Chapter 1 – Fate's Foreshadowing
The world didn't collapse when it awakened. It simply stopped pretending to be gentle.
The Awakening Hall of Central City trembled faintly as the resonance pillars activated, waves of energy spreading across polished marble like invisible tides. Hundreds of sixteen-year-olds sat in concentric rows, their futures waiting inside a glowing formation at the center of the hall. Some whispered bravely, some laughed too loudly, and some sat in rigid silence, afraid that even breathing wrong might alter their fate.
Chen Wei leaned toward Lin Kai with a grin that looked far more confident than he felt. "If I get B-Tier, I'll accept it with grace. If I get A-Tier, I'm demanding respect. If I get S-Tier…" He paused dramatically. "I'll faint."
Kai didn't look at him. "You'll faint regardless."
Zhao Min, seated in front of them, didn't turn around when she said, "Both of you are embarrassing."
The first name was called. Then another. One by one, students entered the formation. Light flared. Energy surged. The crystal overhead announced results in a cold, mechanical voice.
Level 10 was guaranteed. Talent was not.
Cheers erupted for A-Tiers. Polite applause followed B-Tiers. Silence swallowed the C's.
When Chen Wei's name echoed through the hall, he strode forward as if walking onto a battlefield. Wind burst outward when the array activated around him, ruffling hair and clothes in a dramatic swirl. The crystal flickered.
"Level 10 confirmed. B-Tier."
Wei raised both hands as if accepting worship. "I told you. Respectable."
He returned grinning, punching Kai lightly in the arm. "Don't embarrass me now."
Kai's gaze remained steady.
Four nights ago, something impossible had appeared in his room. A thin black notebook lay on his desk when he returned from training. It had no energy fluctuation. No aura. No warning. Inside, written in his own unmistakable handwriting, were two entries.
Day 0. Awakening complete. A-Tier.
Day 14. Southern Perimeter breach. Father does not return.
No explanation. No details. Just outcome.
"Lin Kai."
The murmurs quieted slightly. Not because he was expected to be the strongest—but because of his surname. Son of Commander Lin Zhao, a Seventh-Tier Gravity powerhouse. Younger brother of Lin Jun, SSS-Tier Decay, currently studying at Humanity War god University. Expectations followed him like gravity itself—constant, invisible, heavy.
He stepped into the formation circle.
The energy entered his body like winter swallowing autumn.
Not sharp. Not violent. Just cold.
The marble beneath his boots darkened. Frost crept outward—but not white, not translucent. It was black. Light seemed to dim where it touched. One of the fire-aligned pillars flickered faintly as if resisting suppression.
The hall fell silent.
The evaluation crystal pulsed.
"Level 10 confirmed."
A pause.
"A-Tier."
A wave of whispers began.
Then the crystal flickered again.
"Variant detected."
The frost thickened, spreading in controlled lines like veins of darkness across stone. A nearby instructor instinctively flared his flame aura—only to watch it dim slightly upon contact with the cold aura radiating from the circle.
"System classification: Black Ice."
The silence shattered into hushed shock.
"Black Ice?"
"That suppressive mutation?"
"Doesn't that counter flame systems?"
Wei's jaw dropped so hard it looked painful. Min finally turned around, eyes sharp with interest.
Kai stepped out of the circle, and the frost receded obediently.
He wasn't smiling.
He wasn't disappointed either.
The notebook had been correct.
Exactly correct.
Which meant the second entry was likely correct too.
From the observation balcony, Commander Lin Zhao stood tall, gravity aura restrained but ever-present. He gave a single nod—not of praise, not of surprise. Just acknowledgment.
After the ceremony ended, Wei grabbed Kai's shoulder. "You're insane. Mutated A-Tier? Do you know how rare that is?"
"Rare doesn't change outcome," Kai replied calmly.
Min studied him carefully. "You don't look surprised."
Kai's eyes shifted briefly toward the southern horizon visible through the hall's glass ceiling.
"I prepared for possibilities."
Outside, Central City moved as usual. Drones crossed the sky. Dungeon gates shimmered faintly in distant districts. The world did not tremble. The people did not panic.
But Kai opened the notebook again that night.
The ink had not changed.
Day 14. Beast Tide escalation. Southern Perimeter collapse.
He stared at his own handwriting until the words felt heavier than the gravity pressing against BlueStar itself.
His father would be deployed there.
Fourteen days.
Black frost formed faintly around his fingers before he consciously suppressed it.
He could not break fate.
Not yet.
But if fate had already written the script—
He would begin editing it.
One decision at a time.
The Months of Doom had begun.