LightReader

Chapter 3 - Chapter 3: The Zero Test and the Siphon

The Chamber of Aptitude was built of solid obsidian, and walking into it felt like stepping into the cold, silent heart of a cosmic engine. Kenji sat in the center of the vast room, sinking into the smooth, black metal chair. Professor Valerius, a woman whose demeanor was as sharp and uncompromising as the crystalline array surrounding him, initiated the scan.

"The MNA is designed to measure power, Mr. Tanaka," she announced, her voice echoing with a low, authoritative resonance. "In your case, we measure the absence of it."

The crystals flared, bathing Kenji in a brilliant, invasive light. He felt an intense, high-frequency vibration, like a tuning fork resonating directly through his bones. On the floor around him, a massive, illuminated diagram of energy fluctuations sputtered, then went completely flat.

Leo, watching from the entrance, whispered in disbelief, "The T-E output is a perfect zero. He's a Total Null. It's not passive; it's absolute."

Valerius watched the console, her golden eyes narrowed. Every single metric—from Dimensional Phase Density to Ambient Energy Manipulation—registered nothing. Kenji wasn't just powerless; he was a singularity of non-energy.

"Impossible," Valerius murmured, adjusting the final setting: the Core Signature Projection. This test was meant to pull even the most deeply hidden, inherent ability into a measurable form.

The lights intensified to a blinding white. When they cut out, the profound silence was broken only by the hum of cooling crystals. The console displayed the final result. It wasn't a symbol of elemental control or psychic force. It was a tiny, perfectly rendered graphic: a single slice of toasted, slightly burned bread.

A genuine, loud bark of laughter escaped Rylan. "A metaphor! He's the essence of average, codified! He's the 'Just Okay' anomaly!"

Kenji wanted to evaporate. He was officially a joke.

Valerius, however, did not laugh. She walked over to his side, her expression severe, and produced a plain wooden box. "In the Multiversal Nexus, Mr. Tanaka, a perfect void is the most volatile kind of object. The universe abhors a vacuum."

She opened the box and lifted out a Siphon Watch. It was sleek, made of a dark, cold metal, and the face was a featureless circle of black obsidian.

"This is the Null's Anchor," she explained, fastening it onto Kenji's wrist next to his stabilizer bracelet. "You cannot create energy. But because you are a perfect, non-resistant void, your anomaly acts as a passive sponge. The Siphon Watch is programmed to exploit that: it allows you to instantly absorb the inert, spent residue of any localized energy used near you."

She stepped back and fixed him with a challenging glare. "You are not a fighter, but a counter-fighter. The enemy's power will become your limited, delayed weapon."

As if on cue, Rylan, still buzzing with energy, accidentally let a small, residual pulse of Kinetic force slip from his hand, creating a barely visible ripple in the air beside Kenji. Kenji, startled, instinctively tapped the face of his new watch.

The obsidian dial immediately sparked to life. A faint, miniature blue flare—the exact color of Rylan's power—appeared for a second, then vanished.

"There is your first echo," Valerius stated, satisfied. "You are the recipient of borrowed time and borrowed power. Now, get to your dorm. You have much to learn about how to use your new weakness."

More Chapters