The world received its first confirmed Ascendant six months later.
Not on Imperial Island.
Not in a government laboratory.
Not in a military facility.
In a school.
The incident lasted less than thirty seconds.
Yet by the end of the week, every major intelligence agency on Earth possessed a copy of the footage.
A thirteen-year-old student became trapped beneath a collapsed concrete support during a structural accident.
Witnesses later claimed the beam weighed nearly a ton.
Impossible for any human to move.
The boy lifted it.
Not completely.
Not dramatically.
Just enough.
Just long enough.
Enough to save three classmates.
By the time emergency responders arrived, he had collapsed unconscious.
The footage spread rapidly before authorities removed it.
Too late.
Millions had already seen it.
Most dismissed it as fake.
Others did not.
Kyle watched the recording in silence.
Sarah stood beside him.
"Level One."
Kyle nodded.
The boy's muscles had strengthened momentarily.
His nervous system had accelerated.
His body had drawn upon ambient cosmic energy instinctively.
A textbook early Ascendant awakening.
The first public one.
"It begins," Sarah whispered.
Kyle didn't answer.
Because he knew she was right.
The age of hidden anomalies was ending.
Three weeks later, a second incident occurred.
Then a third.
Then dozens.
Around the world, unusual individuals began appearing.
A young woman surviving injuries that should have killed her.
A fisherman swimming for hours against violent currents.
A rescue worker lifting debris far beyond normal human capability.
None of them understood what was happening.
Neither did the world.
But Kyle did.
The first generation had arrived.
The first true Ascendants.
Imperial Island
The island had changed dramatically.
What began as a hidden refuge was becoming a functioning city.
Research sectors expanded.
Agricultural production increased.
Energy facilities multiplied.
Most importantly...
The children were growing.
Kyle walked through one of the academy gardens.
Dozens of children played nearby.
Laughing.
Running.
Living normal lives.
At least as normal as possible.
He stopped near a training field.
A small girl stood perfectly still.
Eyes closed.
She couldn't have been older than ten.
Kayla Morgan.
One of the earliest arrivals.
Kyle observed quietly.
The air around her shifted slightly.
Not visibly.
Not enough for anyone else to notice.
But Kyle felt it.
Cosmic energy responding.
The girl opened her eyes.
Immediately noticing him.
"Mr. Kyle."
Kyle smiled slightly.
"Practicing again?"
She nodded enthusiastically.
"I almost felt it."
"Almost?"
"The pressure."
She pointed upward.
Kyle's expression remained calm.
Inside, he was surprised.
Very surprised.
Most children showed minor sensitivity.
Rare intuition.
Enhanced learning.
Kayla could actually perceive traces of cosmic energy.
Years ahead of projections.
"You should rest," Kyle said.
She made a face.
"That's what Sarah says."
Kyle almost laughed.
"Sarah is usually right."
"That's unfortunate."
This time Kyle did laugh.
For a moment, everything felt normal.
Then the alarm sounded.
Every communicator on the island activated simultaneously.
The cheerful atmosphere vanished instantly.
Kyle's expression hardened.
Sarah's voice came through the network.
"Kyle. Command center. Now."
The tone alone was enough.
Something serious had happened.
Minutes later, the leadership team gathered.
Sarah.
Clinton.
Joshua.
Virginia.
Justin.
Kay.
The future Five Emperors.
Still growing.
Still training.
But already among the strongest individuals on the island.
A massive display illuminated the room.
Satellite imagery.
Military movement.
Emergency response deployments.
Sarah enlarged the target region.
A remote wilderness zone.
Hundreds of kilometers from major population centers.
"What happened?"
Kyle asked.
Virginia answered.
"A hunting party disappeared."
Justin continued.
"Then a military reconnaissance team disappeared."
Joshua folded his arms.
"They sent Ascendants."
The room became silent.
Because that was new.
Governments had started identifying awakened individuals.
Organizing them.
Using them.
The process had begun faster than Kyle expected.
"And?" Kyle asked.
Sarah zoomed in further.
The image froze on a massive shape moving through forest terrain.
Even through thermal imaging, its size was obvious.
Too large.
Too fast.
Too powerful.
Kyle immediately understood.
The mutation event from months ago.
It hadn't died.
It had grown.
"Classification?"
he asked.
Sarah hesitated.
Then answered.
"Unknown."
Joshua stared at the image.
"It killed three Level Twos."
Nobody spoke.
Level Twos were rare.
Extremely rare.
Yet they had died.
Easily.
Kyle leaned forward.
Studying the thermal patterns.
The energy signatures.
The movement.
Then he noticed something.
His eyes narrowed.
"It's evolving."
The room grew still.
Sarah looked at him.
"What do you mean?"
Kyle enlarged a section of the scan.
"The energy circulation."
Another image.
"The adaptation pathways."
Another.
"The structure."
Realization spread across the room.
The creature wasn't merely mutated.
It was developing.
The same way an Ascendant developed.
A terrifying possibility emerged.
If humans could evolve through Omega...
Why not animals?
No one liked where that thought led.
Especially Kyle.
Because he suddenly realized humanity might not be the dominant species in Omega's future.
And that possibility changed everything.
For the first time since founding the Imperial House...
Kyle considered revealing part of his strength.
Not all of it.
Never all of it.
But enough.
Because the world was approaching a threshold.
And once crossed...
There would be no returning to the old Earth.