The air in the ruins of Sector 9 tasted like rust and rot. I pressed my back against the crumbling concrete wall, my breath shallow, my fingers gripping the broken pipe like it was the last thing between me and death.
It was.
Above me, the sky was a sickly orange, stained by the smog of dead factories and burning districts. The Red Moon—what the old preachers called Crimson Judgment—hung low, casting long shadows across the rubble. They said when it turned fully red, the vampires would rise in force. Tonight, it was already halfway there.
I adjusted the tattered scarf over my nose and mouth. My scavenger tag—a cracked plastic badge—hung from my neck. Tier 3. Lowest rank. Which meant I got the worst zones. The ones no one else would touch. The ones where people went in… but didn't come out.
A sound.
Scratching.
Like claws on metal.
I froze.
To my left, a collapsed subway tunnel yawned open, half-buried under fallen girders. Wind whistled through it like a dying man's breath. But that wasn't what made my spine crawl.
The scratching came again. Closer.
Then—silence.
Too silent.
My heart hammered. I'd been in Noxhold for two years since the Nightfall. I'd seen what vampires did to people. Drained dry. Bodies hung like puppets from lampposts. Heads torn clean off. I wasn't a fighter. I was a rat, scrounging for scraps in the dark.
But tonight… tonight I needed medicine. My little sister, Mira, was burning up with the Black Lung. Without the serum, she wouldn't make it to dawn.
I had one chance: the old clinic in Sector 9. Abandoned, yes. But maybe… just maybe… something was left.
I moved.
Slow. Silent.
Each step was a prayer. My boots crunched over broken glass. I kept low, using the shadows like armor. The clinic was just 200 meters ahead—a skeletal building with shattered windows and a collapsed roof.
Then I saw it.
A figure.
Crouched on the roof.
Tall. Too tall. Limbs too long. Skin pale as bone. Eyes—glowing red in the dark.
A vampire.
I dropped to one knee, pressing myself into a crater. My breath stopped.
It wasn't moving. Just… watching. Sniffing the air.
They could smell fear. Smell blood. Smell life.
I closed my eyes. Don't breathe. Don't move. Don't exist.
Seconds passed. A minute.
Then it leapt—gone in a blur.
I exhaled. Shook.
But I couldn't turn back. Mira was dying.
I reached the clinic. The door was half-gone, torn off its hinges. Inside, the stench of decay hit me like a fist. Mold. Rot. Old blood.
I moved through the hall, pipe raised.
Exam rooms. Empty. Cabinets smashed. Then—back room. A storage locker. Sealed.
I pried it open with the pipe.
And there it was.
A single vial of crimson serum. Label: HemoRegen-7. One dose. Enough to stabilize Mira for a week.
I grabbed it. Held it like a holy relic.
Then—laughter.
Soft. Cold. Inhuman.
I turned.
Three of them.
Emerging from the shadows like smoke.
Pale skin. Razor teeth. Eyes like burning coals.
"Little rat," one hissed. "What have you found?"
I backed up. "I—I didn't mean to—"
Another stepped forward. "You're in our nest, scavenger. That means you're food."
I bolted.
I didn't think so. Just ran.
Behind me, laughter turned to snarls.
They were fast. So fast.
I burst out the back door, sprinting through the rubble.
A blur.
A tackle.
I hit the ground hard, the pipe flying. The vial—still in my hand.
One of them loomed over me. A woman, once beautiful, now a monster. Long black hair, red eyes, lips curled into a smile.
"You smell… weak," she purred. "But alive. That's rare."
I kicked. Scratched. Bit.
She laughed—then slammed my head into the concrete.
Stars exploded.
She leaned down. "Don't worry. I'll make it quick."
Her fangs pierced my neck.
Agony.
Fire in my veins.
I screamed—then nothing.
Darkness.
Then…
A voice.
Cold. Mechanical. Inside my head.
