The plaza of the Virelios Academy Assessment Hall was silent.
Not the calm kind of silence, but the kind that pressed down on the chest, thick with judgment and expectation. Thousands of young candidates stood in ordered rows beneath towering white pylons etched with glowing runes—the physical manifestations of the World System. Every rune pulsed faintly, synchronized with the heartbeat of the world itself.
This was the moment that decided everything.
For most, awakening day marked the beginning of their ascent. A class, a path, a future recognized and sanctioned by the System. Power followed structure. Structure followed law. And law was enforced by the Academy.
At the center of the plaza, a massive translucent screen shimmered to life.
[System Evaluation: Final Phase]
Names began to scroll.
Gasps echoed as golden and silver classifications appeared—Combat-Type, Support-Type, High-Compatibility. Each designation carried weight. Privileges. Protection.
Kael Noctis stood among the lowest-ranked candidates, his hands clenched at his sides, eyes fixed forward.
He had waited sixteen years for this day.
Sixteen years of being told to endure. To be patient. To trust the System.
Sixteen years of believing that if he followed the rules, the world would eventually recognize him.
"Candidate Noctis, Kael."
His name rang out, amplified by System authority.
Kael stepped forward.
The ground beneath his feet responded instantly, a circular platform of light rising to lift him above the crowd. Thousands of eyes turned toward him—some curious, most indifferent, a few openly disdainful.
A crystalline orb descended from above, hovering inches from his chest. It spun slowly, scanning him, layers of data cascading invisibly through the System's omnipresent network.
Seconds passed.
Then more.
A murmur spread through the plaza.
"That's taking too long…"
"Is it lagging?"
"No, the System never lags."
The instructors at the edge of the platform exchanged glances. One of them—a tall man in Academy black with silver insignia—frowned.
Finally, the screen updated.
[System Scan Result: Inconclusive]
Silence shattered into whispers.
"Inconclusive?"
"That's impossible."
The instructor raised his hand, and the noise died instantly.
"Candidate Kael Noctis," he said, voice flat. "Remain still."
The orb pulsed brighter.
Then—
[Error Detected]
The words flashed in stark red.
Kael's heart dropped.
Errors didn't happen. The System governed reality itself. It defined existence, power, and potential. To receive an error was to be… wrong.
A second message followed.
[System Status: No Compatible Authority Found]
The plaza erupted.
"No authority?"
"Does that mean—"
"System-less?!"
Kael's ears rang. His vision tunneled as the weight of those words crashed down on him. No authority meant no class, no path, no future within the System's structure.
It meant worthless.
The instructor's expression hardened.
"Candidate Kael Noctis," he announced, loud enough for all to hear, "has failed to awaken a recognized System Authority."
A pause.
"Classification: Null-Compatible."
The platform beneath Kael flickered.
"Effective immediately, you are disqualified from Academy enrollment."
The light vanished, and Kael dropped back onto the stone floor.
Laughter followed.
Not loud. Not cruel in the obvious sense.
Worse.
Dismissive.
A girl nearby covered her mouth, whispering, "Sixteen years… for nothing?"
Someone else scoffed. "He should've known. Some people are born outside the System's favor."
Kael stood frozen, blood roaring in his ears.
Null-Compatible.
System-less.
The Academy instructor stepped closer, gaze sharp. "You will be escorted off Academy grounds. Further attempts to undergo evaluation are prohibited."
That was it.
No appeal. No explanation.
The System had spoken.
Kael turned away, each step heavy, his entire world collapsing inward. As he passed the boundary line of the plaza, a familiar ache spread through his chest not physical pain, but something deeper. The quiet, poisonous thought he'd fought for years clawed its way back.
I was never meant to matter.
He didn't notice when the noise faded. Didn't notice when the guards stopped following him, already bored of a failure.
It wasn't until he reached the shadowed corridor beneath the western tower—far from the pylons, far from the System's watchful runes that it happened.
The air shifted.
Not visibly. Not audibly.
But Kael felt it.
A pressure, like the world briefly holding its breath.
Then—
[Unauthorized Interface Detected]
Kael staggered, grabbing the wall as glowing text burned itself into his vision.
"What…?"
The letters weren't blue or gold like standard System messages.
They were black, edged in faint silver.
[Initializing Restricted Authority…]
His heart slammed violently.
This wasn't possible. The System had already judged him. Declared him null.
And yet—
[Authority Name: Shadow System]
[Status: Unregistered]
[Compatibility: Absolute]
Kael's breath hitched.
"Unregistered…?"
Another message appeared, colder, sharper.
[Warning]
This Authority is not recognized by the Academy.]
Exposure may result in immediate elimination.]
Fear surged but it was drowned beneath something stronger.
Hope.
No.
Not hope.
Defiance.
Kael slid down the wall, eyes locked on the interface only he could see.
"So… I wasn't empty," he whispered.
The Shadow System responded instantly.
[Confirmed.]
[You were rejected due to incompatibility with standard Authorities.]
[Reason: Your existence conflicts with System regulation.]
Conflicts.
With the System.
A laugh escaped Kael's throat—hoarse, disbelieving. "So the problem wasn't me."
The interface flickered, then stabilized.
[Restricted Function Unlocked: Shadow Perception Lv.1]
[You may now observe hidden System layers.]
The corridor changed.
No—Kael changed.
Suddenly, he could see faint threads of light woven through the walls, the floor, the very air. System infrastructure. Control lines. Limiters imposed on reality.
And for the first time, he could see the gaps.
The places where the System didn't reach.
Where shadows gathered.
[Notice]
The Academy monitors all registered Authorities.]
You are not registered.]
[You are invisible.]
Kael's hands trembled.
Invisible.
All his life, he had been overlooked, underestimated, dismissed.
Now, the System itself couldn't see him.
Slowly, he stood.
Beyond the corridor, the Academy loomed—an institution that enforced System law with absolute authority. They had cast him aside without hesitation.
Declared him nothing.
Kael clenched his fist, shadow curling subtly around his fingers.
"They made a mistake," he said quietly.
The Shadow System pulsed, as if in agreement.
[Objective Assigned]
Survive.]
Grow.]
Remain undiscovered.]
Kael lifted his gaze toward the Academy spires.
If the System had rejected him…
Then he would become the error it could not erase.