The old house had served them well, but Kairis knew it wouldn't last.
Supplies were dwindling. Water ran low, and the canned food wouldn't stretch past another day. The smell of smoke and rot clung to the walls, and the siblings had gone without bathing since the first night. Kairis frowned, tightening his coat around his shoulders.
We need a better place. Somewhere defensible. Somewhere clean.
He didn't discuss it with Elyra or Aeren—they were too young to plan, too young to understand the weight of survival. He just prepared silently, packing what supplies they had and ensuring the small cache of weapons was ready.
By dawn, they left. The streets were unfamiliar, twisted by destruction, littered with rubble and corpses. The air was heavy, thick with ash and the stench of burnt flesh. Kairis moved first, scanning every shadow, every crack, every flicker of movement.
> [Quest Progress: 3 / 7 Nights Survived]
[New Objective: Relocate to a safer stronghold.]
As they navigated a collapsed section of road, the ground beneath them suddenly shuddered. A low hiss reverberated through the broken buildings. Kairis's eyes narrowed.
From the debris, a creature emerged: serpentine, scaled, at least three meters long, its eyes glowing faint red in the ash-light. Fangs dripped a viscous black fluid, and its tongue lashed rapidly, tasting the air. Its body coiled around a ruined lamppost like a living shadow.
Kairis's system pulsed as he activated Analyze:
Creature: Venomous Serpentine Aberrant
HP: 450
Strength: 28
Agility: 16
Dark Matter Affinity: 12%
Aeren froze behind him, Elyra grabbed his arm, but Kairis didn't hesitate. He stepped forward, letting the Graviton Blade hum faintly in his mind.
> [Graviton Edge – Lv.1]
[Effect: Bends space at a small scale, increasing cutting weight and pulling force.]
The snake struck first. Its massive head lunged, fangs aimed for Kairis. He barely sidestepped, the motion precise, calculated. Dust exploded where it hit the ground.
Kairis swung. The blade didn't just cut—it warped the air, pulling at the creature's body slightly off course. The aberrant hissed in pain, thrashing wildly. Its tail lashed, smashing a nearby car into rubble.
He adjusted, timing each swing with the creature's strike. The fight was messy, brutal—blood sprayed, scales shattered, and the sound of cracking bones echoed in the empty streets. His shoulder burned from the previous fight, but he ignored it. His system pulsed, adjusting his perception to the creature's movements.
With a final calculated thrust, the Graviton Edge tore into the serpent's skull. The creature shrieked, its body writhing violently before finally going limp. Black ichor spilled across the ground. Kairis stepped back, breathing hard, blood and sweat coating him.
> [Creature Defeated – Experience +450]
[Graviton Edge Lv.1 → Lv.2]
He wiped the blade on his coat and scanned the streets. No other monsters were near.
Somewhere nearby, a faint presence stirred. A girl, barely older than Kairis, ran through the streets, her eyes glowing with violet light. Her system pulsed violently as she sensed the creature.
> [Alert: Aberrant detected – Proximity 30m]
She skidded to the street, only to find the serpent dead. Her eyes widened in confusion, scanning the area. There was no one—no footprints, no system glow, nothing.
Her communicator vibrated. A superior's voice crackled:
"Kaiyara, report."
"The creature… it's dead, sir. I arrived too late. I didn't see anyone nearby. But it was a Venomous Serpentine Aberrant, and it had unusually high Dark Matter resonance," she reported, her voice steady but laced with tension.
"Understood," the voice said. "Do not leave the area. Investigate thoroughly. We need to know who—or what—took it down. If it's an Awakener, it may be unregistered."
Kaiyara's eyes scanned the ruins again. "Understood, sir. I'll report any findings immediately."
Back in the safety of the temporary ruins he claimed as their path home, Kairis paused. He thought about the girl, the network, the monsters, and the systems.
Humans are waking…
Some are organized, some are rogue…
And they're all dangerous.
He glanced at Elyra and Aeren, asleep behind him. His fingers itched for the next fight, the next test, the next kill. Each encounter taught him something, and each victory shaped him.
The world wasn't just about surviving monsters anymore. It was about becoming stronger than humans, monsters, and systems alike.
The city roared faintly in the distance, smoke curling into the night sky. Kairis smiled, dark and certain.