"She wasn't a savior. She wasn't a goddess. She wasn't even kind."
She was the first being who ever looked at Joe Lanzeta… and expected him to stand.
The sky was bleeding.
Not with flame—but with falling light, each streak descending faster than thought. Divine projectiles—Judgement Spears, Angelica called them later. At that moment, Joe just knew one thing:
They were meant to kill him.
He ran.
Staggered through broken corridors and vine-choked archways, heart pounding with raw instinct. The ruin cracked behind him with each impact. Statues shattered. Ground liquefied. Walls collapsed in fire and light.
Behind him, the White Fox limped after—grace twisted into grit.
"I can't run like this," she muttered, eyes scanning the heavens. "Too fast. Too soon. Damn them—how did they find me this quick?"
Joe didn't respond. His lungs were fire. His vision was double. His skin still burned from the glyph's scar.
They dove behind a fallen pillar as another spear slammed down nearby—shockwave kicking up debris and wind.
Joe coughed blood.
"Why—why me?" he rasped. "Why did the system pick me?"
The woman stared at him like he was an idiot.
> "It didn't pick you. I did."
Her tone cut like a blade.
"I was sealed," she continued. "Chained inside that altar for 547 lunar cycles. Waiting for a worthy soul to break the lock."
Joe laughed bitterly, wheezing. "Then the system's broken. I'm not—worthy."
"No," she said, tilting her head. "You're empty. That's rarer."
———————————————
> [COVENANT STATUS: FLICKER RANK AVAILABLE. Awaiting confirmation...]
———————————————
Joe blinked. "What... does that mean?"
"It means," Angelica said, dragging herself upright, "you survived the first bond. You're eligible to level up. But the system doesn't just hand it over."
"Then how do I—"
"You have to earn it."
She pointed at the incoming lights overhead.
"You want the power to fight gods? Then survive till moonrise. Alone."
Joe stared at her. "What?"
"You heard me." Her eyes flashed like ice under a red moon. "Survive on your own. No help. If you make it, the system upgrades you. If you don't—well. You die. Which is probably what you want, isn't it?"
Then she turned.
And vanished into the mist.
———————————————
> [DIVINE TASK: SURVIVE UNTIL MOONRISE]
> [Time remaining: 6 hours, 11 minutes, 42 seconds.]
> [System Note: Vessels who fail their first task will be purged automatically.]
———————————————
Joe stood there, stunned. Alone. No weapon. No shelter. No plan.
He heard them before he saw them—the Celestialspawn. Mutated beasts made of flesh, bone, and divine circuitry. One by one, they crawled from the shadows of the ruin. Glowing veins. Multiple jaws. Screaming like warped angels.
Joe turned slowly, hands shaking.
Then he whispered, "I'm not ready."
But the world didn't care.