CHAPTER 33: CHAPTER 33 — THE FRACTURING WITHIN

The world swayed around Bright as Hailen steadied him.

His chest burned—no, glowed—with a heat that didn’t belong to flesh or blood. Every heartbeat rippled down his arms, filling his veins with a pulse that felt too large, too ancient, too alive.

Hailen studied him with a seriousness Bright had never seen before.

"It’s starting," the old fighter murmured. "You need to lie down."

Bright shook his head. "No—no, I’m fine."

Then his knees buckled.

Hailen caught him before he hit the sand.

"Idiot," the instructor muttered. "No one is ’fine’ when their core begins to evolve."

Bright groaned as another surge of light shot through his chest.

It felt like something in him was cracking open—not like bone, but like a seal that had been waiting for years to split.

"Come," Hailen said, lifting him easily. "Initiation can’t be stopped now."

The underground chamber beneath the eastern yard felt ancient—older than the facility, older than the sand, older than any training hall on record.

Torch-like lights lined the walls, flickering with energy rather than flame.

Hailen lowered Bright onto a slab carved from some smooth, dark stone.

Bright shivered.

Cold air rushed across his skin.

And then—

Thump.

His core pulsed again.

Not with pain this time.

With hunger.

As if the core itself was reaching for something, calling for something, demanding something.

Hailen placed a hand on Bright’s forehead.

"Listen to me. When this begins, you do not resist. You do not fight. You do not panic. You let it break. You let it reshape itself. That is Initiation."

Bright grit his teeth as his chest lit up again.

"What... what happens if I resist?"

Hailen’s gaze hardened.

"You die."

Bright swallowed.

Good to know.

Breaking Open

The first true wave hit him like thunder.

Bright arched off the slab, gasping, as light spilled from his sternum. His eyes blurred and then sharpened as visions—memories that weren’t memories—flickered through his mind.

Fights he had never lived.

Places he had never seen.

Beings he did not understand.

His danger sense roared louder than it ever had, no longer a whisper of warnings but a storm of instinct and image.

Hailen’s voice echoed distantly:

"Your core must fragment... then reform... then align with your soul talent..."

Bright barely heard him.

Because something inside Bright was changing.

Not just his core.

His soul.

He felt it—like two pieces of himself peeling apart, creating space where there had never been space before.

A hollow pocket.

A chamber.

No—two chambers.

Empty.

Waiting.

Bright gasped. "What... what is that? What’s happening to me?"

Hailen leaned closer. "Describe it."

"It’s like... something in my soul is opening," Bright whispered through clenched teeth. "Like they’re waiting for something to... fuse with."

Hailen stiffened.

"That—" he breathed "—shouldn’t be happening."

Bright didn’t hear him. His eyes rolled back as the next wave hit.

There was a moment—a heartbeat—where everything stilled.

Then Bright felt something deep inside him twist.

No... expand.

No... unfold.

His soul talent—previously a single thread tied to his danger sense—split open like a blooming fracture.

The first pocket pulled at his danger sense, tugging the ability inward, as if inviting it to merge with something else. He felt the sense, lighten, prepare to combine.

The second pocket—

This one was empty.

Completely empty.

Waiting for something new.

Something worthy of Initiation rank.

But this was natural all initiates were able to fuse an ability core into their souls.

Bright’s breath caught.

And then his core exploded.

A shockwave burst from Bright’s chest, slamming into the chamber walls. Cracks spidered out from the stone slab under him. The lights flickered violently.

Bright screamed, gripping the edges of the slab so hard his knuckles bled.

Light poured from his eyes, his mouth, his chest.

Hailen shielded himself with a raised arm. "Ride it, Bright! Let it happen!"

The core dissolved inside him—shattering into radiant fragments that scattered through his veins.

For a moment Bright felt weightless.

Then the pieces rushed inward, converging again—

Reforming into something sharper.

Brighter.

Deeper.

His body convulsed.

His spirit arced like a drawn bow.

His core snapped back into place—like a star collapsing and reforming into something denser.

Then everything went silent.

Bright collapsed, chest heaving.

Hailen watched closely.

"...Well?" the instructor asked quietly. "Do you feel it?"

Bright pushed himself upright, sweat dripping from his chin.

He felt everything.

The world was louder, sharper—alive. His senses pulsed with clarity he’d never known. His muscles hummed with raw energy. His thoughts sliced through confusion like blades.

And in his soul—

Two pockets glowed.

One filled with the swirling essence of danger sense, ready to fuse, waiting for a partner ability.

The second completely empty, ready to be shaped by whatever power he earned as an Initiate.

Bright inhaled.

Then he opened his eyes.

They glowed—faintly, but undeniably—with the light of an Initiate.

"I’m... different," he whispered.

Hailen exhaled slowly. "Then it’s done."

Bright’s hands trembled as he looked down at himself.

"It feels like the world is breathing with me."

"That’s what awakening feels like," Hailen said. "Welcome to Initiation."

Bright didn’t feel strong.

He felt controlled.

Focused.

Alive in a way that wasn’t human anymore.

He stood carefully, but the moment he did, the world shifted—his danger sense immediately reading the chamber:

Pressure points.

Fault lines.

Weak vibrations.

Residual energy.

Hailen’s posture.

His intent.

His next three possible movements.

It wasn’t overwhelming.

It was effortless, although a bit taxing to his mind.

"Hailen..." Bright whispered, voice trembling. "Everything feels... clear."

"You’re finally using your ability like it was meant to be used," the instructor said. "Unshackled."

Bright flexed his hand—and the air around his palm rippled faintly.

He realized that he can now fuse an ability core with danger sense creating something new , something unheard of, unique.

Bright’s heartbeat quickened.

So that was why people feared high-level soul talents.

Fusion.

Amplification.

Evolution.

"I can fuse danger sense with another ability," Bright said softly. "And whatever I get as an Initiate can fuse with something else entirely."

Hailen stared at him for a long moment, wondering what the little kid was babbling.

Hailen didn’t smile.

"Your path will be heavy. And dangerous. Your talent is a gift, yes—but it is also a burden. One that will put you in the eyes of the wrong people, all soul talents are rare. I know you can improve equipment and as you have gotten to initiate rank it must have improved"

Bright nodded.

He already knew that.

He could feel it.

Power drew attention.

Attention drew death.

He would have to become strong enough to bury both.

Bright was still trembling as he emerged from the chamber, Hailen supporting him.

He had to report to headquarters about his advancement immediately.

Duncan was the first to see him.

His eyes widened. "Bright... you’re glowing."

Bright managed a laugh.

Then he told him—

Not everything.

Just enough.

That he had become an Initiate.

That his talent had changed.

But he didn’t tell them about the two fusion pockets.

Not ever.

Some truths needed a long ass time.

And power required secrecy.

Some of his acquaintances,because he wasn’t sure he could call them friends also found out about his initiation. They were shocked also, but they weren’t surprised either after all they went through.

Bright showed a rare smile as he made his way to administration.