Kael stepped back onto the boulevard, the shadows trailing behind him like smoky tendrils, moving silently through a city that had never known silence. Giant holoboards, embedded in translucent buildings made of gleaming alloy, screamed offers:
"Want to become an Interstellar Hero?"
"Train with the best mages at the Supreme Certification Academies!"
"Your System deserves more — unlock its real potential!"
But one advertisement took his breath away.
A vertical panel displayed a dreamlike sequence: a young boy, with a flicker of darkness in his eyes, climbing illuminated stairs. Beyond automatic doors, there were individual dorms, training classrooms, teachers giving interactive lectures on advanced magic and system usage. It all seemed... calm. A world where even a fugitive could just pass for an introverted student.
Kael froze.
The shadows curled around his ankles, uneasy.
In his left hand, the book vibrated subtly, as if it could sense the magic in the atmosphere. As if it knew this place would not welcome it easily.
A female digital voice sounded right beside him — a hologram had appeared out of nowhere, smiling artificially:
— "Hi! You look lost. First time in LumenPrime? Want to apply to Shardfall Academy? Enrollment is free, and the initial test is instant! We accept all students with an active System!"
Kael looked at the hologram, then down at his palm. His system screen was active — still a basic one, with no flashy features, but it was there. One wrong move and everything would collapse… But if he did nothing? If he just faded away in some alley, devoured by his own shadows?
The soldier's shadow suddenly stretched toward the holographic panel, warped, denser than before. It no longer had the shape of the man who once haunted him. It had changed. A spine of protruding thorns lined its back, a mouth cracked open by darkness, and eyes like holes in reality.
Kael froze.
"It listens to me... but it's no longer him. It's... something I created."
— "Confirm registration?" the hologram asked, still smiling.
Kael raised his eyes. A simple decision. Run or stay. Hide or learn to control.
The hologram kept its radiant smile, but Kael didn't respond. He stared at the panel like it was an illusion, as if something so bright couldn't possibly be real. A part of him screamed to accept. The other… still saw the blood, the screams from his childhood, and Seraphine's voice echoing through his decay.
— "You have nowhere to go, Kael," hissed the soldier's shadow inside his mind, now with a distorted voice — a mix of the man who once tormented him and his own rage.
"You just want to survive, right? Accept it."
Kael took a step back.
The hologram blinked.
— "If you have questions, you can speak with a physical representative. Our registration offices are just down the side alley."
Kael felt the shadows pulling back, as if bored.
He turned abruptly and started toward the alley, his steps heavy and mechanical.
The people around ignored him completely — a stranger among strangers, in a city too busy to notice pain.
Inside a semi-transparent kiosk, lit with softly pulsing blue panels, sat a woman. She wasn't a hologram. Her hair was tied back, eyes large, gaze tired. She looked up from her tablet as he approached.
— Hello, she said, her voice warm but formal. What's your name?
Kael hesitated.
— I don't have one, he said softly. Or… it doesn't matter.
The woman looked at him for a moment. She didn't laugh, didn't question.
— Many who come here feel that way. You don't need a name to start. Just intent. What are you truly seeking?
The question shook him.
Questions like that were rare… and dangerous.
— I want… to be left alone.
— The academy isn't a quiet place, she replied.
But it can teach you how to control what you carry. Do you have a system?
Kael showed her his palm.
The simple screen with its faint aura hovered slightly above his skin.
The words "Active — Level 1" flickered.
She shook her head.
— A rough start. But you have energy. And… something else. I can't quite place it. But you're in luck. Our academy has a program for undocumented applicants. We can assign you a temporary name, a room, and a student ID. All you need to do is step in.
Kael clenched his teeth.
The word name bothered him. It reminded him he had once been someone.
But he needed time. And space.
— It's temporary. I'm not staying.
— No one ever stays, she whispered.
Welcome, Kael.
His eyes narrowed.
— Hello, she repeated, calm but formal. What's your name?
Kael remained silent. His thoughts raced, but no name came to his lips. Not because he didn't have one — but because that name belonged to a different life. One he wanted dead.
— I'd rather not say, he finally replied.
She studied him for a few moments, then gave a slow nod.
— That's fine. Then choose one.
Kael raised an eyebrow.
— Seriously?
— You need a temporary identity to be accepted into our system, she said, opening a digital panel.
— It doesn't matter if it's real or not. It just has to be yours, while you're here.
Kael lowered his gaze.
For a moment, he considered picking something utterly bland.
Then he heard the whisper again, deep in the back of his mind:
"You're someone else now. Choose what you'll become — not what you were."
— Kael, he said, simply.
She typed something, then handed him a black, simple wristband with a pale core that pulsed faintly, almost imperceptibly.
— You're registered. Your dorm is in sector C-12. Classes begin tomorrow at first light. Until then, you have full access to the common areas.
Kael took the wristband.
It didn't seem special… and yet, his shadow gently wrapped around his wrist, as if trying to protect it.
She gave him one last look.
— Don't cause trouble. But if you do — control it.
Kael said nothing.
But behind his eyes, for the first time… a plan was beginning to form.