A low rumble shook the floor.
It started like a distant growl—subtle, barely there. Then the entire dome trembled. Dust trickled from the cracked ceiling. Metal beams groaned.
Everyone froze.
"Earthquake?" Leon muttered, stepping instinctively in front of Halie.
"No..." Jarad whispered, eyes narrowing. His instincts screamed otherwise.
A high-pitched whine cut through the air. Glass panels shattered. Lights flickered—then died. A single, blinding pulse of white flooded the room, forcing everyone to shield their eyes.
And then… silence.
Until something appeared in the sky.
A small orb—no larger than a clenched fist—descended through the broken ceiling of the dome. It hovered, soundless, humming faintly with power. Its surface pulsed like a living thing—crystalline and metallic all at once. As it came to a halt, a cold, alien voice rang out. It echoed not just through the air—but inside their minds.
> "Attention. This message is for all sentient lifeforms. The First Trial has been completed. The System is now active for all lifeforms of Sector 25C3#."
The air turned colder. As if the orb siphoned heat, hope, and breath alike.
> "A System is now in place. Your survival depends on adaptation. From this moment forward, all beings will have access to the Interface."
> "You may ask questions. I will answer to the best of my capacity."
Evie blinked. "What the hell is—"
> "To access the Interface, say or think the phrase: 'System Interface.'"
> "The following information will become available to the user alone: Name. Level. Abilities. Stats. And Aether Reserves."
> "Aether is the universal energy of life, change, and ascension. Use it wisely."
The orb shimmered, rotating slowly mid-air.
> "You are no longer confined to instinct and will alone. Evolution is now guided."
> "Good luck."
With a soft, dissonant chime, the orb vanished.
No flash. No explosion. It simply ceased to exist—like a dream snatched away too soon.
Silence fell again. Heavier than before.
"…Was that real?" Frieda asked, voice uncharacteristically soft.
Jarad didn't answer. His eyes were distant. Calculating. Then, finally, he spoke:
"System Interface."
There was a soft chime—only he could hear it. A shimmer pulsed behind his eyes, invisible to the others. A transparent screen bloomed into view before him—intangible, private, tethered to thought.
Evie tilted her head. "You okay?"
Jarad didn't reply. His eyes flicked side to side as if reading something only he could see.
Maya watched him carefully. "Light-based projection? No—internalized. It's personal. Cognitive link, maybe…"
Jarad skimmed the interface.
> Name: Jarad
Level: 42
Abilities: Vector Graviton Manipulation
Relic Bonded: Obsidian Fang, Core of the Abyss, Eclipse Band (??)
Stats — Synchronizing… Synchronized.
Strength: 180
Agility: 160
Stamina: 150
Health: 140
Aether: 401/500
A deep breath escaped his nose. He dismissed the screen with a thought. No one had seen it—no one could unless he willed it.
Leon clenched his fists. "System Interface."
He blinked. A low grunt escaped him. "Whoa…"
"What is it?" Frieda asked.
He didn't answer at first, just stared ahead—focused on something beyond their view.
"It's... private," Leon muttered, finally. "System doesn't show anything unless you want it to."
"So it's real," Frieda breathed. "Actually real. Stats. Skills. Energy levels. Just like… books, games…"
Maya whispered the phrase under her breath, her pupils dilating for a second before shrinking. Her lips parted slightly, but she remained silent, her mind racing.
One by one, the others activated theirs.
And then… Halie.
She hesitated. Then softly: "System Interface."
Her eyes fluttered. A soft glow touched her irises for a moment—then vanished. She blinked, dazed.
"Twenty-three," she whispered.
Heads turned.
"Your level?" Maya asked, voice sharp.
Halie nodded faintly.
"She's been active longer than some of us," Jarad said. "Makes sense. Whatever they put her through…"
Frieda gave a low whistle. "So this is real. We're quantified now. Upgraded. Or maybe just… exposed."
Jarad didn't laugh.
"This changes everything."
Leon wiped a hand across his face. "So what now?"
Jarad's gaze was cold. Steady.
"Now?" he said slowly. "Now the world gets rewritten. And we learn how to survive in it."
And somewhere, deep beyond the broken Dome… something stirred.
As if the System had awakened more than just their stats.
It had awakened the hunt.
INT. ORPHANAGE HEADQUARTERS – UNDERGROUND STRATEGY ROOM
The room stood in sterile silence, unaffected by the chaos above. Reinforced steel, humming screens, white fluorescent lights—this was a fortress carved from control and paranoia. While the rest of the Dome cracked and shifted, nothing here had moved. It had been built for survival. For secrets.
At the center stood Director Malik.
