The four of them froze in shock. None of them had ever imagined there would be flying Fades.
The creature was part woman, part bird. Her legs ended in taloned feet, claws curved like an eagle's but many times larger. Bright wings spread wide, feathers streaked with red, orange, and yellow. She had no beak, but patches of small feathers covered her cheeks and crown.
A harpy.
"It's coming down!" Bryan shouted, as if Thomas needed the reminder.
But before Thomas could focus on the harpy, a blur cut across his vision.
The goblin.
It lunged from nearly three meters away, knife raised and gleaming, its speed shocking for something that size.
Iris gasped and squeezed her eyes shut. From where she sat, it was impossible to see an outcome where Thomas came out unscathed. Talons from above, a blade from the side—it was too much at once.
Thomas didn't flinch.
He raised both arms wide, almost as if welcoming the attacks.
The harpy closed in. Just as her talons reached for him, Thomas's massive hand snapped upward and clamped around her ankles, gripping just above the claws.
Without pause, he twisted his body and swung.
The harpy's wings whipped through the air as her body became a weapon.
The goblin, mid-leap, had no chance to dodge.
The harpy's head slammed into its skull with a wet crunch.
Both creatures' heads burst on impact, bone and blood spraying across the cracked street. Two pink fragments clattered to the ground, rolling to a stop in the silence that followed.
Thomas bent down and picked up a fragment.
"Another one."
But then, just past the goblin's splattered remains, something else caught his eye. It wasn't the familiar soft pink glow he had seen many times before.
Near the headless goblin's twitching body, resting in a pool of thick blood, was a fragment that glowed faint grey.
So this is the grey fragment, Thomas thought, lifting it up between his fingers.
He rubbed it clean with his massive hand and tried to bite into it. Even with his crooked transformed teeth, it didn't break.
"Well, I guess this one's not edible." He shrugged, then carried it back toward the hammer truck.
"Thomas, wait! I don't think you can enter the safe zone now," Bryan called out.
"You'll need a grey fragment, that's what the scientist sa... You- You can go back inside?!" Bryan's words trailed off in disbelief as Thomas casually walked straight into their mobile safe zone.
The moment he stepped in, his transformed body melted back to normal. His horns, skin, and even his height returned to what they had been before. Strangely, his clothes were restored too, as if nothing had happened to them during the transformation.
"Are you talking about this?" Thomas raised his hand, showing the faintly glowing grey fragment.
"You got one already? That's good!" Bryan said, his relief genuine. If Thomas had it, that meant he could now enter and exit the fog at will.
Thomas noticed Nevin's curious stare and tossed the fragment to him.
But the moment Nevin caught it, the glow faded, dimming as if the fragment had run out of power.
Bryan tried holding it too. It remained dark.
When Thomas took it back, the faint glow returned.
"It seems this fragment is bound," Bryan muttered, trying to make sense of it.
"Bound?" Iris asked, finally breaking her silence.
"Oh, like in a game. It means only Thomas can use the grey fragment. Others can't take it or use it themselves," Bryan explained.
"Guess this is mine now." Thomas tied the fragment to a string, made a rough necklace, and hung it around his neck.
They stayed in the same spot for two hours, the hammer truck unmoving.
"I guess they really are territorial," Bryan said, finally breaking the silence inside.
"Yes, I think so too. We haven't had another encounter since those three," Iris replied.
"Could they be the pack the scientist mentioned in the broadcast?" Nevin asked.
"I don't think so," Bryan answered. "We only saw three working together. A real pack should have more. Maybe they were just starting one, but I can't say for sure."
The thought made Bryan uneasy. Thomas had handled the three well enough, but a full pack would be different. More numbers, more coordination. If the goblin, harpy, and orc had attacked at the same time, things might have turned out badly. The goblin's hesitation, those few seconds of delay, had been all Thomas needed to grab the harpy and turn it into a weapon.
"Should we stay here for the night?" Thomas asked.
The sky was growing dark, and none of them liked the idea of moving through unknown territory in the middle of the fog.
"Yes, I think we should camp here," Bryan said, though his voice carried a hint of nervousness. It was their first time sleeping outside the base in three months, and now their only safety was the small bubble around the truck.
