The first blow shattered the barricade like it was paper.
Kian barely rolled aside as splinters and bone spikes exploded around him. The Riftspawn loomed beyond the dust — a lumbering monstrosity of twisted limbs, its massive arm dragging a crooked blade fused with living bark. Its red eye flickered, fixed on the core of the outpost.
It wasn't mindless.
It was hunting.
[Codex Alert: Barricade Integrity Breached]
Secondary Defense Node: Vulnerable
Traps armed. Proximity lock: 6 meters.
"Let it step forward," Kian muttered, eyes locked on the approaching beast.
Behind him, Veyna clutched her side, breath shallow, glowing cracks racing up her arms like mana veins ready to burst.
"I—I can't hold it," she gasped. "The seal—"
"Not yet," he snapped. "Just a little longer."
She fell to one knee, trembling.
The Riftspawn took another step.
Spikes exploded beneath its feet.
[Codex Triggered: Channel Trap – Activation Successful]
Damage Inflicted: 12%
Effect: Slowed for 5 seconds.
The beast roared, its bark-skin crackling with violet flame. It charged, wild and unbalanced.
Kian sprinted to intercept, slamming a bone-tipped spear into its exposed flank — the weapon cracked, but the creature reeled.
[Predation Protocol: Strike Registered – Weak Point Hit]
EP Gained: +11
New Trait Available: Barkplate Fragment (Temporary +4 DEF)
A second slash came down — wide and furious. He dove, rolled, and ducked behind the outer wall as the blade slammed into stone, shearing off half the lean-to.
[Codex Alert: Shelter Damage – 40% Structural Loss]
Then came the scream.
Not the Riftspawn's.
Veyna's.
She collapsed, convulsing.
Blue flames burst from her chest, twisting into spirals of wild mana. The Codex pulsed. The Protocol hissed. Something was breaking loose inside her soul.
[Warning: Contained Entity Seal at 3% Integrity]
Release Imminent.
[Codex Suggestion: Emergency Containment Construct Unavailable]
[Predation Protocol: Suggested Action — Flee or Subdue]
Kian ran to her side, shielding her from falling debris as mana lashed the sky like lightning.
"I said—hold it in!"
Tears streamed down her cheeks. "I can't! They locked it in too deep! I didn't even know what it was!"
The Riftspawn roared and began charging again — straight toward the shelter core.
He had no time. No options.
Unless—
[Dual System Alert: Cross-Protocol Execution Detected]
Stability Drop: -14%
Engage Fusion Override?
Warning: Risk of System Rejection.
Y/N
Kian stared at the burning monster, the girl convulsing behind him, and the collapsing Bastion around them.
"YES."
Everything stopped.
A blinding flash erupted in his vision — not outward, but inward. The two systems collided like oil and fire.
The Codex tried to stabilize, control, measure.
The Protocol screamed to consume, break, adapt.
And Kian?
He stood between them, tearing both open with raw intent.
[Override Engaged]
Hybrid Skill Unlocked: Modular Golem – Type: Bloodbound]
Materials Consumed: Stone (6), Bone (2), Organic Core (1)
Function: Temporary combat construct linked to user's vitals. Auto-adapts defense/reactive strike mode based on incoming threats.
Stability: 22% — Critical Zone.
He didn't care.
With a howl, Kian slammed his palm into the ground — the Codex etched glowing blueprints into the soil as the Protocol warped them, fusing bone, blood, and stone into a single rising shape.
A golem formed beside him. Short. Brutal. Glowing with burning red veins and a stone plate face that mirrored his own.
The Riftspawn struck.
And the golem blocked it.
The impact cracked the earth. The colossus stumbled back. For once, it looked... confused.
Kian stepped forward beside his golem, both breathing as one.
"Your turn."
They fought like a unit.
Kian lured the beast into the trench; the golem sprang from the side, hammering it with a two-ton fist.
When the Riftspawn swung again, Kian rolled low while the golem intercepted high.
[Codex Bonus: Synchronized Constructs – Damage Mitigation: 25%]
[Predation Bonus: Shared Feedback Link – +8% Reflex]
But the Riftspawn was learning. Its third eye opened — a red vertical slit on its back. It roared, and acidic light spewed across the field, melting traps and stone.
The golem took the brunt of it — and cracked in half.
Kian hit the dirt hard, skin blistering from proximity heat.
His health bar dropped to 40%. Energy hit critical.
[Golem Destroyed – Fusion Skill Offline]
Stability Now: 16% – Danger]
He couldn't win this.
Not without her.
Veyna screamed again.
This time it wasn't fear.
It was release.
A pulse of magic burst from her chest like a miniature sun. The very air buckled. Kian could see the seal shatter like glass — not broken gently, but ripped apart by something older and far deeper.
A second voice — not hers — spoke through her lips:
"The chains are gone. The world will burn again."
[Codex Warning: Entity Type – Unknown. Mythic Tier Signature Detected.]
[Protocol Recoil: Unable to Analyze.]
And then Veyna rose.
Blue fire coiled around her body. Her eyes glowed like twin eclipses. Her hair floated, no longer bound by gravity.
She raised her hand.
The Riftspawn stopped mid-charge.
And in a voice that cracked the valley:
"You shouldn't have come through my gate."
She clapped her hands together. The air cracked.
A pillar of blue-white flame shot from the sky and struck the beast's spine. It screamed — really screamed — and convulsed as its core shattered from within.
[Riftspawn Colossus – Defeated]
Loot: Corrupted Core (Tier II), Barkplate Fragment, 80 EP, 60 Codex XP]
Predation Evolution Available: Adaptive Bone Layering
Codex Blueprint Unlocked: Elemental Core Engine (Prototype)
Stability Surge: +12% (System Alignment Strengthened)
Veyna collapsed.
The Rift closed.
Ashfall Bastion still stood.
But so did its enemies — and now they would feel her flare for miles.
Later, under the cracked stone dome of the shelter, Kian watched Veyna sleep, now peaceful, her skin no longer glowing — but scarred with blue sigils etched along her ribs and collarbone.
She didn't stir when he approached.
But her voice floated out, faintly:
"You saw it... didn't you."
"I saw it."
"I'm sorry."
He shook his head. "Don't be."
She turned, eyes half-lidded, voice barely audible.
"That wasn't just me…"
Kian stared at the flickering Codex messages trying to scan her again — all returning corrupted.
"No," he whispered. "It wasn't."
He looked out toward the night.
The world had seen that burst. That flare.
And they would come now — kingdoms, monsters, hunters.
Kian closed his eyes.
"We need to build faster."
End of Chapter 4