Consciousness returned to Kai not as a gentle tide, but as a brutal, disorienting slam, a cacophony of alien sensations and horrifying clarity. He lay sprawled on the hard, grimy ferrocrete of the abandoned mag-lev platform, the rough surface an unwelcome reality against his cheek. A sickeningly sweet, coppery tang, thick and cloying, filled his mouth and nostrils, a taste and smell that went beyond mere blood. A dull, throbbing ache resonated from the back of his head, but it was overshadowed by a profound, bone-deep chill and a strange, unsettling feeling of… fullness, a satiation that was utterly alien.
He blinked, his vision slowly clearing, and the first thing he saw was the text, still there, unwavering, overlaid on the desolate landscape of the District 8 borderlands:
[SYSTEM ONLINE. HOST CONSCIOUSNESS DETECTED. CALIBRATION PHASE COMPLETE.] [CURRENT HOST STATUS: STABLE (MODERATE DRACONIC ENERGY RESERVES – RECENT ASSIMILATION DETECTED).] [PRIMARY POWER SOURCE: DRACONIC (SHADOW WYRM – NASCENT) VIA INTEGRATED SYSTEM.] [SYSTEM OBJECTIVE: FACILITATE HOST SURVIVAL, GROWTH, AND EVOLUTION OF DRACONIC POWER SOURCE.]
"Recent assimilation?" Kai croaked, his voice raspy. He pushed himself up, his limbs feeling heavy yet imbued with that same unfamiliar, thrumming energy. His gaze fell upon the area where the package had detonated. Nothing. Then, his eyes found the remains of the thugs.
The scarred leader and the one closest to the package were gone, not just vaporized, but… it looked as if something had drained them, leaving behind only desiccated husks, outlines of men etched in dust and rapidly crumbling fragments of gear. The third, who had been further away, was a grotesque ruin, his form not just distorted but partially… absorbed, patches of his clothing and flesh seemingly fused with the ferrocrete in strange, almost organic patterns.
A wave of absolute horror, cold and visceral, washed over Kai. He scrambled backwards, his stomach heaving. What had happened here? What had he done while he was blacked out, consumed by that energy? The sickeningly sweet taste in his mouth, the strange fullness…
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: VITAL ESSENCE ASSIMILATED FROM NEUTRALIZED HOSTILES.] [Hostile Signatures (3x – Low Grade Humanoid): Processed.] [Draconic Energy Reserves: +35%.] [Minor Attribute Enhancements Acquired (Permanent – Low Quality Essence):]
+1 Strength (Permanent)
+1 Vitality (Permanent) [SYSTEM ADVISORY: Assimilation of low-grade Vital Essence provides minimal evolutionary benefit. For optimal growth and System enhancement, Host should seek out and assimilate entities possessing significantly more potent energy signatures – e.g., 'Ancient Creatures' or beings touched by concentrated Anima fields.]
Kai stared at the notifications, his mind reeling. Vital Essence? Assimilated? Ancient Creatures? He had… fed? Not with his mouth, not physically, but his new power, this Dragon System, it had consumed their life force, their very essence, and given him… stats. Permanent, albeit small, rewards. The horror was so profound he felt his sanity fraying at the edges. He was a monster. The package hadn't just given him power; it had turned him into a predator that fed on others.
"No… no, no, no," he whispered, shaking his head, trying to deny the evidence before his eyes, the confirmation from the cold, clinical text in his vision. [SYSTEM QUERY: CURRENT HOST OBJECTIVE? (DEFAULT: SURVIVAL & EVOLUTION).][SUGGESTION: IMMEDIATE WITHDRAWAL FROM CURRENT LOCATION. ENERGY SIGNATURE OF RECENT EVENT MAY ATTRACT UNWANTED ATTENTION. CALCULATING OPTIMAL ROUTE (LOW VISIBILITY/DETECTION PROBABILITY).]
