Rain mixed with the blood pooling in the cracked pavement. Kael spat a wad of red saliva and pressed his back against the rusted hull of a scrapped transport crawler. His breathing came in ragged, wet gasps. The metallic tang of rust and ozone hung heavy in the damp air. Three yards away, heavy boots splashed through the puddles, the deliberate pace meant to drag out the hunt.
"Don't make this harder than it has to be, Voss," a grating voice called out. "Just hand over the core, and I'll make sure they cut your throat quick."
Kael tightened his grip on a jagged piece of scrap metal he'd pulled from the wreckage. His ribs burned, grinding against each other with every breath he took. He didn't bother answering the taunt. Talking wasted oxygen, and right now, he needed every ounce of it just to stay conscious.
Footsteps rounded the corner of the crawler. It was Jax, a low-tier Enforcer for the local syndicate, holding a rusted trench knife. The guy was bigger, fully fed, and at least three levels higher. Jax lunged, thrusting the blade straight for Kael's stomach with all his weight behind it. Kael didn't try to block the superior force. He dropped to his knees, letting the blade scrape against the metal wall behind him, and drove his makeshift shiv upward into the unarmored gap behind Jax's knee.
Jax howled, stumbling backward and dropping his guard. Kael didn't hesitate or give him room to breathe. He scrambled up, tackling the larger man into the mud and pinning his weapon arm under his knee. He wrapped his left hand around Jax's throat, squeezing hard enough to cut off his airway.
"Wait, wait—" Jax choked out, his fingers desperately clawing at Kael's wrist.
Kael pressed his thumb directly into the man's windpipe. Entropy, he thought, forcing the dormant, black energy in his chest down his arm.
Shadows leaked from Kael's pores, sinking directly into Jax's skin. The Enforcer's eyes widened in raw panic as the life drained out of him. The flesh under Kael's hand withered, turning dry and gray like ancient parchment. Jax thrashed, kicking mud into Kael's face, but the struggles quickly grew weak as his vitality was siphoned away. In seconds, the man went limp, his body rapidly deteriorating into a hollowed husk.[System Alert: Level Up!]
[Target Consumed. Level 1 -> Level 2][Attribute Points Acquired: +3 Strength, +2 Constitution]
The notification hovered in his vision, but the reward brought zero comfort. Immediately, Kael collapsed onto his side as if he had been struck by lightning. It felt like boiling water was being injected directly into his marrow. His muscles spasmed uncontrollably, tearing at the fibers and aggressively knitting back together thicker and denser. He bit into his own forearm to muffle a scream, the fresh copper taste flooding his mouth. The violent rewiring of his nervous system dragged on, leaving him drenched in cold sweat against the muddy ground.
He forced himself into a sitting position, his chest heaving as the worst of the agony finally passed. The pain faded, replaced by a heavy, unnatural density in his limbs that felt entirely foreign. He picked up Jax's trench knife, testing the weight and balance in his grip. Before he could allocate his new stats, a mechanical siren wailed through the ruins.
The blinding sweep of a searchlight cut through the relentless rain, casting long, erratic shadows across the alleyway. Kael wiped the mud from his eyes and pushed himself up. Three armored syndicate vehicles broke through the barricades at the end of the street, their heavy turrets swiveling direct
ly toward his position.