Julian removed the crystal from his bracer, staring at it in wonder.

It had metal ends at the points and a button on its face, but the entire thing was small and could fit in Julian’s fist. It was multi-faced, and light seemed to refract from its surface. He could feel a cold energy radiating from it.

“Looks like you tamed that Canis before I could. Well done,” the new guy said, offering a hand to Julian.

Maria came up behind Julian and helped him up. "He’s injured, and needs help, umm..."

“I’m Andre, and don’t worry, Oryx and I will get you guys to safety. There's a safe zone set up at the college campus not too far from here.”

“Oh great,” Julian groaned.

“Not a fan, I take it?”

Julian shook his head. “If it means help and rest, I’ll take it.”

Oryx knelt, allowing Andre to jump onto its back. This close, Julian and Maria realized the monster was bigger than they had realized. Andre helped Julian into place behind him, while Maria took a seat behind Julian.

“Alright, keep that capsule close. We might need to use that Canis to get to the safe zone,” Andre said.

Oryx turned around and took off down the alleyway he had come from.

“How do you know so much about this stuff?” Julian asked.

“I’m a research assistant at Artino Industries,” Andre said.

“I thought you looked familiar,” Maria said.

“Oh? You work there, too?”

“Umm, I-I’m just an intern,” Maria replied, her voice wavering a bit.

“Cool, cool. Well, if we make it through this mess, who knows? Maybe you’ll still have a job if the company is still standing,” Andre said.

Ahead of them was a burning car blocking the alleyway. Oryx leaped over it easily, landing softly without jostling his riders, and continued to head down the street.

The sights that awaited them caused all three riders to curse in shock.

Julian couldn’t believe the slaughter. Monsters and humans were fighting in the streets. Teeth, claws, and horns were tearing through the crowd as people tried to fight back. People were stampeding away from the fighting, trying to get to safety. It looked as though a few people had discovered how to tame the creatures, better than how Julian had stumbled into it, and was now using their creatures to fight back against the assault.

Gunshots rang out across the street, causing Julian, Mariah, and Andre to jump in surprise, and Oryx to take a wide berth around the chaos, trying not to attract too much attention.

“Let’s cut through the park,” Andre whispered, patting Oryx’s neck and letting the Eidos take off towards the greenery off the street.

Flames erupted from a nearby car as people and monsters fought back and forth. The ground shook underneath their feet and vines erupted from the earth, knocking the fighters out of the way as a guttural bellow echoed through the air. Bounding out of the trees was a large green and brown bull, with horns that looked more like wood tangled in vines than anything else. It had defeated the other surrounding monsters with ease and was now sizing up Oryx, watching them run past.

As Julian’s bracer vibrated in his lap, the bull charged after them.

[Eidos detected]

[Running Identification Protocol]

“Yeah, no shit!” Julian yelled. “Andre, we got company!”

“We can’t stop running, or that thing will crush us,” Maria said, her voice filled with panic.

Andre watched the bull charging up behind them. “It’s time you put that Canis to use. Put the capsule back in the bracer, then hit summon.”

Julian fumbled with the crystal-like capsule, putting it back in the bracer. The screen lit up before him.

[No-Name, Darkness Canis]

[Summon]

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

“Here goes nothing,” Julian whispered. Hoping the wolf was in better shape than it had been in the alleyway, he pressed the summon button.

Julian's senses slowed down around him. Dull grey particles erupted from the device, and he was suddenly aware of a presence. As the particles materialized, the Canis that attacked them was now running beside them, bounding in and out of shadows to keep up with Oryx.

Julian noticed sudden emotions running through him. Curiosity, calm, excitement, a wave of realizations was flooding his senses.

“Andre, what the hell is happening?” Julian asked.

“That’s your bond. You can feel what he is feeling and vice versa. Over time, it will get stronger so that you two can communicate more clearly.”

Julian looked to the Canis deep within the darting shadows and felt a wave of curiosity and excitement flow over him as the wolf looked back at the charging bull. It wanted to fight.

“I think he’s ready.”

“That’s wonderful, but can you guys get a move on?!” Maria screamed as the bull let loose a wave of vines, trying to trip them up. Oryx barely had time to jump and dodge.

[Eidos Identified]

[Bos: Level 1]

[Affinity: Nature/Earth]

“Bos? Hell yeah, that thing’s a boss!” Andre roared.

Julian looked to his bracer, seeing an image of his Canis with a status screen:

[EIDOS INFORMATION:]

Eidos: No Name

Abilities:

Shade - Can hide inside shadows and is undetectable. [Rare]

Techniques:

1. Shadow Bolt (Darkness/ Elemental) [Uncommon]

2. Freezing Howl (Frost/ Elemental) [Rare]

3. Darkness Claw (Darkness/ Enhancement [Common]

4. Shade Trap (Darkness / Control) [Rare]

Gear:

1: [Empty]

Upgrades:

1: [Empty]

Julian smiled as he looked over the Canis’s information. If this thing was capable of half the things it said it could do, no wonder Andre tried to recapture it.

“Okay, use Shade, try to get underneath the thing,” Julian ordered.

Feeling a sense of apprehension, he watched as the Canis still tried to comply.

Carefully, the wolf slipped between the charging hooves of the bull, settling into place within its shadow.

Julian tried to send an emotion to the wolf. “Good job, buddy. Now, get ready.”

