The next morning, Base City 5 awoke to strange news.
Several surveillance drones had failed overnight. Entire sectors of the city's subterranean grid were showing fluctuating energy output. The official explanation was "routine maintenance," but even the students could sense something was wrong.
Aiden walked through the school courtyard with his head down. The air itself felt denser — heavier, like the city was holding its breath.
Ryan jogged up beside him. "Hey, man. You hear the rumor? They say the Association found something under the city. Some kind of alien tech from the Calamity era."
Aiden's pulse skipped. "Alien tech?"
"Yeah. Supposedly a big orb thing that glows sometimes. Everyone's saying it's cursed or something."
Aiden smiled faintly. "People love rumors."
Ryan shrugged. "Maybe. But weird stuff's been happening since that quake last week. My dad works near the power core — he said half the sensors started picking up phantom readings."
Aiden didn't answer. His focus was elsewhere.That pulse was still there — quiet, persistent, like a distant heartbeat buried under everything.
During training that afternoon, he noticed something strange.When he moved through combat drills, his body flowed with unnatural precision. Every step, every punch, every twist felt right — like his muscles and instincts were syncing perfectly.
The System confirmed it.
[Comprehension Ability Activated.][Technique "Iron Wave Form" upgraded to: Primordial Wave.][Compatibility: 100%. Efficiency: 670% above baseline.]
His Infinite Comprehension was evolving, too — no longer limited to breathing or energy flow. Now it touched movement, balance, reaction time.
Each strike sent ripples through the air — faint distortions only his trained eyes could catch.
He stopped mid-motion, a chill creeping up his spine.
If someone saw me fight now… they'd know I'm not normal.
That night, he resolved to keep training in secret. But the Core had other plans.
Deep beneath the city, the black sphere pulsed again. This time, the symbols didn't fade. They burned — bright, fierce, alive.
Data streamed through ancient conduits, flowing through buried cables and forgotten channels. Screens in the Association's lower labs flickered to life. Automated security drones reactivated after decades of silence.
In the command center, alarms screamed.
"Ma'am!" a technician shouted. "The ruins are online — it's transmitting data!"
Captain Nyra rushed in, her eyes narrowing at the hologram. "Trace the signal!"
"We can't! It's splitting into thousands of microbursts — the pattern's non-linear, almost… adaptive."
The ground rumbled.From the sphere, a pulse of white light erupted upward, vanishing into the ceiling — heading straight for the surface.
Aiden bolted upright in bed as the world around him trembled.
The System screamed in his mind.
[Resonance link: 100% synchronization achieved.][Warning: Energy field surge detected.][Core Node awakening sequence underway.]
His body glowed faintly, energy running like fire through his veins. His heartbeat aligned with the deep pulse beneath the earth. For a moment, he saw the same vision again — the sphere, the symbols, and beyond them… stars.
Not just the night sky — but entire constellations burning, flickering, alive.
Then, a whisper threaded through his thoughts:
"You carry our legacy… and our burden."
The connection cut.
Aiden collapsed forward, gasping for air. The light faded, but the tremor in his bones remained.
He looked up at the window. Outside, the city's dome lights flickered.People below began to scream — not from fear, but from awe.
High above Base City 5, a column of pale light pierced the clouds, visible across half the continent.
The Martial Association scrambled.The news drones swarmed.And deep beneath the earth, the ancient machine whispered one final phrase before going silent:
"Sequence Alpha… complete."
Aiden stared out at the glowing sky, eyes wide, heart racing.He didn't know what had just awakened — or what it meant.
But one thing was certain.This world was far larger, far stranger, than he'd ever imagined.
And he was no longer just part of it.He was bound to it.