The residential sector of New Boston, once a grid of manicured lawns and silent, sensor-monitored homes, was now a theater of primal terror. The streetlamps flickered and died as the local power grid succumbed to the spatial interference. In the darkness, the only light came from the bruised-purple rifts pulsing in the sky.
Cole moved with terrifying speed. His Qi Level had reached a critical threshold, 31.5%. This was the Manifestation Stage. Every time his boots hit the pavement, a faint ripple of green energy pushed back the shadows.
As he rounded the corner to his street, his Sovereign's First Eye detected a massive spike in biological heat signatures near the Turner residence.
"Three... four... six Rank F signatures," Cole calculated, his eyes narrowing. "And one volatile reading."
The front of the Turner house had been torn open as if by a giant claw. In the driveway, a pack of Void Crawlers circled a lone figure.
It was Jake.
His brother was unrecognizable. The mischievous grin was gone, replaced by a mask of bloody determination. He was shirtless, his skin covered in shallow lacerations, his knuckles split and raw. He wasn't using a weapon. He was using the ancient Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu he had practiced for years as a "hobby."
He had a Void Crawler in a rear-naked choke. As the creature thrashed, Jake roared, his muscles bulging with a frantic, unpolished energy.
"Jake, watch out!" Emilia's voice screamed from the shattered doorway. She was clutching Sean, whose "Golden Heart" award lay crushed in the dirt. James stood behind them, holding a kitchen knife with trembling hands, his Iris display flickering a useless, pale pink.
A second Crawler lunged at Jake's exposed back.
CLANG.
The heavy industrial slab intercepted the mandible an inch from Jake's spine. The vibration of the impact sent a shockwave through the air, cracking the driveway.
"You're sloppy, Jake," Cole said, his voice cutting through the snarls of the monsters. "Your center of gravity is too high."
Jake let go of the dying creature and stumbled back, gasping for air. He looked at Cole, the dark, pulsing tunic, the glowing green eyes, and the blood-stained slab. "Cole? What... what happened to you?"
"I woke up," Cole replied.
He didn't wait for a reunion. He stepped into the center of the pack. The Crawlers, sensing the 31.5% Qi saturation radiating from him, hesitated. They didn't see a human; they saw a predator that occupied a higher tier of the food chain.
"Cole, thank God!" James shouted, stepping forward. "The Peacekeepers said you were a criminal, but I knew..."
"Stay back, James," Cole interrupted, not even looking at his father. "The Peacekeepers are scrap metal. And if you cross this line, you're just bait."
Cole moved. He didn't use the slab to crush this time. He used the Manifestation of his Qi. As he swung the blade, a crescent of green energy detached from the edge, slicing through the air.
---
[SKILL EVOLUTION: QI-ENHANCED STRIKE -> SOVEREIGN'S CLEAVE]
* Effect: Projects a blade of Qi up to 5 meters. Bypasses 25% of physical defense.
---
The three nearest Crawlers were decapitated instantly. The remaining two turned to flee, but Cole was already behind them. Two blunt thuds followed. Silence returned to the cul-de-sac.
Cole stood over the carcasses, his chest barely rising. He looked at Jake, whose eyes were wide with a mixture of terror and awe.
---
[SOVEREIGN'S FIRST EYE: TARGET ANALYSIS]
* Name: Jake Turner
* Status: Seed of Awakening (Physical Type)
* Potential: B+
* Value: Moderate (High-tier subordinate potential)
---
"You held them off without a system," Cole observed, walking toward his brother. He pulled a Mid-Grade Mana Crystal from his pouch and tossed it to Jake. "Consume it. Lest your internal organs will fail from the stress."
"Eat a rock?" Jake coughed, clutching the glowing crystal.
"It's not a rock. It's the only reason you'll be alive by morning," Cole said. He finally looked at his parents. Emilia was weeping, but James was staring at Cole with a look of dawning horror.
"Your eyes..." James whispered. "The system... it says your social credit is 'Null.' You've been deleted, Cole."
"I haven't been deleted," Cole said, stepping onto the porch, his shadow looming over his father. "I've been upgraded. The world you lived in is gone. From now on, your 'credits' are measured in how much Qi you can hold without exploding."
He looked at the rift in the sky, which was now beginning to pulse a deep, angry red.
"The first wave is over," Cole announced. "The second wave won't be Rank F. We're leaving."
"Leaving? To where?" Emilia asked, clutching Sean tighter.
"To the only place the Sentient ASI can't reach," Cole said. "The Shadow Sector. We're going to build a fortress."
-----------
[Character Status Update]
[Qi Level: 31.5% (Stable)]
[New Subordinate Potential: Jake Turner (In-Progress)]
[Current Objective: Exodus to the Shadow Sector]