2025-10-09 20:18:55The night burned.
Black clouds rolled over the ruined skyline, flashing with orange lightning. The city that once thrived on machines was now a wasteland of metal and ash. Fires crawled up shattered towers like dying embers trying to reach the stars. Leon Vale trudged through the wreckage, a makeshift wrench in one hand, a strip of cloth tied around his forearm. His boots crunched on glass. His breath came out in ragged clouds. [Quest Active: Rise from the Ashes.] [Objective: Survive the first night.] He gave a humorless laugh. “Yeah, easier said than done.” The System’s blue interface glowed faintly at the corner of his vision. [USER: LEON VALE] [LEVEL: 1] [CORE ABILITIES:] • Predator Protocol — Absorb the Systems of defeated hosts. • Minor Regeneration — Passive healing over time. That first time it activated—when he killed that glowing man—something in him changed. His blood hummed with energy, his vision sharper, his senses alive. He pushed forward, climbing onto what used to be a freeway. Twisted cars littered the road, melted from whatever storm destroyed the city. As he moved between the wrecks, movement flickered in the distance. Three figures advanced along the road, weapons drawn. Their silhouettes were clear in the lightning flashes—one carried a shotgun, the others pipes and blades. Leon crouched behind a burnt-out car. [Warning: Multiple King Candidates detected nearby.] “So it’s not just me,” he muttered. The group drew closer. Their leader’s voice carried through the rain. “Boss said every Candidate we find, we strip his Core. No mercy.” Leon’s jaw tightened. These weren’t survivors—they were hunters. When the smallest of them split from the others to check a nearby ruin, Leon moved. Fast. Silent. He wrapped an arm around the man’s neck, dragging him back behind cover. “Stay quiet,” Leon hissed. But before the man could answer, his chest glowed faint blue. [System Active: Impact Shield.] A burst of energy erupted, throwing Leon backward. He crashed into a car, gasping. [Health: 74%. Minor injuries detected.] He groaned, pushing up as the others shouted. “Over here!” “Someone’s fighting!” The leader swung his shotgun up, glowing circuitry pulsing along the barrel. “Time to feed the System,” the man snarled—and fired. The shot exploded against the wall beside Leon, scattering debris. He dove aside, heat burning his cheek. He snatched up a fallen crowbar and rushed forward. The leader turned just in time to catch a steel bar to the chest. The weapon glowed orange from the energy surge pulsing in Leon’s veins. [Predator Protocol Activated.] [Absorbing System Core: Firearm System (Rank D).] Light streamed from the man’s body into Leon’s hands. The leader dropped, lifeless. [Ability Acquired: Thermal Rounds.] Leon gasped, staring at his trembling fingers as the glow faded. The shotgun beside him hummed softly. He grabbed it and spun toward the next attacker. One pull of the trigger. A flash of orange light. The man dropped instantly, smoking hole in his chest. [Predator Points +1.] The last one froze in shock, eyes wide. Leon aimed. “Run.” The man bolted. Leon didn’t shoot. He lowered the weapon, chest heaving. His hands shook, not from fear—but from the thrill. The System’s voice was calm in his ear. [Quest Progress: 78%.] [New Quest: Predator’s Instinct.] [Objective: Defeat one ranked King Candidate.] “Ranked…” Leon murmured. “Guess this game just got serious.” He scavenged what he could—armor scraps, ammo, the working shotgun. The city moaned under the storm as he pressed deeper into the ruins. By the time he found shelter under a collapsed bridge, the rain hissed like acid. He checked his ammo—four rounds left. The System blinked again. [Level Up: 1 → 2.] [Choose Ability Enhancement:] (A) Upgrade Minor Regeneration → Rapid Regeneration (B) Enhance Thermal Rounds → Plasma Burst Leon selected (A). Warmth surged through his body as wounds closed instantly. “Now we’re getting somewhere.” A metallic scraping echoed through the dark. Leon looked up sharply. A tall man stepped out from the shadows, clad in scavenged armor that gleamed with faint light. Across his chest glowed System text: [SYSTEM: Iron Sovereign (Rank C)] “You’ve been busy,” the stranger said calmly. Leon raised the shotgun. “You’re one of them.” “I’m one of the few that matter,” the man replied. “You’re new. That makes you prey.” He lifted his hand. Metal around them rose into the air, floating weightlessly. [Ability Detected: Magnetic Control.] Leon fired first. The shot hit mid-air—deflected by the magnetic field. The Iron Sovereign flicked his wrist and the debris shot forward like bullets. Leon dove, rolling behind a truck as steel slammed into it, denting the metal. [Health: 62%. Rapid Regeneration active.] He peeked out, panting. The man walked forward slowly, calm and confident, like gravity itself bent to his will. Leon needed a plan. He spotted a loose wrench near a floating chunk of scrap—an idea flickered. He threw the wrench—not at the man, but at the floating metal behind him. The impact threw off the magnetic balance just long enough. Leon fired. The Thermal Round hit center mass. The Iron Sovereign staggered, sparks flying from his chest plate. Leon sprinted through the smoke and slammed into him, wrench raised. [Predator Protocol Activated.] [Attempting Core Absorption… ERROR: Rank Disparity Detected.] “What?” Leon gasped. The man’s hand closed around his throat. “You’re too weak,” he growled. “Predators only eat what they can kill.” Leon’s vision blurred, air leaving his lungs—but he grinned anyway. “Then I’ll kill harder.” He jammed the shotgun barrel under the man’s chin and pulled the trigger. The blast lit the bridge like sunrise. The Iron Sovereign dropped to his knees, armor smoking. Leon fell beside him, coughing. [Core Absorption Complete.] [New Ability: Magnetic Pulse (Minor).] [Predator Points +3.] Electric energy crackled across Leon’s hands. His eyes glowed faintly silver in the reflection of the rain. He stood, drenched and panting. “Guess the hunt’s just getting started.” Lightning split the clouds as Leon walked away, the shotgun slung over his shoulder and his shadow stretching long behind him. The world had ended. But for Leon Vale, the game had just begun.
