Kai didn't stop walking until the ruins were far behind him and the novice Tamers' shouts had faded into nothing.
His heart was still pounding, not from fear, but from something sharper, exhilaration mixed with a cold thread of anger. The way Torv and Gav had looked at him, like he was something to be stepped on, brought back every sneer he'd endured growing up in the slums.
But this time he'd answered.
Nyx floated close, brushing against his sleeve like a worried cat. The little wisp's tendrils curled and uncurled, as if tasting the air for threats.
Kai found a secluded hollow beneath an overturned ancient tree, its roots forming a natural cave. Rift energy hummed faintly here, thick enough to speed recovery, thin enough not to attract stronger monsters.
He sat cross-legged on the mossy ground and pulled up the system interface.
The notification still glowed crimson.
[Bloodline Awakening milestone reached: 5.2%]
[Partial evolution available for Nyx.]
[Initiate First Awakening? Y/N]
[Warning: Evolution will cause temporary instability in local seals. Corruption Resonance will increase by 8–15%. Host may experience physical side effects.]
Kai stared at the warning for a long minute.
Corruption at 12.8% already. He'd felt the cold pulses in his veins, the brief flashes of hunger that weren't his own. But the memory of those iron boars crashing helplessly in darkness, the look on Torv's face when his beast screamed…
He needed more.
"Yes."
The moment he confirmed, the air in the hollow grew heavy, like the pressure before a storm.
Nyx drifted to the center of the space and stopped moving.
Its crimson eyes flared wide.
Black mist poured out of the small orb in thick waves, far more than its tiny body should hold. The mist coiled upward, forming vague shapes, claws, wings, a suggestion of massive jaws, before collapsing back into the core.
Runes appeared on the ground beneath it, the same ancient script Kai had seen on the altar. They glowed faint purple, then crimson, then black.
A low thrumming filled the hollow, vibrating in Kai's bones.
He watched, unable to look away.
Nyx's form stretched, elongated. The harmless wisp shape warped into something leaner, more predatory. Tendrils thickened into sleek limbs. A suggestion of fur, or was it shadow?, rippled across its surface.
For a heartbeat, Kai glimpsed the outline of a wolf-like creature the size of a pony, eyes burning like twin furnaces.
Then the mist snapped back with a sound like breaking chains.
Everything went still.
Nyx floated there, smaller again, but… different.
No longer a simple orb. Now it had a distinct head, pointed ears made of coiling shadow, and four stubby legs that faded into mist at the ends. A short tail flicked behind it. The crimson eyes had narrowed into slits, giving it a cunning, almost smug expression.
It looked like a shadow puppy, adorable and deadly at the same time.
The system updated.
[Ding!]
[First Awakening complete.]
[Nyx - Abyssal Phantom Pup (Juvenile Form)]
[Level: 7 → 12 (evolution bonus)]
[Bloodline Awakening: 5.2% → 18.7%]
[Rank: Sealed Divine (Low Juvenile)]
[New Stats Unlocked:]
Strength: 22
Agility: 48
Vitality: 19
Spirit: 65
Corruption Resonance (Nyx): 9%
[New Skills:]
Phantom Dash (Lv.1): Short-range shadow teleport. Cooldown 5 seconds.
Shadow Bind (Lv.1): Extend tendrils to restrain targets.
Abyssal Gaze (Lv.1): Intense stare inflicts fear and minor paralysis.
[Host Corruption Resonance: 12.8% → 26.4%]
Kai exhaled slowly.
Dark veins crawled up his left forearm like living ink, pulsing once before sinking beneath the skin. A wave of dizziness hit him, and for a moment the world tilted. He tasted iron in his mouth.
Then it passed.
Nyx—now clearly a pup, padded through the air toward him and butted its head against his chest. The contact was cold, but not unpleasant. It let out a soft, rumbling purr that vibrated through his ribs.
Kai reached out and ran his fingers through the shadow fur. It felt like touching smoke that somehow had texture, cool, silky, and faintly electric.
