Kael Draven lay in the mud, soaked, bloody, and half-conscious, with the sky cracking open above him. Rain pelted his skin, biting cold, while thunder rolled across the ruined sky like some god had taken a hammer to the clouds.
His ears rang. His limbs felt like lead. And everywhere around him, people were dead.
The courtyard–once a proud gathering space of the Ardent Spire–was shattered. Rubble and corpses mingled in pools of dirty water. A marble obelisk had collapsed during the explosion, its sharp edge pinning down someone's arm. He couldn't tell if it still belonged to anyone living.
His breath hitched. His fingers twitched.
He was alive. That much was certain. But something was wrong.
Then came the voice.
[SYSTEM BOOT COMPLETE.]
Welcome, Kael Draven. You are now bound to the Arcane Reckoning Protocol.
Objective: Survive.
The words weren't heard,they appeared. Etched in the air, glowing faint silver-blue. Like they'd been burned onto the inside of his skull.
Kael blinked, tried to focus. The text lingered like an afterimage even when he shut his eyes.
"What the hell is this…?"
[Trait Acquired: Unchosen.]
Tier: Rogue Candidate – Level 1.
Perk: Chaos Surge (Passive) –Magic manifests unpredictably under stress. Caution advised.
"No," Kael whispered, dragging himself to his knees. "I didn't, I didn't agree to this."
He wasn't a mage. He'd failed every arcana test before he even turned sixteen. All his life, he'd been reminded of that: No magic. No future. No worth.
And yet, his hands were glowing. Blue veins of light curled up his forearms like burning ivy.
Around him, smoke still curled from the wreckage. Aether crystals flickered dimly. Something had gone terribly wrong.
A groan broke the silence.
Kael turned sharply. A body shifted near the base of the shattered obelisk.
"Tess?" he called hoarsely. He stumbled toward her, slipping on rain-slicked stone. Her cloak was soaked through, her braided black hair streaked with blood. Her eyes fluttered,then stopped.
He reached her side. "Tess...hey, stay with me, alright? I'm here."
No response. No breath.
Kael's shaking fingers reached for her wrist, searching for a pulse. Nothing.
He stared at her, hollow, until the rain masked his tears.
She'd saved him. Pulled him out of the arcane blast. Shielded him from the first wave of the creatures. She was the reason he'd lived.
And now she was gone.
[You are what we made you.]
Kael froze.
That voice wasn't the system.
It came from the darkness, smooth as silk but cold as steel. He spun around, instinct roaring to life.
A tall figure stepped forward through the fog. Hooded. Masked. Dressed in black leather traced with crimson sigils that pulsed in time with Kael's breath.
The figure stopped ten paces away.
"You activated the Protocol," Kael said through clenched teeth. "You did this."
The figure didn't answer.
"You killed them all."
Still nothing. Just that silent stare.
Kael surged forward,no plan, no hesitation, just rage. He closed the distance in seconds, fist drawn back.
But before he made contact, something broke inside him.
Pressure. Heat. Like lightning ripping through his ribs.
[Chaos Surge: Activated.]
The world detonated.
A burst of energy exploded outward from Kael's chest,white-blue fire flaring in all directions. The blast lifted the cloaked figure off the ground and slammed them into a stone wall with a crunch that sounded like breaking ribs.
Silence fell.
Steam rose from Kael's arms, still glowing faintly. The grass beneath his boots had turned to glass. The air smelled like scorched metal.
The figure didn't rise.
Kael dropped to one knee, panting, heart hammering in his chest. "What… was that?"
[Enemy Defeated: Tier-2 Shadow Initiate– +1,350 XP]
[Level Up: Level 2 Achieved.]
He stared at the notification like it was a bad joke.
"I just killed someone… without trying. Without even knowing how."
No answer came. Just the falling rain, slower now. Thicker.
Then he heard the clicking.
Kael looked up.
Six shapes emerged from the mist,twisted things with skeletal frames, jagged blades fused into their arms, and faces stretched like melted wax. Their eyes glowed with that same silver-blue as the system's text.
Reapers.
Hunters. One step above mindless. Fast. Lethal. Hungry.
[WARNING: Hostiles Detected – 6 Reapers. Moderate Threat.]
"Of course," Kael muttered, pushing himself upright and grabbing the sword from the dead figure's side. "Why not throw in monsters too?"
One of the Reapers screeched and lunged.
Kael ducked low, brought the blade up, and met it mid-leap. Metal clashed. Sparks flew. He twisted, yanked the sword sideways, and drove it into the creature's ribs.
The Reaper hissed. Blue flame spread from the wound, and it shattered into dust.
[Kill Confirmed: +200 XP]
Kael spun. Another Reaper came at him. Too fast.
He didn't think,just reacted.
Something pulsed again.
[Chaos Surge: Fire Pulse Triggered]
A shockwave of flame burst outward. The nearest Reaper exploded into ash. Two others caught the edge of it and stumbled back, hissing.
Kael staggered. "I can't control it…"
He brought the sword up in a clumsy block as another Reaper slashed at him. The force sent him sliding across the wet stone. He rolled, came up on one knee, and flung the sword like a spear.
It hit home. Right through the thing's throat.
[Critical Hit, Weak Point: +320 XP]
[Level Up: Level 3 Achieved]
Kael yanked a short blade from a fallen soldier and turned. The last two Reapers were circling now, more cautious than the others.
They weren't just animals. They were learning.
Kael growled. "I don't care what you are. I'm not dying here."
He charged.
His blade slashed one across the chest, then pivoted and drove deep into the second's chest cavity. He twisted. A shriek. Ash. Gone.
The last one tried to run.
Kael raised his palm,and light built in his fingertips.
[Chaos Surge: Lightning Arc]
A bolt of white-blue electricity fired from his hand and pierced the creature mid-back.
It fell, twitching, then stilled.
Silence. Except the slow patter of rain and Kael's own ragged breathing.
He dropped to one knee again, shaking.
[All Hostiles Eliminated –XP Total: 2,090]
[Level: 3 | Status: Stable | System Calibration: 47%]
Kael stared at the swirling numbers.
Tess was dead. His world was gone. He wasn't even sure what he was anymore.
But one thing was certain:
The system hadn't given him a choice.
He wiped the blood from his face with a trembling hand and looked around the ruined courtyard. The smoke. The bodies. The silence.
Then he whispered, "The system made me do it."
And for the first time, he wondered,what else would it make him do?