Kael Ardyn’s eyes flicked over the floating holographic map. The swamp’s 3D contours shimmered faintly, like ghostly veins in the dim light. Deep in the black, murky marsh, his target waited: a frail, sickly Cretaceous Demon. Every brittle scale, every cloudy eye screamed ancient survival. Catching it would finish the mission, but only if he survived the swamp itself.The swamp wasn’t just wet and dark. It breathed. Pulsed. Teemed with life he couldn’t see but could feel. Thousands of dried branches jutted from the water, hiding predators that could drop a man with a single bite. Kael swallowed hard, gripping the map tighter, heart thudding in his chest.“Granny… is there another way in?” he asked, voice tight. “A shortcut? Another path? Can the pod fly? Maybe I could just drop in from above?”The Stitching Granny’s head turned lazily, tentacles twitching in mild annoyance.“There is no other way,” she rasped, voice gravelly yet sharp. “To enter the swamp, you go through them. Flying?

Kael Ardyn glanced back. The swamp monster loomed huge behind him. Its massive bulk moved through the black, viscous water, but it wasn’t chasing him. Instead, it surged toward the writhing mass of Voidspawn in the distance. Relief and dread hit him at the same time. Lucky. For now, he wasn’t on its menu.He pushed deeper into the swamp. Every step sank, sucked down by mud that seemed alive, tugging at him like it wanted to drag him under. His boots were thick with sludge, each movement heavier than the last. Soon, the water crept above his calves, brushing the knees.No. I can’t slow down now. His mind screamed. He grabbed the Spiritwine flask at his belt and tilted it back. The liquor burned going down, a hot zing racing through his veins. Electricity seemed to crawl along his skin. His head felt on fire, his senses sharpened, and suddenly every nerve, every muscle hummed with energy. The Bean Burst State had kicked in.He called up his system panel with a thought.Host Name: Kael A

The swamp trembled. From the thick, murky water, something massive rose. The Cretaceous Demon. Huge, commanding, a force that made the world feel small around it. Mud flew. Trees shivered. Every movement sent shivers of fear through the remaining swamp monsters, and a quiet panic settled over the battlefield.At the edge of the swamp, the Voidspawn Swarm army collided with the poisonous swamp beasts. The monsters had the home advantage; every strike precise, every bite lethal. Still, the Voidspawn pressed on, wave after wave, relentless. The swamp itself seemed alive, every squelching step echoing with tension, with the sharp stench of mud and blood filling the air.Then the roar came. Deep, jagged, like thunder fracturing the sky. The Cretaceous Demon opened its jaws, revealing jagged, saw-toothed scales glinting even in the dim light. The swamp’s own monsters scattered, stepping aside instinctively. Apex predator. They knew it, and their instincts didn’t lie. That roar rolled over th

Kael Ardyn’s eyes swept over the battlefield. A chaotic mass of writhing bodies, broken terrain, and dust clouds stretching as far as he could see. Impatience coiled in his chest like a living thing. This wasn’t a warzone—it was a giant meat grinder. Every step forward screamed death, yet he felt an irresistible pull, a need to dive straight into the heart of the chaos.“Charge in?” His voice was low, almost a growl, as he turned to the Stitching Granny, the wizened entity controlling the Aether Combat Division’s Cretaceous Demon Sky. “What are the odds we actually take down the Voidspawn Queen?”A sharp, piercing voice echoed in his mind. “This Cretaceous Demon Sky has six legs, and I control six tentacles. I can wield about eighty percent of its power. Since it doesn’t fear damage, add another twenty. In a head-to-head fight with the Voidspawn Queen, it’s roughly fifty-fifty. Strike at the right moment

 “One general’s success is built upon the bones of ten thousand dead.”Kael Ardyn stood at the edge of the Sacred Mountain, the wind tugging at his cloak, cold enough to sting his face. Below him, the battlefield sprawled like a twisted mosaic—shattered shields, broken weapons, and bodies of men, beasts, and creatures that should never have existed. The line echoed in his head. For a fleeting heartbeat, he felt almost divine, as if the universe had carved him to rule, to shape life and death with his own hands.He lowered his gaze to the Eye of the Reaper strapped to his chest.Eye of the Reaper (Primary)The last pair of eyes left behind by the Reaper in the mortal world. It sees everything: sins, slaughter, the whispers of souls. It absorbs the dead, feeding its master’s power—but only if their deaths are connected to him.Current Progress: 299,652 / 1,000,000,000Kae