The silence after the monster's collapse was deafening.
Kairis sat there on his knees, chest heaving, blood soaking through his torn shirt. His knife lay on the dirt beside him, its faint glow slowly fading. For a moment, he thought he was hallucinating—maybe the exhaustion, the blood loss, maybe trauma finally snapping his mind.
Then it happened.
A line of light shimmered before his eyes, as if written across the air itself.
> [You have slain a Lesser Aberrant.]
[Dark Matter Resonance detected.]
[Initializing… Awakening Sequence…]
Kairis froze, staring as more words burned into his vision.
> [System Protocols established.]
[Welcome, Kairis Valmont.]
[Title acquired: Survivor of First Blood.]
[Skill awakened: Graviton Edge.]
His breath caught. The letters weren't ink, weren't light—they were something deeper, etched into his very mind. He blinked, but they stayed.
And then the pain came.
It wasn't the wound on his shoulder—it was deeper, a pressure in his skull, like invisible fingers prying it open. He grabbed his head, teeth clenched, but didn't cry out. He couldn't let his siblings hear.
When it finally eased, another screen slid across his vision:
[STATUS SCREEN]
Name: Kairis Valmont
Age: 21
Level: 1
HP: 47 / 60
Stamina: 22 / 40
Dark Matter Affinity: 8%
Attributes:
Strength: 8
Agility: 9
Endurance: 7
Perception: 10
Willpower: 14
Skills:
Graviton Edge (Lv.1) → A blade infused with gravitational distortion. Cuts with increased weight, bending force and space on contact.
Titles:
Survivor of First Blood → You stood against an Aberrant when all should have fallen. Willpower +2.
Kairis's hands trembled, not from fear this time, but from something heavier. Responsibility. Power. Reality shifting.
He whispered under his breath, almost afraid his voice would break the illusion:
"…A system?"
It didn't answer, not with words—only with the faint hum of presence inside his mind, like a waiting machine.
He pushed himself to his feet, wincing as his shoulder flared with pain. He couldn't sit here staring. His siblings were inside. Hungry. Thirsty. Depending on him.
So he moved.
The streets were silent, but broken—windows shattered, blood trails painting the dirt. He searched, keeping his knife close. His body ached, but his mind was sharper now, as though the system had carved away some of his hesitation.
Inside a half-collapsed store, he found it: bottled water scattered behind the counter, a sack of old bread and canned food overturned. His hands shook as he gathered everything into his arms. Food. Actual food. Enough to last a few days if they rationed.
On the way back, he saw shadows move in the distance—too far to threaten, but enough to remind him: the monsters hadn't gone. This was just the beginning.
When he returned to the house, his siblings ran to him. His sister's hands clutched the sack immediately, relief softening her tired face. His little brother tried to smile, though his lips quivered.
Kairis forced a small smile back, setting everything down.
"Eat slowly. We don't know when we'll find more."
They nodded.
Only after they ate did Kairis sit alone by the corner, the faint glow of the system still hovering in his vision. He reached out—not with his hands, but with thought—and the screen shifted instantly, like it had been waiting.
[Main Menu]
Status
Skills
Inventory
Titles
Map [Locked]
Quests [Initializing…]
He scrolled through each one, his heartbeat steady now. This wasn't just survival. It was structure. A path. Something no human had before.
And as he stared at the skill "Graviton Edge," he felt it—a weight deep inside his chest, a gravity not his own. He had power now. Not enough, maybe. Not compared to what was out there. But enough to fight. Enough to protect.
His eyes dimmed back to their usual brown-black, the purple glow fading as exhaustion pulled at him. But before he closed them, he made a silent promise.
"I'll never let them die… not while I'm still breathing."
The system pulsed in his vision, almost like it heard him.
> [Quest unlocked: The Protector's Path.]
Survive the first seven nights.
Reward: Unknown.