I left the shadows of the abandoned building, the fog curling around me like a living thing. The hunter that had been following me waited ahead, limbs jerking unnaturally, white eyes locked on mine. My knife felt light in my hand, almost fragile against the monster it had to face.
I drifted into the mist, letting it obscure my movements. A heartbeat later, I reappeared behind the hunter, slashing through sinew and tendon. It hissed, unnatural and furious, but I was too slow to retreat. Its jaws clamped around my torso, tossing me across the alley. Pain lanced through my side as I slammed against crumbling bricks.
The fog pulsed violently around me, tasting my fear, reacting to my anger. My left arm burned with the effort of bending it just enough to obscure my movements. I forced myself to rise, gasping, and reached for the knife—but it bent, snapped in half, useless now.
The hunter lunged again, faster than any creature I'd seen. I let the fog guide my steps, curling it into a ribbon that whipped around the hunter's legs. It stumbled, limbs jerking uncontrollably. I seized the moment, lunging forward with all my strength, twisting the fog around its neck.
A final motion, sharp, precise—and the hunter collapsed, twitching, lifeless. Silence fell over the alley. My chest heaved, left arm trembling.
Then a faint glow appeared, pulsing in the distance. A small icon materialized in the air, a reminder of the system the world ran on. Reward unlocked: Katana.
The blade hovered briefly before settling into my hands. Light from the fog shimmered across the steel, but it was no ordinary weapon. I felt the fog stir in response, wrapping around the hilt like a coil of living mist.
I clenched the katana, testing its weight. The fog hummed with approval—or perhaps warning. This was mine now, forged from skill, death, and the system's recognition—but it responded only to me. No one else could wield it as I did.
Somewhere deep in the alley, the fog whispered, a faint chorus of memories and voices. I felt the weight of the hunters it had touched, their fear, their rage, their endless hunger. I did not yet understand it, but I knew it: the fog remembered, and I had begun my bond with it.
Survival was no longer just hiding or running. The system gave rewards; the fog demanded mastery. I would need both, but the price—psychological, moral, unseen—was already pressing at my mind.
Somewhere, beyond the mist, something stirred. I knew this fight was only the first of many.