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Chapter 150: The Crown of All Worlds
Nothing could have prepared Leon for the weight of the moment. The air in the throne chamber did not simply hum—it shuddered, alive with an ancient force that recognized him long before any living creature ever had. This was not a coronation crafted by priests or politics or crowns forged of gold. This was the universe itself lowering its head.Leon stood at the center of the circular platform carved from a stone older than time, veins of light spiraling beneath his boots like the heartbeat of the world. Aria stood just behind him—close enough for him to feel her presence as a steady pulse, yet far enough to remain outside the blast radius of whatever fate was about to bind to him. Her fingers trembled slightly, though her face stayed steady. She couldn’t hide from him—not her fear, not her hope, not the raw emotion swirling in her eyes.It only made him more certain.He was not doing this alone.At the far end of the chamber, the massive double doors groaned open. Cold light spilled
Chapter 149: The Truth of his Making
The storm broke over the valley like a scream torn from the throat of the world. Electric veins tore jagged lines across the bleeding sky, illuminating the shattered ruins of the citadel where Leon Vale stood alone, one knee pressed to the broken stone, breath cutting in and out like a blade dragged along metal. His knuckles were white around the hilt of his weapon, its edge still glowing faintly with the residue of Celestium energy.Smoke rose around him—dense, black, and heavy with the scent of burning steel and ozone. Ash drifted downward like corrupted snow. Every few seconds, the ground trembled as energy ruptures deep within the citadel continued to detonate. The battle had ended, but the world had not yet remembered how to be quiet.Leon slowly lifted his head.The wind pushed his hair back, and even with exhaustion clawing at him, his eyes still glowed that eerie, collected, sovereign calm—the calm that unsettled even his enemies. A calm that said:I do not break. I do not bow
Chapter 148: The Descent to Power
The command lift shuddered as it plummeted through the central shaft, carrying Leon, Lira, and Keal deeper beneath the burning capital. Thick metal walls vibrated under the distant rumble of explosions and collapsing structures above. Emergency lights flashed along the lift’s interior in pulses of red, illuminating the three figures in quick, harsh intervals.Leon stood in the center of the cabin, utterly still. His eyes were closed, but his posture radiated awareness—like a predator listening for footsteps in the dark. The cortium shard pulsed softly in his palm, responding to his proximity. Its glow washed over his face in faint blue light, carving sharp shadows across his features.Lira watched him closely.He wasn’t afraid.He wasn’t nervous.He wasn’t hesitating.He was becoming something.Keal, leaning against the wall to steady his still-healing arm, stared between Leon and the descending floor indicator. “We’re heading straight into the Nexus Core,” he muttered. “Where every f
Chapter 147: The Burden of Ascension
The city was still burning when Leon Vale stepped out onto the fractured balcony of the shattered upper spire. Wind swept through the open metal ribs of the ruined structure, carrying ash, sparks, and the distant echo of sirens. Below him—the capital roared in chaos, lights flickering across the blackened skyline like the pulse of a wounded giant.Leon didn’t flinch.His eyes—those calm, unnervingly focused eyes—surveyed everything with the precision of a commander evaluating a battlefield. His cloak, torn at the shoulder, fluttered behind him, yet his posture remained immovable. He looked less like a man who had crawled through war and more like a sovereign who had always been destined to stand above it.Behind him, the reinforced security doors hissed open.Lira stepped through, supporting Keal, whose arm was bandaged with quick-seal gauze. Blood still seeped faintly through the fibers. The medic drones hovering around him clicked anxiously, trying to finish their work, but Keal bat
Chapter 146: The Quiet Ascent
Leon moved across the cracked plain with the steady rhythm of someone who had no need to announce himself. The Hive’s final pulse still hummed behind him, a deep resonance that vibrated faintly through the earth like the aftershock of a creature that had only just recognized its master. Wind brushed dust across his boots, whispering through the battlefield’s broken remains as though afraid to disturb him. Ahead, the command lines rose in the distance—tents, barricades, temporary outposts hastily thrown together in the chaos of a war that now felt suddenly outdated. Every step closed the distance, and with every step, the world seemed to draw a silent breath it didn’t know how to release.Soldiers stationed at the perimeter felt him before they saw him. Headaches, pressure along the spine, a trembling instinct that warned of something too large to understand—each sensation passed through them like a cold ripple. Then they saw him. And the ripple became stillness.Leon didn’t slow. His
Chapter 145: The Gathered Thrones
The air in the Grand Conclave Hall was sharp enough to cut.Dozens of banners—once symbols of sovereign pride—hung motionless in the vaulted chamber. Every faction had sent its highest commanders, warlords, strategists, and envoys. Armored elites flanked every wall. The residual heat of arguments and raised voices lingered like smoke, though silence now dominated the room.Silence born of fear.They stood in rigid formations around the central dais: the stone platform reserved for those who claimed the right to lead the world.Today, it was empty.Today, it waited.Kael stood to one side, jaw clenched, arms crossed tightly, trying to appear unreadable. Lira, positioned on the opposite side, watched the chamber with cold focus, the faint light running beneath her skin flickering softly—still changed from standing too long near Leon’s awakened core.Everyone was waiting for the same thing.Waiting for him.The enormous doors of the hall trembled.A whisper passed through the factions li
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