“Wait,” Kael said, completely confused. “You’re seriously asking us to pay you? You just tried to kill us!” “Oh, I’m very serious.” She crossed her arms. The firelight slid across her visor, making her eyes glow like embers. “You want me to save your life again? Then I need compensation. And don’t forget, we did try to warn you about that passenger you rescued before you decided to go all Mad Max on us. You took out half my crew! So yeah, I’m charging extra for damages.” Kael just stared at her with his mouth hung open, unable to process a word of it. She tilted her head at his stunned expression. “What? You think bikes grow on trees?” Kael rubbed the back of his neck. The truth was… they kind of did. In a world defined by uncertainties, death and misery, you could find abandoned vehicles everywhere if you tried. Her argument made no real sense, and yet somehow, she made it sound perfectly logical. He felt thrown off, completely knocked out of rhythm. But in a strange way, he

Inside the building, everyone drifted to sleep. Kael lay on his back, staring at the dark ceiling above him, but no matter how hard he tried, sleep wouldn’t come. His thoughts raced, refusing to let him rest. After a while, he let out a quiet sigh and sat up. He needed air. In truth, he needed space to think… Careful not to wake anyone, he pushed himself to his feet. The mattress creaked softly under his weight and he froze, glancing around. Everyone seemed asleep. Or so he thought. From the shadows behind him, the scar-jawed girl’s eyes opened just a fraction. She watched him slip away, then she closed them again, as if nothing had happened. --- Cold air washed over him the moment he stepped outside. The district was silent and empty… but somehow, it felt easier to breathe out here. Kael walked a little farther and stopped beside a cracked concrete platform, half-ruined by time. He lowered himself onto it, rubbing the side of his aching head. A long, tired breath escaped

“Yeah, I’ve heard that word before,” Kael said, thinking back to Thessa’s brutal training sessions and how he’d managed to unlock Anima by getting pushed to his limit. “But… why is Anima the only thing that works?” “Because both monsters and Riders generate the stuff, keep up,” she replied, sounding irritated that he didn’t already know. “Anima is like lightning running through your body. To use it right, you need emotional control. But like anything powerful, it comes with risks. Think of Anima as an invisible battery that keep fights balanced. Let me cook…” She lifted the wine bottle so he could follow along. “Everyone, Rider or Monster, has an invisible bucket that holds their Anima,” she said firmly. “Some, like the high-end monsters, have huge buckets. Others have tiny ones. That mostly comes down to genetics, training, or both.” She tapped the bottle, pointing at the wine inside. “The tap is how much of that energy you can release at once. So someone with a small bucket

The van shook as it moved closer to the Flaming City. The heat was stronger now, and Kael could feel every bit of it even through the glass. The road narrowed, with burned buildings standing on both sides, watching them as they passed. They passed a fuel station at an intersection. The pumps were bent and scorched, but the small store beside them still stood. Its sign hung crooked, blackened by soot. The girl glanced at it, expecting the van to slow, but to her surprise, they kept going regardless. Then… she screamed. “STOP.” Lance slammed on the brakes out of instinct. For a brief moment, he thought she had seen something horrific that would justify such an outburst. When the truth came seconds later, he felt foolish for reacting so fast. Kael turned toward her. “Why? What’s wrong?” The fear in his voice was real. She was already opening the door. “Don’t ask,” she said. “Just stop here.” Lance stared at her through the rearview mirror. “You’ve got to be kidding me. We’re

Kael’s lungs had never felt heavier than they did in that moment, but he dared not breathe too loudly. Every little inhale felt like it might give away his position. The faint blue glow of the system hovered in front of him, like a judge delivering its final verdict. ─────────── 【 SYSTEM ALERT 】 ─────────── INFECTED IDENTIFIED – LOW-TIER VARIANT THREAT LEVEL: LOW STATUS: ACTIVE ─────────── 【 MANDATORY DIRECTIVE 】 ─────────── KILL THE CREATURE Kael swallowed, wishing the words weren’t there. ‘Kill… the boy?’ Oh, how he dreaded the legitimacy of the words. The system didn’t care whether or not it was a child. It didn’t care that Kael remembered the boy’s innocent laughter, or the way he’d asked about the fire with nervous curiosity. To the system, none of that mattered. A rule was a rule, and it had to be obeyed. Then something moved. Kael noticed it came from a dark corner of the store, only a few metres from where he was hiding. His entire body froze. The b