Mission Zero

The silence after Lilith's voice faded clung to Levi like damp air. Her eyes brighter than he remembered, yet still rimmed with worry held him in place longer than any chain ever had. Just for a second, he let the world outside pause.

Then the door sealed between them.

The system facility's glass partition hissed shut, locking her in the observation wing. She waved once, forced and small. Levi's hand rose to match hers shaking slightly, not from pain, but from the effort of pulling away.

"Back to training," said Instructor Arkan, voice sharp, expression unreadable. "You've touched sentiment. Now bury it. You don't need it in the field."

Levi didn't respond. His body moved, but his mind was still with Lilith. The way her fingers trembled. The bruise near her elbow. Had she tried to hide it?

Pain stirred.

[System Ping: Emotional Anchor Detected – Surge Compatibility Increased]

[New Trait Detected: Bloodline Tether – Passive Boost to Resolve When Loved One is Threatened]

He didn't blink. Let it burn, let it carve itself into him. He'd use it all.

The next chamber was circular, metallic, lined with nodes like dormant stars. The ceiling pulsed with low golden light, humming with restrained energy. Arkan stood at its center, flanked by two masked attendants.

"This is your next gate," Arkan said. "Your duel with Ronan pushed your core beyond projection. You triggered Overdrive and survived. That qualifies you for Tier Two recalibration."

Levi stepped into the center.

[Core Sync Initiated]

[Memory Archive Secured | Pain Echo Stabilized]

[Ascension Level 4 Verified]

The chamber spun. Thin threads of blue light laced around his body, mapping old wounds, bruises, every internal fracture. It felt like standing naked before a god.

[Upgrade Module Unlocked: SYSTEM REFORGE]

[Choose One Passive Core Upgrade:]

Iron Will Conduit: Passive Resolve boost when facing enemies of higher level.

Echo Frame Stabilizer: Delays Overclock burnout timer.

Adaptive Surge Link: Converts ambient system energy into temporary Dexterity.

Levi didn't hesitate.

[Upgrade Selected: Adaptive Surge Link]

[Dexterity +1 | Trait Synchronicity Threshold Increased]

The energy coursed into him like ice water into his bones. His fingers twitched. His heartbeat spiked then leveled out, cleaner. Sharper. His body felt... lighter.

Then came the second notification.

[Rank Initiation Complete – System School Hierarchy Updating…]

A screen formed in front of him, pulsing with hexagonal ranks each labeled with names, stats, school titles, and personal titles.

[School Ranking System – Tier II Placement: 298 of 312]

Levi blinked. Two hundred and ninety-eighth?

Arkan smirked. "Don't look so surprised. You're barely stabilized. Most here have been training for years under the Core."

Levi scrolled through the leaderboard. At the top was a name:

[#1 – Cerys Vale | Path: Revenant | Rank: Silver Fang]

Beneath her was a sea of others: Juggernauts, Phantoms, a few hybrids like him. Each one ahead of him. Hundreds.

A weight settled in his chest not shame, not defeat.

Resolve.

"Keep staring, or climb," Arkan said.

"I'll climb," Levi answered.

"Good. Then it's time for your first assignment."

Arkan gestured, and the chamber walls opened to reveal a holographic map, a 3D rendering of the outer city, its ruins, red zones, and data anomalies marked in pulsing orange.

"Welcome to your first field mission," Arkan said. "Mission Zero."

Levi narrowed his eyes. "Alone?"

"Correct. Every new recruit at Tier Two begins with a solo dispatch. You're being sent to Zone Kappa-Nine. Surveillance blackout. Likely Veil distortion. You'll extract the core anomaly or die trying."

"Casualty protocol?"

"Off."

[Mission Brief Uploaded: Extraction | Difficulty: Moderate | Time Limit: 48 Hours]

Levi studied the coordinates.

"Any threat markers?"

"We've tagged possible fragments Veil-born remnants. No confirmed sentients. But reports from scav teams suggest unstable resonance patterns. The type that... echoes."

Levi's fingers clenched. "I'll handle it."

"You'll try. You've got six hours to prep."

