The sky over Sector 4 was always a bruised purple color. It looked like a dirty old blanket suffocating the city.
Kaelen Rix wiped sweat from his forehead. He was standing on top of a mountain of trash in the Scrapyard.
"Come on," Kaelen whispered, his voice cracking. "Just one good piece. Please."
He dug his hands into the sharp metal. He wasn't wearing gloves because he couldn't afford them. His fingers were covered in small cuts and old grease. Every time he moved, his stomach cramped. He hadn't eaten a real meal in two days.
Finally, he saw it. A glint of gold.
Kaelen pulled it out. It was a copper coil, about the size of a fist. To the rich people in the Upper City, this was garbage. But here? This was life.
"Yes!" Kaelen gasped. He held it to his chest like a baby. "I can buy bread. Real bread."
He carefully put the coil into his backpack. His bag was old and held together with duct tape.
Kaelen climbed down the trash mountain. He walked with a limp. Clomp. Drag. Clomp. Drag. His left leg had been broken years ago, and without money for a Healer, it never fixed right.
He felt pathetic. He was eighteen years old, but he was weak, hungry, and broken.
As he turned into a narrow alleyway to take a shortcut home, a shadow blocked his path.
"Going somewhere, Trash?"
Kaelen froze. His blood ran cold. He knew that voice.
Jax.
Jax was a student at the Military Academy. He had bright green hair and a cruel smile. He was a Wind Conduit. He was everything Kaelen wasn't: powerful, rich, and loved.
"I don't have money, Jax," Kaelen said, his voice shaking. "Please. Not today."
"I don't want money," Jax laughed. He stepped closer. "I'm bored. The military draft is tomorrow. I need target practice."
Jax pointed a finger at Kaelen. "Bang."
A bullet of compressed air shot from his finger.
It hit Kaelen in the shoulder. It felt like a hammer blow.
"Gah!" Kaelen screamed. He fell backward into a puddle of muddy water.
His backpack hit the ground. The zipper broke. His precious copper coil—his dinner—rolled out into the mud.
"Oops," Jax smiled. "Look at him. He looks like a worm."
Kaelen reached for the coil, his hands trembling. Tears stung his eyes. Not from the pain, but from the humiliation.
Why? Kaelen thought, feeling the cold mud soak into his clothes. Why was I born a Null? Why do I have to suffer while they treat the world like a playground?
"You're crying," Jax mocked. "Pathetic. You're going to die in the war anyway, Kaelen. The army uses Nulls as bait for the monsters. I'm just toughening you up."
Kaelen squeezed his eyes shut. I hate this. I hate my life.
Suddenly, the ground shook.
BOOM.
It felt like the earth had cracked open.
Then, the siren started.
WROOOOOOO!
The sound was deafening. The yellow streetlights instantly turned a flashing, panic-inducing red.
"WARNING. BREACH DETECTED. SECTOR 4. TYPE: VOIDBORN."
Jax stopped laughing. His face went white. "A breach? Here? That's impossible!"
CRASH!
The metal wall of the factory next to them exploded. Bricks flew everywhere.
Out of the dust, a monster appeared.
It was a Scuttler.
It was the stuff of nightmares. A giant, armored spider the size of a bus. Its black shell glistened with slime. It had eight spear-like legs and four glowing red eyes.
Hiss...
The monster opened its mouth. It was filled with rows of needle-teeth. Green saliva dripped onto the ground, sizzling like acid.
"Voidborn!" Jax screamed. He sounded like a terrified child.
The monster looked at the boys. It screeched.
Kaelen tried to stand, but his bad leg gave out. He looked at Jax. "Jax! Use your magic! Help me!"
Jax looked at the monster. Then he looked at Kaelen.
"Sorry, Null," Jax whispered.
Jax used his wind magic—not to fight, but to run. He blasted himself backward, sprinting away faster than a car. He left Kaelen alone in the mud.
"Wait!" Kaelen screamed, reaching out a hand. "Don't leave me!"
But Jax was gone.
Kaelen was alone with the monster.
The Scuttler clicked its mandibles. It smelled fear. It raised a giant, sharp leg to stab Kaelen through the heart.
Kaelen scrambled backward, his heart hammering against his ribs. I'm going to die. I'm going to die right here.
His hand hit something in the rubble. A jagged black crystal.
Kaelen grabbed it, holding it up in a desperate attempt to protect his face.
SMASH!
The monster's leg hit the crystal.
The crystal shattered. But it didn't break into pieces. It turned into a thick, purple smoke.
The smoke shot straight into Kaelen's nose and mouth.
Kaelen choked. He couldn't breathe. It felt like he had swallowed ice.
Then, the world stopped.
[System Initializing...]
A blue box appeared in the air.
Kaelen stared at it, his eyes wide with terror. What is this? Am I hallucinating? Is this what happens when you die?
[Foreign DNA Detected.]
[Re-writing Host Biology.]
[Pain Warning: Extreme.]
"Pain?" Kaelen whispered. "What do you mean pa—"
AAAAAGHH!
Kaelen screamed. It felt like his blood had turned into lava. His bones cracked and shifted. His skin felt like it was ripping apart. He clawed at his chest, tears streaming down his face.
"Stop! Stop it!" he begged. "Let me die! Just let me die!"
The monster hesitated. It was confused by the screaming prey.
[Species Changed: Human > Abyssal Ghoul.]
[Status: STARVING.]
Suddenly, the pain vanished.
It was replaced by something worse. An emptiness. A black hole in his stomach.
Kaelen gasped for air. He looked up. His vision was tinted red.
He looked at the Scuttler.
A moment ago, the monster looked terrifying. But now? Kaelen's nose twitched. He could smell the blood pumping inside the monster. It smelled sweet. It smelled like life.
Eat, a voice in his head whispered. Eat it.
"No," Kaelen stammered, shaking his head. "I'm not... I can't..."
The monster lunged.
Kaelen's body moved on its own.
He didn't think. He didn't plan. Instinct took over.
He dodged the claw with speed he shouldn't possess. He leaped onto the monster's back.
"Get off!" Kaelen yelled at himself, but his hands wouldn't listen. His fingernails turned into black claws. They dug into the monster's shell like knives through butter.
The hunger was overwhelming. It drowned out his fear. It drowned out his humanity.
He bit down on the monster's neck.
Green blood sprayed into his mouth.
Kaelen's eyes widened in horror. I'm drinking it! Oh god, I'm drinking monster blood!
He wanted to stop. He wanted to vomit. But his body felt ecstasy. The warm liquid filled him with power.
[+1 Exp]
[+1 Exp]
The monster stopped moving. It collapsed.
Kaelen fell off the dead beast. He rolled onto the concrete, gasping for breath. He wiped his mouth frantically. His hand came away covered in green slime.
He stared at his bloody hand. He was shaking uncontrollably.
"What did I do?" Kaelen whimpered. "What is wrong with me?"
He looked at the dead monster. He had killed a Voidborn with his bare hands. A Null shouldn't be able to do that. A human shouldn't be able to do that.
[Quest Complete.]
[Level Up!]
The blue screen floated innocently in front of him.
Kaelen backed away from it, pressing his back against the cold wall.
"Go away," he told the screen. "I don't want this. I want to be normal."
[System Message: Survival is not a choice, Kaelen. Welcome to the food chain.]
Kaelen sat in the dark alley, covered in alien blood, shivering. He wasn't happy about his power. He was terrified of what he had become.