The cold silence of space wasn't quiet—it was screaming.
Kael Veyar drifted in the dead black, a fractured helmet barely clinging to his head, oxygen leaking in steady pulses. Blood floated in frozen strands around his body, shimmering like dying stars.
This wasn't how the heir to the Veyar Line was supposed to die.
They called it a "ceremonial exile." A lie wrapped in tradition. In truth, it was murder, packaged in a golden casket and launched from a flagship in front of the High Council.
He remembered the smirk on Lord Xavien's face—his half-brother—standing just behind the council.
"Your legacy ends in the void, little brother."
That voice still echoed in Kael's skull as the black swallowed him.
But the universe… had other plans.
> [Initializing…]
[Cosmic Protocol Detected: Subject Level—Extinction Risk]
[Searching compatible host…]
[Host Found. Synchronizing Mind/Body/Code…]
A crackle of raw blue light surged through Kael's bones. His spine arched. His vision went white-hot.
> [Protocol Bound: Cosmic Ascension Unit Online.]
[Welcome, Kael Veyar. Your extinction has been denied.]
He screamed—not from pain, but from awakening.
For a moment, the stars weren't distant—they were trembling.
---
His shattered armor stitched itself with pulses of quantum thread. His blood reversed mid-air, rushing back into his veins. Symbols unknown to any language danced across his retina like divine code.
Kael gasped, floating upright in the void as a ghostly interface unfolded before him.
> [Ascension Tier: 0]
[Core Directive: Devour, Evolve, Dominate]
[New Skill Unlocked: Graviton Surge Lv.1]
[Cosmic Resource Detection: Activated]
A flicker appeared in the distance. A small asteroid belt—rich with raw aetherium, an extinct energy compound once used by ancient empires.
Kael's lips curled. The boy they left to die in darkness now had a system forged by the first gods of the universe.
> "So this is your mistake, Xavien," he whispered, voice metallic with rage.
"You didn't bury me… You woke me."
---
His body twisted mid-space, and the protocol responded instantly.
Thrusters formed at his back like wings. Aetherium threads wrapped around his arms. With a single thought, he launched toward the belt, heat blazing from his core.
---
On the third rock, Kael landed like a meteor. The asteroid cracked beneath his boots. He raised a palm.
> [Mining: Initiated]
[Conversion to Cosmic Core: 0.03%]
He could feel the asteroid's life drain into his veins. Strength bloomed through his muscles like wildfire.
Suddenly—
> [Hostile Signature Detected]
[Target Class: Intergalactic Reaper Drone | Rank: Alpha]
A red glyph appeared behind him. From the void, a creature of chrome and shadows descended, eyes burning crimson. Razor limbs screeched open.
This sector wasn't dead—it was guarded.
---
Kael's fingers closed into a fist.
> "Let's test what you made me into."
The drone shrieked. Kael shot forward.
The battle lasted less than twenty seconds.
By the time it ended, the drone was scrap, and Kael stood over it breathing slowly, glowing like a sun.
> [Enemy Absorbed]
[Ascension Progress: 4.9%]
[New Skill Acquired: Phase Cut Lv.1]
---
As Kael stared into the stars, the Cosmic Protocol whispered again—
> [Galactic Map Unlocked.]
[Warning: Veyar Throneworld detected your signal.]
[Message Intercepted: "Confirm termination."]
Kael smirked, voice cold as the void itself.
> "Let them come."
> "I'm not dead."
> "I'm ascending."it