Time Skip: 6 Months Later (May 1951)
[ STATUS UPDATE ]
Name: Adrian Marsh
Age: 6 Months
Class: Crawler (Level 2)
Strength: 4 (Pathetic)
Agility: 8 (Wobbly)
Intelligence: 35 (Adult trapped in a potato)
Points: 42
Adrian lay on his stomach in the hallway, chest heaving.
Being a baby wasn't just frustrating; it was a survival horror game on the hardest difficulty setting. The enemies were giants who wanted to squeeze you until you puked, and the environment was a deathtrap. Table corners were jagged cliffs. Marbles were landmines.
And stairs? Stairs were the Abyss.
But today, Adrian had a different nemesis.
He looked up. Looming before him, wedged tightly into the doorframe of the kitchen, was The Gate.
It was a lattice of expanding wood and cheap vinyl mesh. To a normal infant, it was an impassable barrier. To Adrian, it was a challenge to his very soul.
Inside the kitchen, Elena was humming along to the radio, chopping carrots. She had her back turned.
'Target is distracted,' Adrian noted, his eyes narrowing. 'Operation: Jailbreak is a go.'
He didn't just want to get into the kitchen for the thrill of it. He had a mission.
[ MISSION ACTIVE: Map the Terrain ]
Objective: Explore 50% of the ground floor.
Current Progress: 35%
Reward: 25 Points + Unlock "Minimap" feature.
He needed that Minimap. Navigating this house blind was getting dangerous. The "Dormant Threat" status hadn't changed in six months, but the air in the house was getting heavier. He could feel it pressing against his Iron Will like static electricity.
Adrian activated Basic Motor Control.
He scuttled silently across the hardwood floor, keeping his belly low to minimize his silhouette. He reached the gate.
'Okay. Analysis.'
He activated Eagle Eye. The world snapped into hyper-focus. He saw the frayed edges of the mesh. He saw the simple tension latch on the side. But he also saw something else a faint, oily film on the kitchen tiles beyond the gate. It wasn't dirt. It looked like residue.
'Something has been in there,' Adrian thought, the humor draining from his mind. 'Something wet.'
He planted his chubby hands. He braced his diapered knees.
'Ignore the pain. Leverage. Torque.'
He jammed his fingers into the mesh and pulled up while pushing out with his shoulder.
Pop.
The bottom latch gave way. The gate swung open just enough for a small, determined body to squeeze through.
Adrian didn't celebrate. He scrambled through the gap, infiltrating the Kitchen Zone.
[ LOCATION DISCOVERED: The Kitchen ]
Map Explored: 42%
The moment he crossed the threshold, the temperature dropped.
It wasn't a draft. It was a localized chill, settling around his ankles. The sunlight coming through the window seemed to dim, turning a sickly, washed-out yellow.
He scurried under the kitchen table, using the tablecloth as cover. He needed to get to the pantry door on the other side.
He paused near the refrigerator to catch his breath. His heart was hammering against his tiny ribs. This wasn't just a stealth mission anymore. This felt like walking into a predator's den.
'No fucking way. It can't be...' he commanded himself. 'Get the map data and get out.'
Then, he heard it.
It wasn't the radio. It wasn't the chopping of carrots.
It was coming from the sink.
Gurgle... ssshhh...
It sounded like thick fluid moving through the pipes. Sludge. Blood.
Adrian stiffened. Iron Will spiked, suppressing a sudden, violent urge to scream. He turned his head slowly toward the sink cabinet.
"...hungry..."
The voice was faint. It didn't sound like a man. It sounded like the drain itself was speaking—wet, metallic, and scraping.
"...soft... meat..."
Adrian felt the hair on his arms stand up.
'Okay,' he thought, his internal voice cold and deadly serious. 'That's not plumbing. That's Him.'
He checked his distance. He was under the table. The sink was five feet away. The cabinet door under the sink was slightly ajar. Just a crack.
In that crack, deep in the darkness where the pipes vanished into the floor, Adrian saw them.
