The house was silent, except for the faint creak of the old wooden floors.Moonlight filtered through the tall windows of Crossfield Manor, falling in thin, silver beams across the study.Aiden sat at the large oak table, surrounded by scattered scrolls, books, and the faint scent of ink.
The events of the Assembly still lingered in his mind. The crystal had darkened, absorbing light instead of sparking.Aiden flexed his fingers slowly, feeling the pulse beneath his skin—the quiet heartbeat of something alive within him.The Origin System. He had yet to fully understand it, but it whispered, faintly, insistently.
He reached for the Crossfield family relic: a small rune-inscribed amulet, dull and faded from decades of neglect.Aiden's touch caused a soft vibration, subtle but unmistakable. The relic was responding—not to magic, not to bloodline, but to him.
He leaned closer, whispering softly. "Show me… what you are."
The room seemed to still, as if listening.A faint shimmer appeared in the air—a thin thread of silver light, twisting, coiling, almost alive.It led from his chest, where the Origin System pulsed beneath his ribcage, out toward the amulet.
Aiden's eyes widened. Threads. Invisible strands connecting the world around him. Not people as they appeared, but the energies, the Systems, the hidden motives that shaped them.
He traced a thread with a finger, following it across the table.It pulsed toward the open window, connecting to the street below, then splitting into hundreds of tiny, almost invisible threads, weaving through the city like a web.Aiden held his breath. So this is the world… every System, every life, every choice… linked.
He had read about something similar in his Earthly studies of neural networks and quantum entanglement.Here, it was alive. Tangible. Dangerous.
A sudden sound made him start."Curiosity at night again, Baron Crossfield?"
Aiden turned sharply. His uncle, a wiry man with sharp eyes and a bitter expression, stood in the doorway."You think playing with relics and scrolls will make you a real noble?" the uncle sneered."The family is already dying. If you fail in public… our house may crumble entirely."
Aiden did not flinch. "And if I succeed?" he asked.
His uncle's lips twitched. "Then perhaps… perhaps there is hope. But don't fool yourself. Hope alone won't save you."
Aiden returned to the amulet, ignoring him. Threads continued to flow, now stretching further, linking people across Arven.He saw the young nobles at the Assembly, their aura faintly glowing. Thane Arkwright's thread pulsed strong and direct—powerful, simple, like raw strength.Seline Morvant's thread shimmered with intricate patterns, twisting unpredictably like a living prophecy.Erasmus Vale… sharp, calculating, barely visible—a network of threads that seemed to observe and analyze everything.
And me? Aiden traced his own thread back to his chest. The Origin System pulsed in response, stretching a single silver filament that seemed to hum with potential.It was small, weak for now, but it responded to intent, curiosity, even emotion.
He realized something terrifying and exhilarating at the same time: his System was not limited to conventional rules.It could reach, connect, even influence. But the consequences were unknown.
Hours passed as he experimented. A thread led to a servant passing silently in the corridor. Another led to a candle, flickering faintly, responding to his focus.The more he concentrated, the more threads appeared. Hints of power… hints of danger.
A sudden cold wind blew through the open window.Aiden shivered as a strange thought crossed his mind: the threads were not confined to this house, or even this kingdom.Hints of other lives, other worlds, other choices flickered along the edges of his vision.
Multiverse… perhaps that is the true nature of Systems.
A soft knock at the door startled him."Baron? It is late. Shouldn't you rest?" A gentle female voice said.
Aiden turned. Lira Veylan stood there, her staff in hand, eyes glowing faintly in the moonlight."What are you doing here?" he asked, cautious but curious.
"I could ask the same," she said, stepping inside without waiting. "I sensed something… unusual tonight. You may not realize it, but the Assembly was more than a test. People are watching you. Some wish you to fail. Others… wish to see what you truly are."
Aiden gestured toward the threads floating in the room. "I… I think my System is different."
Lira studied the filaments carefully, tilting her head. "Different… yes. Dangerous, perhaps. Few are born with such a thread that connects to everything… or nothing at all. You should be careful."
Aiden's pulse quickened. He had questions, hundreds of them. But one dominated: Why me?
Lira stepped closer, her eyes scanning the threads. "Because you are not just a noble of a dying house," she said softly. "You may be the key… to something older than this kingdom, older than these empires, older than even the Systems themselves."
The words struck him. Older than empires… older than Systems… could it be true? Could his Origin System really be something that defied even this world's rules?
"You should not test it alone," Lira said, glancing at the amulet. "The threads… they may guide you, but they may also expose you to those who would use you… or destroy you."
Aiden swallowed. "And yet I must. If I am to survive… I must understand it. Even if it kills me."
Lira nodded slowly. "Then I will watch. From a distance, for now. But remember—every action, every choice, every experiment leaves a mark. The world notices, and not all eyes are friendly."
Aiden exhaled and focused on the threads again.He could see more now: faint pulses leading across the city, faint glimmers in the palace, the markets, even distant streets where minor houses dwelled.Each thread carried information, emotion, intent, and sometimes… malice.
Hours turned to early morning. The threads slowly faded as sleep tugged at him, but one remained—a single silver filament pulsing from his chest to the amulet.
A whisper echoed in his mind, faint but insistent:
"Learn. Watch. Pull the threads. Your time is coming."
Aiden smiled faintly, despite exhaustion.The Origin System had awakened subtly tonight. A small step, but a beginning.Tomorrow, he would continue to explore, to experiment, to understand.And somewhere in the shadows of Arven, forces he could not yet see had begun to take notice.
For the first time since his rebirth, he felt… alive.