The air burned with pressure inside the Kruger training spire.
Pablo El'Vertigo stood shirtless at the center of a zero-gravity chamber, his body bruised, scarred, but steady. Surrounding him were fourteen other trainees—each marked by origin, status, or bloodline.
Pablo had none of that now.
Just his name.
Stripped.
And a will to survive.
"Again!" barked Instructor Hale. Her voice cracked like a whip across their minds.
Pablo clenched his fists.
The Viora Core embedded at the base of his spine pulsed with electric tension—coiled like a storm not yet born.
[Viora Aspect Initiation: Stage 1 – Echo Alignment][Goal: Synchronize your internal flow with ambient kinetic fields.]
The others moved—some with grace, others with brute force. Each unleashed bursts of violet-blue energy as they struck targets, flowing with the rhythm of motion and space.
Pablo was slower. More precise.
He listened.
Let the silence build like pressure beneath skin.
Then he moved.
A single step forward—then a second—and finally a sharp, curved strike with his elbow.
The chamber hummed.
Not with power—but harmony.
Instructor Hale paused.
Eyes narrowed.
"Again, El'Vertigo," she said.
Pablo nodded.
Again, he moved.
Again, the chamber responded.
This time, the air itself bent—particles shivering as his strike carved a ripple across the field.
[Viora Echo Achieved – Rank D+][Aspect Signature Forming...]
A phantom shimmer coiled around Pablo's back—shifting, unstable, like wings of broken light. The Viora System within him tried to assign shape, but something resisted.
Unformed. Unsettled.
A second source fought beneath the surface.
One not born of the Empire.
But touched by rebellion.
Later – Kruger Barracks
Pablo sat alone.
Palms burned raw from impact drills. Breathing ragged.
He looked at the Viora core scar on his back in the mirror—glowing faintly.
"I'm not him," Pablo whispered, voice hoarse.
"But I'll catch up to him."
Outside the door, voices spoke in hushed tones.
A message had arrived.
Encrypted.
Top-tier clearance.
It was delivered straight to High Commander Varn's chamber.
From Sulfur.
The message read:
"Subject: Blood Entity confirmed alive. Crash-landed on Nightfell. Void activity detected.""Deploy retrieval unit? Or let the world consume him?"
Varn hesitated.
Then smiled.
"No. Let him marinate. Nightfell will either break him... or perfect him."