"Dad...?"
Kelvin's voice trembled.
The figure standing in the darkness did not answer.
For several seconds, Kelvin simply stared.
The face was familiar.
The height.
The posture.
Even the scar above the left eyebrow.
It was his father.
Or at least...
it looked exactly like him.
Kelvin took a step forward.
"Dad!"
The figure finally moved.
But something was wrong.
His eyes were completely black.
No pupils.
No emotion.
Only darkness.
Kelvin stopped.
"Who are you?"
The figure smiled.
"You finally awakened."
Kelvin's heart pounded.
"You know me?"
"I have always known you."
"Where is my father?"
The figure tilted his head.
"You are asking the wrong question."
Kelvin clenched his fists.
"Then what should I ask?"
The figure pointed toward the darkness behind Kelvin.
"Ask why you survived."
Kelvin turned.
Nothing.
Only endless darkness.
When he turned back, the figure had disappeared.
"Dad!"
A roar suddenly erupted behind him.
Kelvin spun around.
The enormous beast stood there.
Its crimson eyes burned through the darkness.
But it wasn't attacking.
It was watching him.
"Who are you?" Kelvin demanded.
The beast lowered its head.
For the first time, Kelvin realized just how enormous it was.
"You carry his soul."
Kelvin froze.
"Whose?"
"Your father's."
Kelvin's breathing stopped.
"My father is dead."
The beast remained silent.
Then it spoke.
"That is what you were meant to believe."
Kelvin's eyes widened.
"What does that mean?"
The beast stepped closer.
"You were ten years old."
Kelvin remembered.
"The Beast Tide came."
"Your village fell."
"Your mother died."
"Your father disappeared."
Kelvin's fists tightened.
"He died."
"No."
The beast's answer was immediate.
"He did not."
Kelvin stared at it.
"Then where is he?"
The beast's crimson eyes narrowed.
"Beyond the Gate."
A strange sensation passed through Kelvin.
"What gate?"
The darkness behind the beast suddenly changed.
A massive structure appeared.
A black gate.
It was the same gate Kelvin had seen during his awakening.
Thousands of strange symbols covered its surface.
Chains wrapped around it.
And behind it...
something was moving.
Kelvin could feel countless souls.
Trapped.
Waiting.
He stepped backward.
"What is that?"
"The place from which the Beast Tides come."
Kelvin's blood ran cold.
"The Beast Tides?"
The beast nodded.
"Every Beast Tide is a symptom."
"A symptom of what?"
"The Gate."
Kelvin stared.
For years, Aurora had believed Beast Tides were natural disasters caused by magical beasts.
But this creature was saying something else.
"They come through the Gate?"
"Some do."
"Then who controls the Gate?"
The beast didn't answer.
Kelvin's eyes narrowed.
"You know."
The creature's expression changed.
"I know enough to fear what lies beyond it."
Suddenly, the black chains around the Gate began shaking.
CLANG!
CLANG!
CLANG!
The beast looked behind itself.
"We have little time."
"For what?"
The creature looked directly into Kelvin's eyes.
"For your awakening to be discovered."
Kelvin frowned.
"Who will discover it?"
"The Gods."
The word echoed through the darkness.
Kelvin felt a chill.
"The Gods?"
"Your world worships them."
"Do they exist?"
The beast laughed.
"Exist?"
Its voice became darker.
"They have been watching you since birth."
Kelvin's mind raced.
If the Gods were watching him...
then perhaps his awakening was already known.
"Why would they care about me?"
"Because you possess what they fear."
"What?"
The beast leaned closer.
"Authority over the Soul."
The black mark on Kelvin's palm began glowing.
His System appeared.
[WARNING.]
[Foreign soul attempting to access restricted memory.]
Kelvin's eyes widened.
"Restricted memory?"
The beast's eyes flashed.
"Your System is waking faster than expected."
Kelvin immediately asked:
"Who created the System?"
The beast remained silent.
"Tell me!"
The creature finally answered.
"Not who."
Kelvin frowned.
"Then what?"
"A prison."
