Part 1 - Mist
Late afternoon.
An abandoned urban zone between the southern coastline of Rio and patches of preserved forest.
Slums and crumbling villages swallowed by overgrowth.
Cracked concrete was being devoured by the roots of nearby trees.
Some utility poles still clung to torn wires, dangling like exposed nerves.
The mist didn't come from the mountains — it came from the silence.
The kind of place no one walked through by choice, where even the sound of your own footsteps felt like a confession.
Hector moved ahead.
Steady steps. Eyes fixed on the graffiti-stained walls.
Thomas followed. Muscles alert. Silent steps.
Placing his feet exactly where Hector's had landed — like a disciplined shadow.
Calil's daggers were now strapped across his back in an X-formation — a technique he'd learned in recent days.
The bone hilts no longer felt heavy.
There was still a density to them… a spiritual strangeness.
But they obeyed.
And his body had accepted their weight as part of itself.
— They're here. — Hector whispered. — Almost certain.
— How many?
— At least three. Maybe four. A small pack, but vicious.
— Humans?
— Not... Not anymore.
A tight knot formed in Thomas's gut.
There were kids missing in the area. Two, according to Hector.
And a third… gone for less than 48 hours.
That's when they heard it.
A cry. Faint amd distant, but unmistakably human.
— This way. — Hector pointed toward a cluster of roofless houses.
They advanced through abandoned alleys, crossing fallen walls and overgrown debris.
And then they saw her.
A girl. No older than nine.
Collapsed between two old tires.
Clothes torn. Breathing shallow.
Surrounding her… three creatures.
They didn't hide.
They didn't move fast.
They fed on fear.
Low-class Yandus, but still breathing deformities:
One had feline limbs and primate claws.
Another, hairless white skin, inverted eyes, and a fish-like jaw.
The third... looked human, but with oversized arms and pupils like cracked skies.
Hector didn't hesitate.
He leapt.
Thomas followed.
The first Yandu charged, but Hector intercepted with a spin.
The blade sliced the air — dry, clean — and black blood sprayed like thick ink.
The creature dropped before it could register what hit it.
The second tried to scale a wall.
Thomas reacted.
He drew one of the daggers and threw it — just as he had trained.
The weapon sliced through the air, burying itself in the creature's leg.
It howled and collapsed.
Thomas was already on the move.
He vaulted the broken wall, twisted mid-air, and landed both feet on the Yandu's chest. The creature hit the ground.
Thomas drove the second dagger into its neck.
The third Yandu screamed.
But it wasn't a normal scream — it was hellish. Agony and hunger in one.
Thomas froze. Just for a second. A fraction of a breath.
But that was enough.
The creature lunged. Its long arms wrapped around his torso.
Teeth sank into his left shoulder with brutal force.
Thomas hit the ground, rolling, trying to shove it off with his elbow.
But the Yandu was strong. Stronger than he expected.
A burning pain surged through his collarbone.
He heard a crack — bones straining.
He screamed.
Not in pain.
In defiance.
With his right arm free, he stabbed the dagger into the creature's side and twisted.
The sound was grotesque. The creature shrieked.
Thomas used the momentum to reverse their positions — now on top, hammering the Yandu's face with the dagger's hilt, black blood splattering.
And then, finding the perfect angle, he drove the blade deep into its neck and rolled away.
Panting and bleeding, but alive.
The creature writhed. Its Ayvu began collapsing.
Its eyes blinked, struggling to hold shape, to survive — to trigger a core burst.
— NO! — Hector shouted from across the field. — IF IT KEEPS TWITCHING, THE CORE'LL EXPLODE!
Thomas didn't think.
He dropped to his knees, jammed his fingers into the gash in its chest, and tore.
A muffled sound — like a sack bursting.
There, glowing, was the core:
The size of a clenched fist, pulsing with dense green light.
Thomas pulled.
It was hot.
Not thermally — spiritually.
The Ayvu vibrated like a living organ.
Because it was.
Hector rushed over, pulled a 30cm metal cylinder from his side pouch.
— Here — he said, twisting it open. — Insulation Prism. Triple-layer forged. Stops residual leaks and keeps it from calling others.
Thomas dropped the core inside.
The capsule pulsed once, then sealed in silence.
On the other side, the girl was still breathing.
Thomas knelt beside her.
— She's… alive.
Hector came closer. Examined her.
He placed two small stones on her chest.
— Seals. Raw Ayvu. They'll protect her until a retrieval agent arrives. We can't stay here.
But Thomas ignored him.
He lifted the girl in his arms.
Hector clenched his jaw.
