Aftermath of Surveillance — Calm Before the Storm
The bug-feeds flickered out.
Silence swallowed the cavern.
Every gaze turned toward Raqin.
Eva smirked.
"They think about us far more than we think about them."
Eve's grin was sharper.
"I'm starting to feel famous."
Uncle Lucas didn't share their humor. His arms were crossed, eyes heavy with experience.
"Fame built on fear cuts both ways. Fear sharpens blades just as easily as it bends knees."
Raqin retracted his armor. The faint hum faded as runes dimmed across his skin.
His eyes were calm. Too calm.
"Whatever they think," he said evenly,
"it only means one thing."
He turned his gaze toward the unseen horizon.
"It's another step closer to the Black Mountain."
….
Behind the waterfall, the cavern had transformed.
The crude pool of beast cores and wolf blood from years ago no longer existed. In its place stood a perfected Blood Refinement Array—layered formations, rune lattices, slime-rearing vats, and energy conduits woven together into a living cultivation engine.
The group sat cross-legged around it.
Weapons hovered nearby, slimes fully assimilated—silent, patient, hungry.
Ten years.
Ten years of hunting, realm compression, failure, refinement, and blood-soaked experimentation.
Now—
They stood at the threshold.
Blood Refinement Realm.
Energy surged.
The pool boiled crimson as formations ignited. Spiritual force tore through marrow, organs, and veins.
Bones screamed. Flesh cracked.
Then—
Mutation.
Fusion.
Raqin moved first.
His jade-gold bones turned fully translucent. Lightning crawled beneath his skin as his veins glowed metallic jade. His spine flared—faint dragon ridges surfacing beneath flesh.
A pulse of force exploded outward, cracking stone.
SAM's voice echoed calmly:
/Mutation stabilized.
New Physique: Lightning Jade Dragon Warframe./
Lucas stared, stunned.
"…Innate bodies were myths."
Raqin grinned, telekinetically pulling his sword into hand.
"Then the myths were just incomplete."
Eva followed.
Her blood erupted into blazing gold-red streams, veins forming radiant circuits. Her spear flew into her grip as heat warped the air.
/New Physique: Sun-root Vein Spear Body./
She laughed, breath burning.
"So this is fire in the blood."
Eve was next.
Her shadow peeled away, then reattached like liquid. Cold radiated outward. A dagger snapped into her palm.
/New Physique: Ice-Shadow Phantom Body./
She vanished—then reappeared behind them.
"Nowhere. Everywhere."
Jack's blood condensed into steel-thread fibers. Hexagonal armor patterns surfaced across his skin.
/New Physique: Iron Titan Body./
"Now this," he grinned, flexing,
"feels right."
Jill opened her blind eyes.
Green-crimson light bloomed.
Blood mist formed halos as her scythe floated—controlled by will alone.
/New Physique: Ghostly Scythe Oracle Body./
"I can see," she whispered.
"Everything."
Lucas watched in silence.
Then chuckled darkly.
"…Looks like I was the frog in the well."
The cavern tremble as Lucas's aura swelled, though he remained steady, observing. Raqin grinned, meeting his uncle's eyes. "You'll surpass us soon, uncle. Once I find a way for you to fuse your dantian with a Soul Nexus Core. The blood refinement won't just change your marrow — it'll perfect your foundation."
Lucas snorted, then chuckled. "Hah! Don't think you've left me behind, brat. When my time comes, I'll show you what true blood-tempering means."
Raqin gestured, and they quieted down to listen to what he had to say. "Alright, everyone. Time to stop guessing. Sync with your SAMs. Let's see what we've become."
He tapped his temple, sending a mental ripple. A moment later, a translucent hexagonal panel shimmered before him, filled with runes that rearranged into words and data streams. The other followed, one by one, light from their Soulforge Cores linking to nether neural consciousness.
The cavern filled with very faint, overlapping hums — the voices of their SAMs.
On Raqin's display. His SAM had already completed his profile update.
