Alex woke to chains.
Cold iron bit into his wrists and ankles, etched with glowing sigils that throbbed in time with his heartbeat. Every pulse sent a dull ache through his bones, not pain exactly—suppression. The air smelled of incense and old stone, sharp enough to sting his lungs.
He was lying on a raised slab.
Stone ceiling above. Tall. Circular. Inlaid with scripture carved so deep it looked wounded. Candles burned in symmetrical rows, their flames unnaturally still.
A ritual chamber.
The moment his eyes opened, the pressure intensified.
Mana suppression.
Strong.
Alex tested his breath. His fingers twitched—and the chains flared brighter in response.
"So he's awake."
A voice echoed from somewhere above him.
Footsteps followed. Slow. Measured. Multiple.
Figures emerged into view—priests in layered white and gold vestments, their faces hidden behind half-masks engraved with the symbol of the Church of Radiant Absolution. At their center walked an old man with silver-threaded robes and eyes like polished glass.
A High Inquisitor.
Alex knew immediately.
"Alex von Luthien," the old man said, voice calm, almost kind. "Age fourteen. Twin-born. Marked. Suspected vessel of corruption."
Alex swallowed.
"My family," he said hoarsely. "Where—"
"Alive," the Inquisitor replied. "Cooperative. Frightened. Grateful."
Grateful.
The word settled like ice in Alex's chest.
"You were brought here for purification," the man continued. "The markings manifested. A servant died. Your mana output spiked beyond acceptable parameters for your age."
Alex's jaw tightened. "She tried to kill me."
"We are aware."
No outrage. No sympathy.
Just confirmation.
The Inquisitor raised one hand. Light bloomed in the air, forming a translucent panel covered in runes and numerical glyphs.
A status display.
Alex's breath hitched.
The runes shifted—then froze.
Silence fell.
The priests stiffened.
One whispered, barely audible. "That's not possible."
The Inquisitor's eyes narrowed.
"Read it," he ordered.
The panel rearranged itself, translating the information into standardized imperial metrics.
Mana Ascension Assessment — Subject: Alex von Luthien
Awakening Status: Awakened (Unregistered)
Rank: 8 — E (Peak)
Affinity: Unidentified (Dormant)
Physical Augmentation: E (Mid)
Mana Capacity: A (Low)
Mana Control: A (Low)
Anomalies Detected.
The chamber erupted.
"E-Rank at fourteen?!"
"That mana capacity—A-rank? That's impossible without—"
"His control is too refined—this isn't raw talent—"
The Inquisitor raised his staff. Silence snapped back into place.
Alex stared at the panel, heart pounding.
Rank 8.
E Rank.
Peak.
He knew the system. Everyone did.
Mana Ascension was universal law.
Rank 10 — Unawakened.
Mana could exist in the body, nothing more.
Rank 9 — F.
After awakening. Minor self-enhancement.
Rank 8 — E.
The first true step. An affinity formed.
Most people reached it in their late teens—if ever.
He was fourteen.
And not just E-rank.
Peak.
With A-rank mana capacity.
That alone should have been impossible.
The Inquisitor looked at Alex differently now.
Not as a child.
As a problem.
"Do you know what this means?" the old man asked.
Alex didn't answer.
So he continued.
"It means your awakening did not occur naturally."
The words landed with weight.
"An E-rank Peak with A-rank capacity implies prolonged conditioning. Repeated mana saturation. External refinement."
The Inquisitor's gaze sharpened.
"Someone worked on you."
Alex's mind flashed.
The missing year.
The blank space.
"No," he whispered. "I don't remember—"
"You wouldn't," the Inquisitor said calmly. "Memory erosion is common in forced ascension."
The chamber seemed to tilt.
Kidnapped.
Not sick.
Not collapsed.
Taken.
"During the year you lost," the Inquisitor continued, "you were removed from the estate. By an unidentified organization. One skilled enough to bypass noble wards and erase records."
The priests murmured uneasily.
"Why wasn't the empire informed?" one demanded.
"Because Duke Luthien made a choice," the Inquisitor replied. "One that spared his house."
Alex felt something hollow open inside him.
"They gave you back," the Inquisitor said. "Broken. Altered. And dangerous."
The old man turned to the others.
"This explains the markings. The affinity attempting to manifest. The instability."
He looked back at Alex.
"And it explains why the estate decided what you are."
Alex clenched his fists against the chains.
"A liability," the Inquisitor said.
"A curse," another priest added.
"A potential calamity," a third whispered.
The Inquisitor raised his staff again.
"By the authority of the Church of Radiant Absolution," he declared, "this subject is deemed Impure but Contained."
Alex's heart slammed against his ribs.
"Purification will proceed."
Light surged through the chains.
Pain exploded through his body—not burning, but tearing, as if something inside him was being dragged to the surface.
Alex screamed.
The world dissolved.
He fell inward.
Not unconscious.
Deeper.
Into a place that wasn't stone or light or pain.
A void.
And in that void—
Something noticed him.
Unregistered Awakening Detected.
Anomalous Growth Pattern Identified.
External Suppression Interfering.
Text burned itself into his vision, sharp and impossible.
Do you wish to initialize the System?
Alex's breath shook.
System?
Another wave of pain tore through him from the outside. The chains tightened. The purification intensified.
They were trying to erase something.
He didn't know what the system was.
It wasn't in the game.
He didn't know who had turned him into this.
But he knew one thing.
If he didn't choose now—
He would never choose again.
"Yes," he whispered.
The void answered.
Initialization Confirmed.
Warning: Consequences irreversible.
Light erupted from within him.
Not holy.
Not dark.
Something older.
Something precise.
The chains screamed as their runes shattered.
Above, in the ritual chamber, every candle went out at once.
And across the empire—
Something long dormant opened its eyes.