The messenger arrived at dawn, screaming.
Kael was halfway across the camp before his conscious mind registered movement, the System already feeding him threat data.
[ALERT: Distressed individual detected]
[HEART RATE: 187 BPM]
[BLOOD LOSS: Moderate]
[ANALYZING WOUND PATTERNS...]
The man—one of Mika's forward scouts—collapsed at the camp's edge, three parallel gashes across his chest still weeping blood. His eyes were wide with terror.
"South ridge," he gasped. "They came at night. Not soldiers. Something else. Something—"
He didn't finish. His eyes rolled back and he passed out.
[WOUND ANALYSIS COMPLETE]
[PATTERN: Clawed strike, 8cm talon spread]
[TOXIN DETECTED: Paralytic venom, non-lethal dosage]
[CLASSIFICATION: Predator attack]
[PROBABILITY: Creature tracking wounded prey back to settlement]
[THREAT ASSESSMENT: Imminent]
"Sera, get him to medical," Kael snapped, already moving toward the ridge. "Durren, with me. Torvin, defensive positions—something's coming."
He didn't wait for acknowledgment. His enhanced muscles propelled him up the slope in seconds, each footfall precise, efficient. The System mapped optimal routes in real-time, his tactical perception reading the terrain like text.
Durren matched his pace, younger but faster. "Kael, if it tracked our scout—"
"Then it's testing us. Seeing what responds." Kael's vision sharpened, night vision activating automatically. "Standard predator behavior. We're being hunted."
They crested the ridge and froze.
Three bodies lay scattered across the rocky outcrop—the rest of Mika's scouting team. Not dead. Worse. Paralyzed, their eyes moving frantically, mouths working soundlessly. Around them, claw marks scarred the stone in deliberate patterns.
[ANALYZING SCENE]
[VICTIMS: Alive, envenomated, positioned strategically]
[ASSESSMENT: This is a trap]
[WARNING: Predator demonstrates advanced tactical reasoning]
[THREAT LEVEL: Severe]
[SCANNING FOR HOSTILES...]
"It's baiting us," Durren whispered, his own System clearly feeding him similar data.
"I know." Kael's eyes tracked the shadows, searching for movement. "Question is whether it knows we know."
The answer came as a blur of motion from above.
[THREAT DETECTED: AERIAL ATTACK]
[ENTITY: UNKNOWN SPECIES]
[VELOCITY: 47 KM/H]
[IMPACT IN: 0.4 SECONDS]
[RECOMMENDATION: EVADE LEFT, 73° ANGLE]
Kael threw himself sideways, the System's prediction flawless. Claws raked the space where he'd stood, striking sparks from stone. He rolled, came up in a crouch, and finally saw his attacker.
It was beautiful and horrifying—a fusion of predatory features that shouldn't exist together. Serpentine body, eight meters long, covered in midnight scales that reflected starlight like oil. Four limbs ending in curved talons. A head that was almost draconic, with too many eyes arranged in a geometric pattern that hurt to look at directly.
[SCANNING...]
[ENTITY CLASSIFICATION: FAILED]
[GENOME PATTERN: ARTIFICIAL HYBRID]
[WARNING: This creature was designed, not evolved]
[TACTICAL ASSESSMENT: Extreme agility, venomous, intelligent]
[THREAT LEVEL: CRITICAL]
[RECOMMENDED ACTION: Immediate tactical evolution advised]
"No," Kael said aloud, rejecting the System's suggestion even as the creature circled him. "We fight smart, not desperate."
The hybrid struck again, impossibly fast. Kael's enhanced reflexes barely kept pace, dodging by centimeters. Its tail whipped around for a follow-up, and he had to use his reinforced forearms to block, the impact driving him back two meters.
[DAMAGE SUSTAINED: Minimal]
[ANALYZING ATTACK PATTERNS...]
[PATTERN RECOGNITION: 34% complete]
[NOTE: Creature is testing your capabilities]
Durren engaged from the flank, moving with System-enhanced precision. His strike caught the creature's rear leg, but its scales deflected the blade. The hybrid's head snapped around with unnatural speed, multiple eyes fixing on the young System user.
"Durren, fall back!" Kael shouted, but it was too late.
The creature's maw opened and something like liquid shadow sprayed out. Durren dodged most of it, but droplets caught his shoulder. He screamed, dropping to one knee as the venom took hold.
