Rain hammered the rusty tin roof.
It had been raining since Nexar entered the place, and from the sound of it, it wasn't planning to stop anytime soon.
The room was small. Half diner, half repair shop. Old machines were stacked against one wall, while wires hung from the ceiling beside flickering lights. A few tables were occupied by people who looked like they had better places to be but didn't care enough to leave.
Nexar sat alone in the corner.
He had spent the last few minutes staring at the small device on the table.
It was a neural-link reader.
He had already disconnected it.
The information it had shown him was still running through his mind.
Gene modification.
Artificial evolution.
Monster cores.
Void-Rifts.
Military fleets fighting things that came from outside the solar system.
The more he learned, the stranger Earth became.
He had left Earth as a boy.
Now it felt like he had returned to another planet.
"You're staring at that thing like it insulted your mother."
The voice came from behind the counter.
Nexar looked up.
The owner was an old man with grey hair, a thick beard, and a mechanical left eye. The metal around the eye wasn't polished. It had scratches all over it, as if it had been repaired more times than he could remember.
His name was Garl.
At least, that's what the old man had told him.
"You've been sitting there for almost an hour," Garl said. "Either you're thinking very deeply, or you have no idea what's going on."
Nexar looked back at the device.
"Both."
Garl laughed.
"Fair enough."
He poured himself a drink and leaned against the counter.
"You aren't from around here."
Nexar didn't answer.
Garl's mechanical eye made a faint clicking sound as it focused on him.
"Don't worry. I'm not asking for your life story."
His gaze moved over Nexar's clothes.
The torn fabric.
The old scars.
The strange weapon and pieces of bone he carried.
"You just don't look like someone from New Raipur."
"I've been away for a while."
"How long?"
Nexar paused.
"Fifteen years."
Garl's expression changed slightly.
"That's a long time."
"It is."
There was no point explaining more.
Garl studied him for another few seconds.
"You smell like old stone."
Nexar frowned.
"Old stone?"
"And wet leaves."
Garl shrugged.
"Don't ask me how I know. I've spent enough years around monsters to recognize strange smells."
His mechanical eye moved toward the bone hanging from Nexar's side.
"And that isn't from anything around here."
Nexar glanced at it.
"No."
"What was it?"
"A creature."
"That much I figured."
Garl took another sip.
"You're going to the Valence Imperial Academy, aren't you?"
Nexar looked at him.
"Why?"
"Because everyone who walks through this part of the city carrying monster bones and looking completely lost is either heading there or running away from it."
Nexar almost smiled.
"What's the academy?"
Garl stared at him.
"You really have been gone for a long time."
He pulled a chair over and sat down.
"The Valence Imperial Academy is one of the major academies in this region. If you want a proper future, that's one of the places people aim for."
"Future?"
"Power. Training. Connections. Military positions. Guild positions. Research. Depends on what you're good at."
Garl scratched his beard.
"Of course, the people with money already have a head start."
Nexar remained silent.
Garl continued.
"Most people here have modified genes. Some naturally. Some artificially. Gene Points determine how far they've evolved. Then there are Auras, combat abilities, special bloodlines..."
He shook his head.
"Too much to explain over one drink."
Nexar looked toward the rain outside.
"So everyone is modifying themselves."
"Pretty much."
"Why?"
Garl gave him a strange look.
"Because the world is dangerous."
That answer was simple.
But Nexar understood it.
Garl continued.
"Void-Rifts opened across the planet decades ago. Monsters came through. Some people adapted. Some didn't. Humanity started changing itself to survive."
He pointed at Nexar.
"You, however..."
He paused.
"You don't have any of that."
Nexar didn't respond.
"You'll be placed in the Unclassified bracket."
"What does that mean?"
"It means the system doesn't know what to do with you."
That actually caught Nexar's attention.
Garl smiled.
"Welcome to the club."
Nexar stood.
"How do I register?"
"Three blocks east. Follow the blue signs."
Nexar reached into his pocket.
He placed several silver mana-tokens on the table.
