The fall of the Neuro-Spire sent shockwaves through the Dominion. But while the central command scrambled to repair its shattered grip, a darker power stirred in the underbelly of Sector 9—The Syndicate of Teeth.
A criminal empire older than the Dominion itself, the Syndicate trafficked in flesh, fear, and forbidden tech. And now, they had a new obsession: Kiel.
---
"Put a bounty on the Apex," snarled a shadowed figure inside the Tooth Throne, a war-room lit only by pulsing veins of red data.
"He's killing our buyers, torching our merchandise," another chimed in. "He took out Warden Z-8. That's a problem."
"No," rasped a voice—calm, dangerous. "That's an opportunity."
The one who spoke stepped into the light, revealing jagged implants for teeth and surgical scars down his jaw. He was Marruk the Boneharvester, leader of the Syndicate.
"Bring me his body," Marruk hissed, "and I'll make an army out of his genes."
---
Back in Varnhold, Kiel stood before a holographic map, eyes narrowed.
"We burned the Spire, but it wasn't the root," Seris explained. "The Syndicate feeds the Dominion. They supply the bodies. They sell the minds."
"And they want me dead," Kiel replied with a smirk.
A blip blinked on the map.
"Our intel tracked their nearest operation. Underground labs beneath Ruinhold. It's a meat farm, Kiel. Cybernetic augments fused to living hosts."
His blood boiled.
"When do we hit it?"
Seris handed him a datapad. "We go now."
---
Ruinhold was a city turned necropolis—towers collapsed, streets sunken, atmosphere choked with ash and decay. Beneath it ran endless tunnels of flesh and steel.
Kiel dropped in through an abandoned elevator shaft and landed with a metallic thud. The scent hit him first—burnt flesh, coolant, blood.
He was home.
---
Inside the Syndicate's base, scientists toiled over restrained test subjects—fusing Dominion cyberware to unwilling hosts.
Then something growled in the dark.
Screams followed.
Kiel tore through the lab like a myth, blending shadow and brutality. Arms ripped. Implants yanked. Heads shattered against reinforced glass.
> [System Notice: Carnage Chain Initiated – +150% Reflex Boost]
The guards fought back with synaptic disruptors and heavy gauss repeaters. But nothing stopped him.
Until something did.
A beast emerged—twice Kiel's size, crawling with cables, its spine lined with blades.
"Reaper-Class Prototype. Codename: GRIN."
It lunged, laughing with a voice made of static.
---
Kiel clashed with the creature midair, metal on bone. GRIN struck like a storm—fast, unpredictable. A blade pierced Kiel's side, and the creature cackled with glee.
Kiel gritted his teeth. "You laugh too much."
He activated Neural Override—seizing a nearby Syndicate turret and turning it on the beast.
GRIN screeched as bullets tore through its back.
Kiel leapt, drove his claws into the thing's mouth, and ripped out its vocal box.
"Now grin for real."
He smashed its skull in.
---
> [Reaper-Class GRIN Terminated]
+ EXP Gained: 16,000
Loot Acquired: Reaper Spinal Core (Implantable – Unlocks Reaper Reflex Tree)
---
He didn't stop.
Floor by floor, cell by cell, he freed the imprisoned. Dozens. Some couldn't even walk. Others didn't remember who they were.
But when he exited that hellhole, smoke trailing behind him and Seris watching from above, she whispered what everyone was thinking:
"You're not just an apex predator anymore, Kiel…"
"…you're extinction."
---
Back in the Syndicate's throne room, Marruk stared at the reports. His lieutenants dead. Labs in ruins. GRIN—slaughtered.
He didn't flinch.
"Call in the Black Maw," he said.
"They'll devour him whole."