The city rose from the horizon like a mirage carved out of iron and glass. Its walls stretched high, shimmering faintly beneath the violet sky. Great towers spiraled upward, their surfaces lined with veins of light that pulsed like living veins. At the gates, guards in silver armor inspected every traveler that came through.
Aiden and Lira joined the line at the entrance. The people around them wore equipment far beyond anything Aiden had ever seen. Weapons made of crystal alloys. Armor that hummed softly with energy. Some even had mechanical familiars hovering beside them like loyal shadows.
"Welcome to Ares," Lira said quietly. "The last safe zone on this continent. Everything beyond those walls belongs to the rifts."
Aiden nodded but said nothing. He was still trying to make sense of where he was. This world felt alive, like an extension of the rifts themselves, yet it was organized, structured. The people here looked hardened, accustomed to surviving in chaos.
When their turn came, a guard scanned them with a wrist-mounted device. A beam of blue light passed over Aiden. The guard frowned.
"Identification?"
Lira handed over a silver tag. "Lira Kane. Raider, B-Class. Escorting a stray transfer."
The guard's eyes shifted to Aiden. "Transfer?"
"Pulled through a rift," Lira said. "No record."
The guard sighed. "Fine. He'll need a temporary pass. Take him to Registration after entry."
They were let through.
The moment they crossed the gate, Aiden felt a pressure lift from his chest. Inside the city, the air was clearer, cleaner. Streets stretched in neat patterns. Floating screens displayed raid announcements, trade posts, bounty reports, and lists of monsters sighted outside the barrier.
The people moved with purpose. Raiders in uniformed guild colors patrolled the main streets. Vendors shouted about potion discounts and relic repairs. The scent of grilled meat filled the air. For the first time in years, Aiden felt like he had stepped into a place that wasn't dying.
Lira led him through the crowd. "You'll need a license to stay here," she said. "The Registration Hall can give you one, but they'll test your combat level first."
He frowned. "Test?"
She gave him a small smile. "Don't worry. If you survived the Outer Field, you'll pass easily."
The Registration Hall was a tall white building lined with rune stones that glowed faintly under the light. Inside, rows of people waited for their turn in front of crystal terminals. Holographic assistants floated between them, scanning data and updating records.
Lira spoke to a clerk, then motioned for Aiden to follow. "They'll assign you a test room. Just show them what you can do."
He followed her to a large chamber where a cube-shaped device hovered in the center. The walls were smooth and reinforced, clearly designed to contain explosions. The clerk adjusted his glasses. "Name?"
"Aiden Cross."
"New arrival. No record in the system. Understood." The clerk typed something into his console. "You'll face a simulation of an average C-Class beast. Survive for sixty seconds."
Aiden nodded.
The cube in the room lit up. A projection formed, an armored beast twice his size, its body glowing with lines of crimson energy. It roared, shaking the floor.
Aiden tightened his grip on his sword. The sound of his heartbeat filled his ears. The creature charged. He waited until the last possible moment, then stepped aside, swinging in a clean arc that tore through its chest.
The beast dissolved instantly. The simulation ended in less than five seconds.
The clerk's mouth hung open. "That was… unexpected." He checked his tablet. "The system failed to calculate your level. It can't measure your mana or stat limits."
Lira smirked. "Told you he was strong."
The clerk nodded slowly. "We'll classify you as S-Rank provisional until further evaluation. Welcome to the Raider Registry, Mr. Cross."
Aiden accepted the identification tag. It was made of silver and pulsed faintly with light when he touched it. He couldn't help staring at it for a moment. All those years being the weakest, ignored and looked down on and now, suddenly, the system that once rejected him couldn't even define him.
As they stepped outside, Lira glanced at him. "You handled that like it was nothing."
"I just reacted," he said quietly. "Didn't even think."
She studied him for a moment. "You're different. I can feel it. When I fought beside you in the Outer Field, your presence was barely there. Now it's like standing next to a storm."
He looked down at his hands. They didn't tremble anymore. His breath was steady, his thoughts clear. The strength didn't feel borrowed. It felt like it had always been there, hidden beneath the surface.
Before he could reply, an explosion echoed in the distance. The ground shook. People screamed as alarms began to blare.
> Emergency Alert: Rift breach detected near Central District. All Raiders report for defense.
Lira cursed under her breath. "Not again. Come on."
They sprinted toward the source. Smoke rose from a plaza near the heart of the city. Cracks spread across the air itself, glowing with unstable energy. From within those cracks, creatures poured out, wolf-like beasts with black fur and glowing red eyes.
Raiders rushed to fight, their weapons flashing. Lira drew her twin blades, cutting through the first wave with practiced precision. Aiden followed, but something about this rift was wrong. The air shimmered like liquid, and the sound of static filled his ears.
Then the voice returned. The same one he had heard in the abyss.
"You cannot hide from what you've become."
His eyes widened. "You again."
> System override detected. Unknown entity attempting to establish link.
Pain shot through his skull. The world spun. For a moment, he saw flashes of something, ancient ruins, a throne of black stone, a figure chained in light.
When he blinked, he was back in the plaza, but the monsters had stopped moving. Every eye turned toward him. Their bodies trembled, as if something inside them recognized him.
The nearest beast whimpered and backed away.
Lira stared at him. "Aiden… what are you doing?"
"I don't know," he said, his voice shaking. "I didn't do anything."
The system window flickered again, glowing brighter than before.
> Skill activated: Dominion Instinct
Description: Subconscious projection of superiority over lesser beings. Entities recognize you as the higher form of life.
The monsters knelt.
Aiden's pulse quickened. He took a step back. This wasn't power, it was something deeper, something ancient. The other Raiders froze in disbelief as the creatures bowed their heads.
Lira turned to him slowly. "Aiden… who are you?"
He looked around at the silent battlefield. Every monster that had poured from the rift now knelt before him, trembling.
He swallowed hard. "I don't know anymore."