The sky looked heavy that night. Clouds hung low, covering the city like a dirty blanket.
Ryn stood on top of a broken building, watching the streets below — lifeless, silent, as if the world itself was scared to breathe.
His coat moved with the wind. Blood had already dried on it, but he didn't care. He wasn't here to clean. He was here to hunt.
> [New Gate Detected – South Sector.]
[Energy Type: Unknown.]
"Unknown again," he said quietly, his voice rough from the smoke and blood. "Figures."
He jumped from the rooftop. The fall didn't hurt — it never did anymore. The moment his boots hit the ground, the air around him changed. Cold. Thick. Like something invisible was watching.
---
At the South Sector, the gate was already forming.
Hunters surrounded it, their faces pale. Even from far away, Ryn could smell their fear.
He walked straight through them, silent, eyes fixed on the portal.
"Wait—! You can't just go in there alone!" someone shouted.
Ryn didn't look back.
He just said, "I've been alone for a long time."
And then he stepped inside.
---
The gate swallowed him whole.
Inside, there was no light. Only whispers — soft, strange, like something crawling inside his head.
He gripped his katana tighter. Every sound felt alive.
> [Warning: Mental Interference Detected.]
[Stability dropping—]
"Shut up," he hissed. The voice stopped.
Then, out of nowhere, came movement. A flash of claws. Teeth.
A creature unlike the others — its body half metal, half bone, red smoke rising from its wounds.
Ryn didn't move.
He waited for it to attack first. When it did, he stepped forward, fast — blade cutting through the air like lightning.
Blood splattered, thick and black.
But instead of falling, the beast laughed.
> "You think you're a hunter… but you're just another monster."
Ryn froze for half a second. The voice wasn't from outside — it came from inside his head.
> [Partial Synchronization in Progress.]
"Get… out," he growled, forcing his blade deeper.
The beast roared. Shadows exploded outward, swallowing the room in darkness.
When the light returned, Ryn was standing — breathing heavily, blood dripping from his hands. The monster was gone.
> [Beast Eliminated.]
[New Title Acquired: Blood Reaper.]
He stared at the message for a long time.
Then he whispered, "Blood Reaper… huh. Sounds about right."
---
Outside the gate, hunters saw him emerge — covered in blood, eyes glowing faint red.
No one spoke. No one moved.
He passed through them quietly, only saying one thing as he walked away:
> "The gates are changing… and so am I."
Then he disappeared into the mist, leaving behind only silence — and the smell of fear.
---