The golden light slowly faded.
Yet the chamber remained strangely bright.
Dust floated through the air, suspended in the lingering glow. The walls hummed with a quiet energy that Hitake could feel beneath his skin.
Then the light gathered in front of him.
A figure emerged.
Hitake froze.
A woman stood where the light had been.
She looked nothing like the image of a system he had imagined.
She looked human.
No.
Too human.
Long golden hair fell past her waist, shimmering faintly in the light. Her white-and-gold dress seemed to move despite the absence of wind, decorated with intricate patterns that Hitake couldn't recognize.
Her emerald eyes opened.
They immediately focused on him.
Not the room.
Not Zena.
Him.
She smiled.
“So.”
Her voice was warm, playful, and strangely familiar.
“This is the boy my master left behind.”
Hitake blinked.
“...You're Nefertiti?”
The woman gave a graceful curtsy.
“Correct.”
She straightened.
“And you must be Hitake Kael.”
Zena immediately moved closer to Hitake.
Her expression hardened.
“How do you know his name?”
Nefertiti looked at her.
Then smiled.
“Oh.”
Her eyes narrowed playfully.
“So you're Zena.”
Zena's expression changed.
“How do you know my name?”
“I know many things.”
Nefertiti tilted her head.
“But don't worry.”
She placed a hand over her chest.
“I have no intention of harming my master's son.”
Zena didn't move.
“I'll decide whether I believe you.”
Nefertiti's smile widened.
“I like you already.”
“I don't like you.”
“I know.”
Hitake stared between them.
She had been awake for less than a minute, and somehow the two women were already getting along terribly.
He sighed.
“Can we start with the important question?”
Nefertiti looked at him.
“What am I?”
“Exactly.”
She stepped closer.
“I am Nefertiti.”
“I know that.”
“A system intelligence.”
Hitake frowned.
“So... an AI?”
“No.”
“A hologram?”
“No.”
“A ghost?”
“Definitely not.”
“My father's secretary?”
Nefertiti laughed.
“No.”
She leaned slightly toward him.
“I am an artificial intelligence designed by Kael.”
Hitake's expression became serious.
“My father made you?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To guide you.”
Her expression softened.
“To make sure that when your potential finally awakened, you wouldn't have to walk the path alone.”
Hitake stared at her.
Something about those words hurt.
His father had left him.
But apparently, he hadn't left him completely.
Nefertiti raised one finger.
“And because my master was extremely paranoid.”
Hitake blinked.
“...What?”
“He prepared for approximately seventeen hundred and thirty-two possible disasters.”
Zena raised an eyebrow.
“Seventeen hundred?”
“Thirty-two.”
“Why?”
“Because your father was ridiculous.”
Hitake almost laughed.
“That sounds like him.”
For a moment, Nefertiti's smile softened.
Then she turned serious.
“But there is something you need to understand.”
Hitake straightened.
“I have no connection to anything called the Blank Canvas.”
His eyes widened.
Zena looked at her.
Nefertiti continued.
“I did not create it. I do not control it. I cannot explain its origin.”
She paused.
“That mystery belongs to you.”
Hitake felt a strange chill.
“What are you talking about?”
“The Blank Canvas.”
He stared at her.
“I've never heard of that before.”
Nefertiti's expression shifted, as though she had just realized something important.
“Then your father never told you.”
“Told me what?”
“That it existed.”
Hitake's brow furrowed.
“And what is it?”
Nefertiti's eyes became unusually serious.
“I don't know.”
Silence.
Hitake looked down at his hands.
“Then why are you telling me about it?”
“Because it chose you.”
The words settled over the chamber.
Hitake slowly raised his head.
“Something I didn't even know existed chose me?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“I don't know.”
Her voice softened.
“But I believe you were meant to discover the answer.”
Hitake felt a strange chill.
“So you don't know what it is?”
“I know only what your father knew.”
“And what did he know?”
“That it existed.”
Nefertiti's eyes became unusually serious.
“And that one day, it would reveal itself to you.”
Silence.
Hitake looked down at his hands.
“Then what can you do?”
Nefertiti smiled.
“Now we're getting to the fun part.”
She raised her hand.
A translucent screen appeared in the air.
[NEFERTITI SYSTEM INITIALIZATION]
[USER: HITAKE KAEL]
[SYSTEM ACCESS: GRANTED]
[DESTINY ALLOCATION: UNLOCKED]
[QUEST MANAGEMENT: UNLOCKED]
[REWARD STORAGE: UNLOCKED]
[FOUNDATION PACKAGE: AVAILABLE]
Hitake stared.
“Foundation package?”