[SYSTEM INITIALIZED]
[HOST DETECTED: KALE VIRELL]
[BLOOD TYPE: O-NEGATIVE (RARE)]
[GENETIC CODE: 98.7% COMPATIBLE]
[WELCOME, USER. YOU ARE NOW THE FIRST SUCCESSFUL HOST.]
I gasped.
My eyes snapped open.
The vampire was still feeding.
But something was… wrong.
She pulled back. "What… what is this?"
Her mouth was smoking.
She screamed—then burst into flames.
I sat up, clutching my neck.
The other two vampires charged.
[NEW QUEST: SURVIVE]
[REWARD: 100 XP, BASIC VAMPIRIC STRENGTH (LEVEL 1)]
[FAILURE: DEATH]
A red timer appeared in my vision.
00:29
I didn't think.
I moved.
My body felt… different. Stronger. Faster.
One vampire lunged.
I swung.
My fist connected.
Bone cracked.
He flew ten feet, crashing into a wall.
The second snarled, claws out.
I charged.
We collided.
I grabbed his throat.
Squeezed.
His neck snapped like a twig.
Silence.
I stood there, panting.
[QUEST COMPLETE]
[LEVEL UP: VAMPIRIC STRENGTH → LEVEL 1]
[NEW SKILL UNLOCKED: BLOOD ABSORPTION (PASSIVE)]
[WARNING: SUNLIGHT EXPOSURE = LETHAL. SILVER = TOXIC. HOLY SYMBOLS = PAINFUL.]
I looked at my hands.
Pale. Veins darkening.
And in my mind…
The voice returned.
[SYSTEM UPDATE: HOST STABILITY 47%. BLOODLUST IMMINENT.]
[ADVICE: FEED WITHIN 60 MINUTES… OR LOSE CONTROL.]
I looked at the vial in my hand.
Mira's medicine.
Then at the corpses.
At my bleeding neck.
At the Red Moon above.
I whispered, "What… am I?"
[ANSWER: YOU ARE THE FIRST. THE EVOLVED. THE HUNTER.]
[BEGIN YOUR ASCENSION.]
I whispered, "What… am I?"
The voice didn't answer immediately.
It pulsed inside my skull like a second heartbeat—cold, precise, alien.
Then—
[SYSTEM RESPONSE: YOU ARE KALE VIRELL. AGE: 19. STATUS: INFECTED → EVOLVED]
[BLOODLUST LEVEL: 67% — CRITICAL WARNING]
[FEED OR PERISH WITHIN 58 MINUTES]
My throat burned.
Not from the bite.
From hunger.
A deep, gnawing, primal ache that clawed at my ribs. My gums tingled. Something sharp pressed against my tongue.
Fangs.
I touched my mouth. Blood smeared my fingers.
I looked down at the corpse of the vampire I'd killed. His neck was broken, eyes still wide with shock. Dark, viscous blood pooled beneath him.
The System's voice returned, colder now.
[SUGGESTION: CONSUME BLOOD TO STABILIZE HOST]
[WARNING: FAILURE TO FEED WILL TRIGGER MINDLESS RAGE. LOSS OF SELF-CONTROL. EVENTUAL DEATH.]
I stumbled back.
"No," I hissed. "I'm not… I can't…"
But my body moved without me.
I dropped to my knees beside the corpse.
My hands trembled.
The smell hit me—coppery, thick, intoxicating.
I leaned forward.
And bit.
The moment my fangs pierced his skin, fire erupted through my veins.
Not pain.
Power.
Warmth flooded my limbs. The dizziness vanished. My vision sharpened—the cracks in the concrete, the flutter of a moth ten meters away, the faint pulse of a rat scurrying under debris.
[BLOOD ABSORBED: 320ML]
[HOST STABILITY INCREASED TO 89%]
[SKILL ACTIVATED: BLOOD REGENERATION (LEVEL 1)]
[HEALTH RESTORED: 47%]
[XP GAINED: 50]
[TOTAL XP: 150 / 1000 TO LEVEL 2]
I pulled away, gasping.