"Alright! Let's have some barbecue," Thomas said, grinning as if they were on a casual camping trip instead of in the middle of the pink fog.
"I'll see what I can do, but we only have enough for a few," Iris answered, her mind on their dwindling supplies.
Thomas stepped out of the vehicle and stretched, rolling his shoulders. Without hesitation, he walked straight into the fog.
"Thomas? What are you doing?" Bryan called out as he followed him outside. He stayed within the safe zone, watching closely.
"I forgot to check on something," Thomas said before stepping into the fog.
His body cracked and stretched as he transformed again, horns rising from his head, muscles swelling, runes glowing across his stone like skin.
Bryan jolted back. He still was not used to seeing it. "Thomas… what are you? You look like a demon from a movie."
"I am a Runebound Oni," Thomas replied.
"Runebound… what? Oni?" Bryan asked, trying to make sense of it.
"Yes. Runebound Oni. It says here." Thomas pointed toward the lower left of his vision.
"You can't see it?" he asked after noticing Bryan's confused stare.
"Guess I'm the only one." Thomas smirked. He made a clicking gesture in the air, as if pressing something only he could see.
He did not need to do that, he already knew it reacted to his thoughts. But Thomas was so used to computers and screens that the motion felt natural.
A faint line of text appeared before him.
"Runebound Oni, welcome to the Interface."
The words stretched into a transparent display that filled his vision, a screen that floated in front of him while still letting him see his surroundings.
"Close," Thomas commanded. The screen vanished.
"Interface, open." The display returned, filling his view once again.
He did not realize he could have done it silently. For now, he thought it was voice activated.
"Cool," Thomas muttered, raising his hand like he was clicking invisible buttons. Bryan gave him a look, half worried, hoping Thomas really was seeing something, otherwise he looked insane.
Thomas focused on the tabs in front of him. One listed his stats. His transformation name appeared: Runebound Oni. Beside it, Class S. A timer ticked slowly beneath it. It was labeled pink fog exposure, a reminder that he could not stay in pink fog forever. He would need to return to a safe zone regularly.
Another tab drew his eye. It was labeled Shop.
What could be in here? Thomas thought as he clicked the shop tab.
The list opened, showing survival items like tents and flashlights, basic supplies but no weapons. His eyes drifted lower, and then he froze. A wide grin spread across his face, stretching ear to ear. The bottom of the list was filled with food. All kinds of food.
"Muwahahaha!" Thomas laughed, the sound deep and unsettling in his transformed form, almost diabolic.
"Thomas? Are you okay?" Bryan asked cautiously, still watching him.
"Yes, yes, I'm fine." Thomas waved it off quickly and turned back to the shop.
"Okay… how do I take this?" He scrolled down and stopped at something he liked. "What? I have to pay with pink fragments?" His excitement faltered at the sight of the cost. The thought of losing snacks made him visibly annoyed.
"Bryan, toss me two pink fragments." Thomas held out his hand.
Bryan didn't argue. He grabbed the bag of fragments from the hammer, pulled out two, and tossed them to Thomas.
"Watch this," Thomas said with a grin.
The fragments vanished from his palm, dissolving into the air. In their place appeared a whole chicken, cleaned and ready for cooking. It was the size of a normal chicken, but in Thomas's massive hand it looked small.
He stepped back into the safe zone, holding it high. "This will be our dinner!"
"How did you…?" Bryan's mouth hung open, unable to understand what just happened.
"You see, after transforming I gained access to something called the Interface. There's a shop inside it with survival items and food. The price is pink fragments." Thomas explained, still pleased with himself.
He tried opening the Interface again from inside the safe zone, gesturing and speaking commands, but nothing happened. "Looks like I can't access it while in here," he said with a shrug.
That night they ate happily, sharing the barbecued chicken.
When the meal was done and the others began to rest, Thomas stayed outside, sitting near the hammer but within the fog. He continued exploring the Interface, curious about what else it might contain.
After a while, he heard footsteps behind him. Someone had stepped out into the fog. It was Bryan.
A few seconds later, another figure joined them. Iris.