The night stank of oil and steel.
Kael knew before the blades drew that they were coming. The forge thrummed like a drumbeat in his chest, shadows stirring at the edges of his vision. It whispered hunger, anticipation. At last, the prey comes willingly.
From the ruins to his left, three figures slipped into view. From the alleys ahead, four more. He caught the glint of crossbows in the dark, oil-smeared to silence their shine.
A hunt. Organized.
Kael's grip tightened on his sword. He had expected it, but the precision still sent a chill crawling down his spine.
The leader stepped into the firelight: the scarred scavenger lord Kael had seen in the market square. Behind him, mercenaries spread in a half-circle, weapons raised.
"There he is," the lord growled, voice carrying. "The Soul-Eater. The husker." His teeth flashed as he spat. "You've been feeding well, boy. But that ends tonight."
Kael said nothing.
The mercenaries shuffled, some with bravado, others with unease. One muttered a prayer under his breath. Another's grip shook on his blade.
The lord raised his hand. "Take him."
They rushed.
Bolts hissed through the air. Kael twisted, shadows flaring as a Wraith Claw deflected one into the dirt. Another glanced off his shoulder, the impact jolting but shallow.
Two men closed from the front. Kael met them with a roar, sword sparking against steel. He shoved one aside and split the other from throat to sternum. The forge drank, burning hot in his veins.
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[ Soul Count: 1,463 → 1,464 ]
Strength: 24 → 25
Forgecraft: 35 → 36
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
The second came at his back—too fast. Steel bit deep into Kael's side. He staggered, blood spraying hot across his ribs.
Pain flared—but so did fury. Kael's shadow lashed out, claws dragging the man screaming into the dark. His soul ripped free, fire racing along Kael's veins, sealing some of the wound in glowing scar-tissue.
The mercenaries hesitated. They had seen it now—saw how wounds only fed the thing inside him.
The scavenger lord snarled. "Don't falter! He bleeds! Cut him down!"
More came. Kael fought like a beast cornered, blade flashing, shadows tearing. Each kill brought another surge, another soul screaming into him. His body ached, burned, but still he rose.
But the numbers pressed hard. Three blades struck at once. A hammer slammed his ribs, cracking bone. Another bolt tore into his thigh. Kael collapsed to one knee, blood hot in his mouth.
The forge screamed inside him. Overload. Break them. Feed.
The shard blazed, his veins searing with molten cracks. Black fire poured from his body, shadows writhing outward in a storm.
The mercenaries froze, terror plain. One dropped his blade and ran. Another tried to, but the storm caught him, shredding flesh and soul alike.
The scavenger lord roared defiance, charging through the storm with his axe raised high—
Kael met him with a howl, driving his sword through his chest.
The forge drank greedily, pulling down not only flesh but the man's will, his strength, his greed. Kael felt it all flood into him as the body collapsed to ash.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
[ Soul Count: 1,464 → 1,469 ]
Vitality: 22 → 24
Strength: 25 → 27
Will: 29 → 31
Forgecraft: 36 → 40
[ Title Unlocked: Soul-Drinker ]
Your hunger grows. Souls yield more power with each devouring. Absorption efficiency increased.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
The battlefield fell silent.
The few survivors fled, stumbling over one another in blind panic. Some didn't look back. Others screamed the word that now burned through the camp like fire:
"Soul-Eater!"
Kael stood in the ashes, chest heaving, shadows curling and retreating back into his skin. His body trembled on the edge of collapse. He had won—but at a cost. His side burned, his blood was thick with forge-fire. Too much more, and he would lose himself.
Yet as he looked down at the husks, the silence, the ash, he felt the truth settle in his bones.
This was only the beginning.
The first price had been paid. And now, the whole camp would come.