Blood dripped from my chin.
I felt… stronger.
Alive.
Wrong.
I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. My reflection shimmered in a puddle nearby—pale skin, red-rimmed eyes, dark veins snaking up my neck.
I wasn't human anymore.
I stood on shaking legs.
The vial of serum was still clutched in my left hand.
Mira.
I had to get back.
But the System had other ideas.
[NEW QUEST: ESCAPE SECTOR 9 BEFORE DAWN]
[REWARD: 200 XP, UNLOCK "SHADOW STEP" (LEVEL 1)]
[FAILURE: CAPTURE BY PURGE FORCES OR VAMPIRE HUNT SQUAD — DEATH OR ETERNAL SLAVERY]
I cursed under my breath.
"Great. Now I'm being hunted by both sides."
I scanned the area.
The clinic was behind me. The street ahead led to the old subway tunnel—the same one I'd come from. But now, I could hear voices.
Human voices.
Shouting.
Flashlights swept the rubble.
"They went this way!"
"Check the bodies! Maybe they left something!"
Purge hunters.
I ducked behind a collapsed dumpster, heart pounding—not from fear, but from the thrill of the chase. My senses were hyperactive. I could hear their footsteps, their breathing, even the rustle of their uniforms.
One stepped over the vampire corpse I'd killed.
"Damn. Another one got torn apart. Must've been a rogue."
Another kicked the body. "Waste of good blood. Should've drained it before killing."
I clenched my fists.
They didn't know what they were talking about.
I did.
And I was going to make them pay.
[OPTIONAL OBJECTIVE: ELIMINATE PURGE SCOUT TEAM (X3)]
[REWARD: 300 XP, +10% BLOODLUST SUPPRESSION]
[RISK: HIGH. PURGE HUNTERS ARE EQUIPPED WITH SILVER-TIPPED WEAPONS AND HOLY AMULETS]
I grinned.
Red.
Sharp.
"Let's see how holy they are when I rip their throats out."
I moved.
Silent.
Like smoke.
I circled behind them, using the ruins for cover. One hunter turned, flashlight beam sweeping toward me.
I froze.
He passed.
Then—
I struck.
My hand shot out, gripping his throat. He choked, eyes wide. I slammed him into the wall. His flashlight shattered.
The other two spun around.
"Who's there?!"
I didn't answer.
I lunged.
The second hunter swung a silver baton. I caught it mid-air, snapping it in half with my bare hands.
He screamed.
I threw him into a pile of rubble.
The third raised a cross pendant.
"Back, demon!"
The moment the symbol neared my chest, pain lanced through me. Like acid poured into my veins. I staggered back, hissing.
[HOLY SYMBOL DETECTED — DAMAGE: 15% HP]
[WARNING: PROLONGED EXPOSURE = SYSTEM SHUTDOWN RISK]
I snarled, baring my fangs.
He flinched—but held firm.
"I'll burn you, monster!"
I didn't hesitate.
I blurred.
Behind him.
My claws raked his back.
He fell.
I grabbed his pendant.
And crushed it.
The pain faded.
He lay twitching, blood pooling beneath him.
I stood over him, panting.
[QUEST COMPLETED: ESCAPE SECTOR 9 BEFORE DAWN]
[REWARD: 200 XP, UNLOCKED "SHADOW STEP" (LEVEL 1)]
[SKILL DESCRIPTION: MOVE IN SHORT BURSTS OF DARKNESS. COST: 5% BLOODLUST PER USE. COOLDOWN: 10 SECONDS.]
I absorbed the skill.
Instantly, I felt lighter. Faster. Like I could vanish into the night.
I looked at the three fallen hunters.
Dead.
Or dying.
I didn't feel guilt.
Only satisfaction.
I turned toward the city gates.
Mira was waiting.
But now… I wasn't just a scavenger.
I was something else.
Something dangerous.
Something the System called "The First."
I walked into the shadows.
And disappeared.