I woke up feeling like I had a hangover, my head pounding like someone had taken a jackhammer to my skull. The full moon hung low and bloated above me, casting everything in silver light. I was sprawled on the concrete floor of the construction site's second level, exactly where I'd been before... before whatever the hell that was.
My mouth tasted like copper and ash. I sat up slowly, each movement sending fresh spikes of pain through my temples. The world tilted, then settled. I patted myself down—no injuries, no changes. Just the same body I'd always had.
"Fuck," I muttered, pressing the heels of my hands against my eyes.
I reached for my phone, fumbling it from my pocket. Dead. Still dead, just like before. I tried the power button again anyway. Nothing.
Just a dream. A vivid, fucked-up dream.
I staggered to my feet, using a nearby support column for balance. The construction site looked normal now—just concrete and steel and shadows. No purple light. No obsidian city. No chittering monsters with too many legs.
I needed to get home. Noel would be worried sick.
I made my way down the temporary stairs, each footfall echoing in the empty building. My balance felt off, like my body was responding faster than my brain expected. I nearly tripped twice, overcompensating for movements that should have been routine.
The night air hit my face as I stepped outside, cool and damp with early morning dew. I headed toward the parking lot where I'd left my car, the only one still there at this hour.
Something flickered at the edge of my vision.
I turned my head sharply, but there was nothing there. Just the edge of a translucent blue... something. It vanished when I tried to focus on it.
You're sleep-deprived. Seeing things.
I continued walking, keys jingling in my hand. The flicker came again, this time accompanied by a faint glow in my peripheral vision. Like text hovering just beyond where I could read it.
A name surfaced from the dream. The entity. The voice.
"Arcan?" I whispered, feeling ridiculous even as the word left my lips.
Silence. Nothing but crickets and distant traffic.
It was just a dream. A weird, hyper-realistic—
『YES, XAVIER?』
The voice exploded in my head like a bomb, so loud I physically staggered backward and clutched my temples.
"Jesus Christ!" I hissed, hunching over. "That's fucking loud!"
『I APOLOGIZE FOR THE VOLUME. ADJUSTING PARAMETERS.』
The voice modulated, becoming softer though no less distinct. It was definitely feminine, with that same artificial quality I remembered from the dream. Except this wasn't a dream. I was awake, standing in a parking lot at god-knows-what hour, with a voice in my head.
"This isn't happening," I muttered, fumbling with my keys. "I'm having a psychotic break."
『Your mental faculties are functioning within normal parameters, albeit with increased capacity due to your awakening.』 The voice—Arcan—sounded almost amused. 『Would you prefer visual interface to auditory?』
I reached my car and leaned against it, trying to process what was happening. "What the hell are you?"
『I am Arcan, the Arcane Interface. I serve as your system guide and facilitator.』
"System guide for what?" I yanked open my car door and dropped into the driver's seat.
『For your progression as a Player. Would you like to view your status screen?』
I turned the key in the ignition. The engine coughed, then roared to life. My headlights cut through the pre-dawn darkness as I pulled out of the lot.
"None of this is real," I said firmly, more to convince myself than anything.
『Reality is subjective. Your perception has been enhanced, not diminished. Would you like to see proof?』
I stopped at a red light, gripping the steering wheel tight enough that my knuckles turned white. "Fine. Show me."
The air before me shimmered, coalescing into a floating display unlike anything I'd ever seen. Not solid like a computer screen, but ethereal—made of flowing blue-silver energy that pulsed gently in rhythm with my heartbeat.
[Player: Xavier Valentine]
[Level: 1]
[Class: None]
[Title: None]
[Core Attributes:]
Strength: D - 217
Endurance: C - 411
Dexterity: D - 308
Agility: F - 187
Magic: F - 88
[Available Skill Points: 120]
[Active Abilities: 0]
[Passive Abilities: 2]
The light turned green. I accelerated automatically, my body handling the driving while my mind reeled from what I was seeing.
"What is all this?" I asked, eyes darting between the road and the floating display.
『Your basic player metrics. You have completed initial awakening but are still at the earliest stage of integration. As you progress, your attributes will increase and new abilities will become available.』
I turned onto the main road heading toward my apartment. The streets were nearly empty at this hour, which was good because my attention was split between driving and whatever the hell was happening to me.
"Integration with what?"
『With me. With the Arcane system. Your physical form is gradually adapting to channel increased mana flow and execute arcane protocols.』
"You make me sound like a computer."
『The analogy is not inaccurate, though incomplete. You are becoming a conduit for powers beyond conventional human understanding.』
I checked the dashboard clock: 4:26 AM. I'd been out for hours. Noel would be frantic.
"Why me?" I asked, the same question I'd asked in the dream. "What's the point of all this?"
The interface shifted, displaying new information. A shadowy figure appeared, humanoid but wrong somehow—distorted and surrounded by swirling darkness.
