Fear

Chapter 16

The boss didn't bother pretending anymore—his usual smugness had drained from his face. What was left was a man who understood, without a doubt, that he was standing in front of a predator.

But Ronan wasn't interested in his fear.

"You said you aren't at the top," Ronan said, voice dangerously low. "That my son was never here." He took a slow step forward, looming over the man. "So tell me—why the hell did you set this up?"

The boss hesitated. A flicker of something unreadable crossed his face.

Then, finally, he exhaled. "Because we needed to see for ourselves."

"See what?"

"If you were worth the trouble."

Ronan's fingers twitched, but he forced himself to stay still. "Elaborate. Now."

The boss swallowed. He leaned back in his chair, his fingers tightening against the armrests. "System users don't just appear at random, Vale. The government, the syndicates, even underground organizations—everyone has been watching, waiting. Because we know one thing for certain." His lips curled into something almost bitter. "The system never gives power freely."

Ronan didn't speak, but his mind was already running through possibilities.

The boss continued, "Most system users awaken with a single ability, something unique to them. But there's a limit. One person, one skill set. That's the rule." He met Ronan's gaze. "Until now."

Ronan frowned. "What are you talking about?"

The boss's smile was cold. "Do you remember the man who killed you?"

The words sent an involuntary shiver down Ronan's spine.

Yes.

He remembered everything.

The impossible speed. The overwhelming force. The way his opponent had fought as if he had mastered multiple abilities. No system user should have been able to do that. Their powers weren't meant to overlap.

And yet, Ronan had been torn apart by a man who broke that very rule.

"You're saying…" Ronan's voice was steady, but his fingers curled into fists. "He was an experiment?"

The boss nodded slowly. "A successful one."

Ronan felt his stomach tighten.

"How?"

"The higher-ups—our real employers—have been using system users as test subjects for years," the boss admitted. "Trying to figure out how to bypass the system's restrictions, how to make a user capable of wielding more than one ability. Your killer?" He let out a breathless chuckle. "He's proof that we succeeded."

Ronan's muscles coiled like a spring, ready to snap.

But the boss wasn't finished.

"And that's why we needed you," he continued. "When you awakened after the Lab 06 incident, the higher-ups suspected you were… special. Different. But we had to be sure. And there was only one way to test that."

Ronan's voice was razor-sharp. "By taking my son?"

The boss flinched slightly. "By making you believe we did," he corrected. "We knew it would push you beyond your limits, force you to fight without restraint. And if you survived…"

Ronan exhaled slowly. "Then I'd be worth keeping."

The boss nodded. "Exactly."

A heavy, suffocating silence.

Ronan felt something dark coil in his chest, something that threatened to consume him whole. He had been used. Manipulated. They had ripped open his deepest fears, twisted his emotions, and forced him into their game—all to see what he was capable of.

And worse… they weren't done.

The boss leaned forward slightly. "You need to understand something, Vale. I'm not the one you should be after. I just carry out orders. The one truly in charge?" He let out a slow, uneasy breath. "He's on a completely different level."

Ronan's jaw clenched. "Who is he?"

The boss hesitated. "He's not just another system user." His voice dropped lower, almost as if saying it out loud would invite something worse. "He's the one who decides what happens to every single system user in this world. He doesn't just command people."

Ronan felt the shift in the air before the words even left the man's lips.

"He commands systems themselves."

Ronan's breath stilled,what the hell! Was that even possible?

But the boss wasn't done.

"You think the system gave you power?" His smile was humorless. "Think again. Everything you've done up until now… every fight, every ability you awakened… was just him watching."

Ronan's entire body tensed.

Watching.

Testing.

Like a lab rat in a cage.

"Where is he?" Ronan demanded.

The boss swallowed. "You don't find him."

"He finds you."

Before Ronan could react—

BZZZZZT.

The monitors around them flickered, the security feeds cutting to black.

Then, slowly, a new image appeared.

A shadowed figure sat in a high-backed chair, his face hidden in darkness, but his presence alone sent a suffocating weight through the room.

The security monitors flickered. One by one, the screens cut to black. Then a single feed appeared—a darkened room, a silhouette sitting in a chair.

A voice came through the speakers. Deep. Cold. Unshaken.

"Ronan Vale."

The way he said his name—it wasn't just recognition. It was ownership. Like he had known Ronan long before this moment.

The boss tensed. Even he wasn't expecting this.

The voice continued, calm, composed, but carrying an authority that made Ronan's spine stiffen.

"You've been busy. Killed my men. Tore through my facility. And yet…" A pause. Then, the slightest hint of amusement. "You still don't understand what you are."

Ronan's fists clenched.

The voice leaned in, as if watching him through the screen. "You think you're hunting me. But you were marked the moment you awakened." Another pause, letting the weight of those words settle. "Every system user is, but you're different vale. And we're yet to find out to what limit your system can evolve."

The air in the room grew heavier.

"Do you know why you're still alive, Ronan?"

Ronan stayed silent.

The voice answered anyway.

"Because I allowed it."

Something in Ronan's chest tightened.

"You've seen what my people can do—what my experiments can become. The man who killed you? A mere prototype. And you… you're my proof of concept."

A slow exhale came through the speakers.

"You are not free. You are not in control. You are mine."

BZZZZT.

The feed cut out. The room was silent.

For the first time since this nightmare began, Ronan felt it—something deep, crawling up his spine.

A sliver of fear.