Alex floated in a void of black.
It was cold. Infinite.
There was no floor. No ceiling. No body. Just his thoughts drifting like ash in the wind.
But then—
BADUMP!
The sound of a heartbeat echoed.
BADUMP!
It came again, louder this time. Sharper. Real.
Then, a crack split the void.
A sliver of white light sliced through the dark like a blade. Before Alex could even gasp, the world surged back.
He inhaled sharply—and the air hit like fire in his lungs. The burn made him cough violently.
His eyes snapped open.
Pain greeted him instantly. Not the searing, skin-melting agony from before—this was different. Colder. Deeper. Like molten steel cooling inside his bones.
He lay flat on the chamber floor, steam rising in thin wisps from his skin, still scorched.
Alex clenched his fist. And that's when he felt it.
Power.
Not just humming beneath the surface—
But roaring.
Surging.
Wild and alive, like a storm trapped in his veins.