— Thomas… put her down. Now.
— Not happening.
— The next fight's different. These ones are faster. Smarter. More coordinated — Hector turned toward the woods, sensing something. — Stronger! You won't be able to protect her and fight at the same time!
— Then I'll run. I'll carry her. I'll do whatever I have to.
But she's not staying behind.
And he began to walk.
Part 3 - True Strength Rises
The abandoned city swallowed them whole — dead architecture, windowless homes, crumbling walls, wires hanging in the sky like broken limbs.
It was the edge between ruin and civilization.
There were still antennas. Still a few lights on the horizon.
That's where they planned to leave the girl.
But they never made it.
Two sounds came first — like flesh tearing in the wind.
And then... they appeared.
Two Yandus. But different.
Tall. Muscular. Upright.
Eyes that didn't flinch.
Their appearance was a mix of human and animal parts, all mixed up.
If the others were hungry predators…
These were generals.
Hector froze instantly.
— They're ambushing us… — he muttered. — Shit.
The one on the left launched at him with impossible speed.
Hector raised his blades and stepped back, swallowed by a flurry of claws and kicks, retreating between the ruins like a seasoned warrior forced to give ground.
The other... came for Thomas.
Slowly.
Walking like a hunter who already knew how the story ended.
Its eyes went straight to the girl on his back.
Then… it ran.
Thomas didn't think.
His body turned and sprinted in the opposite direction.
Feet slammed against cracked concrete.
He turned a corner, vaulted a broken wall in a single leap, and hit a narrow street, low walls on either side, houses stuck together.
The enemy was behind. Silent.
Thomas targeted a power box, bent his knees, pulled Ayvu through the veins in his right leg — and jumped.
He reached the rooftop of a two-story house.
The impact almost flung the girl from his back, but he caught her with one hand.
His other arm locked onto the edge of the roof and pulled them up in one motion — a full muscle-up, one-handed.
He ran.
From rooftop to rooftop.
Tiles shattered beneath his feet, clay shards spraying sideways.
Behind him, the sound of pursuit echoed.
The monster leapt effortlessly, gliding across roofs with brutal grace.
Thomas twisted mid-air, aiming to roll onto the next rooftop.
But with the girl strapped to his back, his body miscalculated.
The impact was rough — one tile slid out.
He almost fell.
As he steadied himself, the rooftop caved.
The metal ceiling gave in.
Thomas crashed down.
A dull, muffled thud.
The girl let out a faint cry — but he held her in time.
His knees screamed, but he avoided rolling to keep her safe.
The room was dark.
An old grocery store, broken shelves, torn posters, the smell of moldy paper.
Tight. No space to move.
Perfect... for the Yandu.
The creature dropped through the hole in the roof like a weightless ghost.
It didn't land — it floated down.
Claws extended.
It roared.
But not in rage — it was amused.
And it attacked.
Thomas placed the girl between two fallen shelves and sprinted forward, drawing the monster away.
He leapt sideways, rolled over a collapsed counter, kicked a rusty chair at the creature.
It dodged with a spin, countered with a diagonal claw swipe.
Thomas ducked, slammed into the wall, bolted right, scaled a toppled display, and jumped to the mezzanine above.
But the monster was right behind him.
Thomas spun mid-air and tried to kick its face.
He hit.
It didn't budge.
The counter-punch sent him flying through the side window.
Glass shattered.
Blood sprayed from his arm.
Shoulder screaming.
He'd just fallen three, maybe four meters and didn't even notice it.
He was already getting up before he hit the ground.
His only thought:
The girl is still inside.
He sprinted back.
Around the building.
Smashed through the back door with a reinforced Ayvu kick — and reentered to grab her.
The monster stood in the center of the store.
Watching.
Testing him.
Thomas scooped her up.
And ran again.
This time, he cut through the streets until he found a clearing — a small open space between buildings, flanked by young trees and tall grass.
There was a fig tree. Thick trunk. Hollow inside.
There.
He gently placed the girl inside.
Covered her with leaves and dry wood.
Stacked stones around.
And stood still.
Heart pounding.
Sweat pouring in rivers.
Blood drying on his face.
When he turned — the creature was there. Still. Waiting.
--
Part 2 - Traces
Thomas drew his daggers. Faced the beast. Tried to find humanity in its eyes.
Strange. His eyes... They are not empty.
He wanted to think more. But his body lunged before he could. The fight started with no warning.
Thomas lunged with both daggers forward, aiming straight for the creature's chest with a clean thrust.
The Yandu twisted its body sideways — effortlessly, as if time moved slower for it.
