The Cadet and the Cold Light

The Federation didn't wait for you to adjust. It didn't care if you were from another time, another world, or another life. Once you woke up inside one of their cadet bodies, you moved with their schedule or you were erased by it.

Darian sat stiffly on the edge of his synthetic bed as the dorm's ceiling dimmed from starlight to pale daylight white. His feet touched down on warm, friction-balanced flooring. No sounds outside. No footsteps. Yet he could feel life beyond the walls dozens, maybe hundreds of other cadets awakening in sync.

They were raised for this. He wasn't.

The Federation hadn't just trained these people. It had bred them into soldiers.

He swallowed hard as his body responded to the motion with terrifying precision. The muscles didn't ache. The nerves didn't tremble. It was the body of a young warrior reflex-tuned, stimulant-stabilized, far more capable than anything he remembered from 2030.

A uniform unfolded from the wall, nanowoven with kinetic fiber. When he touched it, it shifted slightly, auto-sizing to his frame. Dark grey with silver trim. A subtle logo at the shoulder: Ω Omega Branch.

He didn't know what that meant. But he had a feeling he would learn soon whether he wanted to or not.

"Cadet Vex," the dorm AI chimed. "Orientation Transport: Arrival in 60 seconds."

The hallway outside was sterile, curved, featureless. Light strips lined the ceiling. The floor had zero friction noise. Other cadets emerged from rooms like clockwork.

They were silent. No idle chatter. No fidgeting. Perfect posture. Full uniforms. Emotionless expressions.

Darian walked stiffly among them. They didn't look at him, but he could feel it the way they registered him. As if cataloguing a data anomaly.

The transport arrived with a soft chime. It wasn't a shuttle. It was a glide module oval, frictionless, hovering above the floor by invisible force.

He stepped in. The doors closed.

The Orientation Dome wasn't a building. It was a monument.

Massive. Towering. A structure that floated above the heart of the city like a suspended sphere. Inside, gravity itself bent to architectural design. Curved layers of walkways spiraled upward in gentle arcs, each orbiting a core of projected history.

Darian's level lit up with one title:

HISTORICAL TIMELINE: THE AWAKENING ERA.

As he walked, the transparent floor lit with guiding light. Massive holograms spiraled through the air—panels of text, historical reconstructions, and projected footage from events that should've been impossible to record.

2100 – First Dimensional Rift opens in Antarctica. Initial containment fails.

2102 – Global civilization collapses. 38% of population lost.

2104 – Kael Sarros awakens. Bonds with Rift Beast. Kills Leviathan-class entity in Omega Rift.

2110 – Global Federation founded. Militarization becomes total.

2131 – Tier System introduced. Awakener paths formalized.

2154 – Present day. Earth stabilized. Rift incursions remain active.

Darian's heart pounded as he stared at the images. Cities in ruin. Creatures unlike anything the human imagination had been meant to process. Titans wrapped in gravity-rending light. Beasts made of glass bones and screaming fog.

And then Kael Sarros.

Projected footage showed a lone man standing on cracked ground, dust swirling around him. Behind him hovered a Rift Beast unlike any other flame-winged, serpent-bodied, crimson-eyed, as if summoned from a forgotten myth.

Kael Sarros – Sovereign Tier Awakener. Status: Presumed Dead in Riftspace.

Sovereign Tier?

Darian's breath caught.

[System Notification]

Dormant Beast Core Detected – Classification: ???

Stability: 94.8%

Tier Access: Locked – Pending First Kill

That line again. A system message only he could see. Or feel. It didn't appear with flashing UI it simply arrived, like a thought not born of his own mind.

"First kill," he whispered. "That's the trigger."

A learning terminal blinked ahead.

Curious, Darian stepped close. It responded to proximity, casting open a three-dimensional breakdown of human cultivation pathways. Title:

THE TIER SYSTEM: UNDERSTANDING HUMAN POTENTIAL

"All Federation cultivation is structured across multiple stages, each with ten internal tiers. Advancement from Tier 1 to Tier 10 requires accumulation and refinement of Dimen-Essence—most commonly extracted from slain Rift Beasts."

"Stronger beast = higher essence density = faster tier growth."

"Weaker beasts yield minimal gains. Tier advancement beyond 6 without refined cores or combat resonance is rare."

"WARNING: Attempting to use cores outside compatibility range may result in death."

Another panel expanded beside it.

BEAST PATHS VS. TALENT PATHS

"Beast Awakening grants bonded evolution through shared essence. Higher bond = greater strength scaling."

"Non-Beast paths rely on Talent development - spiritual affinity, mental resonance, kinetic focus, and enhanced instinctive flow."

"Tier advancement exists across both routes. However, Beast Path cultivators evolve both body and bonded form simultaneously."

A quiet scoff sounded behind him.

"Still watching intro lessons like a scrub?"

Darian turned.

The cadet was tall. Perfectly symmetrical face. Icy-blue eyes. Golden hair swept back in arrogant defiance of gravity. His uniform shimmered faintly with layered rank Elite Cadet.

"Let me guess," the boy said. "Hoping your mystery beast shows up in time to save your sorry ass in the Rift?"

Others gathered near him. Laughing softly. Sharks circling.

Darian didn't respond.

"You're the one who transferred in yesterday, right?" the boy continued. "No Awakening record. No evaluation rank. No kill badges. Just a ghost in the database."

"Name's Ezek Kaarn. Ranked 2nd in our year. Don't worry, Vex. No one expects much from your type."

Darian stared evenly.

"Then they won't be disappointed."

That stopped Ezek for a half-second. Just long enough for a flicker of interest to pass across his face.

Then he turned and walked away.

That night, the ceiling once again showed stars but this time, Darian didn't watch them.

He sat cross-legged on the floor, palms against his knees, breathing slow. He could feel it again.

The coil in his chest. The quiet pressure that wasn't his own. A presence that stirred when the rest of the world stilled.

Then

[System Update Detected…]

Dormant Beast Core: Active Interface Sync (Partial)

Name: [REDACTED]

Status: Infant Stage (Locked)

Class: Unknown / Sovereign Signature Echo

Tier: [Unavailable – Pending First Kill]

Compatibility Rate: 94.8%

System Hint: "The sky folds where the Void drinks light."

He shivered.

That same phrase again. Like prophecy. Like truth carved into memory.

Void.

What kind of Beast drinks light?

He didn't know yet.

But he would.

Soon.