Primordial System Awakening

Chapter 4

Chapter 4: The Awakening Beast

The roar shook the whole chamber. Stones fell from the ceiling like rain. I jumped back as a huge piece crashed right where I had been standing. Dust filled the air and made it hard to see, but those two giant glowing eyes stayed fixed on me.

The massive claw slammed down again. It missed me by inches and crushed two hunters who tried to run past. Their screams were short. The creature pulled the bodies down into the hole with a wet crunch.

I gripped the black relic and the glowing shard tighter. My side still burned from the axe cut, but the pain was already fading. Scale Armor was working. The System words kept appearing.

Boss entity partially awake.

Level 15 Ancient Guardian of Nethralis.

Weakness: Primordial essence.

The tall hunter leader shouted at his men. “Kill the boy first! He woke this thing!”

Three men rushed me with swords raised. I did not run this time. I stepped forward and drove my fist into the first one’s stomach. He folded like cloth and dropped. The second swung at my head. I caught his arm and twisted. The bone snapped loud. He screamed and fell back.

The third man hesitated. That was all I needed. I kicked him hard in the chest. He flew into the hole and disappeared with a cry.

More essence flowed into me. The numbers in my head went up again.

Level progress: 3 → 4

Strength +2

Agility +1

I felt the power grow. My body moved smoother, hit harder. But the real monster was still coming.

The ground split wider. A huge head rose from the hole. It was covered in old cracked scales and moss. Horns curved back from its skull. Its mouth opened to show rows of sharp teeth longer than my arm. This thing had slept under the ruins for who knows how long, and I had just woken it up.

It looked at me and roared again. The sound hit me like a wall of wind. I slid back several steps before I caught my balance.

The remaining hunters panicked. Some kept fighting each other over who would escape first. Others turned their crossbows on the beast. Bolts bounced off its thick hide like twigs.

The creature swung its head and snapped up two men in one bite. Blood rained down.

I knew I could not fight it head on. Not yet. But the System kept pushing the same thought into my mind.

Devour. Grow. Survive.

I spotted a broken pillar leaning against the far wall. If I could reach the higher ground, maybe I could find a weak spot or at least buy time.

I ran toward it. The beast noticed and lashed out with its claw. I dove forward and rolled under the swing. The claw tore through the stone floor behind me.

As I got up, the tall hunter leader blocked my path. His face was twisted with anger and fear.

“You brought this on us!” he yelled. He raised his sword for a heavy downward cut.

I did not slow down. I lowered my shoulder and slammed into him. We both crashed to the ground. I punched him twice in the face. On the second hit, something in my fist changed. A faint red glow appeared around my knuckles.

Primordial Strike fully charged.

The punch landed harder than anything I had done before. The leader’s head snapped back. He went still.

Essence absorbed.

Vitality +3

I stood up fast and kept running. Behind me, the beast roared louder. It was fully out of the hole now. Its body was long and thick like a giant serpent mixed with a dragon from old tales. It filled half the chamber.

I reached the leaning pillar and started to climb. My hands and feet found holds easily with my new strength. Halfway up, the beast swung its tail. The pillar cracked under the force.

I jumped just in time. I landed on a narrow ledge higher up, near the ceiling cracks where moonlight came through.

The beast reared up. Its head came level with me. Hot breath washed over me, smelling of death and old stone.

Its eyes locked on the black relic in my hand. The shard too. It knew what they were. And it wanted them back.

The System voice spoke clearly.

Primordial items recognized. Use them or lose them.

The creature opened its jaws wide. I could see straight down its throat.

I had two choices. Jump into the moonlight and try to escape through the ceiling crack, or use the relic and shard right here and now.

My hand shook as I brought the two items together. They started to glow brighter, pulling toward each other like magnets.

The beast lunged.

Everything happened at once.

I slammed the relic and shard together.

A burst of red light exploded between my hands.

The beast’s jaws snapped shut inches from my face.

And then the world went silent for one long second.

A new message appeared, bigger and brighter than any before.

Primordial Fusion initiated.

Choose your first evolution path.

Three glowing options floated in front of my eyes as the beast pulled back for another strike.

Path 1: Void Predator

Path 2: Eternal Scale

Path 3: Essence Sovereign

The light from my hands grew so bright it hurt to look at.

The beast roared again, mouth opening wide.

I had to choose now.