/Host Name: Raqin Draven
Cultivation Realm: level 1 blood refinement [3rd Compression]
Weapon Realm: Sword Force (72%)
Innate Body: Lightning Jade Dragon Warframe
- Shockwave: converts compressed qi into explosive shockwaves.
- Telekinetic Grasp: Enhanced control over objects.
- Sword energy infusion: merge sword qi or force with internal or external objects.
Skill proficiencies:
- Forging: 89% (Master-tier)
- Formations: 77% (Advanced-tier)
-Cursed Rune: 100% (Tier 1)
- Alchemy: 52% (Competent-tier)
- Stealth / Assassination: 91% (Master-tier)
./
Raqin chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "Hah. I knew I felt heavier. My bones really did harden into jade gold…. But this thing makes it sound like I'm a damn weapon arsenal."
Eva's screen rippled next, her face calm but her aura burning sharp.
/Host Name: Eva Serin
Cultivation Realm: Level 1 blood refinement [3rd Compression]
Weapon Realm: Spear Force (64%)
Innate Body: Sun-root Vein Spear Body
- Root Veins: converts qi to quickly heal the body.
- Sun Serpent Manifestation: can form spectral fire snakes during battle.
- Adaptive Resonance: boosts stamina and control over the body.
Skill proficiencies:
- Forging: 94% (Master-tier)
- Formations: 67% (Skilled-tier)
- Cursed Rune: 89% (Master-tier)
- Alchemy: 75% (Advanced-tier)
- Tracking: 68% (Skilled-tier)
./
Eve just snickered at her sister. "Looks like your innate body focuses on strength and physique and Raqin's focus is on strength and speed. SAM display my profile."
/Host Name: Eve Serin
Cultivation Realm: Level 1 blood refinement [3rd Compression]
Weapon Realm: Dagger Force (79%)
Innate Body: Ice-Shadow Phantom Body
- Umbral Blink: Short-range displacement in shadow
- Phantom ice strike: dual daggers imbued with ice attacks split into illusions with real force.
- Cold-blooded focus: mental state sharpens, raising strike precision.
Skill proficiencies:
- Forging: 74% (Advanced-tier)
- Formations: 80% (Master-tier)
- Cursed Rune: 95% (Master-tier)
- Alchemy: 55% (Competent-tier)
- Stealth: 88% (Master-tier)
./
The mist around the pool shimmered again as Jack and Jill finally opened their eyes. Their breathing was calm — too calm — the kind of control only ten years of constant refinement could produce.
Raqin gave them a nod. "Alright, you two. Sync up. Let's see how deep your foundations have gone."
They pressed two fingers to the side of their temples — the activation rune pulsing faintly with blue light.
Moments later, twin holographic runes appeared before them — shaped like hexagonal mirrors, reflecting lines of golden script.
/Host Name: Jack Varell
Cultivation Realm: level 1 blood refinement [2nd compression]
Weapon realm: Sword force (83%)
Innate Body: Iron Titan Body
- Magneto Pulse: Generates magnetic fields through muscle contractions, controlling metal weapons or objects within a 15-meter radius.
- Shockburst Veins: Stores Kinetic energy from impacts and releases it explosively.
- Forgemind Resonance: Enhances forging speed and material fusion success by 65%
Skill proficiencies:
- Forging: 94% (Master-tier)
- Formations: 77% (Advanced-tier)
- Cursed Rune: 80% (Master-tier)
- Alchemy: 50% (Competent-tier)
- Defensive tactics: 71% (Skilled-tier)
./
Jack flexed his right arm, metallic sparks jumping between his veins. The sound of grinding steel echoed faintly from his body.
Raqin smirked after looking through. "Now you'll be in charge of all things concerning forging. Can you take up that responsibility?"
Jack grinned. "Yes big brother. I'm ready."
As for Jill, hers took longer than expected.
/Host Name: Jill Carell
Cultivation Realm: level 1 blood refinement [2nd compression]
Weapon Realm: Scythe force (76%)
Innate Body: Ghostly Scythe Oracle Body
- Pulse Sight: Sees energy flow and weak points.
