Chapter Two: Beneath the Flame (Part 2)
He couldn't breathe.
Hades' body lay twisted in the academy's back training yard — a place with no cameras, no patrols, no mercy. Blood dripped slowly from his lip. One eye was already swollen shut.
The world faded in and out like a flickering flame. He couldn't move. Could barely think.
Dravus stood over him, shirtless and triumphant, his fists still glowing from his Gift.
"You hear that, Zero?" he sneered. "That sound is silence. That's what you are — empty. Nothing."
His friends laughed, kicking Hades once more for good measure before walking away.
"Let him bleed out," Elara said, casually twisting wind around her like a silk scarf. "Maybe the trash will finally take itself out."
Their footsteps faded.
Hades was alone.
The stone beneath him felt like ice. His ribs were broken. One lung half-collapsed. His vision tunneled until all he could see was darkness.
> This is where I die.
> Not in battle. Not in glory. Just… thrown away.
But in that moment — just before his heart gave out — something changed.
The world around him went silent.
No wind. No pain. No thoughts.
Only a single tone — low, metallic, and ancient.
Then came the voice:
> [ERROR: Host vitality critical]
[Threshold exceeded: Death proximity — 92%]
[System dormant state... terminated.]
[Initializing primary core...]
> [Welcome, User: Hades Luthor.]
---
Time stopped.
Everything froze.
Hades stood—not in the training yard, but in an endless void of shifting data and pulsing light. A blue screen hovered before him, surrounded by runic code and flickering circuits like a digital shrine.
> SYSTEM: Reawakening Successful.
Designation: [Unique Class – ???]
Status: UNRANKED → SYSTEM HOLDER
Rank Initialization… Bypassed
Error: No previous Gift detected.
Compensation initiated.
Then, a second message blinked into view:
> You are the first and only user with REAWAKENING RIGHTS.
This system cannot be copied.
This system cannot be stolen.
This system… was made for you.
And then:
> Would you like to activate your first ability?
> [YES] | [NO]
Hades couldn't speak — he simply thought it.
> Yes.
The screen pulsed.
> Ability Chosen: "Adaptive Reconstruction" – Passive.
Effect: Reconstructs the host's body at the cellular level during fatal damage.
Side Effect: Pain feedback x3 during first-time adaptation.
System Notice: Pain filters disabled. Welcome to growth.
---
Suddenly — agony.
Blinding. White-hot. Every nerve burned. Bones cracked and re-fused. Torn muscles twisted themselves back into place like ropes of fire.
He screamed — silently in the void — as the system rebuilt him from death.
Then, darkness.
---
When his eyes opened again, he was still lying in the training yard.
But he wasn't broken anymore.
His body… felt alive. Stronger. Sharper. His wounds were gone. His vision was clear.
He sat up slowly, flexing his fingers.
> Was it a dream?
No.
In front of his eyes, a translucent blue screen blinked quietly:
> SYSTEM ONLINE
Level: 1
Class: ???
Status: ALIVE
Abilities: [Adaptive Reconstruction – Active]
Quests: None Available
Next Milestone: Level 2 — Unlock Combat Module
Hades stood.
For the first time in his life — stood without pain.
And for the first time since the day he was born…
He wasn't powerless.
He clenched his fist.
> I don't care what they call me anymore. Unranked. Void. Trash.
> They don't know what I have now.
> They don't know what's coming.
> Let them come.