Kael Draven opened his eyes to the sterile white ceiling of a military hospital room. The faint hum of life support machines filled the silence. Outside, the city of New Berlin buzzed like nothing had happened, but for Kael, the world was changed forever.
He flexed his fingers. Pain radiated through his chest — not from injuries, but from the ghost of the anomaly he'd survived. The flight logs indicated his ship had exploded, the crew was dead, and he… shouldn't exist.
A nurse walked in, clipboard in hand.
"Mr. Draven," she said cautiously, "your vital signs are… unusual. Our equipment can't even categorize your heart rhythm. We'll need to monitor you for several more days."
Kael's eyes narrowed. "I'm fine. Let me leave."
The nurse hesitated, clearly weighing whether he was sane or delusional. "Sir… the anomaly—what you experienced—it doesn't follow known physics. You could be—"
"I survived. That's all you need to know," Kael interrupted, rising to his feet. Pain flared at the base of his chest. He ignored it, chalking it up to trauma.
As he stepped toward the door, the room flickered. A pulse of light like a heartbeat radiated from the floor. Kael froze. Something had changed inside him. Something that had nothing to do with the hospital.