- Silent Gale: Eliminates presence and motion noise completely.
- Nerve Threading: Bind qi to living beings or objects for tracking.
Skill proficiencies:
- Forging: 50% (Competent-tier)
- Formations: 84% (Master-tier)
- Cursed Rune: 80% (Master-tier)
- Alchemy: 50% (Competent-tier)
- Tracking: 91% (Master-tier)
./
The cave was silent. It has been three days since they all broke through and after consolidating their cultivation.
But it was not the fragile silence of peace—but the heavy stillness of something coiled and waiting.
Raqin sat cross-legged at the center of the runic platform, blood-red qi slowly circulating beneath his skin like molten metal trapped under jade. Every pulse of his heart echoed through the chamber, synchronized with the faint hum of SAM's core.
Around him, Eva, Eve, Jack, and Jill had also stabilized their breakthroughs.
Blood Refinement Realm.
A realm that refined not just flesh—but lineage, instinct, and destiny.
Raqin exhaled slowly.
"Status check," he said calmly. "Not just cultivation. Everything."
Translucent projections flared to life, hovering in the air.
Eva stood with her spear resting against her shoulder, her blood qi sharp and aggressive, like a blade honed to kill gods.
Eve leaned against the cave wall, arms folded, eyes half-lidded—but the shadows around her bent unnaturally, responding to her will.
Jack cracked his neck, metal veins faintly visible under his skin, while Jill sat quietly, her pupils shimmering with layered light as countless data streams flowed through her perception.
Jack broke the silence first.
"Blood Refinement… feels different," he muttered. "It's like my bones remember how to kill now."
Jill nodded.
"It's not memory," she said softly. "It's genetic inheritance. The compressions forced our bodies to activate our inherent genes hiding within our DNA."
Eva glanced at Raqin.
"And you already knew that, didn't you?"
Raqin didn't deny it.
"The moment we compressed three times at Bone and Tendon," he said, "this outcome became inevitable. Blood Refinement isn't a step forward—it's a declaration."
He raised his hand, and the island-wide projection bloomed in the air.
What appeared wasn't comforting.
Red markers blinked out one after another.
Human settlements.
Gone.
Jill's voice turned cold as she narrated what the data already showed.
"Confirmed human survivors remaining on the island: less than five percent."
Jack stiffened.
"…Wiped out?"
"Not exactly," Jill replied. "Most were harvested. The rest—"
She zoomed the projection in.
Chains. Brands. Beast-men camps.
"—are slaves," she finished. "Or collaborators."
Eva's grip tightened around her spear.
"Traitors."
Raqin's eyes were unreadable.
"Survival takes many forms," he said flatly. "Some people choose to kneel."
Eve snorted.
"Then they've already chosen how they'll die."
Another marker expanded.
A black sigil shaped like a spider.
The temperature in the cave dropped slightly.
"It's her again."
"She's consolidated power faster than predicted," Jill said. "Over seventy percent of remaining factions now serve her—voluntarily or otherwise."
Jack frowned.
"She's not just hunting resources anymore. She's hunting us humans to advance."
Raqin nodded.
"She knows she can't face the Alpha Wolf yet," he said. "So she's doing what all predators do when they smell something stronger."
Eva finished the sentence.
"She's fattening herself up."
Eve's eyes glinted dangerously.
"And flushing us out."
Raqin waved his hand again.
Another piece of data surfaced.
A shockwave graph.
A realm fluctuation.
SAM's voice resonated through the cave, stripped of emotion:
/Warning. Confirmed breakthrough detected. Target: Alpha Wolf.
Current Realm: Spirit Foundation Realm.
Threat Level: Extreme./
Silence.
Even Eva's confident posture faltered slightly.
Jack cursed under his breath.
"Spirit Foundation… that thing isn't just a beast anymore."
"No," Lucas' voice came from behind them, steady but grim.
"It's a ruler."
They turned.
Lucas stepped forward, his blood qi dense and disciplined, eyes sharp with decades of battle wisdom.