A wave of excitement washed over Julian, almost knocking him off Oryx. He was going to have to be careful with this.

“Alright, let’s try that Freezing Howl!”

A loud howl pierced the air as ice burst up from underneath the bull. The Canis quickly darted out of the way as the bull slammed face first into the ground, its mid-section and hind legs frozen solid.

[Ambush Bonus Achieved: x2 Damage]

[Elemental Weakness: Frost 2x Damage]

“Yes!” Julian pumped his fist in the air, causing himself to groan in pain.

“That was awesome!” Andre cheered.

However, the bull wasn’t finished yet. With a whimpering bellow, vines and plants erupted from the pavement, trying to grab the fleeing Oryx and wolf.

“One more time, use Freezing Howl!”

The Canis obliged, sliding in front of the bull and releasing a howling breath of ice directly into its face. The bull groaned in pain, the grasping plants falling still as the creature shattered into a collection of green and brown particles.

Julian felt a wave of curiosity come over him as the wolf stopped for a second to investigate the particle remains of the bull.

“Come on, boy,” Julian called.

The wolf quickly finished up its search and took off, jumping into the shadows to catch up with Julian and the others.

“That was close,” Maria said, breathing a sigh of relief.

Julian felt his bracer vibrate again.

[Bonding Complete]

[No Name, Canis, has partnered with Julian Koste.]

Maria looked over his shoulder to see his bracer. “No name? Aren’t you going to name him?”

“Naming him implies that I’m going to keep him, though.”

“Aren’t you?” Maria asked, glaring at him.

Andre spoke up, “Dude, if you don’t want him, I’ll take him.”

Julian felt a wave of sadness hit him. As new as this sensation was, he recognized the Canis immediately. He was listening. More than that, he understood what they were saying.

“I don’t know. He seems convinced, but I’m still trying to wrap my head around what’s happening.”

Andre nodded. “At least give him a name. I think he’s earned that much.”

Thinking for a moment, Julian tapped on the screen of his bracer, clicking on [No Name].

[Insert Name]

A QWERTY keyboard showed up on the screen. Julian thought for a moment, then smiled before typing.

[Change name to Omen?]

[Yes] [No]

Julian tapped yes, and immediately he felt the Canis, Omen, respond to his new name with a wave of indifference. However, Julian picked up a subtle hint of pride buried deeply in there.

Silently, Julian watched Omen slip within Oryx’s shadow, staying hidden beneath them.

“Omen, huh?” Maria asked, still looking over his shoulder.

“Why not? Seemed fitting after everything.”

Andre chuckled. “Fitting from being mauled or saving our hide back there?”

Everyone heard a deep grumble come from the shadows beneath them.

A startled Oryx leaped into the air as Andre tried to soothe his scared creature. “Steady fella. Let’s get to safety first, and then we will see if it’s for better or worse."

Soon enough, the college campus of USF came into view. Mostly, it looked the same as always, except for a strange, translucent barrier covering a portion of the campus. It physically split the sidewalk in two as it wrapped around a handful of dormitories and a common area in the courtyard. On the other side of the barrier, people were waving and pointing towards them as they approached, while others were rushing around, taking care of other survivors.

“How did that get there?” Julian asked.

“It came up when the creatures started showing up. Guess someone out there likes us,” Andre said.

Julian looked back at Maria, who simply shrugged.

Oryx ran towards the entryway of the campus, slowing to a stop just on the outskirts of the barrier. Omen slipped out from the shadows, keeping an eye out for any other threats.

Andre and Maria slid off Oryx before helping Julian off the creature as well. When Oryx knelt, it made things easier for them.

“We need medical attention over here!” Maria called out, then turned back to Julian. “Hey, you better call your wolf back to its capsule. We don’t know what’s going to happen.”

Julian nodded and carefully knelt in front of the wolf.

Omen stared deeply into Julian’s eyes with curiosity, letting the feeling settle over them.

Julian had seen somewhere how wolves and eye contact were important. He never put much thought into it before now.

“Hey buddy, thank you for helping us out with the rats and the bull. And don’t worry, you didn’t hurt me too badly. I’ll recover soon enough, and we’ll be on our way.” Julian reached a hand up and patted the wolf’s head, feeling the cool mist of ice in his black fur.

Omen put his muzzle into Julian’s hand, dropping something into it before licking Julian’s face softly once. Then, the wolf began turning back into dull, grey particles, returning to Julian’s bracer and his awaiting capsule.

Julian looked in his hand and found a small, oval-shaped capsule that Omen had gifted him. It was red and felt fragile to the touch.

"Over here! He needs medical attention!”

Julian groaned as he got back to his feet. The adrenaline was settling within him. He felt pain wracking his body, and exhaustion was settling in. He shoved the capsule into his hoodie pocket and turned to see paramedics rushing over to him, wheeling a gurney.

“Really? Is that necessary? It’s just a scratch.” Julian protested, stumbling a bit as the paramedics arrived. Maria caught him, easing him down onto the gurney.

“Of course it is. Now stop protesting. You need help.”

With a sigh, Julian allowed the paramedics to wheel him away as Maria followed beside him. He didn't have time to rest, but his wounds needed attention. As his free hand fiddled with the red capsule in his hoodie pocket, he couldn't help but wonder about what else awaited him here on the very campus that expelled him.