Awakening Day arrived beneath a gray sky.
The entire academy buzzed with tension.
Students filled the massive ceremonial hall wearing formal academy uniforms.
Some looked excited.
Some were terrified.
Some nauseous.
Kai belonged to all three categories simultaneously.
"You look pale," Rowan said.
Kai folded his arms.
"Power carries burdens."
"You're sweating through your collar."
"My aura overwhelms reality."
"You almost walked into a pillar ten seconds ago."
Kai glanced away.
"The pillar moved first."
At the front of the hall stood the Awakening Platform.
A massive circular formation engraved with glowing symbols.
Teachers moved carefully around it while officials monitored stability readings.
This ceremony determined futures.
Some students would awaken extraordinary Mindspaces.
Others would awaken mediocrity.
A few would fail entirely.
The atmosphere felt heavy.
Kai clenched his hands.
He had worked for this.
Studied for this.
Meditated for this.
Please.
Just let his future be better.
Principal Orson stepped onto the stage.
"Today," the old cultivator announced, "you step onto the path of humanity's defenders."
His voice echoed across the hall.
"Remember this: talent matters. Wealth matters. Luck matters."
Several students stiffened.
Then the principal smiled slightly.
"But effort matters too."
Kai straightened unconsciously.
"Awakening begins now."
One by one, students stepped forward.
Bright lights erupted across the platform.
Announcements followed.
"Stable Bronze-grade Mindspace!"
Applause.
"Silver compatibility detected!"
Cheers.
"Low stability warning."
Sympathetic silence.
Kai watched nervously.
Then:
"Adrian Vale."
Of course.
The genius walked forward calmly.
The platform exploded with golden light.
Gasps spread instantly.
Teachers stood.
"Exceptional mana density!"
"High synchronization!"
"Gold-grade potential confirmed!"
The hall erupted.
Kai slowly looked away.
Some people truly were born different.
Then came his turn.
"Kai Verdan."
He inhaled deeply.
This was it.
Kai walked toward the platform while trying to appear calm and mysterious.
Halfway there, he nearly tripped on the stairs.
A few students laughed.
Kai pretended it never happened.
He stepped onto the formation.
The symbols ignited.
Mana surged upward.
Pressure crushed against his thoughts.
Then suddenly—
Darkness.
Kai opened his eyes.
And froze.
He stood inside a vast white room.
Not a spiritual realm.
Not a natural landscape.
A laboratory.
Smooth metallic walls stretched endlessly.
Blue holographic displays flickered overhead.
Machines hummed softly.
The air smelled sterile.
Cold.
Artificial.
Kai stared blankly.
"...What?"
A distant mechanical voice echoed.
"Emergency synchronization detected."
The floor illuminated beneath him.
"Biological compatibility confirmed."
Kai turned slowly.
At the center of the room stood a massive glass chamber.
Inside floated a man.
An old human male suspended in pale blue liquid.
Tubes connected to his body.
Metallic implants lined his skull.
The chamber hissed.
Kai stepped back.
"Nope."
The tube opened.
Liquid spilled across the floor.
The man's eyes opened.
Sharp.
Cold.
Ancient.
For several seconds, silence filled the laboratory.
Then the man spoke.
"...Remarkable."
His voice sounded dry from disuse.
"A native lifeform achieved synchronization compatibility."
Kai pointed immediately.
"Before anything else, I would like to clarify that I am not easy to murder."
The old man blinked.
"What?"
"I felt that establishing boundaries early was important."
The scientist stared at him.
Then slowly looked upward.
"After centuries of isolation..."
He closed his eyes briefly.
"This is my first interaction."
Kai nodded seriously.
"You probably hoped for someone cooler."
The man considered this.
"Statistically? Yes."
Kai placed a hand over his heart.
"Cruel."
The old man stepped from the chamber.
Though physically weak, his presence felt overwhelming.
Not like a cultivator.
Like a machine pretending to be human.
"State your designation," he said.
Kai hesitated.
Should he say something cool?
Absolutely.
He lowered his voice.
"I am the one who walks between shadows and destiny—"
"Your actual name."
Kai coughed.
"Kai Verdan."
"Understood."
The old man looked around the laboratory.
Thousands of dormant screens reflected pale blue light across his face.
Then he looked back at Kai.
"My name is Dr. Elias Mercer."
A screen suddenly flickered to life.
WARNING:
CORE SYSTEM FAILURE
POWER LEVEL: 0.7%
MULTIPLE SECTORS OFFLINE
Kai pointed nervously.
"That seems concerning."
"Correct."
Another warning appeared.
CONSCIOUSNESS STABILITY CRITICAL
Elias sighed.
"Also concerning."
Kai looked around carefully.
"So... where exactly are we?"
The scientist was silent for several moments.
Then he answered.
"Inside your Mindspace."
Kai blinked.
"My what?"
"Your Mindspace."
"This giant science dungeon is inside my head?"
"Essentially."
Kai sat down immediately.
"I think my awakening broke."
Elias nodded.
"That is a reasonable conclusion."
Somewhere deep within the laboratory, massive metal doors slowly groaned.
A distant alarm echoed.
The scientist's expression changed instantly.
"...Impossible."
Kai looked up.
"That's usually not a comforting word."
The alarms grew louder.
Red lights flashed.
WARNING:
BIOLOGICAL CONTAINMENT FAILURE DETECTED
Kai stared.
"Containment?"
A low roar echoed somewhere beyond the darkness.
Elias looked toward the distant corridor.
For the first time since waking, genuine emotion crossed his face.
Concern.
"That," he said quietly,
"should not still be alive."