Chapter 18 – Awakening
The words cut through Zane like a jagged blade, twisting deep into his chest and shredding what was left of his fragile hope. An icy coldness seeped through his veins, numbing everything except the storm raging inside him. Every fear, every nightmare he had buried clawed their way back in an instant, tearing open wounds he thought he'd sealed long ago.
"No…"
The thought echoed hollowly in his mind, as if even his inner voice couldn't believe it. "How… How could it be? The system… It said—"
But no matter how much he tried to string the words together, his mind refused to form a coherent sentence. He sat there, paralyzed—not from the straps still partially tied to him, but from the crushing weight of disbelief.
It couldn't be. It shouldn't be. The system had promised. It told him he would be accepted. That he was different.
He wanted to scream, to shout at them to check again, to beg for another injection, another test—anything that would keep his dream from slipping through his fingers.
But all that came was a bitter, lifeless smile. A broken curve of the lips that held no emotion except hopelessness. The silence that followed was deafening. It echoed louder than any scream.
This was it.
The last nail in the coffin. The final betrayal of a world that had already taken so much from him.
Even when he tried not to expect anything—even when he prepared for the worst—life had found a way to mock him once more. It dangled hope before him like a carrot before a starving man, then ripped it away the moment he reached out.
Just like it did when he lost his mother. Back then, too, he was full of dreams and plans. And just like that, life had stolen everything in a breath.
Now, again, it stood triumphant. He had lost. This was a complete and utter defeat.
He didn't cry. He didn't rage. He simply smiled—a smile filled with nothing but quiet devastation.
"I'm sorry… Mom…" he whispered in his mind. "I let you down. I'm a disappointment."
As the knights began to untie the straps, his body sagged into the chair, powerless. His limbs felt like lead, weighed down by shame and grief. The bitter taste of failure coated his tongue, thick and heavy.
Fiora watched from across the room, her arms crossed as she sighed quietly, disappointment painting her face. Something inside her had believed in Zane. It wasn't just hope or curiosity—it was an instinct. A gut feeling, something she trusted her entire life, and it never failed her, and yet this time.. It sadly did.
She had met countless prodigies in her life. Some became legends. Others faded into obscurity. But none of them had given her the feeling Zane did.
He was… different. She still didn't know how or why, but the sense that he was special had nagged at her since their first encounter.
Yet, as the silence stretched on and the system declared nothing, even she had to accept it. No matter how exceptional someone might seem, the injection played by its own rules—cruel, mysterious, and unforgiving.
Just as she turned to ready the next candidate, a flicker of unease passed through her. She suddenly... felt something.
"Hm?"
Her eyes snapped back to Zane.
She froze.
"Stop." Her voice was barely above a whisper.
The doctor beside her blinked. "Did you say something, Miss Fiora?"
Her voice sharpened. "Move away from him. Now."
The knights paused, hands still resting on the half-released straps. Confusion crossed their faces.
"I said move!" Fiora barked, stepping forward.
And then… they all felt it.
A dense, chilling pressure gripped the air. One of the knights' eyes widened as he looked at Zane. Something was wrong. Terribly wrong.
From Zane's body, an ominous purple aura began to rise—thick and heavy like vaporized tar. It didn't drift like mist; it flowed, undulating like liquid in slow motion, coiling upward like a serpent preparing to strike.
It climbed higher and higher, filling the room.
Ssszzzz…
A faint sizzle echoed in the silence. It was barely audible, but it was there—like steam hitting frozen metal.
And the moment it happened, every heart in the room skipped a beat.
"I SAID MOVE!!" Fiora vaulted over the desk just as the room exploded.
*BOOOM*
A violent shockwave detonated from Zane's body, rupturing the air with a sound like thunder. Energy flooded the room in an instant, hurling everyone back.
Fiora slammed against the wall, the breath knocked out of her lungs. The knights crashed into tables and corners like ragdolls. Even the reinforced windows couldn't contain the force—glass shattered and rained down like frozen rain.
Amidst the chaos, one figure stood untouched.
Zane.
He rose slowly from the chair, which had begun to melt into a formless mess beneath him, the leather bubbling like wax in flame. The metal straps had already snapped—ripped apart like paper. The ground beneath his feet warped and softened, sinking slightly under the weight of something unseen.
That purple aura still clung to him, dancing around his frame like a living entity.
"Fuuuh…"
He exhaled deeply, his breath steaming in the cool air. He looked at his hands—trembling, not from fear, but from something far more primal.
Power.
Fiora, still struggling to rise, stared in stunned silence. Her entire body froze when Zane's gaze found hers.
His eyes were wide open—bright crimson, unwavering. Even though she was leagues above him in strength, something about that gaze made her skin crawl. There was no fear in him. No doubt. Only revelation.
"I can feel."
His voice was calm. Too calm.
"I can feel power. It's coursing through me."
He flexed his fingers slowly, as if savoring the sensation. Then, he looked directly at Fiora again.
"Hey, Fiora."
She flinched. She couldn't help it.
"Is this what being accepted feels like?"
No one answered. Not because they didn't want to—but because no one could.
Fiora's mind raced. 'Accepted? What is he talking about?'
This—this wasn't how an injection usually worked. When someone was accepted, there was a gentle surge of Core Energy. A soft glow. Some sparks, perhaps. But this? This was something else entirely.
"Agh, my back!" The doctor groaned, finally pulling himself to his feet. But when he caught sight of Zane, his words died in his throat.
His mouth fell open.
"Oh… my god…"
Zane stood like a figure from a dream—or a nightmare. Surrounded by a chaotic swirl of energy, his every movement seemed to echo with power. The temperature around him dropped sharply, the air trembling with instability.
"I can feel Core Energy coursing through me," he said, voice reverent. "It's so refreshing. Like drinking cold juice on a summer morning."
It was a ridiculous comparison, and yet, it was the only thing that made sense to him. His body buzzed with vitality. Every sense had sharpened—he could hear the tiniest crack in the floorboards, feel the rush of energy in the walls, taste the electricity in the air.
He had never felt so alive.
[Your dormant core has awakened!]
[You have unlocked Core Energy!]
[You have unlocked Dimension Resistance!]
[You have unlocked a new feature.]
[You have unlocked 'Core Stigma'.]
[You have activated your Core Stigma!]