The man in the suit didn't wait for an invitation.He stepped past me into the apartment like he owned the place—which, I was beginning to suspect, he might. His eyes swept over the cramped living room, the peeling wallpaper, the stack of unpaid medical bills on the kitchen counter. He didn't look disgusted. He looked bored. Like he'd seen a thousand slums and they all blurred together."Nice place," he said flatly."What do you want?"He turned to face me. "My name is Agent Cross. I represent the Apex Guild. We've been monitoring the Awakening Ceremony results."I crossed my arms. "Why?""Because you're an anomaly, Mr. Vance. [Beast Conduit]. F-Rank. Null potential. Do you know how many of those we've seen before?"I didn't answer."Zero. You're the first." He smiled again—that cold, empty smile. "The Apex Guild likes firsts. We'd like to offer you a position.""A position?""A probationary contract. You'd work under our supervision. Your Talent would be studied. Evaluated. And in ex

Old Man Haru led me through the Logistics District's underbelly.I'd lived here my whole life, but I'd never seen these tunnels. Hidden doors behind dumpsters. Passages carved into the foundations of factories. A whole world beneath the world, invisible to anyone who didn't know where to look."Stay close," Haru muttered. "And keep your beasts quiet."Scritch was perched on my shoulder, his dark eyes scanning every shadow. Bruiser walked at my heel, his limp barely noticeable now. The Essence I'd channeled into him had accelerated his healing. He was still scarred, still mangy, but there was strength in his frame that hadn't been there before.We descended deeper. The air grew thick with smoke and sweat and something else—the metallic tang of blood.Then we reached the Pit.It was massive. A cavern carved out of the earth, lit by flickering Aether-lamps that cast everything in sickly green. Crowds of low-ranked workers packed the stands—grinning, shouting, waving betting slips. Down b

The rooftops of the Logistics District were my escape.Up here, above the smog and the factories and the endless gray of poverty, I could almost pretend I was somewhere else. Somewhere better. The air was still thick, but it was quieter. The stars were faint, but they were there—tiny pinpricks of light fighting through the pollution.I came here when I needed to think. When the weight of everything—Mira's illness, the Pit, the note, the war that was coming—became too heavy to carry.Tonight, I wasn't alone.Scritch was perched on my shoulder, his dark fur blending with the shadows. Bruiser was lying at my feet, his massive head resting on his paws. They were both watching the sky, as if they understood why I'd brought them here."Beautiful, isn't it?" I said softly. "Even with all the smog."Scritch chittered. Bruiser huffed.I laughed. "Yeah, I know. I'm getting sentimental."We sat there for a while, just breathing. Just existing.Then I heard the screech.It came from a nearby roof

The Guild Assessment Center was a monument to everything I'd never had.It stood in the Commerce District, a towering structure of glass and polished steel that caught the morning light and threw it back in the faces of everyone below. The Spire District gleamed in the distance, but this building was closer—a reminder that success was just within reach, if you were worthy.I wasn't supposed to be here.The application fee alone had cost me two weeks of Pit earnings. The written exam required knowledge I'd never been taught in the slums. The practical exam demanded power I wasn't supposed to have.But I was here anyway.I pulled up my hood and adjusted my mask. "The Beast Tamer" walked through the front doors of the Assessment Center like he belonged there.The lobby was chaos.Hundreds of candidates milled about, all of them young, all of them nervous, all of them clutching their application forms like lifelines. Holographic displays flickered overhead, showing rankings and statistics

Dr. Thorne's laboratory was hidden deep in the Undercity, beneath layers of stone and secrecy. It was a place of forbidden knowledge—monitors flickering with data streams, shelves lined with ancient texts, the air thick with the smell of ozone and old paper.I'd been here before, but never with something like this.The Beast Core pulsed in my pocket, warm against my thigh. It felt alive. Aware.Dr. Thorne was waiting for me at her desk, her sharp eyes scanning a holographic display. She looked up when I entered, her expression shifting from curiosity to concern."You found something."I pulled out the Beast Core and set it on her desk.She paled."This shouldn't exist," she whispered. "Not in a C-Rank monster.""What is it?"She didn't answer. Instead, she grabbed a scanner and ran it over the crystal. The device beeped wildly, numbers and symbols flashing across its screen."This isn't just a Beast Core," she said. "It's a System anomaly. Something that shouldn't be possible."She tu