"The moment it broke through," he continued, "the rules of the island changed. That's why the spider woman is panicking."
Jill tilted her head.
"She's running out of time."
Raqin's lips curved faintly.
"And so are we."
Eva planted her spear into the stone floor.
"Then we hunt it now."
Eve shook her head.
"No. Charging in is exactly what the spider woman wants."
Jack crossed his arms.
"She wants us injured. Weak. Or dead—so she can swoop in after."
Raqin stood.
The moment he did, the pressure in the cave shifted.
Blood refinement qi surged, restrained but terrifying.
"We don't move yet," he said. "Not until we understand the board completely."
He looked at each of them in turn.
"This island didn't collapse by accident. The beast tide. The Black Mountain. The Alpha Wolf's breakthrough."
SAM projected a final message.
/Probability analysis:
Alpha Wolf = Gatekeeper, not origin.
Black Mountain = Active relic structure.
Island state = Pre-sacrifice phase./
Eve's smile faded.
"…So we were never meant to survive."
Lucas exhaled slowly.
"No," he corrected. "We were meant to be fuel."
Raqin clenched his fist.
The blood in his veins responded like thunder.
"Then we do what we've always done," he said quietly.
"We refuse our role."
Eva's eyes burned.
"And when we hunt the Alpha Wolf?"
Raqin looked toward the distant silhouette of the Black Mountain, barely visible even through layers of stone and array barriers.
"When we hunt it," he said, voice cold and absolute,
"we don't just kill a beast."
He turned back to them.
"We tear open the truth of this island."
The cave trembled faintly, as if something far away had heard him.
Somewhere near the Black Mountain—
A massive wolf lifted its head.
Eight eyes opened.
And it smiled.
The first sign something had gone wrong—
was silence.
No howls echoed across the island anymore.
No territorial warnings.
Only disappearance.
The first sign something had gone wrong—
was silence.
No howls echoed across the island anymore.
No territorial warnings.
Only disappearance.
Deep within the forested lowlands, a Beastman warband vanished without alarm. No battle cries. No lingering bloodshed. Only shredded armor… and crushed bodies drained dry.
The Alpha Wolf watched from the shadows.
Eight eyes reflected moonlight—no longer feral, no longer instinct-driven.
Calculating.
Spirit Foundation Realm had done more than strengthen its body.
It had awakened thought.
Weak groups first.
Leaders second.
Harvest everything.
The wolf no longer guarded territory.
It hunted value.
Beastmen. Humans. Cultivators. Slaves.
All were resources.
The Spider Woman stood atop a ridge of silk-threaded bone towers, her many eyes narrowing as reports flooded in.
"Another elite squad… gone?"
Her lieutenant knelt, trembling.
"Not just gone, my lady. Their cores were… emptied."
Her mandibles clicked.
"…It's hunting upward."
She clenched her claws.
"Forget the armored humans."
The order shocked her council.
"They're irrelevant," she hissed. "If this continues, there will be nothing left for us to rule."
She turned toward the Black Mountain's shadow.
"That wolf is no longer a beast."
The Spider Woman made a choice she never intended to.
Alliance calls went out.
Every serving faction. Every enslaved human camp. Every Beastman clan still breathing.
All were mobilized.
"Meat shields in front," she ordered coldly.
"Elites behind. Traps layered. Poison arrays active."
Human slaves were forced forward first.
Their screams echoed across the forest as the Alpha Wolf descended.
The Spider Woman made a choice she never intended to.
Alliance calls went out.
Every serving faction. Every enslaved human camp. Every Beastman clan still breathing.
All were mobilized.
"Meat shields in front," she ordered coldly.
"Elites behind. Traps layered. Poison arrays active."
Human slaves were forced forward first.
Their screams echoed across the forest as the Alpha Wolf descended.
The battlefield became a slaughterhouse.
Traps triggered—then adapted to.
Poison clouds dispersed—then inhaled.
The Alpha Wolf learned mid-battle.
It used bodies as cover. Threw corpses into arrays to overload formations. Feigned injury to lure elites close.
And when it struck—
it struck precisely.