Middle-aged. Dark-skinned. Hair coiled into a sharp Afro that gave him height and command. His eyes—cold, measured—hid behind a visor that flickered with tactical data. Everything about him suggested calculation.
Before him, a table stretched across the room, projecting a 3D map of the world—flickering with red alerts and shifting energy pulses. Sector after sector was lighting up.
Malik stepped forward.
"So it begins. The great reset. And the world didn't even have the courtesy to knock." With a scoff Malik said.
Around him stood a dozen Operatives—men and women shaped by war, not prophecy. They bore scars, not blessings. Uniforms dark as oil, insignias cold and angular. These were not Chosen. Not Awakened.
Just killers. Professionals. Tools sharpened to a point.
He gestured to the map. A live feed pulsed.
Jarad, codename: Subject 19, standing at the mouth of the shattered Dome. Eyes unreadable. Aura alive with something new.
"There he is. The one who got away. Our fallen prince." Malik said as he smiled coldly.
Operative Voss – red-haired, sleeves rolled to her elbows, surgical gloves still on – stepped forward.
Voss:
"Bio-feedback confirms abnormal spikes"
Operative Shun, younger, twitchy, frowned.
Shun:
"So... it's real? This... System thing?"
Malik turned slowly toward him.
Malik:
"Oh, it's real. But make no mistake— it's real dangerous "
He tapped the visor. Dozens of fragmented feeds snapped into focus—people around the world whispering the same words: System Interface.
He leaned over the map, gaze fixed on the glowing signature labeled Subject 19.
"Now what matters is how we respond to this friend of ours " Smiling coldly he - Malik said
"We've failed to reclaim Subject 19 before. If he's been integrated into this System, he's no longer a variable. He's a threat." Operative Karn said with crossed arms
"A living anomaly. Stronger than he should be. Freer than we ever allowed. But he still has weaknesses."
Nodding slowly Malik said.
He waved his hand. A new image pulsed into the air: Evie, caught mid-motion. Her vitals flickered beside her like a ghost.
"The girl. She's still tagged, isn't she?"
Shun asked.
"Dormant tracker chip, yes. Buried deep. The defected doctor—Maya—never deactivated it. Might not even know it exists." Operative Voss said
"Use her?" Karn asked
"Not yet. We use her wrong, and he'll raze cities to find her. We need control. Not fire." Sharply Malik said
"So what's the plan?" Voss asked curious.
Malik turned to the central console. With a gesture, the holograms changed—no longer just Jarad or Evie. Now there were icons, energy pulses, unknown creatures—some awakening for the first time in centuries.
"We initiate the Hunter Protocol. No engagement. No confrontation. We track his energy signature. Wait for a moment of isolation. Weakness. Overconfidence." Malik said.
"You're betting we can out-strategize something we don't understand." Shun said with slight disbelief
Malik turned slowly to him, the corners of his mouth curling.
"We don't need to understand it. Subject 19 is just another battlefield. And we? We've fought on worse." With a scoff Malik said.
He walked toward the sealed vault door at the edge of the room. Thick steel. Old. Even the air around it was colder.
The Operatives stiffened.
"Director… you're not…" Operative Voss asked as his expression stiffened
Malik placed his hand on the scanner. The machine groaned.
"Release Subject 001." Malik whispered.
ALERT - CONTAINMENT SEAL DISENGAGED.
PREPARE FOR RELEASE.
"Sir, Subject 001 was a failed graft. No mental stability. No control." Said Shun
"We don't need control. We need chaos. Something to burn up the world around Subject 19. Something to remind him that freedom has a cost." Malik said with an unbothered expression on his face.
"He'll know it came from us." Operative Karn said
"Let him. He's already running. We just need to light the forest behind him." Said Malik
With a final hiss, the vault released a low, inhuman growl from behind its depths.
Malik stepped back, eyes glowing with cold satisfaction.
"Let the world adapt to its new gods. We? We'll remain its devils." Malik said.
He turned back to the room.
"Let the hunt begin."
......
A cold breeze whispered through the Ruins of the ORPHANAGE's Research center.
Then… something shifted.
A ripple in the air. A feeling. Like gravity bending the wrong way for just a second. He turned, gaze sweeping the shadows.
Movement. Far in the distance. Too smooth to be wind.
He didn't reach for his weapon—yet. But every nerve in his body lit up like fire. The kind of tension he'd only felt in the war zones of his past. Only this time… something was watching him.
From behind, footsteps crunched.
Leon's voice came low. "You felt it too?"
Jarad gave a single nod. "We're being watched"
Leon's jaw clenched. "By what?"
"I don't know," Jarad murmured, eyes locked on the horizon. "But it's not human at least it doesn't seem human and it's already moving."
Behind them, a scream echoed. Short. Choked. Then silence.
Both men turned toward the dome—and ran.