It countered with a punch that Thomas barely blocked with his forearm.
The blow nearly knocked the blades from his hands.
The creature kicked.
Thomas crossed both arms to block — but the impact launched him two meters back, rolling across hard dirt.
He got up. Legs trembling.
He charged again.
Swung at the creature's neck — a slash across.
The Yandu dodged, sidestepped mid-air, and landed behind him, claws digging into the ground.
Thomas spun with an elbow.
Missed.
A claw tore across his back.
The pain was hot — then cold.
A deep slash, burning like fire.
He staggered.
But stayed on his feet.
No time to fall.
The Yandu came again — zig-zagging.
Thomas crouched, swept low, catching its ankles.
The creature fell for a second.
Thomas used the momentum to leap on top, stabbing the dagger into its shoulder — but the bone was like stone.
A shallow cut.
He'd forgotten to infuse the blade with Ayvu.
The Yandu roared, shoved him off, spun its hips, and kicked Thomas in the ribs.
He hit the ground hard. Scraped his arm. Rolled sideways.
The monster pounced.
They rolled. Wrestled.
Thomas's blades searched for flesh.
The Yandu gripped his wrists, claws digging into his arms, pushing slowly — until Thomas felt the world start to fade.
He's overpowering me.
In a desperate burst, he twisted his hips, kicked the creature's gut, and rolled away.
Gasping.
Lungs burning.
Legs failing.
The Yandu… simply stood up.
Calm.
Not a scratch on it.
He doesn't tire.
I'm breaking, and he's just warming up.
Thomas rose slowly. Trembling.
But he didn't drop his blades.
He flipped the grip — reverse, like ice picks.
The Yandu stepped closer.
Eyes locked.
Thomas struck with everything he had — a horizontal slash to the gut, vertical cut to the shoulder, a kick to the knee.
The creature deflected it all with ease.
Like it already knew every move.
And then—
The Yandu grabbed him.
One hand around his throat.
The other crushing his arm, freezing his motion.
Thomas struggled. Twisted his hips. Stabbed at it with one dagger. Headbutted.
Nothing worked, he was trapped.
His breath started to slip. The blades couldn't reach.
The creature leaned in.
It… smiled?
Thomas felt the Yandu's hot, rotten breath on his face.
Felt death.
Then... Something inside him screamed.
Not a voice. Not a thought.
An instinct. And the instinct bit.
Thomas opened his mouth and sank his teeth into the creature's neck.
Bit deep.
The Yandu shrieked — a real scream. Of pain. Of surprise. Of rage.
It released his arm.
Thomas, staggering, took the chance.
Slid along its side like an eel, leapt onto its back, and drove the first dagger deep between neck and shoulder.
This time, he didn't forget the Ayvu.
SKRRRRRR
The sound of bone cracking.
Ayvu bursting. Hot blood splashing.
The creature howled.
Tried to throw him off.
But Thomas had already drawn the second dagger.
With a crosscut, he stabbed it through the back — into the heart.
Into the core.
The Yandu dropped to its knees.
Tried to scream, but no breath came. Only black foam.
Thomas stayed behind it.
Arms bloody. Hands shaking. Daggers buried to the hilt.
His whole body trembled.
But not from fear.
From rage. Instinct. A will to survive.
— Stay… away… from her — he whispered, like he was still being threatened.
And shoved the blade deeper.
The creature slumped forward.
Thomas panted behind it, forehead resting on its back.
Daggers still buried.
Body soaked in sweat.
Ribs screaming with every breath.
I won…
But then...
The Yandu moved.
Slowly.
A claw grabbed Thomas's forearm. Tight.
And it started to rise.
— No… no… — Thomas tried pulling the dagger.
It resisted — caught on something deep inside.
He's holding the blade back... With his muscles?!
The monster twisted its neck.
Its face half-covered in blood.
Eyes half-shut… still alive.
He's still whole… how?!
Thomas was hurled into a tree trunk.
The impact stole his breath.
He hit the ground, coughing, the world spinning.
The daggers were still in his hands, but his body no longer responded.
A ringing filled his ears.
The Yandu stood fully.
It groaned.
Ayvu leaked from its wounds, like the body was forcing regeneration.
Muscles pulsed. Its gaze burned fiercer.
And it charged.
Thomas tried to react — but his left arm wouldn't move.
The creature punched his gut.
Then his face.
Blood sprayed.
Thomas dropped to his knees.
The Yandu grabbed the back of his neck.
Started lifting.
Is this how it ends?
Gabriele's face flashed in his mind.