Levi's dorm was still as sterile as it had been the night he arrived bare walls, a system console, a folded uniform. He sat at the edge of the bunk and let the silence sink in.

Then the system buzzed.

[Message Received – Source: Lilith Lupin]

[Playback?]

He hesitated. Then nodded.

Her voice came through in a whisper.

"Hey, dummy. I know you're trying to act tough. I saw the way you limped when you walked away. You're still bad at hiding pain."

"I don't know where they're sending you. But please… don't forget why you're doing this. Not for revenge. Not for pride. For us."

"Come back."

He let the message loop twice before responding.

[Reply: I'll come back. Stronger. For both of us.]

The next few hours were brutal.

Levi hit the facility's mobile simulation rings augmented sparring programs that projected near-real foes. Dozens of system-generated opponents took turns, each growing more vicious, faster, smarter.

His muscles screamed. His vision blurred. But he kept moving.

He tested his upgraded Blink Step, now with slightly reduced cooldowns. He paired Phantom Echo Drive with the Adaptive Surge Link, finding that it let him mimic not just motion but weight shift, a kind of pressure illusion. That could fool pressure-triggered traps or motion-sensitive Veil fragments.

Pain rolled over him again and again.

[Pain Echo: Minor Feedback – Surge +0.4]

Then something flickered.

A memory, unbidden.

Not Lilith this time.

A man's voice.

Rough. Laughing.

"You ain't gotta be the strongest, Levi. Just the last one standing."

His father.

He snarled and pushed harder.

Dawn broke red and stormy when the transport arrived.

The hover skiff touched down just outside the school's perimeter wall, its hull marked with claw-like gashes from prior missions. Arkan stood beside it, arms folded.

"You ready?"

Levi nodded.

"No comms out there. You'll be system-locked unless you return."

He stepped aboard. "Then I'll return."

Arkan tossed him a compact device. "New field tool. One-time use Pulse Anchor. Use it if the Veil tries to warp your location."

[Item Received: Pulse Anchor | Usage: Emergency Spatial Recalibration]

The hatch sealed behind him.

The skiff rose. Levi stared through the window as the tower grew small beneath him. Behind it, far across the horizon, the Core Rift shimmered faintly in the distance a wound in the sky that never closed.

He clenched his jaw.

Mission Zero.

A solo run into Veil-corrupted territory.

No backup. No second chances.

But he wasn't afraid.

Because now, pain was no longer a prison.

It was power.

And Levi Lupin was learning how to wield it.

[System Update Pending – New Trait Path: Revenant Echo Under Evaluation]

[Memory Archive Sync: 56%]

[Next Trigger Required: Witnessing Death | Condition: Close Proximity Required]

He didn't see that last message.

But soon, very soon, he would.

And when he did, the true horror of the Veil would begin to unfold.

As would the next chapter of his ascent.

The skiff rocked as it sliced through shifting clouds. Levi closed his eyes, feeling the hum of the engine, his fingers tapping in rhythm to the notifications still flickering across his interface.

[Ranking Challenge Available – Optional Upon Return]

He ignored it. For now.

He was thinking of Lilith again. And that memory. His father.

What had Viktor said back then?

"Your old man couldn't pay his soul debt. But he gave you enough of his blood to carry it forward."

Blood and pain.

A debt Levi hadn't chosen but one he would finish paying, even if it meant burning through every last ounce of himself.

He pulled the mission file up again, eyes darting across the scan patterns.

Zone Kappa-Nine.

A collapsed metro station on the edge of the Veilline.

Reports mentioned survivors once. Entire families gone missing after living just a few days inside.

No return signal.

What could twist people into echoes of themselves?

He gritted his teeth. "Guess I'll find out."

The skiff dipped. Sirens buzzed once. The pilot AI-controlled spoke through the comm.

"Entering anomaly perimeter. Prepare for drop."

The hatch hissed. Levi grabbed his Pulse Anchor and stepped toward the exit ramp as fog rolled in below.

This wasn't a simulation.

This was his war now.

And Levi Lupin was about to take the first step into the world beyond pain.

A world broken.

A world he would break further if it meant finding the truth. Or bringing Lilith home.

No more chains.

Only fists.

Only fire.

Only the path forward.