The stench of copper and burnt ash was always the first warning.
Kael Voss crouched behind a shattered stone pillar, slowing his breathing until it was almost nonexistent. Blood dripped from a shallow cut on his cheek, stinging his skin, but his steel gray eyes did not blink. He watched the shadows.
He was deep inside the Sunken Hollows, a subterranean ruin older than the current era. But Kael was not an explorer. He was bait.
The Black Iron Syndicate, the ruthless faction controlling the surface city of Oakhaven, used unawakened humans as "Pathfinders". It was a polite word for meat shields. Their job was to walk ahead, trigger deadly traps, and draw out the monsters so the Syndicate's elites could swoop in later and claim the loot safely.
A sharp, wet crunch echoed in the darkness to his left.
"P Please! No!" a voice screamed.
It was a teenager named Elian, another Pathfinder.
A massive silhouette uncoiled from the ceiling. It was a Cavern Crawler, a nightmare of spiked obsidian armor, eight scythe shaped legs, and a maw full of razor sharp mandibles. It dropped onto Elian, one of its scythe legs pinning the boy to the stone floor.
Elian locked eyes with Kael in the darkness, silently begging for help.
Kael's expression stayed perfectly calm. He did not move a muscle.
He is already dead, Kael analyzed coldly.
If I move now, I die too. The beast's armor is too thick for this rusty mining pick. It needs to expose its underbelly.
He was not a hero. Heroes died young in the Hollows. He was a survivor.
The Crawler ripped into Elian, distracted by its fresh meal. For three seconds its heavily armored head lifted, exposing the pale fleshy joint that connected its head to its thorax.
Now.
Kael exploded into motion.
He did not yell. He did not make a sound.
He sprinted with feral grace, his athletic frame covering the distance in a fraction of a second. He used a jagged rock sticking out of the ground as a springboard and launched himself into the air.
The beast hissed as it sensed the sudden movement and swung a massive scythe leg at him.
Kael twisted in mid air. The blade sliced through a few strands of his dark hair.
It was a calculated risk.
As the beast overextended its strike, Kael landed squarely on its back.
He gripped the rusty iron mining pick with both hands, the muscles in his lean arms tightening, and drove the heavy spike straight down into the pale joint of the creature's neck.
SQUELCH.
The beast released an ear piercing shriek and thrashed violently.
Kael was thrown off and slammed hard against the cavern wall. Pain flared through his ribs and stole the air from his lungs.
The Crawler thrashed wildly. Black blood sprayed from its neck.
But it was not dead.
Its many red eyes locked onto Kael, burning with pure malice.
It charged.
Kael spat out a mouthful of blood and forced himself to stand. He had no weapon left. The pickaxe was still stuck in the beast's neck.
Most people would have frozen in despair.
Kael only felt a familiar cold fury.
I refuse to die in the dirt as someone else's fodder.
As the beast opened its maw to bite him in half, a sudden searing heat ignited in the center of Kael's chest.
It felt like a dying star waking up inside his heart.
Crack.
Something deep inside his soul fractured.
A seal broke that he never even knew existed.
His steel gray eyes suddenly erupted into a brilliant terrifying silver glow.
Time seemed to slow down.
A heavy suffocating pressure filled the cavern.
The shadows around Kael did not just grow darker. They twisted and bent toward his outstretched hand like water swirling down a drain.
Consume.
A dark wordless instinct whispered inside his mind.
Without thinking, Kael thrust his bare hand forward and grabbed the charging beast by one of its mandibles.
A normal human would have lost their arm instantly.
But the moment his skin touched the monster, an inky black void fire flared from his palm.
The Crawler did not shriek this time.
It could not.
The black fire surged into the creature's body. Kael watched with fascination as the beast's dense muscles withered. Its thick shell cracked and turned into gray dust.
The creature's life force, raw chaotic energy, rushed up Kael's arm and flooded his veins with intoxicating power.
His bruised ribs healed within seconds.
His fatigue vanished.
The rush of strength was unlike anything he had ever felt.
It was euphoric.
It was absolute.
In less than three seconds the massive Class 1 Cavern Crawler collapsed into a pile of lifeless gray ash at his feet.
A strange glowing blue text flickered in Kael's vision.
[Anomaly Detected. Seal Broken.]
[Innate Trait: ENTROPY CORE (Mythic) Awakened.]
[Target Consumed. +2 Strength, +1 Agility.]
[Level 1 Reached.]
Kael stared at his hands and slowly clenched his fists.
The raw power moving through him was undeniable.
He was not weak anymore.
The world suddenly looked different.
"Mercy is a luxury for the weak," Kael whispered into the darkness, a cold dangerous smile touching his lips. "Power is the only truth."
Clap. Clap. Clap.
Slow mocking applause echoed from the tunnel entrance.
Kael turned.
The silver glow in his eyes faded back to a sharp steel gray.
A man stepped into the cavern.
It was Vane, a Rank 2 Awakened and one of the cruelest Overseers of the Syndicate. He held a crackling lightning whip in his hand. Two heavily armed guards stood behind him.
Vane looked at the pile of ash on the ground.
Then he looked at Kael.
Greed flashed in the Overseer's eyes.
"I do not know what kind of freak artifact you just found, rat," Vane sneered as he uncoiled his whip. Electricity lit up his scarred face. "But whatever power you just used belongs to the Syndicate now. Hand it over and I might cut off your arms instead of your head."
Kael looked at Vane.
He did not see an Overseer anymore.
He saw his next meal.