An azure map of District 7's streets appeared, a glowing line indicating a path back to his apartment. He had to move. He had to get away from this place, from what he'd done, from what he'd become. He stumbled towards his electro-cycle, which lay miraculously intact a few meters away.
As he fumbled with the controls, his hands shaking violently, the System offered another chilling piece of advice:[GROWTH PROTOCOL SUGGESTION: While standard humanoid Vital Essence provides basic sustenance for Draconic Energy reserves, the assimilation of 'Ancient Creatures' – beings possessing highly concentrated or uniquely structured energy, often exhibiting extraordinary abilities and resilience – will yield exponentially greater evolutionary progress for the Draconic Power Source. Prioritize identification and acquisition of such entities for accelerated development.]
"Ancient Creatures…" Kai muttered, his mind numb. The System wasn't talking about mutated sump-rats. It meant something else. Something powerful. Something… like Leon, the only MOD he knew? Leon possessed Anima, a power distinct from whatever Kai now had. Was that what the System meant by "concentrated Anima fields" or "uniquely structured energy"? The thought was a bolt of pure terror. The System didn't clarify, its terms remaining deliberately, ominously vague, but the implication was horrifying.
He finally got the cycle started, its sputtering whine a pathetic sound in the vast, desolate silence of the borderlands. He fled, not even looking back, the azure line on his vision his only guide, the System's words echoing in his skull.
Hours later, as the first sickly grey light of dawn began to touch the highest, most derelict spires of District 8, a different kind of vehicle approached Dead Drop Zone Omega-Prime. It was a sleek, unmarked ground-car, its matte black finish absorbing the faint light, its engine a near-silent hum. It moved with a quiet efficiency that spoke of advanced technology and professional handling.
Three figures emerged. They wore plain, dark, civilian-style clothes, but their posture, their movements, the way their eyes scanned the surroundings, all bespoke a high level of training and alertness. They carried no obvious weapons, but each wore a small, almost invisible earpiece and a subtle, metallic pin on their lapel – a stylized, abstract representation of a chimera, its three heads (lion, goat, serpent) interwoven.
One of them, a woman with sharp, analytical eyes and silver-streaked hair pulled back severely, knelt by the spot where the package had detonated. She ran a gloved hand over the ferrocrete, then brought out a small, sophisticated sensor device. It whirred softly, its lights blinking. "Energy signature is… extraordinary, Director," she said, her voice low and precise. "The magnitude is off the charts for a spontaneous manifestation. The residual particles are highly unusual, almost… primal. And the victims…"
A second figure, a tall, powerfully built man with a grim, unreadable expression, was examining the desiccated husk of one of the thugs. "No conventional weapon did this. It's not incineration. It's… a complete energy drain. As if their Anima, if they had any to begin with, was violently siphoned. This level of energy consumption is characteristic of a very potent, very hungry Anima."
The third figure, the Director, a man of indeterminate age with cold, intelligent eyes that seemed to see everything, surveyed the scene. "The package," he said, his voice a quiet rumble. "Its detonation clearly acted as a catalyst. Or perhaps it was the source. What we have here is likely a wild Anima event. A new MOD, manifested with extreme power and, judging by this aftermath, extreme instability and predatory instincts." He gestured to the bizarrely preserved remains. "This method of… feeding… is undocumented. Highly aggressive."
"The client will be… displeased about the loss of the primary asset, and the uncontrolled nature of this new MOD," the silver-haired woman noted. "The client's displeasure is a secondary concern," the Director replied, his gaze sweeping out over the desolate landscape towards District 7. "Our primary concern is this new variable. A wild, undocumented Anima of this magnitude, with such… appetites… appearing in the outer districts? It's a significant threat to the established order. Find the courier. Determine the nature and extent of his new abilities. This new MOD needs to be identified, assessed, and… contained, if necessary, before it draws even more unwanted attention."
The Chimera Group, Veridia City's most discreet and effective investigators of high-level Anima anomalies and rogue MOD phenomena, had a new, very dangerous target. And their hunt had just begun.