minute. In combat: 5.08% of base A.E. per minute.]
[Health Regeneration Lv. 1]
[Type: Passive + Active]
[Activation: Always active (passive); can be manually triggered (active overdrive)]
[Passive Mode]
[Function: Continuously heals minor wounds and stabilizes severe injuries.]
[Healing Rate:
Regenerates 10% of base HP per minute (split proportionally between minor wounds and severe injuries).]
[Note: Cannot regenerate lost limbs; severe injuries heal more slowly until stabilized.]
[Active Overdrive Mode]
[Cost: 48 A.E. (50 base minus 5%)]
[Cooldown: 30 seconds]
[Function: A focused burst of accelerated healing]
[Effect: Heals 20% of base HP over 5 seconds]
[Usage: Emergency recovery; can be activated even while suffering from severe wounds]
...
Kaelen stood there as the pressure of smell and sound faded from his mind. His eyes remained fixed.
"Isn't this cheating?"
Previously, he regenerated 12 A.E. per minute, but now it was based on his base A.E., giving him 249 A.E. per minute. The same applied to HP.
The Void-billi was a difficult trial, but it had left something valuable behind.
[Strength: 77]
[Stamina: 65]
[Perception: 55 (+15)]
[Defense: 114]
[Agility: 97]
[Vitality: 211]
[Intelligence: 301 (+10)]
His agility had climbed by twenty. Defense by fifty. Perception by twenty. But the vitality and intelligence numbers made him pause. They had always been there, reflected in his HP and A.E., but never displayed like this. Now they sat in his status, solid and undeniable.
He walked back to his room and sat on the edge of the bed. His fist clenched, then opened. He closed his eyes and listened.
Everything came at once.
Children playing three streets over. A merchant arguing about prices. A woman laughing in a courtyard he had never seen. The soft squelch of a cat paws on stone. The gulp of someone drinking too fast. The sizzle of oil in a pan two blocks away.
He opened his eyes. The sounds receded, but the smells remained. Pepper from the kitchen. Dust from the cracked walls.
[System Evolution will now commence.]
"What?" The notification pulled him from his thoughts. "No. I didn't authorize this."
[When any evolution commences, the other will automatically begin. Host authorization is not required. To conserve energy for the evolution, non-essential features are now entering hibernation. The Shop, Skills, Stat distribution, Missions, and Status will be temporarily disabled.]
The blue interface flickered at the edge of his vision. One by one, the tabs dimmed. Status went dark. Skills followed. The familiar layout he had grown dependent on was collapsing inward, folding into itself.
[System Evolution: 0%]
"Shit."
"Kaelen!"
His mother's voice cut through the static in his head.
"Mom?"
She was across the room before he could say more, her arms wrapping around him, pulling him tight against her. He could smell the soap she used, the faint trace of pepper still on her hands from cooking.
"Thank God you're okay."
He returned the embrace, his arms folding around her. "I'm okay, Mom."
She pulled back after a moment, but her hands stayed on his shoulders. Her fingers moved through his hair, her eyes scanning his face.
"Is something wrong?"
"No. I'm just surprised a cultivation breakthrough could change someone so much."
'Cultivation breakthrough. That's what she thinks happened.'
A smile touched his lips. "I guess I'm special, Mom."
She pulled him close again, her hand stroking his hair. "Of course. My boy is special."
He let himself lean into her, let the warmth of her presence settle the unease in his chest.
"I hardly recognize you," she said.
"Mom!"
She laughed, soft and warm. "I was joking."
'Even if you were placed among a thousand of your clones, I would still recognize you.'
Achoo.
"Are you okay?" She pulled back, her hands framing his face.
"I'm fine." He rubbed his nose, trying to ease the itch. The pepper from the kitchen was still clinging to his senses, sharp and insistent. :Is there a way to control this?'
His gaze met hers. "Mom. There's something I need to know. It's important."
"Don't worry. They didn't see you. I changed your clothes." A smile played at her lips.
"Not that." He could feel his face warming. "I'm serious."
She pressed her fingers to her mouth, stifling a laugh. "Okay. I'm listening."
"Who's Dad?"
