"Chapter 4:
Aren didn't know how long he was gone.
There was no sense of time in the darkness—only drifting awareness, like floating in a void without direction.
Then—
A sound returned.
A faint heartbeat.
Thump… thump…
His own.
But something was wrong.
It didn't feel like his anymore.
Aren's eyes snapped open.
He gasped, dragging in cold air like he had just been pulled out of deep water.
His body was on the stone floor of the great hall.
Broken crystal fragments were scattered everywhere.
People were still there.
Watching.
Whispering.
"He's alive…"
"That Zero survived that?"
"Impossible…"
Aren tried to move—but pain shot through his body.
Not physical pain.
Something deeper.
Like his bones didn't fully belong to him.
Then he heard it again.
Not outside.
Inside.
A voice.
"Synchronization at 12%."
Aren froze.
"…Who… said that?"
No one answered him.
The hall went silent.
Even the examiner looked confused.
Aren slowly stood up, shaking.
"Did you hear that?" he asked.
No response.
Only strange looks.
His breath grew heavier.
The voice was still there.
Waiting.
Watching.
"Subject confirmed: Zero."
"Compatibility… impossible."
"Error detected."
Aren clenched his fists.
"Stop… talking…"
Suddenly—
Pain exploded in his mind.
He fell to one knee instantly.
The world distorted.
For a split second, everything around him flickered like broken glass.
And in that flicker—
He saw something.
A vast black space.
A giant broken symbol floating in the air.
And beneath it…
A line of red text:
SYSTEM INITIALIZING…
Aren's eyes widened.
"What… is this…"
Then everything snapped back.
He was back in the hall.
Breathing hard.
Sweating.
But now everyone was staring at him differently.
Not with mockery.
Not with pity.
But fear.
Because behind Aren…
A faint black glow had started to rise.
Like something inside him was finally waking up.
And then—
The voice spoke one final line.
"Welcome… Host."
End of Chapter 4