2025-06-13 07:29:04Fred staggered down the corridor, his footsteps echoing like gunshots in the sterile lab hallway, his heart raced. Not from fear, but from something... more. Energy. Like lightning had been caged inside his chest and was now tapping on his ribs, demanding release.
What was that thing?
He gripped the wall, breathing hard. His eyes scanned the air in front of him, where strange glowing text hovered, undisturbed by motion or blinking. [Primordial Evolution System - Host Interface]
Name: Fred Ashford Status: Stable Evolution Tier: 0 Strength: 11 (↑3) Agility: 10 (↑2) Vitality: 9 (↑2)
Energy Core: Locked Mutation Paths: Unlocked (1/??? Identified)
[Tutorial Quest Available: Accept Y/N]
Fred’s breath caught in his throat. A dream? A prank? Some augmented reality tech? he rubbed his eyes. The text didn’t vanish. If anything, it sharpened, “Okay,” he muttered, voice hoarse. “I’ve finally snapped.”
He tapped “Y” out loud. Just to see.
[Tutorial Quest: The Weak Become the Strong] Objective: Test your new capabilities Reward: +100 EXP, 1 Mutation Fragment, Task: Locate and defeat a Class I Synthetic Maintenance Drone. Time Limit: 30 minutes. Tracking: Active. Begin? (Y/N)
A small glowing arrow appeared in his field of vision, pointing down a maintenance tunnel he had never seen before, Fred hesitated. He wasn’t a fighter. He didn’t even like confrontation. But something inside him, it wasn’t fear. It was hunger.
Lower Levels – Maintenance Bay C, The deeper he went, the darker the halls became. Lights flickered above. Machines hummed all around, like the heartbeat of something alive. The arrow led him to a cold, metallic chamber filled with robotic arms, crates, and, Whirr-click-clank.
The drone hovered into view. Spherical, the size of a basketball, plated in steel with glowing red optics and two arms equipped with buzzsaws and pincers, It scanned him.
[TARGET IDENTIFIED: UNAUTHORIZED PERSONNEL] [ENGAGING NEUTRALIZATION PROTOCOL.]
“Wait, I!” Too late. The drone lunged. The First Fight
Fred ducked, too fast. His own reflex startled him. He rolled beneath the drone’s slicing arm, grabbed a metal rod off the floor, and swung. The rod hit the drone’s hull with a metallic clang, but it barely left a dent. the drone retaliated, pincer slicing through his sleeve and grazing his arm, fred winced. But the pain wasn’t unbearable. In fact… it felt dull.
System enhancements… I’m tougher now. he moved againthis time trusting the HUD, following the motion lines that appeared faintly in his vision. He struck the drone’s, underbelly where a glowing blue joint pulsed, and hit hard.
Sparks exploded. The drone jerked erratically, Fred leapt, slamming the rod into its eye-sensor. The machine crashed to the ground and twitched once, then went still. [Drone Defeated: +100 EXP Earned] [Mutation Fragment Acquired x1] [Tutorial Quest Complete] Evolution Progress: 8% New Ability Available: Adrenal Core Activation – Lv.1 (Temporarily boosts agility and reflexes when under stress)
Fred fell to his knees, panting. “What... the hell am I?” he checked the gash on his arm. Already clotting. Skin knitting itself faster than normal, then the system whispered again:
“You are the first host.” “You were chosen not by design… but by fate.” “The world will soon shift.”
“Evolve. Or die.”
Meanwhile – Surveillance Room, Quantum Core Dr. Leon Voss stood in front of the black screen, fingers clasped behind his back. “Sir,” a technician said. “We’ve detected unauthorized access to Project E.V.O.”
“Show me.” Footage flickered to life. Fred. Touching the containment cylinder, Screaming in the light. Then, disappearing off the cameras entirely.
Voss’s eyes narrowed. “Begin emergency sweep. Lock down Sector B. Wipe all external backups.”
“What if he escapes the facility?”
Voss didn’t blink. “Then find him. And if you can’t…”
He smiled coldly, “Terminate him.”
Fred stumbles out of the lower levels, unaware he’s being hunted, and his family is now in danger, because Quantum Core has identified him as a threat.
