Deuce woke slowly. One blink at a time, pain wrapping his body like a weight he couldn't lift. Panic came first. His limbs wouldn't move. His chest barely rose with each breath. The sterile white ceiling above him meant nothing.
He didn't know where he was.
He didn't know who he was.
A name came, unbidden.
"Deuce."
He turned his head toward the sound, movement sluggish like molasses. A man in a white coat stood beside the bed. There were creases under his eyes and a stillness in the way he looked at Deuce. He wasn't just examining a patient. He was remembering something.
"Welcome back, lad," the man said softly.
Deuce blinked. The name tugged at something deep inside him, but it meant as little as the ceiling did.
"Who are you?"
"My name is Doctor Zyles," he replied. "How are you feeling?"
"Confused… and in pain. I can't move."
"That's expected. Your muscles have atrophied from being inactive. But with time, you'll recover. There were no major injuries to your body when you were brought in after the crash."
"The crash?"
Doctor Zyles hesitated. His voice came out quieter this time.
"You and your family were in a vehicle accident. It happened over a year ago. I'm sorry, Deuce. Your parents didn't survive."
Deuce stared at the man. He expected to feel something sadness, fear, even anger. But there was just a blank coldness in his chest.
"Sir… although I'm grateful to be alive, I have no idea who you're talking about. And you called me Deuce earlier. Although I responded, I can't say with certainty that it's my name."
Doctor Zyles gave a faint nod, something between understanding and regret.
"What do you remember?"
"Honestly… nothing. Just darkness. And maybe… someone beside me. A small shape. But the memory fades before I can see them."
"I see," Zyles said gently. "Well, Deuce, your fourteenth birthday is coming up in two months. That's when your Awakening will begin. You'll need at least a month of rehabilitation before you can resume everyday life. After that, we'll transfer you to an orphanage. You'll begin your trial from there."
"Noted."
Zyles didn't push further. He placed a reassuring hand on the side rail of the bed and gave the boy a small nod before stepping away.
Rehabilitation was grueling. Every joint felt like it belonged to someone else. Deuce cried once not from the pain, but from the emptiness.
No memories came back.
He only had fragments. Echoes. The warmth of someone leaning against him. A voice too soft to remember.
Two weeks later, he was walking again.
When he arrived at the orphanage, the staff welcomed him with soft smiles and tired eyes. It was clean but quiet. Children laughed, but it felt like laughter that had grown used to being watched.
Deuce didn't talk much.
He ate his food. He ran every morning. He did pushups, situps, anything to feel in control. To stop thinking. He didn't ask about his past. He didn't want to hear half-truths.
Then, one evening, it rained.
Deuce sat alone under the porch roof, his arms wrapped around his knees. He watched droplets slide down the railing like tiny rivers.
A girl sat beside him without a word. Thin, small, maybe ten. Her hair stuck to her forehead in wet strands.
"Hi," she said. "I'm Rain."
He didn't answer.
Rain didn't seem to mind.
"I heard you don't talk much. That's okay. I didn't either when I got here."
Deuce glanced at her. "Why are you talking to me then?"
She shrugged. "I figured you might feel the same way I did."
He said nothing. Rain folded her legs and leaned her chin on her knees.
"You miss someone, don't you?"
"I don't even remember who I'm supposed to miss."
"That's worse."
They sat in silence for a long while. Rain eventually stood.
"You don't have to be alone all the time. Even if you think you are."
Deuce didn't respond. But something settled in his chest that night. Something like a memory he hadn't earned yet.
January 14th came without ceremony. No cake. No singing.
At midnight, while the others slept, Deuce stood by the window. The moonlight spilled across the floor like silver.
He didn't feel ready. He wasn't sure what ready was supposed to feel like.
Then, without warning, his body began to glow faintly. Not light. Not warmth. Just… unmaking. He vanished. Like he was never there to begin with.
[SYSTEM INITIALIZATION…]
[VERITAS ONLINE]
The world around Deuce pulsed in complete darkness. Blacker than sleep. Heavier than silence. There was no body. No ground. No sound. Only stillness.
And then:
[USER PROFILE DETECTED]
[NAME: DEUCE]
[STATUS: VITAL SIGNS STABILIZED]
[TIME ELAPSED SINCE TRIAL COMMENCEMENT: 00:00:01]
Somewhere within that void, a light flickered. Not in front of him. Not behind him. But within.
It was like a breath that didn't come from his lungs. Like something waking up beside him. Or inside him.
[RANK: MARKED]
[CALIBRATING TALENT AFFINITY…]
…
…
…
[WARNING: SYSTEM INTERFERENCE DETECTED]
[STABILIZING...]
Something coiled in the dark. Not hostile. Not kind. Just ancient.
[TALENT ACQUIRED: TENEBRIS]
RANK: DORMANT
Passive Traits Unlocked
• Residual Sight
You perceive traces of death's memory. Flickers of fear, fragments of thought, shadows of movement.
Veilstep
Your presence flickers. Beings fail to register you properly.
Active Traits: None Detected
Talent Progression: Restricted
A catalyst is required to awaken Tenebris.
The flicker inside him ignited. Cold, not hot. Soft, not blinding. A pale flame in the dark.
No voice returned this time. No whisper. Only stillness watching back.
[AWAKENING TRIAL: COMMENCING...]