The silence in the holding room was suffocating. Luke sat on the edge of the cot, his elbows resting on his knees, head hanging low. His thoughts were a whirlwind of confusion, anger, and disbelief. The events of the last few hours played out over and over in his mind like a broken record.
He was nothing. He had been tested, scanned, measured, and found lacking.
The woman, with her cold, emotionless gaze. The man, who had dismissed him with nothing more than a wave of his hand. The cadets who had passed their tests, the ones who were now free to begin their training and develop their abilities while he sat in this cold, empty room—forgotten.
Luke squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block out the growing sense of hopelessness that gnawed at him. What if it's true? What if I really am nothing?
He hadn't felt that way before. All his life, there had been moments when the pull inside him—the strange, deep energy—had sparked, even if only for a fleeting second. His parents had always dismissed it as a figment of his imagination, a trick of the mind. But to him, it had felt real. Something was different about him, but no one seemed to understand. No one had taken it seriously.
But here, in the cold, sterile walls of this facility, he felt the sharp sting of rejection. It was as if his very existence was an error, a glitch in the grand design.
The sound of footsteps approaching the door broke his thoughts. Luke tensed, glancing toward the thick metal door as it slid open with a loud, mechanical groan. A figure stepped inside—another soldier, this one with an air of authority about him. He wasn't the large one who had dragged him in here earlier. This man was shorter but had a presence that filled the room, his dark eyes locked onto Luke with an intensity that felt unsettling.
"Up," the soldier commanded, his voice firm but not unkind.
Luke didn't move at first. He wasn't sure what was worse: the silence of the room or the unknown that the soldier represented. But after a long moment, he rose slowly to his feet, his muscles aching from the hours of sitting in one position.
The soldier didn't speak immediately. Instead, he studied Luke for a moment, his gaze calculating. Finally, he stepped aside, gesturing for Luke to follow him.
"Where are you taking me?" Luke asked, his voice hoarse from the tension that had built in his chest.
"You'll see," the soldier replied curtly, and before Luke could protest, he was led out of the room and down another corridor. This hallway was much darker, the harsh fluorescent lights flickering as they moved deeper into the heart of the facility.
They arrived at a room that was dimly lit, and Luke was immediately struck by how different it was from the clinical testing areas. The walls here were stone, ancient-looking even, as if this part of the building had been untouched for decades. There were no machines, no screens—just a large, circular table in the center of the room, surrounded by high-backed chairs. At the head of the table, a tall figure stood, his features obscured by a hooded cloak.
Luke's heart skipped a beat. The figure felt… wrong. There was something about him that set off every instinct in Luke's body, a deep, primal urge to flee.
The soldier who had escorted Luke stepped forward, his voice low as he addressed the hooded figure.
"Sir, the subject is here," he said.
The hooded figure turned slightly, his movements slow and deliberate. Luke couldn't make out his face, but the air around him seemed to hum with power.
"Leave us," the figure commanded, and without another word, the soldier retreated, leaving Luke standing alone in the room with the mysterious stranger.
For a moment, there was silence. Then the figure spoke again, his voice smooth, almost hypnotic.
"You're different, Luke."
Luke froze, his breath catching in his throat. The way the figure said his name sent a shiver down his spine. There was an almost unnatural quality to his words, as if he knew things Luke himself didn't understand.
"What do you mean?" Luke asked cautiously, his voice trembling slightly.
The figure stepped forward, the cloak trailing behind him like a shadow. He was tall—unnaturally tall—and there was an undeniable power in his presence, a force that seemed to draw the room's energy toward him. The air felt heavier, thicker, as if something ancient was awakening.
"You have a power," the figure said, his tone more confident now, "but it is… buried. Hidden beneath layers of fear, confusion, and denial."
Luke felt a cold sweat break out on the back of his neck. "I… I don't have any power. I was just tested. Nothing registered. I'm a failure."
The figure's eyes gleamed, and Luke realized that despite the hood, the man's eyes were glowing faintly—pale, golden, like the light of a full moon. The presence of those eyes sent a sharp jolt of recognition through him, something that felt both dangerous and comforting at once.
"You are wrong," the figure said softly. "The tests are flawed. The system they use is designed for those who know what they are, who have already embraced their abilities. But you, Luke, have something... more. You are both more and less than they understand. The system can't detect what you are because you've buried it so deep. But I see it."
The words rattled through Luke's mind like a storm. He couldn't speak. His throat tightened, his mind racing to make sense of what the man was saying. More and less? What did he mean?
"Why don't you show me?" the figure asked, his voice almost a whisper, inviting. "Your true self."
The air around Luke seemed to thicken as if the very walls were pressing in on him. His heart pounded harder in his chest, and a strange warmth spread through his veins, pooling in his core. Something was happening. He could feel it. That pull, that strange energy he had always sensed but never understood, was stirring. It was beginning to awaken.
He closed his eyes, focusing. Now or never.
His body trembled, the sensation of power, of something deep inside him, finally beginning to break through. There was no turning back now. The floodgates were opening, and Luke could feel it—an undeniable surge of energy. He felt his senses sharpening, the temperature of the room rising, the sounds of his breathing growing louder in his ears.
Suddenly, everything snapped into focus.
In an instant, Luke felt the surge of power overwhelm him. His vision shifted, turning a shade darker. He felt his body twist with newfound strength, and something more—something primal, dangerous, and wild—took hold of him.
He opened his eyes.
Before him stood the hooded figure, but now Luke saw him clearly. The figure's eyes were glowing with the same golden hue, and his lips curled into a knowing smile.
"Welcome," the figure said softly. "You are not just a failed test. You are something else. You are not just human."