The pain came first.
Sharp. Piercing.
Like needles driving into his skull.
Ratty pressed both hands against his head.
Something terrible was coming—he could feel it.
Then the hunger hit.
It tore through him like fire.
Not the ache of an empty stomach, but a craving that burned through flesh and bone.
Every cell screamed for food.
He gasped, voice rough. "I… I'm hungry."
It was only the second thing he'd said since they met.
Damian turned, pulled open the storage box, and took out a crate of nutrient packs.
He handed one to Ratty and passed the rest to the others.
When he looked back, the bottle in Ratty's hand was already empty.
Ratty's gaze locked on the one Damian still held.
Damian blinked, then sighed.
"Here." He passed it over.
Ratty drained it in seconds.
Damian fetched two more.
Gone again.
He hesitated—then handed him another.
From the front seat, Caleb glanced into the mirror.
"Holy shit," he muttered. "Where'd you find this guy? He eats like a bear in winter."
Marcus raised a hand. "Let him. We're only out one day. Food's enough. Eat."
At that, Ratty shot up, shoulders tense.
He grabbed two more bottles before anyone could react.
Damian froze mid-reach. Unbelievable.
Ratty tore through them again, movements sharp, breath uneven.
How much could one man consume?
Noah turned, his calm voice cutting through the air.
"He's close to awakening."
The cab went silent.
Everyone knew the signs—before a breakthrough, the body devoured everything it could.
Noah's gaze flicked toward him again. "First time outside the wall. High-energy air, high stress—it's possible."
Damian's pulse kicked. Awakening. Right in front of me.
Ratty's hands trembled, but his eyes burned with feverish light.
The hunger was still there, clawing at him from the inside—but beneath it, something else stirred.
A spark.
A promise of power.
So this is what it feels like, Ratty thought.
Strong. Alive. Maybe I really can change.
When the last pack was gone, Marcus reached into his vest and pulled out a small red crystal.
"Try this," he said, tossing it over.
A D-class zombie core. Low-grade, but still pure energy.
The crystal touched Ratty's palm—
and the color drained out in seconds.
Red turned gray, then stone.
The air itself seemed to stop moving.
For a heartbeat, no one spoke. Then—
"What the fuck," Caleb breathed, voice cracking.
Ethan just stared, the usual grin gone. "No way…"
Even Marcus's composure slipped, eyes widening.
Damian could only stare at the dull gray shard in Ratty's hand.
In ten years of fighting, he had never seen anything devour energy so completely—so hungrily.
Whatever Ratty was, he wasn't normal.
And this was only the beginning.