The wind cut like broken glass.
Shiva stepped out of the shattered hospital window, hammer in hand. The air outside was thick with rust and decay — a metallic taste that clung to his tongue.
The city stretched ahead, a graveyard of steel and silence.
[Environment Status: Contaminated Zone – Moderate Exposure]
[Advice: Find Shelter or Purification Source within 3 Hours]
He frowned. "Purification what now?"
The Interface didn't respond. Just that faint pulse of green light, cold and mechanical.
"Yeah," he muttered, coughing, "I'll add that to the list."
The Interface didn't respond. Just that faint pulse of green light, cold and mechanical.
He kept walking, each step crunching on broken glass. The hammer's veins glowed faintly, resonating with the hum of unseen energy around him.
Somewhere distant, something groaned — metal, or maybe something worse.
Then he saw it.
Movement, near the ruins of a collapsed temple.
A ram. Massive. Shaggy. Its horns burned with cracks of molten orange, eyes glowing like heated metal.
It scraped the ground once — then let out a breath of fire.
[Target Detected — Mutated Beast: Ashen Ram]
[Threat Level: Moderate]
[Behavior: Territorial]
[Element: Fire]
Shiva's jaw tightened. "Figures. Even goats breathe fire now."
The ram pawed the earth, snorted flame, and charged.
He barely got Vajra-Agni up in time. The impact was thunderous — throwing him off his feet and into a half-collapsed wall. Pain flared through his ribs.
[HP: 15 / 100]
[Warning: Critical Condition]
[Suggestion: Retreat]
"Yeah, no thanks," he hissed, dragging himself upright. "Not running again."
The hammer vibrated in his hands, its glow deepening to emerald.
He didn't think — he felt.
[Skill Activation — Kinetic Absorption Lv.1]
[Stored Impact: 33%]
[Release? Y/N]
Without thinking much, he muttered "Yes!"
He swung as the ram lunged again. The energy burst outward, splitting the street apart. Dust and flame exploded, swallowing everything in smoke.
When the air cleared, the ram lay twitching — not dead, but barely breathing. Its horns dimmed from orange to ember-red.
[Target Vital Signs: Failing]
[Optional Link Detected — Interface Sync Available]
[Initiate Connection? Y/N]
Shiva hesitated, chest heaving. "A link? With this thing?"
The ram groaned, weakly lifting its head. Its eyes had changed — no longer wild, almost pleading. The same faint green shimmer pulsed through its veins that ran through his hammer.
"…Fine," he muttered. "Y."
Light arced between them — a line of living energy, heartbeat to heartbeat.
Pain flashed through his mind, then warmth — as if the world exhaled.
When the glow faded, the ram stood shakily on its legs, alive. The fire in its horns burned a softer green now.
[Guardian Entity Linked — "Ashen Ram"]
[Link Stability: 61%]
[Shared Trait Unlocked — Symbiotic Pulse Lv.1]
[Effect: Gradual HP Regeneration when Bonded Entity is Nearby]
Shiva stared. "You… healed me."
He placed a hand on its head. The creature didn't resist — just snorted softly, almost… acknowledging him.
A faint laugh escaped his throat. "Looks like I've got company now."
The Interface pulsed again.
[Observation: Host Synchronization Increasing]
[Warning: Artifact Resonance Unstable]
[Caution: Prolonged Exposure May Alter Host Physiology]
He frowned. "You're really bad at pep talks, you know that?"
The screen dimmed.
In the distance, the horizon shimmered green — lightning tracing across broken towers.
And in that silent flicker, a voice stirred within the digital void:
[Observation Link Active.]
[Subject Identified: Shiva.]
[Status: Resurrection Anomaly — Confirmed.]
[Continue Monitoring.]
The Wanderer leaned back in his seat — somewhere far across the oceans, deep in a bunker of machines and prayer circuits.
His eyes glowed the same color as Shiva's hammer.
"Found you," he whispered, smiling faintly. "The lost spark… finally rekindled."
End of Chapter 3