"Good boy," he murmured.
Nyx's tail wagged hard enough to blur.
Despite the corruption ache in his veins, Kai felt stronger. Sharper. His senses reached farther, he could hear the skitter of small creatures three dozen meters away, feel the shift of Rift energy like breeze on his skin.
He closed the interface and leaned back against the tree root.
The evolution had been quiet, but not silent. Anyone sensitive to Rift fluctuations within a kilometer would have felt something. Torv and Gav would definitely talk. Word would spread: the Null who tamed a wisp, crippled two iron boars, and then vanished into the deeper zone.
He needed to move.
Kai stood, slinging his small pack over one shoulder. The three rabbits from earlier were still tied to his belt, dinner for tonight.
Nyx settled on his shoulder like a living scarf, head resting near his neck, eyes half-closed in contentment.
As he walked deeper into the Rift, the trees grew taller, trunks blackened as if burned centuries ago. Blue mist thickened into waist-high fog. The air carried the scent of ozone and old blood.
Mid-rank territory.
Normal novices would turn back here.
Kai kept going.
Hours passed. He hunted carefully, using Nyx's new Phantom Dash to flank prey, Shadow Bind to pin them silently. Levels ticked up steadily.
By dusk, Nyx hit Level 15.
Kai found a defensible outcrop of rock with a small cave mouth. He built no fire, didn't need the attention, but gutted and ate one rabbit raw, the way slum kids learned when coin was short.
Nyx absorbed ambient shadow energy instead of food, growing slightly denser.
As night fell, the Rift changed.
Distant howls echoed. Larger predators stirred.
Kai sat at the cave entrance, sharpening his dagger with a whetstone, Nyx curled in his lap.
He thought about the ceremony again. The shattered crystal. The laughter.
Then he thought about the look on Torv's face when his boar went down.
A cold satisfaction settled in his chest.
The system pinged softly.
[New Quest Generated: Survive the Night]
[Mid-rank Rift predators have detected seal fluctuation. Hostile entities approaching.]
[Reward: Experience. Possible second Divine fragment.]
Kai tightened his grip on the dagger.
Nyx lifted its head, ears pricked, eyes glowing bright.
Three shadows detached from the treeline, sleek midnight panthers, each the size of a horse, eyes reflecting blue Rift light. Normal mid-F rank beasts, but in a pack they could kill inexperienced Tamers easily.
They circled slowly, growling low.
Kai stood.
The lead panther lunged.
Nyx was already moving.
Phantom Dash—Nyx blinked forward ten meters in a streak of black.
Shadow Bind—tendrils shot out, wrapping the panther's forelegs.
The beast crashed face-first into the dirt.
Kai followed, dagger sinking deep behind the shoulder.
One down.
The second panther leaped high, claws extended.
Abyssal Gaze.
The panther froze mid-air, eyes wide with primal fear, and landed awkwardly.
Nyx finished it with a Phantom Dash through the throat, shadow passing straight through flesh like a blade.
The third tried to flee.
Kai didn't let it.
Ten minutes later, three corpses cooled on the rock.
Nyx returned to his shoulder, licking shadow "blood" from its paws.
[Combat complete.]
[Nyx Level 15 → 19]
[Host Level Unlocked: Level 5 (shared progression)]
[New personal skill: Shadow Step (Lv.1) — short teleport into nearby shadows.]
Kai felt power settle into his muscles like warm oil.
He dragged the panther carcasses into the cave, valuable materials if he ever reached a city market.
Then he sat again, staring at the stars through gaps in the canopy.
Corruption sat at 28.9% now.
The dark veins appeared more often, and sometimes he caught himself smiling at thoughts that weren't entirely kind.
But the power…
It was worth it.
For the first time in his life, Kai Voss fell asleep without fear.
In the distance, something ancient stirred in its sleep, chains rattling faintly.
The first throne had taken notice.
But that was a problem for tomorrow.