One Beastman general was torn apart and consumed mid-roar.
A Spirit Core detonated in the wolf's maw.
Its aura grew denser.
Stronger.
Smarter.
The Spider Woman watched in horror as her "alliance" collapsed.
Human slaves died first.
Then Beastmen elites.
Then commanders.
She finally understood.
"We're not fighting a ruler…"
Her voice trembled.
"We're feeding one."
Far from the carnage—
Behind layers of concealment arrays—
Raqin and his group watched everything unfold.
Silent.
Calculating.
Translucent tactical projections hovered between them, SAMs dissecting every movement.
Eva's jaw tightened.
"…That thing is learning faster than we predicted."
Eve's eyes glinted.
"It's using fear as bait."
Jack exhaled slowly.
"And resources as fuel."
Jill's voice was calm—too calm.
"The Alpha Wolf has reached full sentience. Threat classification must be revised."
SAM confirmed:
/Target behavior shift detected.
Classification updated: Apex Sentient Predator./
Raqin didn't look surprised.
"Good," he said softly.
Far from the carnage—
Behind layers of concealment arrays—
Raqin and his group watched everything unfold.
Silent.
Calculating.
Translucent tactical projections hovered between them, SAMs dissecting every movement.
Eva's jaw tightened.
"…That thing is learning faster than we predicted."
Eve's eyes glinted.
"It's using fear as bait."
Jack exhaled slowly.
"And resources as fuel."
Jill's voice was calm—too calm.
"The Alpha Wolf has reached full sentience. Threat classification must be revised."
SAM confirmed:
/Target behavior shift detected.
Classification updated: Apex Sentient Predator./
Raqin didn't look surprised.
"Good," he said softly.
The Spider Woman made her last stand wrapped in layers of silk barriers, surviving lieutenants clustered around her.
She lunged—poison, threads, spatial binding techniques unleashed at once.
The Alpha Wolf retreated.
Waited.
Then struck when her formation fractured.
Two lieutenants died instantly.
Another was consumed mid-escape.
The Spider Woman was torn apart—not eaten.
Her core was crushed under paw.
The wolf didn't need it anymore.
It had already learned enough.
As silence returned to the battlefield, Raqin raised his hand.
"Record everything."
SAMs pulsed.
Data flowed.
Combat patterns. Ability usage. Weak points. Reaction timing.
The dead became numbers.
Raqin's eyes glowed faintly as his Soul Nexus processed outcomes.
"Spider Woman: eliminated," he said calmly.
"Faction remnants: negligible."
He waved his hand.
Three profiles materialized.
As silence returned to the battlefield, Raqin raised his hand.
"Record everything."
SAMs pulsed.
Data flowed.
Combat patterns. Ability usage. Weak points. Reaction timing.
The dead became numbers.
Raqin's eyes glowed faintly as his Soul Nexus processed outcomes.
"Spider Woman: eliminated," he said calmly.
"Faction remnants: negligible."
He waved his hand.
Three profiles materialized.
[Combat Profile: Spider Woman]
Strengths: Area control, poison stacking, thread-based spatial restriction Weaknesses: Core overexposure during multi-thread attacks Status: Neutralized
[Combat Profile: Surviving Elites]
Threat Level: Low Tactical Value: Training simulations only
[Combat Profile: Alpha Wolf]
Realm: Spirit Foundation Intelligence: High Traits: Adaptive combat learning Resource consumption mid-battle Emotional feinting Formation exploitation Weakness: Overconfidence during perceived dominance phases
Raqin turned to his group.
"Download everything."
They felt the data pour into their SAMs.
"Train individually first," Raqin continued.
"In your Matrix Planes."
"Learn its rhythm. Its patience. Its lies."
Eva gripped her spear.
"And then?"
Raqin's smile was thin and predatory.
"Then we hunt it—not as prey…"
He turned toward the Black Mountain.
"…but as executioners."
The distant mountain rumbled.
Somewhere within the shadows—
The Alpha Wolf paused.
And for the first time—
It felt watched.