Chapter 1 Entrance Exam

The air was thick with dust, the kind that clung to your lungs and stung your eyes. Caelen trudged through the shattered remnants of what might've once been a city, his boots crunching over broken concrete and rusted rebar. The year was 600, or so they said—centuries after the Great Reset had torn Earth apart, leaving ruins like this one scattered across the wastelands. At fifteen, Caelen was no stranger to scavenging, but today was different. Today was the Explorers Guild's entrance exam, and he was alone.

His heart pounded as he scanned the crumbling walls, their surfaces etched with faded symbols that glowed faintly under the dim light filtering through the cracked ceiling. The Guild had knocked him out on the transport to the Academy, a standard trick to disorient recruits. He'd woken here, in a "fully explored" ruin, with nothing but a worn satchel, a mana-charged dagger, and a mission: find the exit. Simple enough, they'd said. A test of wits, strength, and nerve for every fifteen-year-old dreaming of Guild glory. Caelen, though, wasn't dreaming. He just wanted to survive.

"Gemless," he muttered, kicking a pebble. That's what they called him back in the city-state—no magic, no spark, just a kid with a knack for dodging trouble. His mana was there, like everyone's, but it was weak, barely enough to power a crystal battery for an hour. The Guild's exam was his only shot at a future, even if it meant scrubbing floors or forging Heart Gems for the "real" explorers.

A low hum vibrated through the ruin, and Caelen froze. His eyes darted to a shadowed corridor ahead, where the air shimmered like heat rising off asphalt. A Rank 1 creature, probably—part of the staged attack to test his stress response. He gripped his dagger, its blade faintly glowing blue from the mana crystal embedded in its hilt. "Come on, Caelen," he whispered. "Just a shadow rat. You've seen worse."

He crept forward, heart hammering. The corridor opened into a vast chamber, its walls lined with cracked monitors and tangled wires—remnants of a world long gone. In the center stood a pedestal, topped with a fist-sized crystal that pulsed with a soft, eerie light. Caelen's gut twisted. Something about that crystal felt… wrong. Like it was watching him.

A skittering sound echoed behind him. He spun, dagger raised, as a shadow rat lunged—its body a writhing mass of dark fur and glowing red eyes, no bigger than a dog but fast. Caelen dodged, his below-average agility barely keeping up. The rat's claws grazed his arm, tearing his sleeve and drawing a thin line of blood. He gritted his teeth, swinging the dagger. The blade connected, sending a jolt of mana through the creature. It squealed, collapsing in a heap, its Heart Gem glinting faintly in its chest.

Caelen panted, wiping sweat from his brow. "One down," he muttered, kneeling to pry the gem free. It was small, Rank 1, barely worth a basic dagger, but it'd prove he'd fought. He stuffed it into his satchel, ignoring the sting in his arm. Blood dripped onto the floor, pooling on a carved rune that hadn't glowed before.

The rune flared, a brilliant white light that blinded him. Caelen stumbled back, heart racing as the floor trembled. The chamber's walls shuddered, and the crystal on the pedestal pulsed faster, its light shifting from white to a chaotic swirl of Vanta black and Lotus pink. A voice—deep, resonant, and impossibly ancient—echoed in his mind.

*"Bloodline… compatible. Nephalem… awaken."*

Caelen's knees buckled. "Who's there?" he shouted, spinning wildly. The air grew heavy, pressing against his chest. The pedestal cracked, and the crystal shattered, releasing tendrils of energy—Vanta black, darker than any shadow, coiling like liquid ink, and Lotus pink, shimmering like a dawn flower caught in sunlight. The tendrils surged toward him, piercing the wound on his arm.

Pain exploded through his body, like fire and ice warring in his veins. Caelen screamed, collapsing as the energies flooded him. The Vanta black tendrils writhed, sparking with crimson flecks like dying embers, while the Lotus pink strands pulsed with golden motes, warm and serene. His vision blurred, but a figure appeared—a spectral man in tattered robes, his eyes glowing with the same dual colors. He looked human, yet otherworldly, his presence filling Caelen with dread and awe.