Garl looked at them.
"Where did you get these?"
"Found them."
Garl looked at Nexar.
"Of course you did."
He pushed two tokens back.
"That's too much."
Nexar picked them up.
"Thanks."
"Don't thank me yet."
Garl pointed toward the door.
"Registration grounds are crowded today. They'll test physical force, gene stability, and combat reaction."
"That's all?"
Garl laughed.
"For you? Probably not."
Nexar stepped outside.
The rain hit his face immediately.
New Raipur stretched before him.
It wasn't the city he remembered.
Magnetic rails ran above the streets, carrying silent trains between towers. Holographic advertisements floated above buildings. Small drones moved between them, delivering packages.
One billboard advertised gene-refinement serum.
Another showed a group of soldiers boarding a massive spacecraft.
JOIN THE DEEP-SPACE WAR FLEET.
Nexar stared at it for a moment.
Fifteen years.
That was all it had taken.
He walked on.
A street vendor caught his attention.
The smell was unfamiliar, but not unpleasant.
Nexar bought two skewers.
He took a bite.
His Third Eye activated instinctively.
The information appeared in his mind.
Processed marsh-boar meat.
Synthetic binder.
Earth Qi contaminated with sulfur.
Moderate protein.
High sodium.
Minor toxicity.
Nexar stopped chewing.
He looked at the skewer.
"Even food changed."
A man passing by looked at him strangely.
Nexar continued eating.
A few minutes later, he reached the registration grounds.
There were hundreds of people waiting.
Most were young.
Some wore expensive clothes.
Others had guild symbols stitched into their jackets.
Nexar stood near the back.
A boy a few places ahead was talking loudly.
"My father already paid the academy admission contribution."
His friends laughed.
The boy was tall, well dressed, and clearly enjoying the attention.
Nexar didn't care.
Until the boy stepped forward for testing.
"Julian Vance."
The examiner looked at the scanner.
"Gene Points: 142."
A few people reacted.
Julian smiled.
"Primary Aura?"
"Gale-Force Aura."
The examiner nodded.
"Artificially boosted?"
"Yes."
The examiner looked at him again.
"Your physical density is above average."
Julian grinned.
"House Vance doesn't waste money."
Nexar watched him.
His Third Eye quietly opened.
The information was different from the academy scanner.
Julian's body was strong.
Dense.
His muscles had been enhanced.
But something underneath was wrong.
His core was unstable.
The power wasn't properly integrated into his body.
Nexar looked away.
Then someone else stepped forward.
"Maria Joy."
The reaction was immediate.
People around the line became quieter.
A girl walked toward the testing pillar.
She wasn't dressed like Julian.
No expensive uniform.
No family insignia.
There was a scar running along one side of her face.
She stopped in front of the Kinetic Compression Pillar.
The examiner checked her data.
"Gene Points: 310."
The crowd became louder.
"Naturally absorbed," the examiner added.
That got even more attention.
Maria didn't react.
"Aura?"
"Flame-Serrated."
The examiner looked at the next reading.
"Bone density: 3.2 times normal."
Maria cracked her knuckles.
"Enough talking."
She punched the pillar.
THUD!
The number jumped.
2,800 KG.
The crowd went silent.
Maria stepped away.
Nexar watched her carefully.
Her strength wasn't just genetic.
There was something inside her body storing energy.
A reservoir.
Plasma-like.
Her bones were strong enough to handle forces that would break a normal person's body.
She had evolved.
Not naturally in the way Nexar understood evolution.
Humanity had forced itself forward.
Nexar looked down at his own hand.
His strength came from somewhere else.
The Manipura Chakra.
The Third Eye.
And something else.
Something he still didn't understand.
A cold, pitch-black mist seemed to sleep deep inside his veins.
He had felt it before.
He simply hadn't figured out what it was.
"Nexar."
The examiner's voice brought him back.
He walked forward.
The examiner didn't look impressed.
"Name, Gene-Rank, and state your primary capability."
"Nexar."
The examiner waited.
