Aiden woke slowly.
His body felt heavy, like he'd been dragged through hell and barely stitched back together. His head pulsed with a dull, rhythmic ache, and his throat was raw and dry.
He exhaled, focusing on his breathing.
For a moment, everything was still.
No screaming. No shifting shadows. No voices pressing against his skull.
Just silence.
A dream.
That's what it had to be.
The Rift. The massacre. The thing in the dark. The light.
It wasn't real.
How could it be?
He had been blind his entire life.
Aiden clenched his fists, nails biting into his palms. His fingers twitched, brushing against something—fabric. Smooth, crisp sheets. The faint hum of air vents overhead. A low beep from nearby machines.
The air smelled clean. Sterile. Processed.
Not blood. Not decay.
Something wasn't right.
His pulse picked up.
His hand twitched, rubbing at his eyes—a habit.
Then he froze.
He could see.
His fingers hovered near his face, hesitating. It should have been pitch black. It always had been.
But now—he could see the creases on his palm. The way the dim hospital lighting reflected off his skin. The sterile white of the sheets beneath his fingertips.
Panic twisted in his gut.
This was not normal.
Then a much worse thought hit him.
Oh, crap. The Association.
If they knew—
His breath hitched. His heart slammed against his ribs. His instincts screamed at him to look around, to take in everything he had missed his entire life.
But he couldn't.
Not if he wanted to walk out of here alive.
So, instead of drinking in the world for the first time, he did the opposite.
He stared straight ahead. Expression blank. Unfocused.
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The way a blind man would.
And just in time.
Aiden sat still. Unmoving. Listening.
The soft beeps of the monitors. The distant chatter outside the door. No immediate footsteps heading toward his room.
Good.
Slowly, carefully, without moving his head, he shifted his fingers toward the Hunter-issued device resting on the bedside table.
It was risky.
If the Association was monitoring his terminal, they'd see this. But he had to know.
The device buzzed softly as he swiped it open.
And then—
His stomach dropped.
[Hunter System Evaluation – Subject: Aiden Kain]
[Rank: F][Core Trait: Unactivated][Classification: Non-Combatant][Potential Trait: UNKNOWN][Mana Capacity: 0.0 → 0.7]
[Perception: .3→ 2][Stat Allocation: Pending…][System Override Attempt: Failure]
Aiden's throat went dry.
His mana capacity increased?
That wasn't normal.
F-Ranks didn't just gain mana out of nowhere. Especially not ones like him—weak, powerless, and unawakened.
The "Potential Trait: UNKNOWN" line was still there.
And then there was the worst part.
[Stat Allocation: Pending…]
Pending? Pending what?
Aiden exhaled slowly, forcing his hands to stay steady.
This wasn't right.
Even if his Core Trait hadn't activated, something inside the System was registering a change.
And worse?
It was waiting for something.
A sudden, mechanical hiss filled the air.
Aiden stiffened.
The door unlocked and slid open.
A figure stepped inside, moving with the deliberate control of someone trained for combat. Tall. Broad. Wearing dark combat gear lined with silver.
Aiden did not react.
Did not look.
Even though he could see them perfectly in his peripheral vision.
Instead, he did what any blind man would do.
He listened.
"…You survived an S-Rank Rift."
Aiden nearly winced.
Varyn.
The name surfaced instantly. Commander Varyn.
A Hunter who specialized in Rift anomalies. A man who didn't deal with weaklings. Or survivors.
If he was here, that meant the Association thought Aiden was more than just lucky.
Varyn took another step inside, the door shutting behind him.
His eyes never left Aiden's face.
Aiden kept his gaze just slightly off-center. Not quite meeting Varyn's stare, but not too exaggerated.
Just enough to be natural.
"No one else made it."
Aiden exhaled slowly. Let his brows pull together slightly—just enough hesitation to pass as someone adjusting to the news.
"I know."
Varyn studied him.
Then he flipped through the holo-display in his hand. Aiden couldn't see the details—or rather, he shouldn't have been able to.
But he already knew what it said.
[Hunter System Evaluation – Subject: Aiden Kain]
[Rank: F][Core Trait: Unactivated][Classification: Non-Combatant][Potential Trait: UNKNOWN][System Override Attempt: Failure]
Varyn frowned. "Your readings haven't changed. Still F-Rank. No Core Trait. No mana signature. As far as the System is concerned, you're the same Hunter you were before."
Aiden forced himself to relax.
Good.
That meant they didn't detect his pending stat change.
But Varyn's frown didn't ease.
"Your status came up as an anomaly during the scan. Your Hunter ID flagged 'Potential Trait: UNKNOWN.'"
Aiden's stomach dropped.
Crap.
"Not common," Varyn continued, watching him. "Usually, Hunters awaken a Core Trait immediately upon entering their first Rift. Some never awaken at all. But you—" He narrowed his eyes. "Your status hasn't changed, but something in the System is trying to register… something."
Aiden stayed silent.
Varyn tapped the side of the display. "Most F-Ranks are either basic reinforcement types or completely useless. But even they have a classification. You don't."
Aiden fought the urge to react.
Because the real answer was worse than that.
He did have something.
And the System was waiting for it.