When Aren opened his eyes, the world was no longer dark.
Silver threads of light coiled around him, weaving patterns in the air like the veins of a living star. The ground beneath his body pulsed faintly — metal plates glowing with warmth, as if breathing in rhythm with his heartbeat.
His head throbbed. The last thing he remembered was the Starcore shattering... and then—
that blinding surge, that voice calling from somewhere beyond the stars.
Now, silence.
And yet, he could hear it. A pulse, a whisper, like the cosmos itself was breathing inside his veins.
> [System Initialization: Primal Node detected. Synchronization complete.]
The voice wasn't mechanical — it felt alive, ancient. Every syllable reverberated through his skull like the hum of a galaxy turning.
Aren sat up slowly, staring at his trembling hands. His skin shimmered faintly, faint lines of gold running beneath it — veins filled with light. He tried to speak, but only a gasp escaped.
> [Subject: Aren Vale. Genetic framework... incompatible with artificial evolution serums. Adaptive synthesis complete.]
[Designation: Primal Evolver. Node Type — Stellar Flame.]
"Primal… Evolver?" he muttered.
Suddenly, flashes filled his vision — fragments of equations, star maps, energy flows. The air vibrated as the System continued.
> [Astralis — the cosmic medium of existence. Every particle, every atom carries its signature. The Stellar Flame is its purest form — heat, gravity, and light in perfect equilibrium.]
His heart pounded faster. He could feel the gravity tugging faintly around his fingertips. The dust on the floor lifted, orbiting him like a miniature solar system.
Aren stared, half in awe, half in terror.
"W-What's happening to me...?"
> [Evolution begins when the body remembers what it was meant to be.]
The whisper faded, leaving behind only the echo of its meaning. Aren's pulse steadied. His fear slowly turned into something else — a flicker of realization.
The world outside was broken.
But within him, something ancient had awakened — something that had waited eons to remember its name.
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