Darkness. Cold. Pain.
Ezra Cain lay on the frozen ground, his body broken and covered in wounds. His breath came out in shallow gasps, each one harder than the last. Snowflakes drifted down from the sky, melting as they touched his blood-soaked skin.
He should have been dead already.
Betrayed. Hunted. Left to die like a dog in this cursed wasteland.
A few hours ago, he had fought for his life against men he once called allies. The Black Fangs, a mercenary group he had bled for, had turned on him the moment he was no longer useful. His crippled leg had slowed him down in battle, and in their eyes, that was enough to discard him.
Survival of the fittest—that was their creed.
And yet, even now, his body refused to give in. His heart still beat. His mind still clung to life, though his vision blurred. Was this fate's cruel joke?
Through the pain, a single thought burned in his mind:
I refuse to die like this.
Just then, the world seemed to shift. A chilling pulse of energy rippled through the air, sending shivers down his spine. His consciousness flickered, and then—
[Primordial Evolution System Activated.]
A voice, neither human nor divine, echoed inside his mind. Cold, emotionless, absolute.
[User detected: Ezra Cain.]
[Status: Critical. Life functions deteriorating.]
[Initiating emergency evolutionary awakening...]
Ezra's body convulsed. A burning sensation flooded his veins, as if molten fire was being poured into his bones. He gasped, clawing at the ground, but the pain only intensified.
[Warning: Evolution threshold exceeded. Unsealing dormant potential.]
Suddenly, something within him cracked open—like a door that had been sealed for eternity. His blood, his cells, his very existence began to shift. It wasn't just healing; it was changing.
The pain was unbearable, yet in that moment, Ezra felt something else. Power.
[Evolution in Progress...]
His wounds sealed shut. His shattered bones realigned. Strength poured into his limbs, far beyond anything he had ever felt before.
He gritted his teeth, gripping the dirt beneath him. His fingers dug into the frozen earth—except the frail, trembling hands he once had were gone.
They had transformed.
Stronger. Sharper. More primal.
Ezra staggered to his feet, his breathing heavy. His ragged clothes barely clung to his frame, but his body no longer resembled the weak, dying man from moments ago.
For the first time in his miserable life, he felt alive.
A notification flashed across his vision.
[First Evolution Complete.]
- Species: Enhanced Human (Stage 1)
- Strength: +300%
- Speed: +280%
- Endurance: +350%
- New Ability Acquired: Primal Regeneration (Rapidly heals from fatal wounds over time.)
Ezra clenched his fist. The sensation of raw power coursing through him was intoxicating. He exhaled, steam rising from his lips in the freezing air.
Then, another notification appeared.
[First Kill Quest Issued.]
Objective: Eliminate the ones who left you for dead.
Reward: Next Evolution Path Unlocked.
A slow, dark grin spread across Ezra's face.
The Black Fangs thought they had buried him.
They had no idea what they had unleashed.
The Hunt Begins
Ezra took a deep breath, his senses sharper than ever. The once-faint sounds of the night—the rustling leaves, distant howls of beasts—were now clear as day. His vision, once blurred by exhaustion and pain, now cut through the darkness like a predator surveying its domain.
This power… it's real.
His fingers curled into a fist, feeling the raw strength coursing through his veins. He had been at death's door just moments ago, yet now he stood stronger than ever.
And the system had given him a task.
[First Kill Quest Issued.]
Objective: Eliminate the ones who left you for dead.
Reward: Next Evolution Path Unlocked.
Ezra's lips curled into a smirk. The Black Fangs had made one fatal mistake.
They hadn't finished the job.
---
A Few Miles Away – The Black Fangs' Camp
The campfire crackled, casting flickering shadows across the mercenary group's ragtag encampment. Five men sat around the flames, laughing and drinking as they divided the spoils of their last job.
"Shame about Ezra," one of them muttered, biting into a roasted rabbit.
"Shame?" another scoffed. "He was dead weight. That cripple was holding us back. We did him a favor, putting him down."
The leader of the group, a burly man with a jagged scar across his cheek, took a long swig from his flask. "Forget him. He's probably frozen solid by now. No way he made it out of that hellhole alive."
They all laughed.
Then—
CRACK.
A sharp snap echoed through the night. The men tensed, hands reaching for their weapons.
"...Did you hear that?"
Silence.
Then—
SWOOSH.
A shadow darted through the trees. One of the men barely had time to turn before something slammed into him, sending him flying into a tree with a sickening crunch.
His body hit the ground. Motionless.
The camp exploded into chaos.
"The hell was that?!—"
A second man screamed as a clawed hand tore through his throat, silencing him in an instant. Blood sprayed across the snow, staining it crimson.
The others scrambled for their weapons, panic setting in.
From the darkness, Ezra stepped into the firelight.
Gone was the broken man they had left for dead. His once-weakened body had transformed—lean, powerful, predatory. His eyes gleamed with something inhuman, his hands twitching as if itching to tear them apart.
Scarface—the leader—stared at him in disbelief. "No... That's impossible! You should be dead!"
Ezra tilted his head, a slow grin spreading across his face. "Disappointed?"
"You monster—!"
Scarface lunged, drawing his sword in a desperate attempt to cut him down.
Ezra didn't move. He didn't need to.
The moment the blade came down, his hand shot up with unnatural speed—catching the steel between his fingers.
Scarface's eyes widened. "What the—?"
With one brutal motion, Ezra snapped the blade in half and drove his fist into the man's chest.
CRACK.
Ribs shattered. Air was forced from Scarface's lungs in a choked gasp. He stumbled back, clutching his broken ribs, eyes filled with horror.
Ezra stepped forward, his expression cold. "You left me to die."
He grabbed Scarface by the throat, lifting him effortlessly off the ground.
"I should thank you," Ezra whispered. "Because now… I'm stronger than you could ever imagine."
Scarface thrashed, gasping for air. The remaining mercenaries turned to flee.
But Ezra's new instincts wouldn't allow it.
His vision sharpened, tracing their movements with perfect clarity.
Primal Instinct Activated.
His body moved on its own—a blur of speed and death.
The first runner didn't even get five steps before Ezra tore through him, his claws slicing flesh like paper. The second made it farther—only to feel a crushing grip on his skull, moments before his head twisted at an unnatural angle.
Scarface, still in Ezra's grasp, watched in sheer terror as his men fell one by one.
He tried to plead. "Ezra… please… We—"
Ezra's grip tightened.
CRACK.
The body slumped to the ground, lifeless.
[Quest Complete.]
- Reward: Evolution Path Unlocked.
Ezra exhaled, rolling his shoulders as the power surged through him once more.
This was just the beginning.
The weak Ezra Cain was dead.
And what was left… was something far worse.