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The rain began without warning.
Ash turned to sludge, washing dried blood from the ruins. Thunder crackled low above the broken skyline as shadows grew darker, stretching like claws toward the remnants of Sector 13.
Li Tianming sat in the hollow of a collapsed temple.
He hadn't slept. He couldn't.
Each time he closed his eyes, he saw pieces of the memory fragment he stole from the Ruinborn. The Black Heaven Project, the injections, the forced evolution.
> [Soul Count: 2 / 999999]
[System Sync: 73%]
[New Trait Gained: "Fragmented Recall – Passive Memory Vision"]
He flexed his fingers.
The wounds on his arms had already begun to seal — slower than healing spells, faster than a normal human.
> "I need stronger souls."
He looked down at the rusted blade — no longer just steel, now veined with black-red streaks of Chaos energy. A weapon reborn by devouring two monsters.
> "But first," he whispered, "I need to stay alive."
The system pulsed.
> [Proximity Alert – Level 5 Signature Approaching]
[Identity: Unknown. Status: Synthetic. Threat: EXTREME]
He stood instantly.
From the far end of the ruins, something moved.
No footsteps. No growl. No heartbeat.
Just silence.
Then — she appeared.
A woman, clad in white exo-armor laced with glowing blue veins. Her face was hidden behind a porcelain-like mask, emotionless and beautiful in a terrifying way. Long platinum hair flowed like a thread of lightning.
> [Unit Designation: Valkyrie-07]
[Mission: Chaos Seed Termination – Kill On Sight]
> "Subject: Li Tianming," she said softly. "You are to be erased."
No rage. No hate. Just execution.
Tianming's muscles tensed.
He had no time to prepare. She was already moving.
Screech—
She vanished — then reappeared a meter in front of him, blade slicing toward his neck in a perfect arc.
He ducked, barely. Sparks flew as her blade grazed the edge of the Chaos Rod.
But his counterattack?
She wasn't there anymore.
She moved like light. Clean. Calculated. Inhuman.
> "She's fast— no… she's reading my movements."
> [Chaos Boost: Active. Reaction Time +15%. Duration: 10 seconds]
Tianming's eyes turned violet.
This time, he let her strike.
Her blade flashed toward his side, but he twisted into it, angling the wound to miss anything vital — and grabbed her neck with his flaming left hand.
> [Skill: Hellfire Surge – Focused Burn]
Her armor glowed — cracked — but didn't melt.
> [Resistance Detected. Material: Divine-Alloy Composite. Chaos Incompatible.]
> "So that's how they built you…" he growled.
She twisted out of his grip and kicked him square in the chest — sending him crashing through a pillar.
Pain exploded in his spine. His vision blurred.
> [Internal Damage: 21%. Fracture Detected. No healing available]
[Emergency Protocol Suggestion: Flee]
Tianming coughed blood.
"No."
He stood, bones grinding.
> "If I run now… I die later. And someone else takes my place."
"But if I fight now…"
"She dies. And I evolve."
Suddenly, a low voice echoed inside his head.
One he didn't recognize.
Not the system's usual cold tone — this one was hungry.
> "Let me out… just once."
His Chaos Seal pulsed, darker than before.
> "Let me fight. You'll survive. We'll survive."
Tianming's breath caught.
> There's something else inside the system… watching. Waiting.
Valkyrie-07 raised her blade once more.
And Tianming… smiled.
> "Then come out."
> [WARNING: Chaos Form Alpha-Lock: 1% Override]
[Releasing Forbidden Protocol – "Instinct Core"]
[Duration: 60 seconds. Side effects: unknown]
His body trembled.
Flesh shimmered.
Veins darkened.
His pupils stretched like a serpent's. Flames turned from red to black. The steel rod cracked, then reformed into a jagged obsidian blade in his hand.
Even the wind went still.
The Valkyrie froze for the first time — analyzing.
> "Mutation rate… unstable. Threat priority updated. Engaging lethal mode."
She rushed in.
Tianming vanished.
Then—
💥 BOOM!
When she reappeared 10 meters away, her mask was cracked. Her right arm was torn from the elbow. Black fire danced along her spine.
Tianming stood where she had just been.
> "You're fast…"
"But I'm chaos."
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