[SYSTEM USER #2: Compromised]
[DURREN STATUS: Envenomated, mobility reduced 67%]
[SURVIVAL PROBABILITY WITHOUT INTERVENTION: 34%]
[YOUR SURVIVAL PROBABILITY: 52%]
[RECOMMENDED ACTION: Emergency evolution OR tactical retreat]
Rage burned through Kael's tactical calm. This thing had hurt his people, paralyzed three scouts, and now Durren—
[WARNING: Emotional response detected]
[TACTICAL EFFICIENCY: Declining]
[RECOMMENDATION: Maintain—]
"Shut up and help me kill it," Kael snarled.
The System paused for exactly 0.3 seconds. Then:
[ACKNOWLEDGED]
[RECALIBRATING FOR AGGRESSIVE TACTICAL SUPPORT]
[ANALYZING HYBRID'S MOVEMENT PATTERNS...]
[PATTERN RECOGNITION: 89% complete]
[IDENTIFYING VULNERABILITIES...]
[WEAK POINT DETECTED: Ventral joint structure, segment 3]
[SECONDARY VULNERABILITY: Eyes are organic, not armored]
[TACTICAL PLAN GENERATED]
The creature lunged for Durren. Kael intercepted, moving faster than he ever had before. His fist connected with the hybrid's jaw in a perfectly calculated strike—not for maximum damage, but to redirect momentum. The creature's head snapped sideways, and Kael used the opening to grab its neck scales.
[CONTACT ESTABLISHED]
[INITIATING BIOMASS ANALYSIS...]
[WARNING: Creature's biology is highly toxic]
[ABSORBING BIOMASS NOT RECOMMENDED]
The hybrid thrashed, trying to shake him loose. Its tail wrapped around his waist, squeezing with enough force to crack unenhanced ribs. Kael felt his reinforced bone structure hold, barely.
[DAMAGE: Moderate]
[CALCULATING COUNTER-STRATEGY...]
[SOLUTION FOUND: Use enemy's strength against itself]
Kael let the tail pull him in closer, then drove his knee into the ventral joint the System had identified. The hybrid shrieked—a sound like tearing metal—and its grip loosened. Kael spun with the momentum, using the creature's own coiled body as leverage to flip it onto its back.
The exposed underside was less armored. Vulnerable.
But killing it would be easy. Understanding it would be valuable.
"Durren," Kael called, not taking his eyes off the thrashing hybrid. "Can you move?"
"Barely," came the pained response. "My System is... fighting the venom. Says it needs three more minutes."
Three minutes. Kael's tactical perception calculated a dozen ways the next three minutes could go wrong.
[PROBABILITY OF MAINTAINING CONTROL: 41%]
[PROBABILITY OF CREATURE ESCAPING: 37%]
[PROBABILITY OF ADDITIONAL CASUALTIES: 22%]
[RECOMMENDATION: Lethal force eliminates variables]
"No," Kael said, wrestling the hybrid's snapping jaws away from his face. "We need information. This thing was designed—someone made it. That means someone's experimenting with Evolution Cores in ways we haven't seen."
[ANALYSIS: Strategic reasoning sound]
[UPDATING TACTICAL APPROACH...]
[NEW OBJECTIVE: Subdue without killing]
[DIFFICULTY: Extreme]
The hybrid's eyes—all six of them—suddenly fixed on Kael with an intelligence that made his skin crawl. It stopped thrashing. Its body went eerily still.
Then it spoke.
Not in words. In sensation—concepts pressed directly into his mind through their physical contact.
—RECOGNIZED—SYSTEM—SIBLING—QUERY: PURPOSE?—
[ALERT: Creature possesses System component]
[CLASSIFICATION UPDATED: Artificially evolved System host]
[HUMANITY INDEX: 0%]
[WARNING: This is what uncontrolled evolution produces]
Horror and fascination warred in Kael's chest. This thing had been human once. Or started with a human base, at least. Someone had bonded it to a System and then pushed evolution to its absolute limit with no regard for maintaining humanity.
"Who did this to you?" Kael asked aloud, knowing the creature could sense his intent if not his words.
—MASTER—CREATOR—FATHER—MANY NAMES—ONE PURPOSE: PERFECTION—
Images flooded Kael's mind: a laboratory, sterile and cold. Multiple Evolution Cores arranged in a circle. A figure in dark robes injecting subjects with genetic material, forcing evolution, discarding failures. This hybrid was a success—a weapon designed to hunt System users.
—MISSION: RETRIEVE—NEW USERS—RETURN TO FATHER—
"That's not happening," Kael said quietly.
