The night was heavy — too still, too silent.
Rain fell like whispers against the shattered windows of the abandoned tower.
Ryn stood alone at the top, his coat drenched, his blade dripping crimson.
Below him lay the corpses of beasts and hunters alike.
The storm hadn't come from the sky… it had come from him.
He stared at his trembling hands.
Veins pulsed black beneath his skin, like something alive trying to break free.
The system's cold tone echoed in his mind:
> [Warning: Transformation exceeds safe limit.]
[Host synchronization unstable.]
[Possible neural collapse — 67%]
He clenched his fists until blood ran down his palms.
Pain stabbed through his body, but he didn't scream.
He smiled — a faint, broken smile.
> "So this is what power feels like... to burn and not stop."
The air behind him shifted.
A faint glow lit up the darkness — a team of hunters arrived, their weapons raised.
They froze when they saw him.
> "Is that… Ryn?"
"No way. He's supposed to be dead."
Their leader, a tall man with cybernetic arms, stepped forward.
His eyes scanned the bodies, the broken gate behind them.
> "You killed them all… both beasts and humans."
Ryn's voice was low, almost whispering.
> "They got in my way."
> "You've lost control," the leader said, leveling his gunblade.
"The system's corrupted you."
Ryn tilted his head slightly, his eyes glowing a deep crimson.
> "Maybe. Or maybe I've just seen the truth."
The system flickered again:
> [Adaptive Mutation Detected.]
[Host approaching Evolution Threshold.]
The wind howled — and Ryn vanished.
In the blink of an eye, he appeared behind the leader.
Steel met flesh. A spray of red.
The others screamed as shadows erupted from Ryn's body, swallowing everything in sight.
When the silence finally returned, the rain had stopped.
Ryn stood amidst the ruin, surrounded by still bodies and dripping steel.
His reflection stared back at him in a puddle — eyes that were no longer human.
> "If this is the price of awakening…" he whispered,
"…then I'll pay it again and again."
Lightning flashed across the sky,
and for a moment —
the world looked like it was kneeling before its new predator.