The world reformed in an instant.
Not gently. Not smoothly.
It snapped into place like a trap closing around Kael's throat.
One moment, he and Mr. Han were swallowed by blue light.
The next, they stood on soil that felt too soft. Too warm.
A crimson fog rolled across a dim landscape, thick with the coppery smell of blood and wet stone.
Trees—if they could be called trees—towered overhead. Their trunks were made of twisted black bone, their branches long, thin, and jointed like fingers. Each branch ended in a sharpened point, dripping with pale white sap that hissed when it touched the ground.
Floating above the forest's canopy, a jagged moon glowed faint violet, cracked down the center like a broken eye.
Mr. Han collapsed to his knees, gagging as he clutched his chest. "D-Do we die?! Are we dead? Boy, where are we?"
Kael scanned the surroundings.
Cold. Focused.
His Monarch Sight awakened on its own.
Floating text appeared across the fog.
[Predator's Run—Floor E]
Classification: Survival Zone
Primary Rule: Hunt or be hunted
Time Limit: 60 minutes
Goal: Reach the Heart Shrine
Reward: Ascend / Gain Floor Trait
Kael's eyes narrowed.
"This floor isn't a trial," he said. "It's a hunt."
And they weren't the hunters.
A low rumbling growl rolled through the fog.
Then another.
Then another.
Dozens.
Mr. Han's voice quivered. "S-something is out there."
Kael activated Shattercall.
Shards flickered faintly in his hand but sputtered—the energy here was different.
The system flashed a warning.
Shattercall Stability Reduced
Local Fracture Energy: Hostile
Domain Establishment: Severely Restricted
Kael sucked in a breath.
"So this is an E Floor…"
Mr. Han tugged at his sleeve. "Boy… something's coming."
He was right.
Multiple yellow eyes blinked open in the fog—
Circles of glowing hunger, drifting closer.
Kael stepped forward, placing himself between the approaching shadows and Mr. Han.
His heart hammered, but his face was calm.
The system fed him information.
[Hungerling Pack Beast]
Tier: E–
Behavior: Relentless
Weakness: Sensory Overload
Kael frowned.
"Overload…?"
Before he could think further, the fog parted.
The pack emerged.
At least ten of them.
Beasts shaped like wolves, but wrong—
Bodies too long
Skulls too exposed
Jaws split down the middle like cracked porcelain
Their footsteps didn't make sound.
They approached in a silence so thick it tightened Kael's chest.
"Back up," Kael said quietly.
Mr. Han scrambled until he hit a spine-tree behind him.
The Hungerlings lowered their heads—
Muscles flexing
Eyes locked on Kael
Ready to pounce
Kael prepared Shattercall—
But before he could strike, a whisper brushed the edges of his mind again.
Little Monarch…
Show me how you hunt.
The Residual Monarch Echo.
Watching.
Kael ignored it and extended his senses.
He felt the ground's vibration—
The pack's breathing—
The rhythm of their movements—
And suddenly, it clicked.
Weakness: Sensory Overload wasn't about sight.
Or smell.
It was vibration.
Sound.
Kael stomped the ground.
Hard.
A shockwave rippled outward like a snapping whip.
The beasts instantly shrieked, heads jerking sideways violently.
Their bodies convulsed—
Ears (if those holes counted as ears) bleeding black fluid.
Kael didn't hesitate.
He thrust his hand out, channeling what he could of Shattercall.
Three shards formed—
Cracked
Unstable
Sparking—
But sharp enough.
They shot forward.
Three beasts fell in an instant, skulls split cleanly.
The others regrouped, snarling.
They circled, fast.
Smarter now.
Kael tensed—
A Hungerling lunged from the side.
Mr. Han screamed.
Kael spun, but he wasn't fast enough—
A blur slammed into the beast mid-air.
A creature—no, a person—landed between Kael and the pack, wearing bone-plate armor carved from beasts of this very floor.
She stood tall, athletic, silver hair tied in a sharp tail. Her eyes glowed faint yellow, predatory but intelligent.
A long blade made of crystallized fracture energy extended from her right arm.
She flicked it once.
The Hungerling's head hit the dirt.
The woman turned her gaze on Kael.
Her voice was low and sharp.
"You shouldn't be alive, Monarch."
Kael frowned. "You know what I am?"
She stabbed another beast without looking.
"Hungerlings can smell Monarch blood from miles away."
She pointed her blade at him.
"You're weak. Untrained. And your Synchronization is embarrassing."
Mr. Han looked between them, terrified. "Kael… Kael, we should run—"
Kael ignored him.
"Who are you?"
The woman smirked.
"Name's Riven.
E-Ranker.
Hunter of the upper floors."
She kicked a snarling beast in the jaw, shattering it.
"And I'm here because a Monarch awakening on my Floor is a problem."
Kael stiffened.
"Problem for who?"
"For everyone."
She pointed her blade at his chest.
"Because Monarchs bring storms.
Monarchs reshape rules.
Monarchs summon predators."
Her eyes reddened—
A sign Kael didn't understand yet.
"Monarchs break the balance."
Kael's expression didn't shift.
"So? Kill me, then."
Riven hesitated.
She lowered her blade an inch.
"You think I want to?" she muttered. "Killing a Monarch is dangerous. Your death warps a floor. It tears holes."
She stepped closer.
"And I don't kill people who save someone weaker. Even if they're clueless."
Her gaze flicked toward Mr. Han.
"But I can't let you wander this floor alone."
Kael folded his arms.
"So you'll escort us?"
"No," she said bluntly.
She leaned in.
Close enough that he felt the predatory heat radiating from her.
"I'm going to train you.
For exactly one hour.
Then you finish Predator's Run… or you die on your own."
Mr. Han sputtered. "Train him? Now? While monsters surround us?!"
Riven smirked again.
A dangerous smile.
"Boy's a Monarch. He doesn't have a choice."
She raised her arm.
Energy ignited across her blade.
"Lesson one," she said.
"You're prey until you decide to stop being prey."
The surviving Hungerlings charged.
Riven cracked her neck.
Kael summoned his shards.
And the hunt began.