Sunday morning sunlight cut through the tall steel-and-glass towers of Wolfram Campus like a blade. Most students were still asleep, recovering from late-night preparations or last-minute cramming.
But in a quiet corner of the auxiliary training hall, Ottokai von Seraphis sat alone—cross-legged, shirt off, parasite markings gently pulsing along his arms and spine.
The Yearly Standoff was tomorrow.
No more rift scouting missions, no more side quests or gene hunts. Just the battlefield—and the dozens of other competitors who'd spent the past year sharpening their blades and parasites for this one event.
Kai exhaled slowly and opened his interface.
[ACTIVE CORE: Symbiote Core Stabilization]
He stared at the first tree for a while. It wasn't flashy. It wasn't aggressive. But it was subtle, sturdy, and reliable.
▸ Adrenal Trigger
Auto-activates defensive genes under critical threat.
Kai rubbed his temple as he thought through the function.
This means… I can set my parasite loadout to include contingency mutations. If I get hit—say, impaled or burned—then any defensive genes I've slotted can activate reflexively. No need for manual control.
That was big. During high-speed combat, conscious reaction wasn't fast enough. He could set George 4's bone-plate reflex to trigger if his heart rate spiked. Maybe auto-deploy muscle hardening when his pain threshold crossed a certain point.
▸ Stability Boost
Reduces mutation backlash during combat.
Kai flexed his arm and watched the skin ripple slightly as the parasite pulsed under the surface. This effect wasn't showy either. But it meant everything in a drawn-out fight.
Every mutation, every activation, carries micro-errors—nerve clashes, blood pH distortion, tissue strain. If I keep using high-cost genes mid-fight, I'll collapse from internal chaos before my enemy lands the killing blow.
But with this node active, the stress was suppressed. Not nullified, but managed. The parasite's core would act like a shock absorber, keeping his organs from tearing themselves apart when shifting between active genes.
He nodded to himself.
He switched tabs.
[ACTIVE PATH: Predator Instinct Protocols]
▸ Enhanced Aggression Tracking
Increases movement prediction of hostile Riftborn.
Kai's eyes narrowed.
This wasn't just a sensory buff—it was combat foresight.
Hostile intent creates patterns—micro-movements, heat flares, limb tension. This system reads those in real time and feeds prediction arcs directly to his nervous system.
It meant he could read a fighter's posture, muscle flex, or even eye twitch and know what they were about to do. Maybe not perfectly—but enough to dodge, to counter, or to bait a reaction.
He remembered the fight he had with Alric, where he was unable to catch up to him because of his speed. Back then, he couldn't see through it. With this? He might catch it mid-frame.
▸ Organ Remapping
Temporarily reroute internal organ function to bypass damage.
This was pure madness—but useful madness.
It let him move blood flow around a punctured lung. Let him shut down a ruptured kidney and reroute filtration through symbiotic tissues. Even redirect adrenaline synthesis through parasite glands if his normal systems were overwhelmed.
He clenched his abdomen slightly, imagining the applications.
If I get impaled, and my liver's gone—this lets me survive long enough to kill them anyway.
▸ Low-Light Adaptation
Improved performance in dark environments.
Not revolutionary, but valuable. Kai trained in night conditions a lot. His style thrived in asymmetry.
And with Riftborn, you never fought in clear lighting. This gave him edge in all of those.
And it wasn't just night vision.
He could process minimal visual data better—adjust contrast faster, pick up motion through obscurity, even sense heat gradients faintly.
Kai closed the panel, feeling the internal systems settle.
He stood up and stretched.
Tomorrow, he'd face students with flashier powers.
Tomorrow, he wouldn't win with power.
He'd win by refusing to die.
---
Kai left the Wolfram Campus early. The skies were overcast, casting pale gray light over the slick pavement as the city slowly came to life.
He wasn't here for shopping or sightseeing—he just wanted a moment to clear his head before the storm of the Yearly Standoff.
He hadn't even made it three blocks before chaos hit.
"Oi, Kai! Brother!"
A man came barreling toward him from across the street. Tall, muscular, barefoot, and very, very topless—just a pair of black sweatpants hanging low on his hips and a deranged grin on his face.
It was Reno.
"What the hell—" Kai immediately spun on his heel and ducked into the nearest alley like a cornered rat. What the actual hell is he doing here like that? Why is he half-naked? Why is he yelling my name?!
He held his breath. And as fate would have it—
A city police officer strolled up from the corner, pausing to peer into the alley. His uniform was pressed, and he looked about ten seconds away from being absolutely done with this entire job.
"You there, kid," the officer said, narrowing his eyes. "Did you happen to see a pervert run through here?"
Kai blinked. He glanced left, saw Reno crouching behind an empty crate, shirtless and gleaming with nervous sweat.
"Umm…" Kai turned back. "Nope. Just pigeons."
The officer sighed. "Pigeons... right. Damn mixers. Always gets weird this time of year." He left muttering under his breath.
Kai waited until the coast was clear, then walked over and kicked the crate. "Reno. Explain now."
