The platform descended.
Slow. Deliberate.
Like it wanted Aiden to feel every second of attention.
Hundreds of eyes followed him as the chairs settled back onto the floor. Instructors. Evaluators. Rankers who could kill him without raising their voices.
Aiden stood before they told him to.
Bad move.
Several auras flared instantly.
The woman with the A-7 tag smirked. "Bold."
Aiden shrugged. "Habit."
The S-1 didn't react. He simply gestured, and the hall shifted.
The walls peeled apart, revealing a massive projection suspended in the air.
Names.
Ranks.
Floors cleared.
Deaths.
Aiden spotted familiar tags.
Some students from earlier floors.
Some… greyed out.
Dead.
"This," the S-1 said, "is the Active Progress Board."
The System chimed, restrained.
[NOTICE: USER ACCESS — READ ONLY]
"You were hidden from it," the woman continued. "An error suppression measure."
She tapped her finger on the armrest.
"That suppression is gone."
A new entry appeared at the bottom of the board.
AIDEN VALE — RANK: E-0 — STATUS: ANOMALY
The room stirred.
Whispers cut through the air.
"E-0?"
"Never seen that."
"Why anomaly?"
"He survived a Warden—"
Aiden felt the pressure settle on him like a physical weight.
Good.
Let them look.
The S-1 spoke again.
"Orientation usually explains rules," he said. "You don't get that luxury."
The projection zoomed in—locking onto Aiden's name.
"You will be placed into the Provisional Track."
The woman smiled wider. "Also known as the Condemned Route."
Aiden raised an eyebrow. "Catchy."
"It means," she continued, "you will be deployed into situations designed to either correct anomalies—"
Her eyes hardened.
"—or erase them."
The System flickered.
[NOTICE: PROVISIONAL TRACK UNLOCKED]
[WARNING: FAILURE RATE — 92%]
Aiden let out a low whistle. "Those odds include me?"
The woman leaned forward. "They do now."
A door opened behind him.
Heavy. Reinforced.
Beyond it—darkness.
Aiden felt something familiar stir in his chest. Not fear.
Focus.
The S-1 stood.
"Your first assignment begins immediately."
The projection shifted again.
[ASSIGNMENT: PROVISIONAL TRIAL 01]
[LOCATION: ACADEMY LOWER RING — SECTOR BLACK]
[OBJECTIVE: SURVIVE 24 HOURS]
[SECONDARY: NONE]
Aiden's jaw tightened.
No secondary meant no rescue.
No extraction.
The woman added casually, "You'll be sharing the sector."
A new list appeared.
ENTITIES DEPLOYED: 7
CLASSIFICATION: PROVISIONAL FAILURES
Aiden felt the mark on his chest pulse once.
Failures.
People who didn't make it.
Or monsters that used to be.
He turned toward the door.
"Anything else?" he asked.
The S-1's voice dropped.
"One thing."
Aiden paused.
"If you die in Sector Black," the man said, "the System will not correct the error this time."
Aiden smiled—slow and sharp.
"Then it better keep watching."
He stepped through the door.
It slammed shut behind him.
The System whispered, almost eager:
[PROVISIONAL TRIAL — START]
Darkness swallowed him.
And something inside it moved.