*[AWAKENING COMPLETE]*
*[SYSTEM SYNCING…]*
*[NAME: KEV]*
*[CORE ABILITY: CELL CONTROL (Magic)]*
*[LEVEL: NULL]*
*[SKILLS: CELL CONTROL (Magic)]*
*[EQUIPMENT COMPATIBILITY: NULL]*
*[SECONDARY TRAITS: NULL]*
Kev stared at the glowing panel floating in front of his eyes, barely breathing.
A *Magic-ranked ability*.
Something rare. Respected. *Powerful.*
It had to be enough.
He looked down at *Lira*, sitting on the stone curb near the Gate station, legs pulled into her chest. She looked up and smiled weakly.
"You think they'll take us now?" she asked.
Kev forced a nod. "They have to."
The *Koran Clan* ruled *Noctera*. They controlled the major Gates, trained elite fighters, and took in awakened kids with talent.
If he got through, they'd notice him. Maybe take him in. And if he proved himself, he could bring Lira along. A future — safety — something better than scrounging for leftovers and hiding from patrols.
He stepped into the Gate scanner.
The system scanned his body.
The Gate pulsed once… then flashed red.
*[ENTRY DENIED — LEVEL: NULL | COMPATIBILITY: NULL]*
*"Applicant not authorized for Axis Entry."*
Kev stared, stunned.
"I'm awakened," he said quietly.
The guard didn't care. "Try again next year — if you live that long."
***
They walked back in silence. The sun had set. The rooftops were cold.
Kev and Lira lay close beneath a patched blanket inside their abandoned shack.
She didn't speak for a while. Then:
"Kev… what if you never get in? What if… you have to go through dreams?"
Kev's heart clenched.
The *dream realm* — the second way into the *Axis*.It is a must to go there once one is already 14. But it was wild, unstable, and completely random. You didn't choose where you went. You didn't even always come back.
"I won't," he said softly. "I'll find another Gate. One that works."
But they both knew the truth.
Lira leaned into his chest. "Don't go to sleep yet…"
"I'm not."
But he was tired.
So tired.
And before he knew it—
Darkness took him.
***
When Kev opened his eyes, he stood in a realm of *shadows*.
The sky was endless and dark, swirling with cold wind. The ground cracked beneath his feet. Black mist drifted across the plains, alive, watching.
A message blinked before him:
[You have entered the Realm of Hollow Echoes]*
Then another:
The shadows responded to him — curled around his feet, climbed his arms, and bent to his will.
He raised a hand.
They moved.
He felt fear… but deeper than that, something else: