Chapter 1) The Day We Burned for Power
They call it Burning Day.
Once a year, the sky bleeds from blue into a deep violet haze. The ground hums with heat, like the world itself is holding its breath.
It's the day every seventeen-year-old in the Zone awakens their system. The day the world decides who you're allowed to be.
For me, Cael Dray, it was supposed to be the day I stepped out of the shadows and into my life. Maybe I wanted power, fine, I did, but more than that, I wanted to matter.
We stood in the plaza, the seven of us. Shoulder to shoulder. Laughing, but only to hide the fact that our guts were tying themselves into knots.
"Think I'll get Warrior Class," Kien grinned, flexing like an idiot. "Something with dual swords and a cape."
"You? More like 'Support-Type: Complains Constantly,'" Leyra shot back, smirking.
We laughed. I laughed too. But my heart was thudding so hard I could feel it in my teeth.
In the Zone, you aren't born with a system. You earn it. Or rather, it chooses you. The ritual begins, the Archons call your name, and the light descends. Everyone gets something. Always.
Or so I thought.
The dome over the central square blazed like the inside of a sun. Archons in white and silver lined the platform, unmoving, their faces unreadable. Thousands of us filled the plaza, waiting.
"Leyra Misual. Step forward."
She walked into the beam like she owned it. Light swallowed her. The crowd held its breath.
"System Granted: Shadowhunter. Stealth-Type."
Cheers. Applause. Even strangers clapped for you on Burning Day. That was the rule.
Kien got Warrior-Class: Blade Dancer.
Marn: Spellbinder.
Elen: Beast Whisperer.
Every time, light. Power. A new life.
Then…
"Cael Dray. Step forward."
My legs moved on their own. My pulse was thunder.
The beam wrapped around me like warm silk. The air shimmered. I waited for the words, for the world to change,
Instead…
[ERROR: SYSTEM CORRUPTED]
[RETRYING…]
[RETRY FAILED]
[CRITICAL FAILURE: CORE DAMAGED]
Then… nothing.
The silence hit harder than a shout.
"Did it… break?" someone whispered.
"Is that possible?"
"Guess he's the first."
Laughter bubbled up around me. First a few. Then more. Then everyone.
Even Kien. Even Leyra.
My friends didn't meet my eyes. They just… walked away.
Something inside me cracked.
When the crowd thinned, I was still standing there, alone under the dying light, while everyone else marched toward their new destiny.
No one came to find me. Not at the square. Not at home.
That night, I wandered into the rain. Cold. Empty. My thoughts chasing themselves into darker places.
That's when they came.
Seven of them. Grinning like they were doing me a favor by noticing me at all.
"No system, no worth," one said.
"Pathetic trash," another spat.
I should've stayed quiet. But I didn't.
"If I had my system…" I said, voice low, "…I'd tear you apart."
The words froze them for a heartbeat. Then the boots came. The fists. The taste of blood.
By the time they left, I couldn't move.
I lay in the gutter, rain blurring the streetlights above me, when it happened.
A voice. Cold. Metallic.
[SYSTEM DETECTED…]
[COMPATIBLE HOST FOUND.]
[ACTIVATING: INITIATION SEQUENCE.]
I sucked in a ragged breath.
[Condition triggered: HUMILIATION.]
[+1 Strength.]
[Connection Stabilized.]
[Welcome, Designation: Reserve Unit #000.]
Reserve…?
[You are not the Chosen.]
[You grow through failure, loss, and pain.]
[System Type: Reactive Failure-Based Progression.]
[Path: Broken Ascension.]
Then…
[Skill Unlocked: Endurance of the Fallen Lv.1]
[+10% Pain Resistance. Activates on severe emotional distress.]
I laughed. Bitter. Wet with rain and blood.
Not a gift. Not a blessing.
But a weapon.
One I'd drag through the dirt until the day I buried it in their throats.
One day, they'll all kneel. And I'll be the one looking down.