The night air was thick with the scent of metal and something older, more primal—a tang that made Kairen's instincts hum like a taut string. The city lay in ruins around him, fractured streets filled with collapsed buildings, the remains of abandoned vehicles, and the skeletal shapes of trees clawing toward the dull moonlight.
Kairen's boots crunched on shattered glass as he advanced through the district's hushed streets. His hand hovered over the faint glow of the sigil etched across his arm, feeling the pulse of the fragments beneath his skin. Each heartbeat of the Ruin inside him synced to his own, subtle yet insistent. Tonight's mission was simple on paper: assess the newly-formed Ruin Zone in District 17, clear what could be cleared, survive, and return.
Yet simple meant nothing in a city overrun with creatures born from corruption, instinct, and ancient Ruin energy.
Ahead, the boundary shimmered—a thin distortion in the air, twisting the dim light like molten glass. Kairen stopped, letting his senses stretch. The Zone was alive; he could feel its heartbeat before he even crossed the threshold.
"Breathe," he muttered. Not fear, just focus. The Ruin was a predator. He was about to step into its den.
The world changed the instant he crossed the boundary.
Light bent unnaturally, shadows swirled, and the ground beneath his feet felt both solid and fluid. The air pulsed with violet energy, and distant shapes flickered at the edge of his vision. Trees and buildings twisted into forms that defied geometry, the rules of reality bending like a dream warped by fear.
Kairen's Sigil flared, golden energy snaking over his skin, responding to the foreign power around him. He had trained for this. He had to control the fragments coursing through his system or risk becoming prey to the Zone itself.
The first Ruin Beast appeared without warning—a skeletal wolf, its bones jagged and black, eyes glowing violet. Its jaw opened impossibly wide, a low growl vibrating through the air.
Kairen didn't flinch.
[ABILITY: VOID EDGE]
The Ruin energy condensed into a blade in his hand. He moved like water, dodging the wolf's strike with unnatural precision and slicing through its chest. The creature's body shattered into dust and smoke, fragments of violet light drifting in the wind.
Another appeared—a panther-shaped Ruin Beast with serrated claws and glowing eyes. Kairen ducked beneath its leap, slashing upward. The fragments inside him screamed to dominate, to hunt, to consume—but he forced them into control. One by one, the minor beasts fell, dissolving into glowing particles.
Then, from the shadows, the real challenge emerged: a massive stag-like creature, its body etched with jagged, bone-like protrusions, antlers arcing like lightning rods. Its eyes were white-hot, deep with awareness. It didn't roar or charge immediately—it studied him, and the pulse of its presence reached into Kairen's mind like a probing shadow.
"You are not one of them…"
The voice wasn't spoken aloud. It vibrated through him, a low, echoing resonance that seemed to rattle his bones.
Kairen tightened his grip on the blade. His fragments pulsed in warning—the disorder inside him stirring, eager for the fight, eager for power.
"I'm a hunter," Kairen said through gritted teeth. "Not a Ruin. Not you."
The creature tilted its massive head, antlers sparking with violet energy.
"You wield our essence… yet you cling to flesh. Will you embrace the predator—or deny it?"
Kairen's Sigil flared. The fragments within him, Shard-Maw and the minor instincts he had integrated, surged, but he focused them, suppressing hunger and instinct, shaping them into precision and perception.
The stag-chimera lunged. The air vibrated as Kairen rolled to the side, energy from his blade clashing with antler strikes. Sparks flew, illuminating the twisted landscape in jagged flashes of violet and gold.
He felt the Zone responding—the ground trembling as if alive, debris moving subtly, the very air thickening with pressure. Every movement he made was mirrored by the beast, every instinct countered with uncanny intelligence.
This was no E-Class threat. The Ruin was learning. Adapting.
Kairen activated multiple fragments consciously: Predator Instinct for anticipation, Hunger for reflex, Grief for awareness of danger. The combination was a surge of chaos and clarity simultaneously, every heartbeat synchronized to the Ruin around him.
He dodged, rolled, leapt. The stag's antlers cleaved through concrete, sparks flying, but he anticipated each strike. He was faster than any human should be, moving like liquid, each motion guided by instinct, fragments, and precise control.
The stag charged, antlers lowered. Kairen jumped onto its back, sliding over bone-plated ridges, feeling its muscles twitch beneath him. The fragments whispered, guiding him to weak points. One motion, one strike, and he drove Void Edge into a joint of its antler. Sparks of violet energy erupted. The beast shrieked, thrashing violently, and Kairen leapt away, landing lightly on a cracked rooftop.
The stag faltered. Its chains of Ruin energy—anchoring it to the Zone—began to crack under its strain. Kairen saw his opportunity. He channeled Ruin energy into his palm, summoning Core Rip, and plunged it into the glowing center of the stag's chest.
The core resisted violently, thrashing against him, threatening to overwhelm his system. Kairen forced it, letting fragments cooperate rather than dominate. With a violent surge, the core ripped free, pulsing violently in his hand.
[CORE ACQUIRED: RUIN STAG — RANK B?]
[STATUS: UNSTABLE]
The stag's body exploded into fragments of light and shadow. The Zone trembled violently, as if the Ruin itself disapproved. The world around him warped, shapes flickering, trees twisting back to impossible angles, air thick with the scent of ozone and corruption.
When the Zone calmed, Kairen staggered to his knees. His breathing was heavy, but controlled. The fragments inside him hummed, alive, aggressive, and responsive, but obedient. He had survived. He had controlled them. He had prevailed.
Yet the Ruin's voice lingered in his mind:
"Soon…"
Kairen didn't respond. He wiped sweat from his brow, staring at the pulsing core in his hand. He had tasted Rank B power. Felt its pull. He had walked the line between predator and human—and survived.
He turned back toward the exit. The Ruin Zone shimmered, slowly collapsing. Shadows coiled and dispersed, leaving only silence in their wake.
Outside, Junah waited. Her eyes widened when she saw him emerge, blood and violet dust smeared across his coat.
"You… you're alive," she whispered. "I thought—"
"I told you to wait," Kairen said, voice low, exhaustion barely contained. "Next time… stay back."
She nodded, lips trembling. But Kairen could see her resolve. She would follow, no matter what.
He tucked the core safely in a reinforced bag, feeling its pulse through his fingers. The path ahead was clear: survival, growth, and the hunt.
The Ruin had tested him. He had passed.
But the city was far from safe.
Rank B was awake. The Zone was only one of many fractures. And the Crowned Ruin Beasts… they had noticed.
Kairen Vale smiled faintly. The disorder within him pulsed. Hungry. Restless. Patient.
And he was ready.
Tonight, the hunter would grow stronger.