A silence lingered across Arvelia after the Gate incident.
Hunters were confused.
Reports were inconsistent.
And worst of all… the system readings had failed.
At the Hunter Guild headquarters, alarms flickered repeatedly.
"System logs are corrupted again!"
"This is the third time this week!"
Guild officials gathered in tension-filled silence.
Something was wrong with reality itself.
Kael Veyron stood in a quiet hallway, waiting for inspection.
His file was simple.
D-rank. No achievements. No history worth noting.
But the system panel floating in front of the guild clerk…
was shaking.
[Scanning Subject…][Error… Error…][Cannot classify target][Rank determination failed]
The clerk frowned.
"This makes no sense… every hunter can be classified."
Kael said nothing.
He already knew the answer.
He was not part of the system anymore.
Elsewhere, deep beneath the guild, a restricted chamber activated.
A hidden observer system—used only when reality anomalies appeared.
A distorted voice echoed.
"An entity has emerged outside classification layers…"
"World-Class signal confirmed…"
Above ground, Kael's phone vibrated.
A simple message:
Sister:"Come home early today. I made dinner."
For a moment… he paused.
Normal life still existed.
At least for them.
But the sky above Arvelia flickered again.
Not a Gate this time.
Something watching.
Something learning.
Kael looked upward slightly.
"…You're checking me again."
Dark green energy slowly leaked from his hand.
Not aggressive.
Not unstable.
Just… awake.
Far beyond the sky, unknown beings observed silently.
For the first time…
They did not speak immediately.
Because the system itself had begun to hesitate.
And hesitation…
meant fear.