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Chapter 17: Ashes and Awakening
Smoke curled through the shattered remnants of the tunnel. The Gutwrencher was gone, disintegrated into ash and flickers of failed core light. The metal walls still hissed where Fred’s Soulflare Pulse had scorched them, glowing with residual energy. The ground bore the shape of a scorched sigil-ancient, circular, flickering like breath.At the center of it all, Fred lay crumpled. His body didn’t move. His chest barely rose. And yet-he burned. Not with fire. But with remembrance.Emily knelt beside him, trembling. Her fingers hovered over Fred’s skin, the heat too intense to touch, yet her own awakening was now shielding her from the worst of it. “Please,” she whispered. “Not like this.”A soft wind rolled through the collapsed tunnel, a breeze born not of nature, but of energy shift.Then came the system pulse: [Link Reversal Activated] – Primary Core: Heartflame – Target: Fred Smith Transfer: 13% stabilization Status: Sibling Override – AcceptedEmily closed her eyes. “Take it. Take
Chapter 17: Ashes and Awakening
Smoke curled through the shattered remnants of the tunnel. The Gutwrencher was gone-disintegrated into ash and flickers of failed core light.The metal walls still hissed where Fred’s Soulflare Pulse had scorched them, glowing with residual energy. The ground bore the shape of a scorched sigil-ancient, circular, flickering like breath.At the center of it all, Fred lay crumpled. His body didn’t move. His chest barely rose. And yet, he burned. Not with fire. But with remembrance.1. A Sister’s TouchEmily knelt beside him, trembling. Her fingers hovered over Fred’s skin, the heat too intense to touch-yet her own awakening was now shielding her from the worst of it. “Please,” she whispered. “Not like this.” A soft wind rolled through the collapsed tunnel-a breeze born not of nature, but of energy shift.Then came the system pulse: [Link Reversal Activated]– Primary Core: Heartflame – Target: Fred Smith Transfer: 13% stabilization Status: Sibling Override – Accepted Emily closed her eye
Chapter 16: Voice in the Flame
Status Update: Fred – Core Overdrive (Sister’s Oath Surge) Vitality Drain: 78% System Stability: Fractured Emily – Awakening Progress: 56% Remote Core Link Active Gutwrencher – Status: Aggro-locked / Rampaging / Devouring1. Fire Against Flesh and MetalFred stood in the center of the collapsing tunnel, shoulders heaving, body glowing like a furnace with no boundaries.Golden fire bled through every pore. But this wasn’t the precise burn of his original system… this was Emily’s surge. Unstable. Raw. And it hurt.[Warning: Flame Source External – Compatibility 52%] Side Effect: Internal Tissue Burn Duration Remaining: 37 SecondsBut Fred didn’t care. Across from him, the Gutwrencher hunched low, its face splitting open like a cracked pressure valve. A tongue of iron flicked out, glowing with stolen Core fragments. “Come on,” Fred whispered. “Let’s burn.” The creature roared.2. A Dance with a MonsterThe Gutwrencher charged-arms like hydraulic cannons, claws carving gashes through the
Chapter 15: The Burn That Remembers
Status: Fred – Core Lock Bypassed (Temporary) Vitality Drain: 24% Emily – Awakening Progress: 21% New Threat Incoming…1. The Sound of Resolve. The tunnel shook with the weight of silence. Crow’s eyes narrowed as Fred stood, without flame, without defense, but no longer broken, Fred’s hand clenched tighter around Crow’s wrist. His skin sizzled against the null-field, he was burning, but not like before. Not outwardly. He was burning inward.Crow attempted to wrench his arm free, but Fred’s grip held. Tight as iron. “You’re suppressing my flame,” Fred said through gritted teeth.“But not my will. That part of me you can’t erase.” Crow struck him across the face with his free hand. Fred reeled but didn’t fall.[System Update: Core Resistance +4%] [Echobound State Reinforced – Memory Link Initiated]Crow paused. “You shouldn’t be able to do this.” Fred grinned through blood.“Neither should a janitor survive your first punch.”“But here we are.”2. Ivy’s Escape Route. While the two tita
Chapter 14: Echoes and Chains
Status: Fred – Core Lock Engaged Vitality Drain: 12% Emily – Awakening Progress: 12%Fred: Bound in Silence, Fred's body convulsed as Crow’s Echo Trap wrapped him in spectral chains—thick coils of null-energy that froze his flame and muted his mind.His limbs trembled. His interface glitched. [System Functions: Interference Detected] — Combat Skills Disabled — Communication Disabled — Core Access: Suppressed Crow stood over him, calm and clinical.“You have potential. But you’re too raw. Too... unstable.”“The Lab doesn’t want fire, Fred. It wants control.” He raised a silver blade.“Let me carve the fire out of you.”Ivy’s Last Card – Her Connection to Crow. Then Ivy whispered one word, almost too soft to catch. “Rook.” Crow’s hand paused. Fred’s eyes widened. That name... didn’t match the monster above him, Crow froze. His expression, unreadable.“Don’t you ever call me that again.” Ivy rose shakily, cradling her broken arm. Her voice wavered, but it held truth.“He used to be one
Chapter 13: Silence in the Smoke
Countdown: 5 hours 43 minutes Target Status: Active Location Lock: 78% AccuracyCrow was coming. Fred could feel it. Not just from the system ping, but in the air itself, something unnatural, hollow, like the scent of burnt ozone without the fire. And it was getting closer.Ivy’s Exit Plan: Inside the safehouse, Ivy tossed a dusty case on the table. “Old Core smuggler tunnel,” she said. “Abandoned since the last containment purge. If we’re fast, we can vanish before Crow triangulates your signal.”Fred zipped his jumpsuit, eyes dark. “What happens if we’re not fast enough?”“I shoot you myself before he gets the chance.”Flashback – The Broken War. As they moved through the narrow underground route, Fred’s mind flashed again. A vision, but not his own.[Memory Echo Triggered: Unknown Source] Year: 17 Years Ago Scene: Core War battlefield, Sector 9, A younger woman, his mother, clad in scorched armor, stood over a dying man holding a fragment of white light. “The Heartflame is unstable
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