I can't die yet.
The Yandu raised its other hand — claws ready to pierce his chest.
And then — SHUUUUMMMMMMM —
A muffled explosion ripped through the air.
A flash struck from the side of the clearing.
The creature's body was hurled across the trees — smashing through trunks, landing over five meters away.
A brutal, dry thud.
Thomas hit the ground, gasping.
The world shook.
A shadow approached.
— Took you long enough… — said a voice, heavy with exhaustion.
It was Hector.
Left arm bleeding. Shirt torn. A deep gash on his face.
But his eyes… were on fire.
He spun a short blade in his hands — wrapped in white light.
Not metal.
Condensed Ayvu in physical form.
The Yandu rose again, charged.
Hector met it head-on.
And the fight… became a dance.
He weaved, hips turning, elbows parrying, knees stopping momentum.
Ayvu flowed through every motion.
Then, at the peak of a spin, he drove the blade into the creature's abdomen.
But it didn't pierce.
The core had hardened.
— He's trying to blow the core! — Hector shouted, leaping back.
The creature began to tremble.
Ayvu surged through its veins, lighting its arteries like burning branches.
— If he explodes, not even a tree will be left standing!
Hector charged again.
Three steps. Ayvu in his feet. He vanished.
Reappeared above the creature.
And with both hands — drove the blade straight into the base of its skull.
Silence.
Then… collapse.
The Yandu cracked from within.
Like a sculpture breaking apart.
Ayvu dispersed like hot dust.
The core dropped to the ground, twitching faintly.
Thomas was still on his knees.
Hector walked over.
— You did good. — he said, voice low, offering a hand. — But it's still too early to die.
Thomas grabbed it. Stood up with effort. Looked toward the tree.
The girl was still there, breathing.
The silence after battle was strange. Not peace but emptiness.
An echo inside Thomas's chest mixed with the sound of his own broken breathing and the taste of blood.
He was still standing. Still alive. But barely.
And not by his own merit.
If Hector hadn't shown up...
He looked at the Yandu's body. Split from skull to chest.
The Ayvu glow fading in the air.
His watch flashed relentlessly — multiple metrics spiked beyond safe thresholds.
-HEALTH ALERT!
• Elevated Heart Rate
• Decreased Heart Rate Variability (HRV)
• Drop in Blood Oxygen (SpO₂)
• Systemic Risk Detected
But amid the warnings of collapse… there was something else:
- PROGRESSION DETECTED
Multiple stats have improved. You have leveled up.
Hector picked up the core and sealed it in a metallic capsule from his pack — black resin and metallic alloy layers. No energy leaked out.
— No bleed. — Hector confirmed. — Core intact.
Thomas said nothing, just watched.
His fingers trembled. His whole body hurt.
But more than anything… his pride hurt.
I thought I was ready.
He looked at Hector.
The man was injured.
A deep cut across his right shoulder.
His shirt soaked in blood and sweat.
But his eyes were calm, his steps steady, his blade already sheathed and he breath was normal within seconds.
He killed the Yandu with a single, precise strike.
Thomas had needed panic.
Had to bite, crawl, bleed, scream.
And still… it wasn't enough.
The truth was bitter:
I'm still weak.
— You saved the girl. — Hector said, voice quiet, watching the child lying near the tree, protected by the seals.
— I wasn't the one who saved her. — Thomas replied. Voice hoarse, low.
— Yes, you were.
Hector stood beside him.
— You delayed the enemy. Shielded her with your body. Didn't hesitate. And even when you knew you were going to die — you kept fighting.
Thomas shook his head.
— I did hesitate. I let emotion drive me. I panicked. Threw myself like an animal. I don't know how to fight properly. I survived. That's all.
Silence.
— But it's not enough.
His eyes drifted toward the darkening sky.
— I thought I was strong. Thought all that training... The runs, the bars, the numbers... I thought I was ready.
He clenched his fists.
— But I'm nothing. I'm just a desperate father afraid of losing everything. And now… I've seen the abyss. And I know — if I keep going like this… I won't last.
Hector listened in silence.
Then, after a few seconds, he said:
— Now you're ready.
Thomas looked at him, confused.
— When pride falls... True strength rises.
He pointed to Thomas's chest.
— Now you understand the real weight of this. Now you know what it means to carry Ayvu. To wage war against things that exist only to kill.
Thomas took a deep breath. The wind blew colder.
— You gonna keep going?
— I don't have a choice.
— You do. You always do.
Thomas looked at the girl again. She slept, protected by seals.
— Then I'll keep going.
— Good answer. — Hector nodded.