Kael Ardyn’s gaze slowly swept across the Ripper Woman and everyone else trapped inside the illusion. He lifted his head and spoke, calm and steady. His voice carried through the empty air like it belonged to the silence itself.“Broodmother, when you probed my mind earlier, there was a part of my memories you weren’t meant to touch. I sealed it myself.”He paused. The words hung there, heavy, almost tangible.“That memory… it comes from the moment I first stepped into the Mechanical Empire, from the Reincarnation Furnace. My totem lies there. I’m opening the seal now. Take a look. Once you see it, everything will make sense.”Silence followed. Thick, heavy, as if the air itself was holding its breath.The Ripper Woman, Elara Myrin, Big Bear, and Bing Lis froze mid-step. Even time seemed to hesitate. The world held its breath for several long minutes, suspended, cut off from reality.Then it came. A scream. Sharp, piercing, impossible to ignore.“Ah! Impossible! How… how can this be?”

Nearly half a cosmic hour later, Kael Ardyn’s temporary quarters inside the Black Bat garrison had been turned into a recovery room. The air smelled faintly of disinfectant, mixed with the soft hum of machinery. Three advanced medical pods sat quietly against the wall, their soft blue lights pulsing almost like they were breathing. Inside them lay Big Bear, Elara Myrin, and the Ripper Woman, motionless, chests rising and falling slowly.Kael stared at them for a long moment. “Lyndric Fayne, do you have any idea how to wake them up?” he asked silently.“Don’t rely on me for everything,” Lyndric Fayne replied sharply, crossing his arms. “Figure it out yourself.”Kael frowned. Well, that left him with no choice.The Eye of Death.He could feel its power thrumming in his mind, dark and dangerous. It could strike at souls, invade mental worlds. It hadn’t worked in the illusion space, but this was reality. Perhaps, just perhaps, if he used it now while they were defenseless, it would be eff

Ren Wu struggled against the restraints. His muscles bulged, trembled, and quivered as if trying to rip themselves free. But the chains… the chains weren’t ordinary. They dug deep into his waist and shoulders, biting into him. There was no escaping this. Not now. Not ever.Kael Ardyn took a cautious step back. He tried to smile, really he did, but his stomach twisted like a rollercoaster. The sight in front of him… it was something else. Something he wasn’t ready for.And then it happened.Ren Wu’s body started to contort, twist from the waist down. His legs bent, folded inward, then melded together into a thick, writhing tentacle. His arms didn’t escape the change either—they curved, flowed into the new form like water filling a mold. Bones seemed to snap and twist on their own. Muscles folded and reformed. It was grotesque, mesmerizing, horrifying.Kael froze. He couldn’t look away. The chains in Ren Wu’s body bent outward, pushed back by the creature that now had a human head but a

Kael Ardyn stared at the stats of his followers, his eyes flicking over every number, every detail. The system presented it all in its usual rigid, data-heavy style, but even here, among the numbers, the power of his companions was undeniable.Follower One: MaidNumber of Maids: 1 of 1Name: Ripper GirlRace: A hybrid of bat, werewolf, and human genes. Still incomplete. Partially defective. No one knew how to finish the process.Cellular Activity: 60 (10)Strength Burst: 25 (10)Agility and Reflexes: 25 (10)Mental Energy: 60 (10)Physical Endurance: 70 (10)Skills:Basic Frenzy 12/100: Activates when her mind wavers too much, transforming her into a vampire-werewolf hybrid and boosting all physical stats by fifty.Skills while Frenzied:Bloodthirst: Drinking blood restores stamina and combat power.Talent Undying Body: Wounds heal quickly after a frenzy. Head intact? She recovers injuries using stored cellular energy.Loyalty: 25/100. Max it, and she obeys any order without question.

Kael Ardyn’s memories came back slowly, as scattered pieces of a puzzle he had almost forgotten existed. At first, they were faint flashes—colors, sounds, feelings that barely held together. Then, bit by bit, they sharpened, forming a clear picture of where he came from and why he was here. The long, boring hours on the transport ship had pushed him to ask Lyndric Fayne, the War God System agent, to send him to this world. Now all of those memories surged back, unstoppable and vivid.The laboratory around him seemed to blur. The harsh white walls, the humming machines, the faint antiseptic smell—all faded as a golden spacetime gate shimmered into existence before him. It pulsed warmly, strange but inviting, urgent yet calm. His heart raced. Something inside him pulled him forward. And in a single instant, he was sliding through time and space, and then he was awake. The familiar chill of the cryogenic chamber pressed against his skin as the thawing process finished. The world was real