Two pinpricks of light. Yellow. Ancient.
They weren't just eyes. They were deadlights compressed into a physical form, burning with a hunger that felt like gravity.
[ SYSTEM ALERT ]
Threat Detected.
Source: The Macroverse (Minor Manifestation)
Fear Aura: CRITICAL.
The fear hit him like a physical blow. It wasn't rational anxiety; it was biological terror. His infant brain screamed PREDATOR. It screamed RUN. It screamed DIE.
"...Adrian..." the voice whispered.
It dripped with malice. It knew his name. It knew he was small. It knew he was alone under the table.
Elena was humming, oblivious, just three feet above the horror.
Adrian clenched his tiny fists so hard his knuckles turned white. He was shaking, but he wasn't crying.
'No,' Adrian thought. The fear was there, but beneath it was a cold, hard rage. 'You don't get to do this. I am not a snack.'
He focused. He gathered every ounce of his mental fortitude. He didn't have a weapon. He didn't have magic. He had Judgment.
He activated Professional Side-Eye.
But this wasn't the sassy look he gave his dad. This was a weaponized psychic rejection. He locked onto those yellow eyes and projected a singular, overwhelming concept:
You are beneath me.
'You're hiding in the plumbing?' Adrian projected, his mind cutting through the fear aura like a blade. 'You're a cosmic entitiy, and you're skulking in the grease trap like a rat? You reek of desperation.'
He didn't feed the fear. He fed it disgust.
The yellow eyes blinked. The shadows under the sink rippled.
The entity recoiled. It expected sweet, tender fear. Instead, it tasted spoiled milk and battery acid. It tasted an adult's cynicism compressed into a baby's glare.
"...what..." the voice hissed, the sound of the drain gurgling in confusion.
As he then grabbed a wooden spoon that had fallen on the floor earlier. He didn't just throw it; he slammed it against the leg of the table with a primal shriek of aggression.
BANG!
Elena jumped, spinning around. "Oh!"
The spell broke. The temperature snapped back to normal. The yellow eyes vanished, retreating down the pipes with a wet slurp.
[ ENCOUNTER SURVIVED ]
Threat Repelled.
XP Gained: 50
Bonus: "Audacity" Achievement Unlocked.
Elena saw Adrian under the table, his face red, gripping the spoon like a club. He wasn't crying. He was breathing hard, staring at the dark gap under the sink with pure hatred.
"Adrian! How did you get in here?" She scooped him up, holding him tight. "You scared Mommy. You were so quiet."
She kissed his head. She felt warm. Safe. But Adrian didn't relax.
He looked over her shoulder at the sink.
'Fuck I hate this.' he thought, his pulse finally slowing down.
[ MISSION COMPLETE: Map the Terrain ]
Reward: 25 Points.
Extra: 5
Feature Unlocked: Minimap (HUD Integration).
A small, circular radar appeared in the bottom right of his vision. It showed the kitchen, the hallway, and blue dots representing his parents.
And there, pulsing faintly near the sink drain, was a small, fading red skull icon.
'Yeah,' Adrian thought. 'I see you.'
He had twelve years to prepare. But after today, he knew twelve years might not be enough if he didn't play his cards right.
'System,' he commanded. 'Show me the weapon skills.'
[ LOCKED ]
Requirement: Age 2.
'Fine.' Adrian thought, desperation clawing at him.
He pulled up the store.
[ SKILL AVAILABLE: Linguistic Prodigy (Level 1) ]
Cost: 50 Points.
Effect: Learn languages at 500% speed. Speak coherently earlier.
Adrian looked at his point total. 67 Points.
'Buy it.'
[ PURCHASE COMPLETE ]
Elena walked him back to the living room. "I think it's nap time for the little explorer."
Adrian didn't argue. He closed his eyes, the image of those yellow eyes burned into his retinas.
He needed to talk. He needed to scream.
His first word wasn't going to be "Mama."
It was going to be "Run."