The ferry to Dolle Harbor rocked gently in the ocean swell. Morning mist still clung to the waves like silk, and the only sounds were the creak of wood and the occasional splash of a silverfin fish leaping through the sea foam.
Kaen sat alone on the upper deck, hood pulled low, a thin thread of aura stitched through his coat like veins.
It had been four weeks since the incident on Whale Island.
Vane had disappeared again — leaving only a message burned into the bark of a cliffside tree:
"You've drawn His attention. Whatever happens, don't look into the eyes of a Hunter wearing white gloves."
"And don't sit in the front row."
Kaen didn't know what the second part meant.
But the first?
He could feel it.
⸻
A girl passed him on deck — pale hair, a small backpack, silver eyes filled with nerves. She glanced at him for only a second, then hurried on.
Exam hopeful, Kaen thought. Definitely.
Then he heard footsteps — deliberate, calm, precise.
A boy, maybe 12 or 13, with wild black hair and a green jacket stepped out onto the deck.
He paused by the railing.
Then he smiled.
"Smells like the sea here, huh? Real clean."
Kaen's breath caught.
Gon Freecss.
The boy — the storm — the future.
The name that had rippled across every hidden report in the Black Thread files. Gon Freecss: son of Ging. Outlier. Breach-class potential.
Kaen stared, but kept his aura flat. His heart pounded.
This wasn't chance.
The timelines were merging.
⸻
"Heading for the Exam?" Gon asked, casually. "You don't talk much."
Kaen nodded.
Gon smiled wider. "Cool. I'm Gon."
"Kaen," he answered simply.
Just saying his name felt like fate was binding itself tighter.
[Thread Detected.]
[Divergence Path: Confirmed.]
His Mind Palace chimed in the background. Even reality was noticing.
Gon looked at the water. "You feel it too, huh?"
Kaen blinked. "Feel what?"
Gon shrugged.
"Like everything's about to change."
⸻
The ferry docked a few hours later.
Kaen blended into the crowd of applicants — hundreds now, pouring in from every direction. He counted at least twenty with active nen, and five using concealment.
He spotted the silver-haired girl again. And…
A tall guy with shades and an aura like tangled wires — Leorio.
A cold-eyed boy with posture like a coiled spring — Killua.
And behind them all, walking like a shadow carried by wind — Kurapika.
Kaen exhaled slowly.
The main cast is assembling.
This was it.
This was the moment the world tilted.
⸻
As they reached the entrance to the Hunter Exam Registration Hall, Kaen noticed something unusual.
Everyone was stopping.
Staring.
A man stood at the doors.
White suit. White gloves. No visible aura. Not a ripple.
But Kaen felt it.
The same presence from Whale Island.
A void in human shape.
The man smiled warmly and gestured them in.
"Welcome, candidates. Please proceed inside. Leave all weapons, contracts, and curses at the gate."
Gon passed him with a nod.
Kaen froze.
White gloves.
Don't look into his eyes.
He lowered his head, masking his eyes with his bangs, and kept walking.
But as he passed, a whisper leaked out — directly into his mind.
"Reflections aren't just mirrors, Kaen."
"Sometimes, they become windows."
Kaen staggered a step.
He didn't respond.
He couldn't.
Because he wasn't sure he was still the one in control of the reflection.
⸻
Inside the hall, hundreds of applicants waited.
Kaen found a quiet corner and activated a layer of passive analysis — letting Zero Mirror map the flow of nen around the room.
Gon – Radiant, untamed, powerful.
Killua – Electric. Deeply suppressed. Deadly.
Kurapika – Focused, burning. Revenge-shaped.
Leorio – Blunt but honest. Aura pulsing with emotion.
Hisoka – Hidden… but nearby. Like the whisper of a blade.
And deeper still…
Kaen saw something else.
A ripple.
Not of a person.
But of fate itself.
⸻
He reached into his Mind Palace and whispered:
"Zero Mirror: Pre-Construct. Trigger: Imminent Conflict."
A new ghost formed — a silhouette of himself, shadowed and burning. Not active yet. But ready.
If anything attacked him in this room…
It would attack itself.
⸻
The lights flickered. A voice boomed from nowhere.
"Welcome to the Hunter Exam."
A tall man with an impossibly thin mustache floated down the stairs.
Kaen recognized him instantly from intel archives: Satotz. Examiner Class One.
Behind him, corridors opened.
The Exam had begun.
And so had the real game.
⸻
Kaen walked forward, heartbeat steady, eyes scanning.
For the first time in years, his Mind Palace was silent.
Because even it knew—
This is where everything changes.
⸻
To be continued in Chapter 12: The First Trial – Echoes and Lies