*"I am Zorak,"* the figure said, his voice clear only to Caelen. *"Your ancestor. This system is my legacy, bound to my Heart Gem. You are Nephalem—half-angel, half-demon. Hide this power, or they will hunt you."*

Caelen clutched his chest, gasping. "What… what are you talking about?" His arm burned where the tendrils had entered, and a sharp, digital chime rang in his mind. Words appeared in his vision, glowing like a holographic display:

*Nephalem System: Activated*

- *Zorak: "You are not ready, but you have no choice. Survive."*

- Status:

- Ascended: 5

- Fallen: 5

- Balance: 50% (Stable)

- Mana: 15

- Strength: 4

- Agility: 5

- Endurance: 4

- Quest: Escape the Collapsing Ruin

- Task: Reach the exit before self-destruction

- Reward: +10 Ascended, +10 Fallen, Skill: *Astral Pulse*

- Penalty: -20% Balance if detected

The ruin shook violently, chunks of ceiling crashing down. Caelen staggered to his feet, his body screaming with pain. "Self-destruction?" he croaked. "You've got to be kidding me!"

*"Move, child!"* Zorak snapped, his spectral form hovering beside Caelen. *"The crystal's collapse has triggered the lab's failsafe. Run!"*

Caelen stumbled forward, dodging falling debris. The chamber's walls cracked, revealing more runes that pulsed with unstable energy. His dagger's glow flickered, its mana crystal nearly drained. He didn't have the strength or speed of the magical kids back home—his stats were pathetic, and the pain in his arm wasn't helping. The system's words burned in his mind, but so did Zorak's warning: *Hide this power, or they will hunt you.*

He reached a narrow hallway, its walls lined with ancient tech—monitors sparking, wires hissing with mana. A low growl echoed ahead, another shadow rat, its eyes glinting. Caelen's hand shook, but the system chimed again:

```

*Skill Unlocked: Divine Spark*

- Type: Ascended (Lotus pink)

- Description: A projectile of radiant energy, burning with golden motes.

- Cost: 5 Mana

- *Zorak: "Use it. Now."*

```

Caelen raised his hand, instinct guiding him. A sphere of Lotus pink light formed, flecked with golden sparks like miniature suns. He hurled it, and the sphere streaked forward, illuminating the hall with a soft, floral glow. It struck the rat, burning through its fur with a sizzle. The creature shrieked, collapsing, its Heart Gem exposed.

Caelen panted, his mana dropping to 10. "What… was that?" he whispered.

*"Your birthright,"* Zorak said. *"But it's not enough. Keep moving."*

The ruin's tremors intensified, and Caelen ran, his legs burning. The hallway led to a massive door, its surface etched with more runes. He slammed his shoulder against it, but it wouldn't budge. His vision swam, the pain from the tendrils flaring again. Vanta black wisps curled around his arm, laced with crimson embers, whispering urges to smash the door, to give in to rage.

*"Control it!"* Zorak barked. *"Balance is key. Too much Fallen, and you'll lose yourself."*

Caelen clenched his fists, forcing the dark urges down. He focused on the Lotus pink energy, its warmth calming his mind. The door's runes glowed, reacting to his touch, but the ruin's shaking grew deafening. A final chime rang out:

```

*Warning: Self-destruction imminent. 60 seconds remaining.*

```

His strength gave out. The pain, the tremors, the weight of Zorak's words—it was too much. Caelen's vision darkened, and he collapsed, the Vanta black and Lotus pink energies swirling around him. Zorak's voice echoed faintly: *"You must survive… for both our sakes…"*

Outside, Master Korrin stood in the wasteland, his blind eyes unseeing but his senses sharp. His katana, forged from a Rank 5 Heart Gem, hummed with mana as his gauntlet screen flickered, Caelen's signal gone. His sensory magic—amplified by the loss of his eyes—picked up the ruin's collapse, a surge of unknown energy within. "What in the Reset is happening?" he muttered, gripping his blade.

He stepped toward the ruin's entrance, the ground trembling beneath him. Whatever Caelen had triggered, it wasn't part of the exam. Korrin's instincts screamed danger, but he couldn't leave the boy behind.