"It's okay," Maks murmured softly, completely locking his focus onto the creatures.The second his hand brushed the thick, armored shell of the leading Bixi, a sharp digital chime pinged in his ears. His interface screen flashed brightly in the dim underworld air, updating his core status:+------------------------------------+| AWAKENER SYSTEM INTERFACE |+------------------------------------+| Name: Maks || Age: 22 || Rank: C-Level Awakener || HP: 120+ || Feature: Animal Summoning / Mimic |+------------------------------------+The Bixi stirred, its heavy dragon snout sniffing his hand before let out a low, vibrating hum of submission. Maks’s animal empathy easily tamed the mythical beast, making it kneel so they could mount.------------------------------Meanwhile, inside the dragon sanctuary, Artemis stood her ground, her giant fist still crackling with defensive energy. "You

"You betrayed me, Harley," Ares rumbled, his voice shaking the walls. "And so did you, Maks... after I helped you find that dog of yours. This is the thanks I get?"Before Maks or Harley could answer, Eric stepped squarely into the center of the room, his pale face completely firm as he faced the man who had ruined his life. "You isolated me for a decade, Ares. You trapped my mind in the dark and stole my daughter's childhood. There is absolutely no forgiving that."Ares actually flinched, a flash of genuine, deeply warped hurt crossing his chiseled face. He tightened his fists, his voice cracking with intense defensive pride. "I tried to do good! I kept the monster contained! I protected this world, and no one... absolutely no one is appreciating me!"Maks bared his teeth, stepping up right beside Eric as his C-Level Awakener System began wildly screaming with danger alerts. "All you care about is how the end justifies the means, Ares. You turn people into property and call it charit

The heavy steel door didn't melt from red lightning, nor was it smashed by an underworld trident. Instead, a sudden, erratic hum vibrated through the safehouse walls. The overhead fluorescent lights flickered violently before exploding into darkness, cutting off the building's main power supply. *BOOM.* The door was ripped clean off its hinges by a high-pressure torrent of water that surged into the room like a localized flash flood. Through the churning mist, two figures stepped into the safehouse. They were twin brothers, moving with a chilling, synchronized focus. The first twin, Wade, held his hands out as tendrils of pressurized water spun around his forearms like liquid whips. The second twin stepped up right beside him, his eyes glowing with a faint, static-blue light as he raised his palms toward the room’s dead electrical wiring. Even with the main power cut, the residual electricity in the backup generators and battery-powered appliances began to violently crackle under h

The cop had not bought the motorcycle story. Ten minutes later, the police cruiser was gone, leaving Harley and Sam walking perfectly straight lines along the rain-slicked pavement while the officer monitored their sobriety. Harley stared drily ahead, her jaw set into a rigid line as she aggressively marched down the sidewalk. Her future-lawyer pride was entirely bruised, and her tactical momentum had been completely halted by a routine breathalyser test. Right beside them, Maks trotted along the curb, his long giraffe neck swaying smoothly while his large bloodhound head let out a loud, vibrating, rhythmic *neigh*. Harley snapped her head around, her sharp eyes locking onto his snout as she frowned deeply. "It’s not funny, Maks." Sam rubbed his sore neck, jogging a bit to keep up with her fast pace. He looked up at the towering, chimeric hybrid in pure confusion. "How do you even know he’s laughing?" "Because his bloodhound ears are twitching in a mock-courtroom cadence