"And?"
"Unclassified."
A few people laughed.
The examiner sighed.
"Fine. Place your hand on the pillar."
Nexar did.
"Use your full strength."
Nexar looked at the pillar.
Full strength?
Not here.
He didn't know this world yet.
He didn't know these people.
And he definitely wasn't going to show a stranger everything he could do.
He pulled his fist back.
Then punched.
THUD.
The number appeared.
382 KG.
Someone laughed.
"That's it?"
Another voice came from the crowd.
"Even my little brother can hit harder."
Nexar ignored them.
The examiner shook his head.
"Minimum passing force is five hundred kilograms."
Nexar turned away.
He hadn't failed because he was weak.
He had simply chosen not to show them his strength.
But someone had noticed.
Maria Joy.
She was standing several meters away, looking directly at him.
Her expression hadn't changed.
But her eyes had.
She knew.
Nexar moved toward the next test.
The reaction test consisted of twenty targets appearing randomly across a holographic field.
Julian went first.
He completed eighteen.
"Good result."
Julian smiled.
Then looked toward Nexar.
"Let's see what the unclassified guy does."
Nexar stepped into the field.
The targets appeared.
One.
Three.
Seven.
Eleven.
He didn't move immediately.
He watched.
There was a pattern.
Not obvious.
But it was there.
His Third Eye opened.
The movement of each target became easier to understand.
Nexar didn't chase them.
He waited for them.
One by one, his hand moved.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
The targets disappeared.
The final one appeared behind him.
Nexar turned and touched it.
20/20.
The timer still had several seconds left.
The examiner stared at the screen.
Julian's smile disappeared.
Maria looked interested.
Nexar stepped out.
Then came the genetic scanner.
This time, the examiner looked more confident.
He placed the scanner against Nexar's arm.
The machine activated.
Numbers appeared.
Then disappeared.
The examiner frowned.
"Zero."
He checked again.
"Gene Points: 0."
A few people laughed.
The examiner continued reading.
"No genetic modification."
Pause.
"No Aura pathway."
He looked at Nexar.
"What are you?"
Nexar shrugged.
"Human."
The scanner suddenly began making a strange noise.
WARNING.
The examiner stepped back.
The screen flickered.
FOREIGN ENERGY DETECTED.
Everyone became quiet.
The examiner stared at the machine.
"What?"
The scanner restarted.
The warning disappeared.
Then it appeared again.
FOREIGN ENERGY DETECTED.
The machine shut itself down.
Nexar looked toward the ground.
His Third Eye opened.
There it was.
That golden thread.
Deep beneath New Raipur.
It pulsed once.
The same energy he had felt inside the ancient shrine.
The same energy that had awakened his Manipura Chakra.
Nexar's expression hardened.
It's here too.
He didn't know what it was.
But now he was certain.
Sector 0 wasn't the only place connected to it.
"Nexar."
He looked up.
The examiner was holding a temporary identification card.
"You're accepted."
"Where?"
"Unclassified bracket."
Nexar took the card.
"Combat phase begins shortly."
He nodded.
As he turned away, another screen lit up.
COMBAT MATCH GENERATED
NEXAR LUKE
VS
JULIAN VANCE
Julian looked at the screen.
Then at Nexar.
His expression changed into a smile.
This one wasn't friendly.
"So you're my opponent."
Nexar looked at him.
Julian cracked his fingers.
"You should've just admitted you were weak."
Nexar said nothing.
He simply walked past him.
Behind the walls of the registration facility, a security system continued processing Nexar's data.
The same warning appeared again.
UNKNOWN ENERGY SIGNATURE
STATUS: CONFIRMED
SUBJECT: NEXAR LUKE
Far beneath New Raipur, something answered.
A pulse travelled through the darkness.
And for a moment, the golden thread beneath the city became brighter.
Nexar stopped walking.
He couldn't explain why.
But he had the strange feeling that something had just noticed him.
Not the academy.
Not Julian.
Something much older.
Something that had been waiting.
And Nexar had just come back.