The maintenance gate didn't look like a door to another world.
It looked like a mistake.
A slab of reinforced steel sat half-buried behind stacked crates and rusted piping, its surface scarred with old warning labels no one bothered to replace. No guards. No lights. Just a keypad dark enough to pretend it wasn't there.
Kai stopped ten meters away.
This is insane.
That thought came fast—and then slower, heavier ones followed.
If I turn back now, nothing changes.I go to work tomorrow.I stay alive.
His wrist tingled.
ACCESS WINDOW: 01:47
The number ticked down.
Kai exhaled and took another step.
The city behind him hummed with routine—late-night transports, distant voices, the dull comfort of rules being followed. Ahead of him was silence. Thick. Expectant.
He reached the gate and brushed dust from the keypad.
It lit up.
Green.
Kai hesitated.
This isn't courage, he told himself. It's desperation.
He pressed his palm to the metal.
For a heartbeat, nothing happened.
Then the gate shuddered.
Locks disengaged with a low, heavy clack—the sound of something old giving way.
The door slid open just enough for a person to slip through.
Warm air rushed past him from the other side.
Not warm like the city.
Warm like breath.
Kai's stomach tightened.
He stepped through.
The world outside the Barrier didn't announce itself.
It simply existed.
The air was thicker here, heavy with unfamiliar scents—iron, damp earth, something sharp and animal. The ground dipped unevenly beneath his boots, no smooth pavement to catch him if he stumbled.
Behind him, the gate slid shut.
The sound echoed louder than it should have.
Kai didn't turn around.
If he did, he might not move again.
WARNING: UNAUTHORIZED ZONESURVIVAL PROBABILITY: LOW
"Yeah," Kai whispered. "I figured."
He took a step forward.
Then another.
The darkness shifted—not moved, just changed, like something adjusting to his presence.
Kai froze.
His breath felt loud. Too loud.
He waited.
Nothing attacked.
Nothing rushed him.
That somehow made it worse.
STIMULUS DETECTEDCORE RESPONSE: ACTIVE
The faint warmth in his chest spread, threading through his limbs like quiet fire. His senses sharpened again—just a little.
Enough.
He heard it then.
A wet sound.
Dragging.
To his left.
Kai turned slowly.
The thing crawling out of the shadows had once been a dog.
He could tell by the shape of the skull, the way the jaw hung wrong. Its fur was patchy, skin split in places to reveal muscle that moved too deliberately.
Its eyes were cloudy.
Its teeth were not.
The creature sniffed the air.
And smiled.
Kai's heart slammed so hard it hurt.
Run.
That instinct screamed louder than anything else.
But his legs didn't move.
Because something else rose up beneath the fear—thin, sharp, focused.
If I run, this ends the same way everything else does.
The dog-creature lunged.
Kai reacted without thinking.
He twisted aside, barely—barely—as teeth snapped where his throat had been a second earlier. The thing crashed into the ground, skidding and snarling.
Kai stumbled back, pulse roaring.
"I don't have a weapon," he hissed.
CONFIRMATION: NO
"Helpful."
The creature sprang again.
This time, Kai didn't dodge.
He raised his arm.
Pain exploded as teeth sank into flesh.
Kai screamed—but didn't pull away.
He grabbed the creature by the neck with his free hand and slammed it into the ground with everything he had.
The impact knocked the breath from both of them.
The creature thrashed.
Kai felt its strength—wild, wrong, too much.
And something inside him answered.
Heat surged.
ADAPTIVE RESPONSE TRIGGEREDPRIORITY: SURVIVAL
Kai's grip tightened.
Not because he forced it—
Because his body understood.
The creature's thrashing slowed.
Its eyes widened.
Kai leaned in, breath ragged, teeth clenched.
"You picked the wrong night," he growled.
With a final convulsion, the thing went still.
Kai staggered back, collapsing to one knee.
His arm burned. Blood soaked his sleeve.
He laughed once—short, broken.
"I'm alive," he whispered.
The interface pulsed urgently.
FIRST KILL CONFIRMEDGENETIC DATA ABSORBEDCORE EVOLUTION: MINOR
A sensation rippled through him—not pleasure, not pain, but recognition. Like a missing piece snapping into place.
NEW TRAIT UNLOCKED:[PREDATOR INSTINCT — LEVEL 1]EFFECT: ENHANCED THREAT AWARENESS
Kai sucked in a breath.
The darkness around him shifted again.
This time, he knew why.
He could feel them now.
Not one.
More.
Shapes moving beyond sight.
Waiting.
Kai pushed himself to his feet, blood dripping from his arm.
His fear was still there.
But it wasn't alone anymore.
He smiled—slow, fierce, a little unhinged.
"So this is how it starts," he said softly.
The Wild Zone listened.
And for the first time—
It answered.
[End of Chapter 4]