Jax lay on the cold concrete floor, his breath shallow, skin glowing faint red. Mel hovered over him, pressing a charged sigil to his chest. It fizzled, unable to stabilize his aura.
"Your system's overclocking," she muttered. "This isn't evolution it's mutation."
Jax opened one eye, a crooked smile twitching on his lips. "Well… mutants are kinda cool."
"Not when your insides are cooking," she snapped.
Then, his system buzzed again.
[Warning: Blood Vein Sync at 38%]
Core Class Mutation Detected → Proto-Hybrid: Crimson Revenant
"What the hell is a Revenant?" Mel asked, reading over his shoulder.
He sat up slowly, the aura around him crackling. "No clue. But I think I'm about to find out."
She helped him to his feet. "You've got two more trial phases. If Phase One did this to you, the next might kill you."
Jax dusted himself off. "Yeah, but if I don't complete them... I definitely die."
The pendant pulsed again this time, it whispered.
A voice. Faint. Ancient. "Sink deeper… Become more…"
Jax stiffened. "Mel… it spoke."
She froze. "Spoke?"
"Yeah. Like… it wants me to give in."
"Don't. It's trying to overwrite you."
Jax looked down at his hands. His veins were glowing faintly red. His reflection in a shard of glass showed his irises pulsing, shifting.
He wasn't just leveling up anymore.
He was becoming something else.
The tunnel lights flickered.
Suddenly BOOM! an explosion tore through the seals. Enemy hunters. Masked. Armed. No warning.
One shouted, "Target the relic carrier! Dead or broken!"
Jax didn't hesitate. His aura erupted.
[Crimson Link: Active]
[Blood Echo: Initiated]
He dashed forward, faster than he should've been. Each hit landed like thunder. The attackers didn't expect the raw fury—they backed off, but Jax was already in their heads.
"Wanna play?" he growled. "Then bleed."
The fight was brutal, but short. The moment his blood hit the last enemy, the pendant chimed.
[Phase Two: Triggered Early]
"Pain is the path. Begin."
The world around him distorted colors twisted, time slowed and Jax vanished into another realm.
Mel reached out, but it was too late.
He was gone.
Again.