Kael's eyes snapped open. His throat burned, panic spilling into words before he could stop them.
"No… this isn't real. It can't be real."
The voice that answered wasn't his own.
[Echo] [Negative. Nexus is real. You have been selected.]
Kael froze, blood pounding in his ears. "Selected? For what?!"
[Echo] [Survival. Ascension. Judgment.]
The words hit him like a verdict.
Then came the sound.
A low, guttural growl slid from the shadows, vibrating through the still air like stone grinding against stone. Kael's stomach dropped.
It stood at the crater's edge—a nightmare that should not exist.
Eight limbs, impossibly long and disturbingly graceful. Its body shimmered like black metal slicked with oil, reflecting the fractured sun in jagged fragments. Where a face should have been, there was only smooth emptiness—but Kael felt its gaze all the same. Wrong. Perfectly wrong.
[Nexus Beast: Class E — "Glass Widow"]
[Host survival rate: 3%]
His breath froze. "Three percent… Are you kidding me? I just woke up!"
[Echo] [Recommendation: Run.]
He didn't hesitate.
The world lurched into motion. Glass shards cracked beneath his feet as Kael sprinted. Ash seared his lungs, each breath shallow and ragged. The ground betrayed him, gravity twisting, tugging sideways, then shoving him downward—as if the world itself wanted him dead.
The horizon split open into a forest of crystalline trees, jagged branches raised like weapons against the sky. Black surfaces shimmered faintly, humming with energy. Kael dove beneath a fallen trunk, heart hammering, chest burning.
The beast followed.
Its limbs scythed through the crystalline wood, sparks cascading in its wake. Thunderous crashes echoed as splinters rained down, tearing into Kael's arms. He scrambled up a jagged slope, screaming into the void.
"Echo! Help me survive!"
[Echo] [Initializing combat interface…]
[Resonant Potential: Detected.]
[WARNING: User has no weapon.]
[WARNING: User has no combat experience.]
[WARNING: Fear levels peaking. Neural overload imminent.]
Kael stumbled. Gravel tore his knees as his lungs screamed. Vision blurred.
The beast lunged.
There was no escape.
And yet—something inside him stirred. Not fear. Not surrender. Something older. Primal. Instinct.
A surge ripped through his body like wildfire, veins burning white-blue beneath his skin. The ground trembled. Air fractured with a soundless thunderclap as energy erupted from his core.
The shockwave hurled the Glass Widow off its feet, smashing it into crystalline trees. Shards exploded outward, cutting through the forest.
Kael collapsed to his knees, chest heaving, body trembling as if drained of everything. For a heartbeat, he thought it was over.
It wasn't.
The Glass Widow rose. Black limbs splintered but intact. Its faceless head turned toward him, focus heavy like knives digging into his skin.
"…No way…" Kael's voice cracked.
The beast moved again—faster.
Kael staggered to his feet. Instinct roared louder. He raised his trembling hand, and another pulse of energy sputtered out, weaker this time, barely enough to push the creature sideways. The effort nearly tore him apart.
The Glass Widow recovered instantly, slicing down with a limb sharp enough to split stone. Kael rolled, shards carving his arms and back, blood soaking his clothes. Every breath was agony. Every movement could be his last.
"Echo! What do I do?!"
[WARNING: Resonant Potential unstable.]
[Combat efficiency: 12%.]
[Recommendation: Continue engagement. Adapt or die.]
The words hammered in as the beast lunged again.
Kael clutched at the fire in his veins, forcing another surge. Wild, uncontrolled. The blast shattered a tree, fragments slicing the beast like knives.
The Glass Widow shrieked, staggering at last.
Kael gasped, bloodied and trembling, standing amidst the broken crystal forest. Horror and awe churned in his chest.
This wasn't victory.
This was survival.
And then darkness claimed him again.