47 hours left.
Jax could feel the countdown ticking in his bones. It wasn't just a timer—it was pressure, pulsing through his blood like a second system. And every minute that passed, the pendant got warmer against his chest, like it was waking up.
The subway tunnel they'd crashed in had become their new hideout damp, echoey, and quiet enough to think. Mel was drawing runes across the tunnel entrance, fingers glowing faint purple.
"Seals are up. Should keep stalkers out," she said. "Unless they're suicidal or stupid."
"Or both," Jax muttered, checking his system screen again. It was glitching—new symbols flickering across the UI, ones he couldn't translate.
[Crimson Vein Progress: 2% Synced]
Warning: External influence detected. Core traits may shift.
"Mel," he said quietly. "I think the relic's rewriting me."
She turned, serious now. "What do you mean?"
"It's syncing with me. Like… evolving my class. Not just Bloodshade. It's fusing something else into it."
"Like what?"
Jax hesitated. "It feels… older. Deeper. Like it came from something before hunters ever existed."
Mel looked at him like he just said the system had a soul. "That's not possible."
"Yeah," he said, "but here we are."
Suddenly the pendant pulsed—and so did the air.
A portal cracked open in the middle of the tunnel, red like a bleeding wound. A message appeared:
*[Crimson Trial – Phase One]*
*Prove your will. Defy death. Survive alone.*
Before Mel could react, a force yanked Jax straight into the rift.
He landed hard.
It was night—but not Earth's night. The sky was crimson, the stars like embers. A field of broken blades stretched around him, endless and silent. Every step he took, his blood sang louder.
Then they came.
Shadowed warriors, eyeless and fast, born of darkness and steel. Jax didn't think—he moved.
Slash. Dodge. Absorb. His Bloodbound skill screamed to life, fusing with the relic's pulse. Each strike made him faster, stronger, more precise.
But they kept coming. Ten. Twenty. Forty.
His body burned. His mind blurred. But his will? Sharp as ever.
*[Bloodbound Evolved: Crimson Link – Level 1]*
*Effect: Chain-draw energy from multiple enemies. Amplifies stats +10%.*
A burst of red light exploded from him, tearing through the field. The remaining shadows shattered like glass.
Silence.
Then the system chimed:
[Trial Passed – Phase One Complete]
Time Remaining: 43:12:16
The portal reopened and he collapsed back into Mel's arms.
She looked down at him, wide-eyed. "What happened in there?"
Jax smirked weakly, eyes glowing with residual crimson. "Level-up... with trauma."