Kayden didn't go home right away.
He walked without direction, letting the city swallow him—crowded streets, passing trains overhead, the smell of rain clinging to concrete. The world moved as if nothing had happened. As if a gun hadn't gone off inches from his head. As if he hadn't seen the sky break.
But Kayden felt the crack inside him widening.
Every sound was too sharp.Every movement around him too defined.His senses had not returned to normal.
Something inside him was still awake.
By the time he reached his apartment door, dusk had settled. A faint orange glow painted the hallway. His fingers hovered over the handle.
For a moment… he was afraid to go inside.
Last time he stepped into this room, the system had whispered Commander like a prophecy he never asked for.
But he pushed the door open anyway.
The familiar quiet welcomed him—dim lights, an unmade bed, a half-eaten sandwich on the desk. Normalcy. The last trace of the life he used to live.
Kayden sat on the edge of his bed and buried his face in his hands.
His heartbeat finally began to slow—
Then the room went silent.
Not quiet.Silent.
The hum of the refrigerator.The traffic outside.The buzzing streetlight across the building.
All gone.
A soft vibration passed through the air, subtle but unmistakable.
Kayden lifted his head.
"No… not again…"
A faint circle of light formed in front of him—small at first, trembling like a dying ember.
Then it grew.
Slowly.Steadily.Purposefully.
The temperature in the room dropped.Shadows bent around the forming sphere.
Kayden's breath caught.
This wasn't like the weak, flickering connection from the train.
This felt deliberate.
Awakened.
Returned.
The hologram sharpened into a geometric shape—rotating layers of symbols he didn't recognize, each orbiting a central core of light.
Then—
A pulse.
And the system spoke.
Not broken.Not glitching.
Clear.Cold.Ancient.
"Commander Kayden Voss Arclight… synchronization complete."
Kayden's chest tightened.
The hologram expanded, unfolding panels of data around him like glowing pages.
APEX SYSTEM — ONLINEAccess Level: 1Stability: RestoredIdentity: VerifiedLineage Lock: Overridden (Temporary)
Kayden's mind spun.
"This… is real," he whispered. "All of this is real."
The system continued, its voice emotionless, resonant.
"Your neural patterns match the inherited command structure. Activation was inevitable."
Kayden looked up sharply.
"Inherited? What are you talking about?"
A pause—like the system was deciding how much truth he could handle.
"Classified. Access requires higher synchronization."
Kayden exhaled shakily, frustration rising.
"Then why me? Why activate at all?"
Another pause.
But this time, the answer felt heavier.
"Because the world has already begun to fracture."
A faint tremor rippled through the room.Kayden felt it in his ribs.
He swallowed. "The crack in the sky… was that part of it?"
The system dimmed for a second, almost like hesitation.
"A minor breach. More are coming."
A cold weight settled in Kayden's stomach.
The light panels rearranged, forming a vertical interface. A status window unfolded, lines of text carving themselves into existence.
Kayden recognized them immediately.
His status.
His metrics.
His reality.
OPERATOR STATUS PANEL
(Now fully activated — clean, stable, glowing with cold precision.)
COMBAT METRICSStrength: Level 0Endurance: Level 0Agility: Level 1Dexterity: Level 0Reflex Speed: Level 1
OPERATOR MIND INDEXIntelligence: Level 1Emotional Calmness: Level 0Decision Processing Speed: Level 0Focus Endurance: Level 0Psychological Resilience: Level 1
FIELD PROFICIENCY GRIDWeapon Handling Proficiency: 12%Close Combat Proficiency: 5%Reconnaissance Skill: 8%Engineering and Technical Skill: 3%Operational Efficiency: 7%
APEX ADAPTIVE POTENTIALSystem Synchronization Rate: 3%Anomaly Sensitivity: 0%Divergence Growth Potential: 1%Phoenix Recovery Potential: 2%
Console Comment:A new line appeared, calm and clinical:"Commander, baseline established.Progression will follow inevitably."
Kayden stared at the panel.
It wasn't impressive.He was weak. Slow. Barely trained.
Yet the system spoke to him as if he mattered—as if these numbers were the seed of something far larger.
His fingers trembled slightly as he reached toward the glowing interface. The moment his hand neared, the hologram pulsed gently, responding to him.
The system's voice softened—not friendly, not emotional, but… aware.
"You survived two activation events without guidance.Your potential is confirmed."
Kayden shook his head.
"I didn't do anything special."
The system's reply cut through the silence.
"You perceived what no one else could.You reacted when others froze.You moved before death reached you."
Kayden's gaze dropped to the floor.
"That was just instinct."
"Instinct," the system corrected, "is the foundation of a Commander."
The word settled heavily between them.
Commander.
A title he did not earn.A title he did not want.A title that somehow felt like a chain being placed around his life.
Kayden stood slowly, facing the hologram.
"…What happens now?"
The system answered immediately.
"Now, Kayden Voss Arclight… you begin."
The lights in the room flickered.
A surge of static rolled through the air, carrying with it a whisper of something vast—something beyond the city, beyond the sky, beyond comprehension.
The system projected a final line, glowing brighter than the rest.
MISSION 1 — Awaiting ManifestationTime Until Event: UnknownPrepare Yourself.
The hologram dimmed, leaving the room colder than before.
Kayden remained standing long after it faded, breathing quietly, staring at empty air.
Outside, night fully settled.
Somewhere far above the clouds…
Something stirred.
Watching.Remembering.Responding to the activation of a name lost to history:
Arclight.
Kayden closed his eyes.
His normal life was gone.
He wasn't sure what replaced it.
But the next signal…was coming.