Her breath paused. Just for a moment. Her finger tapped her lower lip as her gaze drifted to the cracked ceiling, then back to him.
"He was a handsome man. More than you are. He was—"
"Mom. Not that." His voice came out sharper than he intended. "Who was he? What was his real ide—"
Bang. The door swung open.
"It's ready, Mrs.—Kaelen!"
Lira crossed the room before he could react, launching herself at him. Her momentum carried them both onto the bed, the frame groaning under the sudden weight.
Her hands found his face, her fingers tracing his jaw, his cheekbones, the line of his brow.
"Would you stop jumping on me?"
A smile broke across her face. Then she flicked his forehead.
"Ow."
"Are you okay?"
"That was painful."
"No, it was a tickle."
He caught the corner of his mother's mouth twitching. She was trying not to laugh.
"Yelp!" Lira jolted as his arms wrapped around her waist, lifting her off his lap. He stood in one smooth motion, shifting her weight until she was cradled against his chest, her legs draped over one arm, her shoulders against the other.
Her eyes went wide.
He grinned.
Then he bounced her.
"Put me down."
He bounced her again.
"Kaelen."
"Can't hear you."
"Please."
His mother's laugh filled the room, bright and unguarded.
He let Lira down gently, but she kept her hand pressed to her face as she retreated to the door. Her cheeks were flushed.
"You should come eat," his mother said, already moving toward the hallway.
"Yes, Mom."
When she was gone, he looked at the system interface one last time. The evolution percentage was still at 000%.
'How am I supposed to fight without my skills?'
He fell back onto the bed, staring at the cracked ceiling. "Who am I kidding? I've been dependent on you. You changed my life. Gave me a chance."
A laugh escaped him, dry and hollow.
"For better or worse."
"Tsk." The smells were becoming unbearable.
...
The dining table was set for six. His mother had added extra plates, extra chairs, somehow made the small space accommodate them all. Jay sat with her elbows on the table, Lira beside her, Penelope across from them with her hands folded in her lap. Mel occupied the end nearest the wall, her posture perfect, her blindfold catching the morning light.
Everyone ate in silence, but it was comfortable. The clink of spoons against bowls. The scrape of chairs shifting. The soft sound of someone swallowing too fast.
Kaelen took his seat and reached for the bowl of stew.
"What?"
He noticed the eyes on him. His mother. Jay. Penelope. Lira was pointedly looking at her plate, her face still faintly pink.
"Good morning, everyone."
Their gazes didn't shift.
"You—"
"Ow." Jay rubbed her arm where Lira had elbowed her.
"Don't say it."
"I wasn't going to say anything." Jay picked up her spoon with exaggerated innocence.
The cup began to tilt from Lira's hand. He caught it before it could fall, his fingers closing around it mid-fall.
"Nice reflex."
"Thanks." He set it back beside her plate.
He could feel Penelope's eyes on him. Every time he looked up, her gaze flicked away. After the third time, she caught herself and held still, her cheeks coloring slightly.
Then Jay set down her spoon.
"Are we really going to ignore that Kaelen grew five to six inches overnight and his skin became darker?"
"Urgh," Lira let out a long breath, her spoon clattering against her bowl. "It's a cultivation breakthrough, Jay."
"Since when does a breakthrough change your whole skin tone?"
"Just accept it."
"I can't accept that." Jay shrugged.
"Jay—"
Kaelen looked between them. "It's okay. I drank an elixir that evolved my body last night."
"Really?" Jay asked.
"No."
"Pff." She returned to her food. "You didn't have to be sarcastic."
"What makes you think I broke through?"
"Didn't you?" Lira asked.
"I didn't say I didn't."
A gentle voice came from the end of the table. "Mel said your breakthrough is special. Because you're Unique class." Penelope's gaze was steady on him.
He looked at Mel. She was eating, her attention elsewhere. 'She's covering for me. Why?'
"Is anyone else smelling that?" His brow furrowed.
"Don't start, Kaelen."
"No, Mom. Listen." He breathed in, sorting through the layers of scent. "It's not unpleasant. It's like ionized air."
