Bloodsteel Horizon
Episode 2 — Baptism by Fire
Kael didn't step back through the Rift immediately.
The glow of the bone bridge still lingered behind him, and the echoes of gunfire rolled through his head like a battle song. His hands still tingled where the guns had merged into his arms before dematerializing.
He could summon them again with a thought — and he did.
In a split second, the Duel Machine Guns materialized in his grip, heavier than they looked but balanced perfectly. The barrels hummed faintly, cycling with stored magic. He turned one in his hands, noticing faint markings that hadn't been there during the fight — glowing etchings running the length of each weapon, shifting like molten metal.
Every bullet they fired wasn't just metal and powder — it was magic and machine, harmonized. His newly awakened vampire magic fed directly into the firing cores, boosting range, power, and recoil control with every level gained.
Test Firing
Kael scanned the chasm, then fired a short burst into the mist below. The rounds struck something unseen, exploding in tiny bursts of blue fire.
"These aren't normal guns…"
The realization sank in. They weren't replaceable, weren't customizable with aftermarket parts — they evolved with him. Permanently bound, their growth was his growth.
His HUD flickered with a prompt:
NEW OBJECTIVE: Defeat 5 Random Monsters
Level Reward Per Kill: +3
Monetary Reward: $5,000
Monster #1 — The Bone Crawler
The Rift pulsed, and Kael stepped through into a desolate wasteland. The ground crunched under his boots — not stone, but shards of bone.
A shape scuttled over a ridge, moving on far too many legs. Pale, skeletal armor stretched over a bloated, pulsating core that glowed with sickly green light. Its name blinked into Kael's HUD:
LVL 7 — Bone Crawler
The thing hissed and launched itself toward him. Kael raised his guns, breathing steady. Target Lock Mk. I kicked in, painting red outlines on its joints. The first burst shattered three legs, sending the monster skidding sideways.
It recovered fast, but Kael was faster — he switched to Overcharge Burst, his left gun glowing with charged rounds. Two shots to the core and the creature burst apart in a spray of green mist.
LEVEL UP!
Current Level: 10
+10% Damage
+15% Range
Monster #2 — Shardbeak
The air shimmered. Kael barely had time to react before a shadow swept overhead. A bird-like monster with a beak of crystalline blades dove at him, wings slicing the air like razors.
LVL 11 — Shardbeak
Kael dropped to one knee and let instinct take over. His right gun tracked the monster, the targeting reticles shifting with its erratic flight. A burst of fire ripped through its left wing, sending it spiraling down.
It hit the ground screeching, lunging forward with its blade-like beak — Kael sidestepped, jammed the barrel under its neck, and fired point-blank. The head exploded into shards.
LEVEL UP!
Current Level: 13
+5% Firing Speed
Monster #3 — Mire Stalker
The Rift opened again, this time to a swamp. The air was heavy, the ground soft and wet. Kael moved carefully, the muck sucking at his boots.
A ripple in the water was all the warning he got.
LVL 14 — Mire Stalker burst from the swamp, a massive amphibian with arms like tree trunks and a mouth full of serrated teeth.
Kael fired in controlled bursts, rounds sparking off the creature's armored hide. The target lock zeroed in on softer spots — eyes, inner joints, gill slits. Kael aimed for the gills, unloading with Overcharge Burst.
The monster collapsed into the swamp, the water turning dark.
LEVEL UP!
Current Level: 16
+10% Damage
Monster #4 — Rust Fang
Kael barely had time to breathe before the Rift spat him out into a metallic scrapyard under a blood-red sky.
The creature was already there, stalking between heaps of scrap — a canine-like beast with rusted metal for fur and glowing orange eyes.
LVL 17 — Rust Fang
It moved fast — too fast. Kael pivoted, letting it come to him. At the last second, he dropped low, sliding under its leap, his guns firing upward. The rounds ripped through its underside, tearing away metal plating and exposing raw muscle.
The second burst took its head clean off.
LEVEL UP!
Current Level: 19
+15% Range
Monster #5 — Rift Serpent
The final Rift led Kael to a cliffside at dusk.
The wind howled, carrying the hiss of something enormous. The ground trembled as a massive serpent, scales shimmering like molten gold, uncoiled from a crevice.
LVL 20 — Rift Serpent
It struck like lightning. Kael dove sideways, rolling to one knee and unloading his magazines into its face. The bullets sparked off its scales until his magic flared — silver-blue flames wrapped the rounds, punching through its armor.
The serpent reared back, opening its mouth wide enough to swallow him whole. Kael planted his feet, aimed between its eyes, and fired both guns in a synchronized Overcharge Burst.
The head erupted in a flash of white fire, and the body tumbled into the abyss.
LEVEL UP!
Current Level: 22
+10% Damage
NEW MOD: Precision Strike (Bonus damage on weak points)
Aftermath
Kael stood at the cliff's edge, breathing hard. His guns pulsed faintly before dematerializing into his arms again. His HUD tallied the rewards:
Total Levels Gained: +15
Total Earnings: $25,000
Guns Upgraded: Damage, Range, Firing Speed
New Mod Unlocked: Precision Strike
For the first time since the awakening, Kael felt in control. The fangs, the machine parts, the magic coursing through him — they weren't alien anymore. They were his.
He wasn't just surviving. He was learning.
"If this is what twenty-two levels feels like…" he murmured, looking toward the Rift, "imagine a hundred billion."
The Rift opened once more, glowing with promises of bigger battles. Kael stepped through without hesitation.