Nefertiti's smile became almost mischievous.
“My master was not particularly good at being a father.”
Hitake's eyebrow twitched.
“But he was excellent at preparing gifts.”
She snapped her fingers.
A flood of information appeared.
[FOUNDATION PACKAGE ACTIVATED.]
[BASE ATTRIBUTES ENHANCED.]
[STRENGTH: 7 → 28]
[AGILITY: 8 → 34]
[ENDURANCE: 6 → 30]
[MANA: 5 → 32]
[PERCEPTION: 4 → 35]
[LUCK: 10 → 12]
Hitake stared.
Zena stared.
Nefertiti smiled proudly.
“Congratulations.”
Hitake's mouth opened.
Then closed.
Then opened again.
“...You just gave me thirty points in almost everything.”
“Correct.”
“Why?”
“Because your previous body was pathetic.”
Hitake's expression fell.
“Thanks.”
“You're welcome.”
Zena covered her mouth.
A tiny laugh escaped.
Hitake looked at her.
“You're supposed to be on my side.”
“I am.”
She smiled.
“That's why it's funny.”
Nefertiti snapped her fingers again.
Another screen appeared.
[FOUNDATION SKILL: PERFECT CONTROL]
[Allows the user to efficiently control newly acquired physical and magical attributes.]
[FOUNDATION SKILL: AETHER SENSE]
[Allows the user to perceive and analyze ambient Aether.]
Hitake's eyes widened.
“This is insane.”
Nefertiti nodded proudly.
“I know.”
“Are you always this generous?”
“With you?”
She smiled.
“Absolutely.”
Zena's eyes narrowed.
Nefertiti noticed.
“Don't worry.”
She turned toward Zena.
“I am not trying to steal your position.”
Zena's expression became suspicious.
“What position?”
Nefertiti smiled innocently.
“Exactly.”
Hitake sighed.
“Please don't start.”
Nefertiti ignored him.
She floated closer.
“You should understand something, Hitake.”
Her voice became softer.
“The attributes I've given you don't make you invincible.”
The screens changed.
“Your teachers are still stronger.”
“Your professors are still beyond you.”
“There are monsters in this world that could kill you.”
Hitake nodded.
“So I'm not suddenly the strongest.”
“No.”
Nefertiti smiled.
“You're simply no longer the weakest.”
That sentence struck him harder than he expected.
For years, he had heard the same words.
Weak.
Useless.
Unawakened.
A burden.
Now, for the first time, the numbers before him told a different story.
He clenched his fist.
The muscles responded instantly.
He could feel the Aether moving through his body.
His senses were sharper.
The world seemed clearer.
But Nefertiti wasn't finished.
She lifted her hand.
“There's more.”
Hitake's eyes widened.
“More?”
“Of course.”
She looked genuinely offended.
“Did you think I'd give my master's son an incomplete foundation?”
Zena sighed.
“She's going to spoil you.”
Nefertiti smiled.
“Correct.”
Hitake looked at her.
“You really are like a sugar mommy.”
Nefertiti froze.
Zena froze.
Hitake realized what he had said.
“I—”
Nefertiti slowly smiled.
“I accept.”
“Please don't.”
“I'll even buy you better equipment later.”
“Please don't encourage this.”
Zena's shadow suddenly darkened.
Nefertiti glanced down at it.
“Oh.”
She smiled.
“She really is possessive.”
Zena's eyes narrowed.
“Very.”
Nefertiti's smile widened.
“Good.”
Hitake looked between them.
“Why does that sound like a threat?”
Neither woman answered.
For some reason, that frightened him more.
Then Nefertiti's expression softened.
“Hitake.”
He looked at her.
“There is one thing I want you to remember.”
“What?”
“I will help you grow.”
Her emerald eyes seemed to glow.
“I will give you everything within my authority.”
“Every tool.”
“Every reward.”
“Every piece of knowledge I can safely give you.”
“But I cannot choose your destiny.”
She placed a hand over her heart.
“That belongs to you.”
Hitake stared at her.
For the first time, he understood.
Nefertiti wasn't his power.
She was his guide.
His support.
The one person—or intelligence—who would make sure he never again had to walk blindly toward his future.
Then she smiled.
“And if anyone hurts you…”
The temperature in the room seemed to drop.
Nefertiti's smile remained.
“I'll remember them.”
Zena looked at her.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then Zena smiled faintly.
“I think we're going to get along.”
Hitake's face went pale.
“No.”
Both women looked at him.
He pointed between them.
“Absolutely not.”
Nefertiti laughed.
Zena smiled.
And somewhere beyond the sealed chamber, three days had already begun to pass.