The creature's face collapsed beneath his grip. Not bone. Not flesh. It came apart like overripe fruit, unraveling into strings of code and fluid that hissed where it touched the ground.
Caspian didn't hesitate. He opened his palm and drank through the system.
[Hemovore Extraction: Complete]
[Resonance increased: 15.9%]
[New Data Thread Acquired. Ability: Fracture Lunge]
His body shifted. The blood inside him grew hotter. His muscles tightened, not like growth, but like adaptation. Every kill wasn't just survival. It was evolution.
The second crawler launched forward, limbs twitching at unnatural angles.
Caspian blinked.
Literally.
He vanished, reappearing behind it mid-step.
[Phase Pulse. Activated]
He drove his fist through the back of its skull. No hesitation. No wasted movement. Blood erupted like mist.
The countdown echoed in his vision.
[8:24]
The other two paused. Watching. Processing. Something behind their glitching forms tried to understand what he was.
Neris clapped lazily from the edge of the room.
"They're learning. That's rare."
Caspian didn't speak. He extended his arm, blood swirling upward into a jagged blade.
One charged.
He moved to meet it.
They collided in the center of the node, blood slashing across corrupted skin. The air cracked with system feedback. A wall pulsed like a living nerve and split open, showing a glimpse of a shifting stairwell inside.
The creature screamed and latched onto his side. It bit deep into his ribs.
[Warning. Physical Integrity 83%]
[Sync dropping]
Caspian gritted his teeth. Blood poured freely now. And with it, power.
[Hemovore Override Engaged]
[Manual Drain Allowed]
He grabbed its throat, locked eyes, and pulled.
Not with muscle. With will.
The creature convulsed, then shattered like cracked glass.
He dropped to a knee. Breathing hard.
The final crawler backed away. It hesitated.
Caspian stood slowly.
"You're learning," he said to it. "But not fast enough."
He walked toward it.
It ran.
He didn't chase. The node began to shift again. Doors appeared. Pathways opened like wounds.
[Stage One. Complete]
[Sync with Neris increasing. 24.7%]
[System now adapting to your Pattern]
Neris approached him from the shadows, arms folded behind her back.
"Still breathing," she said.
"For now."
She smiled.
"You're starting to taste like something dangerous."