The moon bled that night. Not literally, of course—but to Kairen, it might as well have. Hanging low in the sky, swollen and veined with a sickly red, it cast the ruined city beneath it in an unsettling glow, turning every crumbling building and empty street into a scene from a nightmare.
Kairen stood atop a cracked overpass, the wind tugging at his dark jacket. Sirens had long since faded, leaving only the low hum of panic in the distance. He could feel it in his chest, in his veins—the disorder thrumming like a living thing, waking in response to the disturbance below. A part of him told him to flee, to hide like any normal person would. Another, darker part whispered, Go forward.
And so he did.
The Hollow Vein, an abandoned quarry twisted by decades of neglect, yawned beneath him. Mining rails curled like broken ribs into the earth, and stagnant pools reflected the moon's blood-red light. Dust hung in the air, illuminated in faint, drifting streaks by the glow of the sigil etched into the back of Kairen's hand.
He took a careful step down the slope. The sigil pulsed faintly, then burned hotter, as though warning him that whatever waited below was no ordinary threat. Kairen's stomach twisted, but he pressed onward.
Something moved in the shadows. A clicking sound—sharp, unnatural—echoed through the quarry, sending the hair on the back of his neck standing on end.
Then the creature appeared.
It emerged from a fissure in the rock like smoke solidifying into flesh. At first, it was small, barely taller than a dog, but as it stretched its six legs, black plates cracked apart, revealing veins of glowing, violet ruin-light. Its head was a jagged skull-mask lined with crystalline teeth that shimmered in the red glow. The air dimmed as the creature screeched, and the very light seemed to drain from the world.
Kairen's pulse quickened. His hand tightened over the sigil. A part of him wanted to run. But another part—an instinct deeper than reason—told him to stand firm.
Then the sigil ignited.
A golden flare coursed up his arm, hot and alive. Fear became clarity. His vision sharpened. He saw the creature's movements before they happened, every twitch of its limbs mapped into his mind. His pulse settled into a rhythm he could control, and for the first time, he realized he was no longer just Kairen Vale—the boy who had survived the Hollow Ridge Collapse—he was something more. Something dangerous.
The creature lunged. Time slowed around him.
Kairen moved without thinking. His body surged forward, faster than any human should be capable of. Dust erupted behind him as he slid beneath the Beast's claws. Crystal teeth snapped shut inches from his shoulder. His hands clenched instinctively, reacting faster than thought. The world had narrowed into a single point: the beating Ruin Core beneath the creature's skull.
A beam of violet energy shot toward him. The air warped, pressure hammering his chest. He slammed his palm to the ground, sending a wave of golden resonance pulsing outward. The ground seemed to whisper as his power scanned the quarry, mapping the creature's weak points. There—a faint glow beneath the third rib. That was it. That was the key.
Kairen leapt. His sigil flared along his arm like molten fire. Each footfall left a shimmering afterimage, a predator's ghost dancing beside him. He struck, his hand plunging into the pulsing Ruin Core. Bone and crystal shattered beneath his grasp.
The creature let out a final, echoing shriek and collapsed. Dust and shattered light rained from the fissure. Silence returned to the Hollow Vein, thick and absolute.
Kairen dropped to his knees, coughing. The sigil dimmed, its warmth fading into his skin. He wiped the sweat from his brow, chest heaving, heart hammering.
A voice—or was it just a thought?—whispered through his mind. This is only the beginning.
Above him, the moon pulsed again, as if responding, as if the world itself had taken notice of what he had become.
Kairen's hands curled into fists. His voice was barely more than a whisper, but it carried through the stillness. "If this is a curse… then I'll use it. Because whatever made that thing… it's not stopping at one."
And in the distance, from the fissures and shadows, unseen eyes blinked open.