Kael woke to rain tapping the dorm roof. It sounded normal enough, but his body didn't feel normal.
Every heartbeat hummed with mana. His hand glowed faintly even when he tried to keep it still.
Lucen was already up, pretending to read while keeping an obvious eye on him.
Ryn sat on the desk cleaning her spear.
"Morning," Kael said.
Lucen replied without looking up. "Still you?"
Kael flexed his fingers. "Mostly."
Ryn tossed him a small crystal. "If you start rewriting the furniture, aim outside first."
He caught it, smirked, but deep down he felt it—the faint tug under his skin, like threads pulling in directions that didn't belong to him.
---
Classes ran quiet that morning. News of the Deep Sync had already spread, though nobody knew details. Whispers followed him down every corridor.
"Draven."
"Division Zero."
"Copy boy."
He ignored most of it. Attention was the last thing he needed.
At lunch, Lucen leaned close. "You know half the nobles are betting on when you'll explode."
Kael poked at his stew. "Tell them to bet on never. Easier win."
Ryn grinned. "You assume they're rooting for you."
He shrugged. "If they hate me, at least they're united for once."
---
The day passed without incident—until training.
Instructor Calen called him out in front of the class. "Draven. Platform three."
Kael stepped forward, trying not to show the faint shimmer still crawling along his arm.
Calen tossed him a practice rod. "Today we test control, not power. No explosions."
Kael nodded. The rod hummed softly when his mana touched it. He took a breath and focused.
> System: Rewrite Threshold 1% active.
Stabilize or cancel?
He hesitated. Stabilize.
The world sharpened. Every color deepened. He could see faint trails of movement behind Calen's gestures, like the air itself remembered what it had just done.
Then the rod changed in his hand—slightly longer, balanced perfectly to his grip.
Calen's brow lifted. "Modified equipment?"
Kael blinked. "Didn't mean to."
Calen stared a moment longer, then said quietly, "Control it, or it will control you."
The session ended early.
---
After class, Lucen cornered him. "What happened to the rod? It looked different."
Kael lowered his voice. "Rewrite activated on its own. Adjusted the shape."
Ryn frowned. "So it edits reality now?"
"Maybe just mana structures. Physical things connected to my crest output."
Lucen groaned. "Fantastic. You're turning into a forge with anxiety."
Kael rubbed his temples. "Varrin warned it would evolve fast. I just didn't think this fast."
Ryn leaned on the railing. "You going to tell him?"
He shook his head. "Not yet. I want to see how deep it goes."
---
That night, he tested it.
He sat on the floor, drew a tiny spark of mana, and watched it dance above his palm. Then he whispered, "Change."
The spark split into two. Both hovered, synchronized perfectly.
> Rewrite Threshold + 2%.
Stability acceptable.
He tried again, this time focusing on memory—the image of the first Mimic he'd seen. For a moment, the spark shaped itself into a human outline before fading.
Sweat ran down his neck. The air smelled of iron.
> Warning: Neural fatigue 80%.
Recommend termination.
He stopped. The room tilted slightly.
Lucen's sleepy voice came from the bunk. "If you blow us up, I'm haunting you."
Kael managed a weak laugh. "Fair."
---
By morning, he wasn't the only one acting strange.
Three other students were missing from roll call.
Whispers said they'd collapsed during Crest training—mana distortion, no clear cause.
Kael's gut twisted. Rewrite Threshold. If his Crest was leaking resonance, maybe it was infecting others nearby.
He found Varrin after class. "Something's wrong. The Crests are resonating outside the chamber."
Varrin looked genuinely concerned for the first time. "How many?"
"Three that I know of."
Elara appeared at his side, already armed. "Containment sweep?"
Varrin nodded. "Now. Kael, with us."
They moved fast through the west wing. The first student lay unconscious near the mana conduit room, surrounded by flickering light. The air warped—thin ripples like heat haze.
Kael felt his own Crest pulse in response. "It's matching me."
Varrin shouted, "Disrupt the link before it stabilizes!"
Kael knelt beside the student, placed a hand on his arm, and let his own mana flow out—not to overpower, but to rewrite the pattern backward.
The ripples slowed, then stopped.
The student gasped, eyes snapping open.
> Rewrite Threshold + 3%.
External override success.
Kael sagged back, shaking. "I reversed it."
Elara stared. "You can rewrite other Crests?"
He didn't answer. He already knew the truth. He hadn't just copied the link—he'd taken it apart and rebuilt it.
Varrin's voice came low. "The Rewrite function isn't a weapon. It's control. Over everything."
Kael stood slowly. "Then whoever designed this never planned to share it."
Elara gave him a long look. "Someone's going to come for you now."
"I figured."
She crossed her arms. "You want advice?"
"Sure."
"Run before they decide they own you."
He gave a faint smile. "Too late. I think they already did."
---
That night, he couldn't sleep again. The rain still fell outside, steady and quiet.
He watched it through the window, the silver glow on his arm pulsing in time with every drop.
> Rewrite Threshold 6%.
Next phase pending.
He whispered to no one, "Let's see how far you'll go before you rewrite me too."