The docks were silent, soaked in rain and shadows, the smell of wet wood and iron thick in the air. Keegan moved cautiously, gripping his broken pipe, muscles tense, every nerve screaming that something was watching. News had spread quickly: two C-rank hunters, five F-ranks, one A-rank, and ten civilians had been slaughtered by a mid-tier Hemarch. Rage and fury twisted inside him like fire. He didn't care about hunger or survival anymore; he cared about revenge. Every instinct told him to run, but anger rooted him in place. The city had taken enough lives. This time, he would fight.
He didn't see it coming. One moment, the shadows were empty; the next, violent force tore through his legs and left arm. Pain exploded, and he screamed, collapsing to the wet planks, blood pooling around him. The mid-tier Hemarch moved like smoke, blinking in and out of sight, its claws tearing through anything in reach. His vision swam with agony, and he realized in horror how easy it would be to die here, alone. Every sound—the splash of water, the scrape of metal, the cries of the dying—stung his ears. Desperation gripped him tighter than the pain.
Through the chaos, something flickered in the corner of his eye. The Blink Hemarch, F-rank and observing silently, crouched like a shadowy panther, amber eyes glowing faintly in the darkness. It didn't attack. It was watching, patient and calculating. Its sleek body flickered between visibility and nothingness, a predator measuring its prey. Rage surged in Keegan's chest, hotter than fire. The thought of the hunters and civilians it had already killed fueled his fists and sharpened his mind. "I won't let you do this!" he shouted, voice raw and shaking with fury.
The Hemarch lunged again. Bones splintered. Muscles tore. Limbs crushed. Keegan screamed, pain ripping through his body, blood mixing with the rain on the dock. He felt hopeless, helpless, staring death in the face. Then, faintly, warmth traced along his right forearm. A flicker of shadow detached itself from the Blink Hemarch and embedded itself in his flesh. Pain tore through him, sharp and burning, but immediately, his shattered legs and mangled left arm healed completely. He blinked, stunned, the sensation almost alien in its intensity.
Power surged through him violently. Reflexes sharpened, speed multiplied, and a shadow flickered along his head, shaping into a panther-like form over his own, amber eyes glowing faintly. The fragment whispered in his mind, patient and curious, almost like claws tracing his thoughts. Rage drowned out the whispers, replaced by a singular, burning drive. His first taste of Pact power coursed through every vein and muscle. Limbs whole, pain subsiding, he felt alive in a way he hadn't before, tethered to something beyond human understanding.
Fueled by fury, Keegan lunged at the mid-tier Hemarch. It blinked unpredictably, claws flashing, but the fragment's power allowed him to move before it struck. Pipe and fists struck with precision, each blow driven by rage and pain. Blood sprayed across the splintered planks as the shadow on his head pulsed in sync with his heartbeat. Every dodge and strike felt amplified, almost guided by the panther's presence. The creature staggered, blinking frantically, struggling against the torrent of fury coming at it. Keegan's vision burned with adrenaline.
He pressed the attack relentlessly. The mid-tier Hemarch tried to flee, blinking and striking with deadly speed, but Keegan tracked its movements like a predator himself. Reflexes beyond human limits guided his strikes, each hit punctuated by the sound of wood and metal shattering under his pipe. Rain washed the blood from his arms, but not from his hands. He had no time for fear; anger and instinct controlled him entirely. The creature faltered, blinking weakly, finally collapsing in a puddle of dark water and splintered wood.
Keegan fell to his knees, chest heaving violently, muscles trembling from exertion and adrenaline. Blood, rain, and sweat dripped across his face as he took stock of himself. Legs intact. Left arm intact. Shadow panther head still faintly flickering above his own, watching him silently. Alive, powerful, and tethered to something he barely understood. Rage had given him power. Survival had given him a tether. The docks were quiet, but he knew the danger had only just begun.
The hooded figure stepped closer, voice low, calm, and serious. "This is your first Pact. The Hemarch watches you now. Rage gives you power, but every action has a cost. One slip, one hesitation… and it could take more than your life." Keegan's heart thumped violently. He understood instinctively that the fragment wasn't just a tool—it was a presence, watching and learning, tied to him in ways he couldn't yet comprehend.
He flexed his healed limbs, testing reflexes and strength. The panther shadow over his head flickered with each movement, amber eyes tracking his hands and the docks around him. He could feel a low, patient whisper in the back of his mind, guiding him, almost nudging him to move faster, strike harder, anticipate better. Power hummed beneath his skin, potent and dangerous. Rage had been his key to survival, but now he realized it was also the doorway to something much darker.
For the first time, Keegan felt the weight of being tethered to a Hemarch. The creature he had only watched now pulsed inside him like a heartbeat, whispering, waiting. He had survived, but he had not won. The dockyard, soaked in rain, littered with the remains of the hunters and civilians, bore silent witness to his transformation. Alive, tethered, and changed. The Blink Hemarch was watching—and he knew it would never let him forget it.
The night stretched over the docks, rain pattering softly against the wood, masking the quiet hum of the Hemarch fragment within him. Keegan rose slowly, testing his legs, flexing his healed left arm. The shadow panther head over him flickered faintly, amber eyes scanning the surroundings. He was whole, alive, and stronger than he had ever been—but he was not alone. Something in the docks, unseen and patient, had tethered itself to him, and it would never stop watching. Rage had saved him, but power, he realized, came with a price.