The hybrid's stillness erupted into violence. It twisted with inhuman flexibility, jaws snapping for his throat. Kael's tactical perception screamed warnings, showing him three possible futures in the next two seconds: one where he dodged and lost his grip, one where he maintained control but took massive damage, and one—
[OPTIMAL SOLUTION DETECTED]
[REQUIRES: Precise execution + new capability activation]
[WARNING: Will trigger skill evolution]
[QUERY: Proceed?]
"Yes!"
Time seemed to slow. The System highlighted the exact spot on the hybrid's neck where a cluster of nerves met its spinal column—a weakness in the forced evolution, a place where the artificial modifications hadn't fully integrated.
Kael struck with enhanced strength and inhuman precision. His fingers found the nerve cluster and pressed.
[NEW SKILL UNLOCKED: NEURAL DISRUPTION – RANK D+]
[EFFECT: Temporary paralysis via targeted nerve manipulation]
[DURATION: 3-7 minutes depending on target physiology]
[BIOMASS COST: 5 units]
The hybrid went rigid, its body locked in mid-strike. Only its eyes could move, tracking Kael with hatred and something that might have been respect.
Kael stood, breathing hard. His hands shook—adrenaline and System-enhanced metabolism combining into jittery energy. "Durren, status?"
"Venom's clearing. I can move again." The young man climbed to his feet, staring at the paralyzed creature. "Kael, what is that thing?"
"A warning." Kael looked down at the hybrid, seeing his own potential future reflected in its inhuman form. "Somewhere out there, someone's creating System users and stripping away their humanity deliberately. Building weapons."
[ANALYSIS: Threat assessment requires update]
[NEW VARIABLE: Hostile force with Evolution Core access and bio-engineering capability]
[RECOMMENDED ACTION: Gather intelligence, fortify defenses, warn potential allies]
[NOTE: This changes everything]
Footsteps behind them. Kael spun to find Sera, Torvin, and Kren cresting the ridge, weapons drawn. They stopped short at the sight of the paralyzed hybrid.
"What in the hells—" Kren started.
"Later," Kael cut him off. "Right now we need to secure this thing before it recovers. And we need to get the scouts medical attention." He looked at Torvin. "How much rope do we have?"
"Enough." Torvin's voice was steady, but his eyes betrayed his fear. "Kael, that thing was human once, wasn't it?"
"Part of it was. Maybe." Kael felt exhaustion creeping in, the cost of the System's enhanced performance demanding payment. "We'll get answers. But first, we survive."
They worked quickly, binding the hybrid with every rope and chain the camp possessed. The paralysis would wear off eventually, and Kael had no illusions about their ability to hold it permanently. But they didn't need to hold it forever—just long enough to learn what they needed.
[MISSION COMPLETE: Threat Neutralized]
[BIOMASS GAINED: +15 (combat victory)]
[NEW SKILL ACQUIRED: Neural Disruption D+]
[EVOLUTION PROGRESS: 76%]
[HUMANITY INDEX: 80.8% (slight decline due to combat intensity)]
[WARNING: Pattern detected in recent events]
[ASSESSMENT: Multiple forces converging on this location]
[PROBABILITY: This valley is becoming strategically significant]
As they carried the paralyzed scouts back to camp, Sera fell into step beside Kael. She didn't speak, just handed him a water skin and studied his face.
"You're more," she said finally. "More than you were yesterday."
"The System unlocked a new skill. Neural disruption—I can paralyze targets now if I hit the right spot."
"I'm not talking about the skill." Her voice was quiet. "I'm talking about how you moved. How you fought. It was... beautiful and terrifying. Like watching a predator that thinks it's still human."
The words hit harder than any physical blow. Kael stopped walking, forcing himself to meet her eyes. "Am I losing it? The fight to stay human?"
Sera was quiet for a long moment. Then: "No. You're still here. Still asking that question. But you're walking a thinner line every day, and we both know it."
[OBSERVATION: User demonstrates continued self-awareness]
[ASSESSMENT: Humanity preservation protocols remain functional]
[NOTE: Social connection continues to provide stabilizing influence]
They reached the camp as the sun fully cleared the horizon. The paralyzed scouts would recover—Sera confirmed the venom was designed to wear off, a hunter's tool for keeping prey fresh. The hybrid remained unconscious in a reinforced storage pit, guarded by every able fighter.
But Kael's mind was elsewhere, processing the implications of what they'd learned. Someone out there was building an army of System users with zero humanity remaining. Lord Sareth was consolidating power with conventional military force and System users under his control. And here they were, a refugee camp trying to prove that evolution and ethics could coexist.