Kelvin froze.
"The System is a prison?"
The creature nodded.
"For you."
Kelvin stared at his System.
The words seemed impossible.
A prison?
Then why had it given him power?
Why had it given him skills?
Why had it waited for his awakening?
The beast continued.
"It will help you grow."
"But every level you gain will also bind you deeper."
Kelvin's expression hardened.
"Then I'll break it."
The beast stared at him.
Then, unexpectedly, it smiled.
"Perhaps you can."
Suddenly—
CRACK!
The black Gate began splitting.
A bright white light appeared behind the cracks.
The beast looked alarmed.
"They found you."
"Who?"
"The watchers."
Kelvin felt a presence approaching.
Something vast.
Something far beyond anything he had ever encountered.
He could not see it.
But his soul could feel it.
A voice echoed through the darkness.
"SOUL SIGNATURE CONFIRMED."
Kelvin froze.
Another voice followed.
"THE HEIR HAS AWAKENED."
Then a third.
"BEGIN THE PURIFICATION."
The beast roared.
"RUN!"
Kelvin turned.
"Where?"
"Back to your body!"
"I need answers!"
"You will have them!"
"When?"
"When you become strong enough to survive them!"
The darkness began collapsing.
Kelvin felt himself being pulled backward.
He reached toward the beast.
"Wait!"
The creature shouted one final message.
"Kelvin!"
Kelvin looked back.
"Do not trust anyone who claims to understand your Soul!"
Then everything exploded into white light.
---
Kelvin's eyes opened.
He gasped.
He was back inside the Academy shelter.
Sofia was holding his shoulder.
"Kelvin!"
He looked around.
John.
Michael.
Lydia.
The instructors.
Everyone was there.
But something had changed.
The beast was gone.
The damaged shelter door stood open.
Beyond it was a long corridor.
No creature.
No broken barrier.
Nothing.
The instructors looked confused.
"What happened?" John asked.
Nobody answered.
Kelvin slowly stood.
His body felt weak.
His System appeared.
[Soul Thread disconnected.]
[Skill proficiency increased.]
[Soul Thread has reached Level 2.]
Kelvin frowned.
Then another message appeared.
[Warning.]
[Memory contamination detected.]
[Some memories may be incomplete.]
Kelvin's expression changed.
He remembered the Gate.
The beast.
His father.
The Gods.
But one thing bothered him.
He couldn't remember the face of the man standing beside the Gate.
He knew someone had been there.
Someone important.
Someone who knew him.
But the face was gone.
Erased.
Kelvin looked toward the corridor.
Headmaster Adrian suddenly appeared.
His expression was grim.
"Kelvin."
Kelvin looked at him.
"Yes, sir?"
Adrian stared at the black mark on Kelvin's palm.
Then he whispered something Kelvin never expected to hear.
"I've seen that mark before."
Kelvin's eyes widened.
"Where?"
Adrian didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he looked around to make sure nobody was listening.
Then he lowered his voice.
"In the records of the Ancient War."
Kelvin's heart began pounding.
"The Ancient War?"
Adrian nodded.
"A war that happened thousands of years ago."
"Who fought in it?"
The Headmaster looked directly into Kelvin's eyes.
"Gods."
"Humans."
"And something called..."
He paused.
"...the Soul Sovereign."
Kelvin's System suddenly flashed.
[RESTRICTED INFORMATION DETECTED.]
[TITLE CONDITION SATISFIED.]
[Hidden Title Unlocked.]
[SOUL SEEKER]
Kelvin stared at the title.
Then another line appeared.
[First stage of the Soul Path has begun.]
For a moment, Kelvin could hear nothing.
Then Adrian spoke.
"Kelvin..."
"You need to tell me exactly what happened when you touched that beast."
Kelvin looked at the Headmaster.
He thought about the creature's warning.
Do not trust anyone who claims to understand your Soul.
Kelvin slowly closed his hand.
"I don't know."
It was the first lie he had ever told the Headmaster.
And somewhere deep inside him...
something smiled.
TO BE CONTINUED...