Since his senses had heightened, he could smell everything. The only reason he hadn't thrown up while eating was how the pleasant smells mixed in. The moment his mom came into his room, he noticed her scent. The same for Lira. When he sat at the table, he noticed that each of them had a particular scent of their own, not pungent, just each uniquely special to the individual, like a fingerprint. His heightened senses were going crazy, but thanks to how he'd somehow managed to ease his hearing, he hadn't gone mad. He could see clearly, too clearly; he noticed every detail, even the minuscule.
Thanks to this, he could smell the ozone. It was a familiar smell, similar to void's billi but different. It was like that of the dome's barrier. At that moment, it registered at the edges of his senses.
He pushed back from the table. He had the same feeling as when the cup had shifted from Lira's hand.
"Kaelen." His mother's voice carried worry. "Are you okay?"
His gaze met hers, then slid to Mel. She was already looking at him. For the first time, he saw something shift behind her blindfold. Not exactly alarm, but it was there.
"Get down—"
Boom.
SHATTER-CRASH!
"Ahh," His mother's scream cut off as he threw himself across the table, his body covering Lira and Jay. Something hot tore across his back, digging deep above his hip.
He landed hard. Dust filled his lungs. The ceiling groaned above them.
His mother was on her knees, her hands over her head. Mel had Penelope pressed against the wall. Chunks of plaster still rained down, settling in her hair.
The room settled. Dust hung in the air, thick and grey.
[–110 H.P]
"Ungh." He groaned. His eyes tracked what had lodged deep into his body. There it was: an iron railing, embedded in his back just above his waist.
"Fuck!" Jay exhaled at the sight.
"Kaelen..." Seren muttered, her breath coming in exasperation.
"Don't, Mom." Kaelen barked as his mother moved to come to him. "Stay down. I'm okay."
His hand gripped the railing. "Agh." He pulled, extracting it in one effort. He could feel it, his body beginning to mend, flesh knitting into flesh. His HP silently climbed up, but there was no notification to inform him of the regrowth. He really was alone.
The windows had shattered; cracks ran along the building. Dust shimmered from above as it struggled to hold together.
An alarm started. A low wail that climbed and fell, climbing again.
WWWHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
A voice cut through the chaos, mechanical.
"Attention. This is an emergency broadcast. There has been a barrier breach. There has been a barrier breach. Get to the shelters immediately. This is not a drill. I repeat—"
Beep. Beep. Beep.
The alarm cut out. The voice went dead. Silence dropped over the room like a shroud.
Mel rose, her head tilted toward the south.
"We need to get to a shelter." Kaelen moved to his mother, pulling her up. "Mom. We have to go."
"It's dangerous. I can detect multiple hostile aether signatures." Mel's voice was calm, but her attention never left the south.
"I'm aware. But if we stay here any longer, we're putting ourselves at risk," he replied, helping his mom to her feet.
"Going out there puts your mother at risk." Mel's voice carried no accusation.
"Staying here puts everyone at risk." He met her unseen gaze. "Are you willing to put Penelope in that position?"
"..."
"You're not being logical." Her expression was void, her voice carrying the same calm.
"Are you?" He held her unseen gaze. "Are you, Miss Mel?"
"Kaelen." His mother's hand tightened on his. "She's right. You're not thinking clearly."
"What do you suggest?" He heard the edge in his voice and forced it down. "Please. What do you suggest?"
Mel tracked the south again. "Where is the shelter?"
"East," Lira said.
"The highest concentration is south. We're surrounded, but the strongest signatures are there."
"What ranks are we speaking about?" Penelope asked.
"D, C–B ranks."
"Aren't you capable of taking on A-ranks?" Jay asked.
"Not six of them." She turned to Jay.
Everyone went silent, the gravity of the situation settling in.
The only sound was the groan of the building settling, the distant crash of something falling, the soft whisper of dust still drifting through the broken windows.
Kaelen looked at his mother's face.
"Haa." He exhaled. "Since they're clustered at the southern section, we won't aim to fight the lower ranks. We just need to get to the shelter."
Mel paused at the threshold. "Have you healed?"
He thought about the railing he had pulled from his back. The flesh that had knitted itself together while his mother watched.
"Yes."
She nodded once. "We will have to be sneaky."