Kael crouched in the quiet corner of the nursery, small hands pressed to the smooth wooden floor. The courtyard's laughter, Darius's smirks, and the murmurs of students all faded into a distant hum. His attention wasn't on the social battlefield; it was inward.
For the first time since his second birth, Kael focused fully on the sensation that had always lain dormant beneath muscle, bone, and mind. The pulse he had felt at the Awakening Core, the subtle flicker in the system, the hidden Observer's scrutiny, they were all threads connecting to something larger. Something unseen.
The world was loud, but inside Kael, everything was precise.
A spark shimmered in the recesses of his mind. He reached for it, careful, deliberate. Not a physical movement, but a mental command, a probe, a test, a whisper to the system that only he could hear.
Passive Talent Detected SSS Tier Sealed
The words weren't audible. They weren't written. But they resonated in his consciousness, a cold certainty that this life held more than surface perception. His F-Rank classification was a mask. A tool. A lie.
He allowed himself a brief flicker of satisfaction.
And then the system pulsed again, responding to his awareness, a private acknowledgment of presence, a hum of authority that recognized potential.
SSS Talent locked.
The lock was deliberate. Hidden. Controlled. Like a blade sheathed just out of reach, waiting for its wielder.
Later, in the quiet hours after the Awakening Ceremony, Kael explored the Academy grounds under the guise of a wandering F-Rank student. Small hands touched stone railings, traced the patterns of carved sigils, cataloged every shift in light and shadow. Every minute detail mattered. Every observation was potentially leverageable.
He remembered the first life, remembered the balcony, the betrayal, the shadowed figure. That figure had acted with absolute precision, cold, detached, patient. And it had watched him die.
Kael's mind worked furiously. The Observer from before. The system suppression. The F-Rank mask. All of it was deliberate. The world had recalibrated him, forced him into this infant body with knowledge intact, with probability chains preloaded, with talent sealed and latent.
Now, with the first whispers of control, Kael probed the Void Algorithm within him.
It responded immediately, subtle at first, a barely perceptible pulse along the edges of perception. A private system interface, invisible to anyone else, appeared in his mind. It was not a hologram. Not a voice. A presence.
VOID ALGORITHM STATUS: SEALED
Tier: SSS (Confirmed)
Authority Override Active
Observation Confirmed
The system did not speak. It was acknowledged. It waited.
Kael's lips curved. He tested boundaries, probing the seal. He could feel the cost of movement, the energy needed to bend reality even slightly. It was immense. Raw power, restrained by invisible chains.
He understood the rules: the talent was SSS-level. Any premature activation risked exposure. Any overextension could be catastrophic. He could manipulate probability, observe multi-path outcomes, and subtly influence events, but only incrementally.
Incremental control was enough.
Kael allowed himself a flash of emotion: exhilaration. Then he suppressed it. Every visible reaction was a potential exposure. He was still F-Rank. Invisible. Insignificant.
A passing guard glanced at him. Kael froze momentarily, noting the micro-expressions: curiosity restrained by training, subtle awareness without interest, the classic balance of attention and dismissal. The world remained predictable.
The first activation wasn't visible to anyone. The system pulsed in his mind, a silent whisper of approval. He had moved a single thread, nudged the flow of probability by the tiniest fraction, and tested outcomes.
Target: Falling flower petals
Probability altered: 0.0003% deviation
Outcome confirmed: altered trajectory
The system noted it. No one else would. But Kael did.
Small manipulations, precise observations, invisible consequences.
That was the path to dominance.
Kael sat cross-legged, focusing. His SSS-tier talent, Void Algorithm, allowed him to perceive probability threads. Every potential outcome, every reaction of every being within the courtyard, was visible to him. Not clearly, not yet, but as faint lines stretching outward.
He observed Darius Blackthorn's path later in the afternoon. Probability threads indicated three major tendencies:
Arrogant escalation probability 78%Distraction-seeking probability 15%Cooperation for the appearance probability 7%
Lyra Aetheris remained a wildcard. Her path split infinitely, the lines wavered subtly, indicating constant mental adjustment. Observation could not be quantified entirely.
Kael tested the algorithm further. Minor manipulations, shifting the trajectory of a thrown pebble, influencing a servant's step, created cascading probabilities he could trace. The system pulsed in response, approving subtle interventions without triggering authority alarms.
He understood risk. Each micro-intervention carried a cost: mental fatigue, latent mana expenditure, and the potential notice of the Observer.
The algorithm was powerful, but it demanded respect. One misstep, and exposure could undo twelve years of strategic positioning in mere seconds.
Kael smiled faintly. The Observer's patience had limits. He intended to test them.
A small anomaly appeared in the courtyard. Probability threads shifted unexpectedly. A student stumbled, not naturally, but as if pushed by an unseen hand.
Kael traced the shift not caused by his intervention. Someone else had moved a thread.
Observation confirmed. External interference.
The Observer was real, active, and aware.
Alert: External probability manipulation detected
Source: Unknown
Action: Monitor, Do not engage
Kael's lips curved.
They were testing him. Not attacking. Testing.
He had twelve years of memory, but they had patience. And patience could be exploited.
Kael's gaze lifted to the shadows above the courtyard.
A figure, faintly outlined, watched from the hidden galleries.
The system pulsed quietly in his mind:
"SSS Talent detected. Containment protocol active."
Kael's smile widened.
"Perfect. Let's see how far your patience goes."