『There is an entity known as Ashborn. A being of immense power with the ability to raise armies of the dead and manipulate the boundaries between worlds. He will awaken and threaten your reality.』
"And what—I'm supposed to stop him? Me?" I laughed bitterly. "I'm a construction worker with a D-rank hunter card I never even use."
『You are far more than that, Xavier Valentine. You possess a rare affinity for the arcane that makes you one of the few beings capable of reaching the necessary power level to confront Ashborn.』
I turned onto my street, scanning for parking. "And if I say no?"
『Then your world will fall. Ashborn's armies will sweep across your reality, converting the dead into soldiers and the living into corpses waiting to be raised. There will be no refuge, no escape.』
I found a spot and pulled in, shutting off the engine. I sat there in the darkness, listening to the tick of the cooling engine and trying to process everything.
"How do I know any of this is real? That I'm not just having some kind of breakdown?"
『You've felt it your entire life, haven't you? The pull toward the gates? The dreams of other worlds? The sense that you were meant for something beyond this limited existence?』
She wasn't wrong. I'd always been drawn to the gates, even as a kid. Had dreams about them long before I ever saw one in person. My parents had recognized it too—it was why they'd started training me early, before...
"Let's say I believe you. What happens now?"
『Now, you train. You grow stronger. You learn to harness the abilities awakening within you. And eventually, you face Ashborn.』
I rubbed my temples. The headache had receded to a dull throb, but exhaustion was setting in. "And how exactly do I do all that?"
『Through the completion of objectives, the harvesting of mana cores, and the absorption of arcane knowledge. I will guide you through the process.』 The interface shifted again, displaying a pulsing point of light about three miles from my current location. 『There is a purple gate forming nearby. D-rank. Suitable for your current level. We can begin there.』
"Not tonight," I said firmly, opening my car door. "I need to get home. My sister—"
『Noel Valentine. Age 18. Your primary motivation and greatest vulnerability.』
I froze halfway out of the car. "Don't talk about her like that."
『I merely state facts. Your devotion to your sister is admirable, if potentially limiting. Very well. Rest and recover. The gate will remain stable for approximately 72 hours before disappearing.』
I stood in the silent street, looking up at the apartment window. Our light was on. Noel was awake, waiting for me.
"Will I be able to see you? The interface, I mean—around other people?"
『Only you can perceive me directly. The interface elements are projected through a psychic connection unique to your brain chemistry. You can communicate with me silently by directing your thoughts specifically to me.』
'Like this?' I thought deliberately.
『Precisely. Though your technique requires refinement.』
Great. Now I had a backseat thinker.
I headed toward the apartment building, noticing with each step how different my body felt. My movements were more precise, my balance perfect. I could hear conversations through closed windows, smell cooking from apartments I passed. My senses had sharpened dramatically.
"What else has changed about me?" I asked quietly as I reached the building entrance.
『Your physical attributes have been enhanced by approximately 20%. Your sensory processing capabilities have increased by 35%. Your mana channels have begun to form, allowing for rudimentary energy manipulation. With practice, these improvements will become more pronounced.』
I took the stairs instead of waiting for the elevator. The door to our apartment was at the end of the hall. I paused outside it, gathering myself.
"Can I turn you off?" I asked.
『You can minimize the interface and reduce active communication, but our connection is permanent. The awakening cannot be reversed.』
Of course not. That would be too easy.
'Minimize interface,' I thought. The floating displays faded from my vision, though I could still sense them hovering at the edges of my awareness, ready to be called back.
I took a deep breath and unlocked the door.
Noel was curled on the couch, her phone clutched in her hand, dark hair falling across her face. She jerked upright when the door opened, her eyes—the same blue as mine—wide with relief and fury.
"Where the hell have you been?" she demanded, launching herself off the couch. "You've been gone for hours! I thought—" Her voice caught. "I thought something happened to you."
"I'm sorry," I said, catching her as she collided with me. Her arms wrapped around my waist, face pressed against my chest. When did she come to my chest? "Job ran late, and then I... fell asleep at the site."
She pulled back, studying my face with the intense scrutiny only Noel could manage. "You look different."
"Just tired," I lied, brushing her hair back from her face. "It's been a long night."
She held my gaze a moment longer, not believing me but not pushing it either. That was our unspoken agreement—we kept some secrets, but only the ones that wouldn't hurt the other.
This secret, though... this might hurt us both before it was done.
"Come on," she said, tugging me toward the bathroom. "Shower first."
I followed her, wondering how much I could say, how much I should say. The weight of Arcan's revelations pressed down on me—Ashborn, the armies of the dead, the end of the world. And somehow, I was supposed to stop it all.
But first, shower. First, Noel. First, figuring out who and what I was becoming.
The rest would have to wait.