"I can!" Reno stood up, still grinning, still completely without shame. "So I was at a mixer, right? Reinhardt invited me. Fancy club, bunch of elites, very mysterious vibes. I even wore my good boots! Then—bam—I wake up in an alley like ten blocks from there, no shirt, no phone, no memory."
Kai handed him a spare hoodie from his bag. "How do you lose just your shirt at a mixer?"
"I don't know, man! One second I was talking to this girl about cosmic mutations, the next I was half-naked in an alley!"
"Are you drunk?"
"No!" Reno zipped the hoodie halfway. "Maybe. I don't think so."
Kai pinched the bridge of his nose. "So Reinhardt invites you to some exclusive mixer, and now you're shirtless and on the city's pervert watchlist."
"Yes! Exactly! That's the problem!"
Kai sighed again, heavier this time. "Alright. Let's go find Reinhardt before this gets any dumber."
"Bless you, Kai. You're a real one. Also, if anyone asks, I'm your cousin from out of town."
"No one's going to ask. You look like a cultist who got kicked out for being too enthusiastic."
They emerged from the alley, Kai shaking his head and muttering under his breath. This wasn't on his agenda today—but somehow, chasing down the truth behind a shady mixer felt more dangerous than tomorrow's tournament.
Especially when Reinhardt was involved.
The streets were busy, flooded with late-morning light and a current of lazy Sunday traffic. Kai and Reno moved through it with purpose—one of them still adjusting the borrowed hoodie like he was walking a runway instead of being a fugitive from shirtless infamy.
Then they saw him.
Reinhardt.
Clean uniform, polished boots, that smug little tilt to his smile. He was walking with a small group of friends—fellow student elites, recognizable by their casual arrogance and matching high-grade gear.
Kai raised a hand. "Reinhardt."
"Oh, Ottokai." Reinhardt turned with a practiced smile, then raised a brow at Reno. "And... oh. There he is."
Reno stomped forward. "Reinhardt, man! You ditched me! What the hell happened last night?!"
Reinhardt crossed his arms calmly. "You got drunk. You chugged someone's spiked crystalwine, started raving about 'bone symmetry' and 'sacrifice theory,' then bolted down the fire escape shirtless. I tried to chase you, but you were shockingly fast for someone screaming about spiders."
Kai blinked. "Seriously?"
Reno looked genuinely confused. "I ran away? Wait—but where's the girl? The huzz—the beautiful one with the white dress? You said she was the mayor's daughter!"
Reinhardt nodded, like it was just an afterthought. "She left early. Around the time you started dancing on the furniture and trying to trade your boots for a psychic parasite."
Reno looked crushed. "She was real, right? That wasn't just the crystalwine talking?"
Reinhardt chuckled. "Very real. But if you're hoping to date the daughter of the mayor of Heiligenstadt, I'd suggest keeping your pants on next time."
Kai smiled faintly. "Thanks, Reinhardt. We'll get out of your hair."
Reinhardt gave a mock salute and walked off, back to his flock of silver-tongued elites.
As they turned the corner, Kai cast a side glance at Reno, who was now gleefully checking the phone Reinhardt handed him and admiring the stylish jacket.
Reno grinned. "New clothes and my phone, maybe a shot at love... today's a good day."
Kai didn't answer.
He was still thinking. It didn't add up. Reno might be impulsive, yeah, but reckless to the point of abandoning everything? Without his phone, his keys, even his mind? No, something was wrong. And Reinhardt—always too smooth, too prepared—wasn't even telling the whole story.
There was something off about this whole mixer thing.
---
The lights were dim in the dorm room.
Kai sat on the edge of his bed, half-dressed, arms wrapped loosely around his knees as he stared at the floor like it held tomorrow's answer.
Then came a soft knock.
The door creaked open before he could answer. Seren stepped in quietly, no hesitation, no drama—just like she used to back when they were friends and things weren't so heavy.
Kai stood up slowly. "Seren..."
She didn't smile, but her eyes were calm. "You're fighting in the Standoff."
"I will." He took a step forward. "And I'll win. I'll win tomorrow's battle, and I'll take you back."
Seren's eyes flickered. There was something unreadable in them, something tired. "I see..." Her voice was quiet, almost detached. "I bet you will."
Kai exhaled through his nose. "I don't even know if Alric will show. He might pretend I'm not even worth the effort. But I'm still gonna try. I'll fight with everything I have."
"I believe you," she said. "I always did. That was never the problem."
Silence stretched between them, not awkward—just full of things neither of them had the right words for. Not yet.
Then Seren glanced to the door. "I should go. You need rest."
Kai looked at her, memorizing the line of her shoulders, the way she avoided his gaze—not out of fear, but maybe guilt. Maybe doubt. "Yeah... Rest."
She turned and walked out without another word. Just the click of the door, and she was gone.
Kai clenched his fists slowly.
Tomorrow, I face Alric again. This time, I won't fall short. I'm not the broken boy from before... I've changed. And I'll prove it.