The next morning arrived with no sun, only a pale, shifting haze. Sector 12 had no seasons — just cold ash winds and mutated beasts that never slept.
Kiel and Merren crouched near a broken overpass, watching a group of four Razorback Hounds tear apart a dying scavenger.
Merren looked away. "Third one today."
Kiel didn't.
His new instincts didn't let him.
The smell of the blood, the rhythmic growling of the hounds, the thrum of violence — it all made his pulse quicken, his claws twitch. He didn't just want to survive anymore.
He wanted to dominate.
[BEAST PACK DETECTED: RAZORBACK HOUNDS – 4 UNITS]
[WARNING: GROUP TACTICS IN PLAY]
[ADVICE: Isolate targets. Disable alpha first.]
Kiel's eyes narrowed. "They have a leader."
"Top one with the red scar across the muzzle," Merren whispered. "I've seen packs like these. Kill the alpha, the rest fall apart."
Kiel grinned.
Perfect.
He stepped onto the ruined street, not even bothering to sneak. The hounds turned, confused by the boldness.
Kiel didn't wait.
He activated his Void Reflexes and dashed forward. The world slowed.
One blink.
Two claws.
Three hounds gone.
Only the alpha remained.
It was bigger, smarter, meaner. It circled him, hackles raised, not attacking out of instinct — but calculation.
The beast charged.
Kiel ducked, spun, and released his new trait.
[ACTIVATING: QUILLBURST]
Dozens of bone-hard quills fired from his back mid-roll. The alpha howled as two spikes pierced its legs and another lodged in its eye.
It stumbled, off-balance.
Kiel didn't hesitate.
He leapt on the hound, driving his claws into its skull, ending the fight with brutal precision.
[MULTI-KILL BONUS: 4 BEASTS DEFEATED]
[Total Progress: 6/10]
[Trait Options Unlocked:]
— "Pack Instinct" – minor group coordination buff
— "Hound's Nose" – enhanced tracking
— "Alpha Roar" – momentarily intimidates lower-tier beasts
Kiel scanned the list.
"Alpha Roar," he muttered. "Sounds fun."
He replaced his Adaptive Muscle Strands with it.
[Trait Swapped. Instability Increased: 17%]
[New Trait Equipped: Alpha Roar]
[WARNING: Voice modulation evolving. Observe for side effects.]
He exhaled and stood. The streets were quiet now.
Merren emerged from cover, arms crossed.
"You're getting faster," she said. "And... louder."
"Noticed that too?" Kiel asked, his voice lower than before — edged with a subtle growl. He sounded less human each time he evolved.
"Yeah. You're starting to sound like one of them."
Kiel didn't argue. She was right.
And that terrified him.
But the system had no time for hesitation.
[NEW FEATURE UNLOCKED: EVOLUTION TREE – TIER 1 BRANCHING]
[Path Options Available: "Alpha," "Stalker," "Juggernaut"]
[Select Evolution Archetype to specialize growth.]
Three options hovered before him, each pulsing with potential.
Alpha – leadership, intimidation, pack command
Stalker – stealth, agility, assassination
Juggernaut – brute force, durability, crowd control
Each offered a unique path. Each pulled at a different part of him.
He thought of the fight — how the other hounds froze when their alpha died. How power wasn't just about strength, but presence.
"I choose… Alpha."
[Path Confirmed: APEX ALPHA – TIER 1]
[Next Milestone: Form Pack / Unlock Command Skills]
Merren raised an eyebrow as Kiel's body shifted again — his chest expanding, voice deepening further, posture taller.
"You're growing into something... more," she said.
Kiel looked at his claws, then at her.
"No," he said calmly. "I'm becoming what this world needs."
That night, under the crimson glow of a shattered moon, Kiel stood atop a ruined tower.
He roared.
Not out of rage.
Not out of fear.
But to declare his arrival.
[ALPHA ROAR ACTIVATED – RANGE 100 METERS]
[Nearby beasts are cowering.]
[You are now recognized as a regional threat.]
The hunt had just begun.