The child couldn't have been older than ten.
Thin. Dirty. Chained at the ankle. She stared up at Kael with hollow eyes from inside the rusted cage, her tiny fingers clutching iron bars worn smooth by desperation.
Kael had only meant to pass through the alley. Another corpse-strewn backroad of the Outskirts.
But then he heard the crying.
And saw him—a slaver in patchwork armor, dragging two more children like meat sacks toward a waiting cart. The man's laugh scraped like rusted blades.
Kael's body moved before his mind caught up.
The air split.
His fist collided with the slaver's jaw, sending teeth flying like shards of bone. The man hit the ground hard, snarling in surprise. Then he reached for the serrated blade at his hip.
But Kael didn't wait.
He let go.
[Combat Trigger: Initiating Red Pulse Sequence]
Stat Boost: +35% Speed, +20% Power
Ability: Blood Pulse Dash — Active
Target: Marked for Termination
Kael's body blurred.
He reappeared behind the slaver, arm plunged straight through the man's back.
Warmth flooded his palm.
The blood rush hit like lightning.
Everything slowed. His heartbeat thundered. He could see the man's veins unraveling. He could feel the strength, the fear, the memory of pain.
And then—something primal—deep inside his core opened.
The System whispered.
"Take it."
Kael's scream cut through the alley.
The slaver collapsed, skin turning grey, lifeless. Kael stood over him, shoulders heaving, hands soaked crimson.
The child stared.
"Don't… look," he whispered, trembling. "I'm not—I'm not—"
But he couldn't finish.
Because he wasn't sure what he was anymore.
Behind him, the Red Ledger updated.
[Slaver-Class Blood Absorbed]
New Combat Memory: Shackling Technique: Vertebrae Bind
Status: Synced.
Progression: +4%
Voice: "You are becoming what they fear."
The rush wasn't over.
Kael turned. A scavenger, drawn by the commotion, stumbled into the alley, blade drawn. Just a looter. Nothing more.
But Kael saw prey.
He lunged.
Then—stopped.
His blade hovered at the man's throat, hands trembling.
His mind screamed to finish it.
The Blood System howled for more.
But Kael—
Kael chose not to kill.
Not this time.
He stepped back, gasping. His hands wouldn't stop shaking.
"You are not a god yet," the System whispered, almost disappointed.
"But you will be."
He turned to the child.
She hadn't run.
Kael knelt, broke the lock with the dagger, and opened the cage.
"Go," he said. "Run far from here."
She looked up at him—monster, savior, something between—and nodded.
As her footsteps faded, Kael leaned back against the wall.
The System pulsed quietly inside him.
Waiting.
Watching.