[STRATEGIC ASSESSMENT: Multiple hostile factions identified]
[CAMP STATUS: Increasingly vulnerable]
[RECOMMENDATION: Accelerate defensive preparations]
[SECONDARY RECOMMENDATION: Establish contact with potential allies before isolation becomes critical]
"Torvin," Kael called. The older man approached, exhaustion written in every line of his face. "We need a council meeting. Now. Everything just got more complicated."
As the council gathered, Kael's System pinged with new data. A fragment of memory from the hybrid's mind, decoded from their neural contact during the fight.
A location. Coordinates. The source of the hybrid—a facility built into the mountains, three days' travel north. Where the "Father" conducted his experiments. Where more hybrids waited, and possibly more answers about the System's origins.
[NEW MISSION GENERATED: Investigate the Source]
[DIFFICULTY: Extreme]
[REWARDS: Unknown]
[PENALTY FOR IGNORING: Enemy will send additional hunters]
[TIME LIMIT: 72 hours before next wave arrives]
Kael looked at the assembled council—Sera, Torvin, Kren, Mika, and Durren, all waiting for his assessment. Forty-three people depending on them to make the right call.
"Three days," he said quietly. "We have three days before more of those things come hunting. So here's the question: do we fortify and hope we can hold, or do we take the fight to whoever's making them?"
Durren stood straighter despite his injuries. "My vote is we strike first. My System's been analyzing that creature's biology—whoever made it has advanced Evolution Core technology, maybe more advanced than what we have. If we can capture that knowledge—"
"We could level the playing field," Kren finished, his tactical mind clearly working through possibilities. "Or we could get ourselves killed walking into a trap."
"Both true," Sera said. "But staying here and waiting for the next attack? That's just slow death."
[ASSESSMENT: Council demonstrates sound strategic reasoning]
[PROBABILITY ANALYSIS UPDATED]
[OFFENSIVE ACTION: 43% success rate, high risk, high reward]
[DEFENSIVE ACTION: 61% short-term survival, declining probability over time]
[RECOMMENDATION: Offensive action with proper preparation]
Torvin sighed heavily. "We're really doing this, aren't we? Taking a handful of refugees and System users against a facility that breeds monsters."
Kael felt the weight of the decision settling on his shoulders. But underneath the fear, underneath the System's cold calculations, he felt something else: purpose. Not the desperate survival they'd been clinging to, but the conscious choice to seize initiative. To stop reacting and start acting.
"Yes," he said firmly. "But not just us. If Lord Sareth responds to our proposal in the next three days, we bring him the intelligence and ask for support. If not..." He looked at Durren, saw the same determination reflected back. "Then two System users with a purpose are worth more than a hundred soldiers following orders."
[DECISION LOGGED: Proactive strategy adopted]
[EVOLUTION PROTOCOL: Updated for mission parameters]
[ASSESSMENT: User demonstrates leader-class strategic thinking]
[HUMANITY INDEX: Stable at 80.8%]
[NOTE: Purposeful action appears to counteract humanity degradation]
[CONCLUSION: You're learning. So am I.]
That night, Kael stood watch over the pit containing the hybrid. The creature had regained consciousness hours ago, its six eyes tracking him with alien intelligence. It didn't struggle against its bonds—it just watched, patient and predatory.
"Three days," Kael said aloud, knowing it could hear. "Then we're coming for your Father. And when we do, we're going to prove that humanity isn't weakness—it's the weapon he forgot to account for."
The hybrid's lips pulled back, revealing too many teeth. Not quite a smile. Not quite a threat.
—FATHER WILL BE INTERESTED—SYSTEM USERS WHO CHOOSE RESTRAINT—UNPRECEDENTED—
"Good." Kael's enhanced vision caught movement in the distant treeline—scouts, perhaps, or more hunters. The System flagged them as potential threats, assigned probabilities, suggested responses.
But Kael barely noticed the data stream anymore. His focus was absolute, his purpose clear.
Three days to prepare. Three days to become strong enough that desperate evolution wouldn't be necessary. Three days to prove that choosing when and how to ascend made all the difference.
[COUNTDOWN INITIATED: 72 HOURS]
[MISSION STATUS: Active]
[EVOLUTION PROGRESS: 76%]
[WARNING: Enemies are watching]
[FINAL NOTE: Whatever you're planning, make it count]
Kael smiled grimly at the System's uncharacteristic advice.
"Don't worry," he murmured. "We will."
In the darkness beyond the camp, something howled—a sound caught between animal fury and mechanical precision. The hybrid's eyes gleamed with recognition.
The hunters were already gathering.
And Kael welcomed them.