System X: Bloodline Awakening System

After a deep, restful sleep, Kaiza finally woke up.

The young boy found himself lying on a soft bed. Slowly, he sat up, his legs almost touching the floor. Rubbing his eyes with both hands, he tried to shake off the remnants of sleep.

As he did, a faint, melodic chime caught his attention. Blinking in surprise, Kaiza saw a translucent, blue screen appear before him, floating midair.

He froze, staring at the rectangular display, and soon, messages began to appear across it, one after another.

"An interface?"

"What the hell is this?"

Confused and with no answers in sight, Kaiza's eyes lingered on the floating screen. He slowly began to read the first message that appeared.

[Congratulations; Hero System Activated]

The last message he'd seen before falling asleep resurfaced, and Kaiza couldn't help but smirk in disbelief.

"A system?" he muttered under his breath, his lips curling in skepticism. How could anyone in this world get a system?

All he had ever heard about were abilities that took months of practice and meditation to activate. Systems were unheard of. So, how was it possible that he had one?

The message on the screen faded after a few seconds, and just as Kaiza was about to lean in, eager to decipher what the next message might reveal, the door to his room opened.

A young woman, about twenty-seven years old, walked in carrying a stack of files. She wore a blue, nurse-like outfit, and from her appearance, anyone could easily assume she was a nurse. However, Kaiza found it hard to believe.

If she really was a nurse, why was she here? In his house? He stared at her, trying to make sense of the situation.

"Mr. Kaiza Lotan, I'm glad you're awake," the woman said, approaching him with a warm smile.

"A nurse," Kaiza thought, glancing at her once more. Something still felt off. Just then, the woman set the files down and turned toward him.

It was then that Kaiza noticed the drip line fixed to his arm. The liquid was slowly dripping into his body, and his mind raced.

"What is going on?" he muttered, his lips barely moving as he thought aloud.

Then it hit him—when the woman had entered, the door was positioned in the opposite direction of his room at home and his uncle's house. He had been so distracted by her presence that he hadn't thought to assess his surroundings. Her charm and beauty had caught his attention.

But now, he knew it was time to check his environment. Something wasn't right.

From what he could observe around him, Kaiza muttered, "A hospital?" His mind raced, trying to piece together the situation.

Then, a question popped into his head: What am I doing at the hospital?

"You were found..."

"Huh!" Kaiza made a sudden sound, startled by the woman's voice. It caught him off guard. He had expected an answer to his unspoken question, but the response hadn't come immediately. He hadn't even realized he had spoken aloud.

The woman, who had clearly heard him, was now trying to answer his question.

"I mean to say, you were brought in late last night. But you seem to be better now, and nothing serious happened to you—except for the small cut on your neck and the head injury, which we've taken care of."

"Last night? What happened last night?" Kaiza asked, his brow furrowing as he tried to recollect events from the previous night. But his mind drew a blank. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't remember anything from yesterday—not even a single detail.

All he could recall was hugging his parents when he arrived home, but that couldn't have been yesterday. It had to have been the day before yesterday. And after that...?

He paused, trying to fill in the gaps. But there was nothing. The entire day seemed lost to him, like a void he couldn't reach.

Kaiza was certain that he had arrived at his parents' house two days ago, a place he hadn't visited in a while. He had come to invite them to his graduation and celebrate his birthday.

As confusion clouded his thoughts, Kaiza stood up and walked to the desk near the bed's headboard. He grabbed the phone resting on top and checked the date. His suspicions were confirmed—it had been two days since he arrived. But as he scrolled through his phone, he found nothing from the previous day, his birthday.

"Yesterday was my birthday!" Kaiza muttered, his voice tinged with disbelief. "Did nothing happen, or did something happen?"

He pondered for a moment, trying to piece the fragments together. He remembered expecting his parents to return from work so they could celebrate with him. And...

That was all he could recall. The rest was a blur.

It suddenly occurred to him that the gaps in his memory might have something to do with the injection he had been given. Sulan, his nemesis had injected him with something that was meant to make him forget everything that happened the previous day and replace his memories with fictional events he never experienced.

However, Kaiza's body seemed to be immune to the drug's full effect. While the injection tried to implant false memories, his cells had fought against it. Unfortunately, his body wasn't strong enough to completely reject the drug's influence—especially after the emotional and physical rollercoaster he'd endured earlier. The result was a fragmented memory of the events surrounding his birthday, leaving him with a sense of disorientation.

Kaiza tried hard to recollect the events, but every time he focused, all he could remember was the scene just before his father called his mother. As he tried to push further, it felt as if a barrier blocked his mind, cutting off the rest of the memory. The harder he tried, the more intense the headache became, almost as if his mind was being "logged off." His frustration only made the pain worse.

He stopped, unable to continue fighting the mental block. His head cradled in both hands, Kaiza sat back on the bed, his back turned to the nurse.

"Mr. Kaiza, are you okay?" the nurse asked, noticing the boy inhaling sharply, clearly struggling with the headache.

Kaiza nodded, not bothering to glance at her.

"Okay, I'll head out now," the nurse said, her steps retreating. Yet, she couldn't shake the worry that clouded her mind. His behavior was strange—one moment he seemed fine, and the next, he appeared to be in distress.

As she reached the door, something crossed her mind. She turned back to Kaiza, speaking once more.

"Less I forget, someone is here to see you."

Kaiza didn't respond immediately. He didn't even register her words at first, consumed by the headache and the barrier in his mind. When he finally snapped back to reality, he muttered, "Who?"

The nurse hesitated for a moment, her steps faint as she turned, assuming he might not want to engage.

"Your uncle. Mr. Will Liam," she answered, reading from the iPad in her hand.

Kaiza blinked, his focus sharpening. His uncle... Will Liam? The name felt familiar. He had spent a lot of time with him during his childhood, more so than with anyone else in his extended family. His parents were second on the list in his records, and after them, Will Liam was the only family Kaiza knew.

Despite his small family, Kaiza felt a sense of relief at the thought of seeing his uncle. The world seemed so much simpler when he was around. But even as the nurse spoke, Kaiza couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. The memory barrier still lingered in his mind, and he couldn't help but wonder why it felt like everything was slipping away.

"Let him in," Kaiza said, his voice steady despite the confusion swirling in his mind.

The nurse nodded once and turned to leave.

But as she stepped out of the room, Kaiza suddenly remembered something. In a blur of blue, a figure appeared, lying on the ground, wailing in pain. Faintly, he heard a word echoing through his mind: "My sister."

And then, the vision cleared away, and everything went black again.

Kaiza didn't stop there. The figure seemed familiar, someone he was close to. But why was this person crying so bitterly? Determined to find answers, Kaiza shut his eyes, pressing his focus inward, harder than before, trying to get a clearer view of the scene.

A slightly clearer image emerged. The figure was now more defined, lying face down on the floor. Kaiza waited, his heart racing, hoping the person would raise their face so he could finally confirm their identity.

"Come on, come on, come on..." Kaiza muttered under his breath, his eyelids pressed tightly, forming wrinkles on his skin as he concentrated.

Then, the figure slowly raised their face and stared directly into Kaiza's eyes.

"Uncle Will!" Kaiza gasped, his heart thudding in his chest.

His eyes flicked open in disbelief. Why was his uncle crying? What had happened?

The flood of questions overwhelmed Kaiza, making his heart beat faster in a mix of confusion and worry.

"Kai-za," a deep, manly voice called from behind him.

Kaiza turned, looking over his shoulder. His uncle, Will, was walking into the room, using a crutch. His arm was in a sling, and there was a small plaster on his forehead.

"What happened?" Kaiza asked, his voice trembling with concern.