The first light of dawn barely kissed the treetops when Kurai stirred from his light sleep. The jungle was quieter now, the nocturnal chorus of creatures fading into the hush of early morning. He pushed himself up, rolling his shoulders to shake off the stiffness. A single fire ember still glowed faintly at the center of the camp, casting flickering shadows against the damp earth.

Mira sat on a nearby rock, spear in hand, her gaze distant as she kept the last watch. She turned her head at the sound of his movement, offering a tired but friendly nod.

"You're up early," she murmured.

Kurai nodded in return. "You kept watch well. Get some rest."

She exhaled, rubbing at her eyes before stretching her arms with a yawn. "Be careful out there."

"Thanks, you too" he said moving out of their camp.

The morning air was thick with humidity, carrying the scent of damp leaves and earth. Kurai moved along the riverbank, its gentle currents flowing eastward, guiding his path. His steps were careful, measured. Despite the outward calm, his mind was a storm of questions.

The prowlers were acting strange. He hadn't yet put too much thought to it. His other needs trumped those thoughts. However now he couldn't help to feel more uneasy. They always seemed to move in similar places, but he never saw them anywhere near their camp. Why was that, some kind of interference from this enigmactic system? But why?

And those humanoid creatures. They showed intelligence, more than just beasts. Their bodies were eerily similar to ours according to Mira underneath all those disgusting bits. More importantly, neither they nor those prowlers had attacked at night despite the constant sensation of being watched. It was an inconsistency that gnawed at him.

Creatures that hunted should not hesitate when their prey was most vulnerable.

There had to be a meaning behind it all. An explanation he had yet to uncover.

The more he walked, the more he pondered. His grip tightened slightly on his spear as his gaze swept through the trees. He remained ever-watchful, but his path was uninterrupted. The jungle stretched on in endless green.

Until he saw them.

Two figures, moving through the foliage ahead.

They were the same as before—the sinewy humanoids with hollow eyes and jagged teeth, their chitonous armour glinting just like his own spear. Kurai slowed his pace, slipping behind a thick tree as he observed them. They hadn't noticed him yet.

They weren't hunting.

They moved in careful strides, not like predators searching for prey, but with purpose—patrolling. Scouring for something.

Kurai's eyes narrowed. What were they looking for?

He kept his distance, following them from the shadows, his breath controlled, silent. The river, his guide, had veered further east, now completely out of sight. The two creatures, however, seemed to be moving north. A deliberate path. They kept moving at a leisuary pace, though and after a while a terrible premonition gripped him.

A sudden, gut-wrenching certainty that something was wrong.

Kurai turned swiftly, instinct screaming at him—

Eight of them.

They stood just fifteen meters away, their hollowed eyes locked onto him, their jagged teeth curving into what could almost be a grin. Their chitinous armor glinted under the morning light, sinewy arms twitching in anticipation. He could feel their aether radiating, they werent like the two he slew nor the ones he was following.

A trap.

Kurai's stomach wrenched. He was surrounded.

He whipped his head back toward the original two—

They were sprinting towards him. Fast.

Fifty meters and closing.

Then, beyond them, another.

A figure similar to the rest, yet different. Taller. Broader, but proportiantely all wrong like the others. Its presence however were miles apart from the ones surrounding him. Even from a distance—two hundred meters away—he could feel it. A pressure so immense it made his stomach churn.

Despite the dreadful prospect, Kurai steadied himself. He refused to die without giving his all. The pride he once held as a samurai had faded with the loss of his title, but the pride he carried in himself remained unshaken. It was not bound to a name or status—it was forged through discipline, survival, and the unyielding strength of his own will. That pride had kept him alive through the rift with the shogun, through the destruction of his family. It had guided his blade through battles where honor was stripped away, leaving only the stark truth of life and death.

The battle always begins in the mind, his father's words, spoken long ago, echoed through him now. Though years had passed since that lesson, its truth was unchanged—just as vital now as it had been then.

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He took a deep breath, emptying himself of fear, of hesitation.

The moment he decided to act, his body followed without hesitation.

Kurai lunged, spear flashing toward the left flank of the encirclement. He had no illusions about holding his ground—numbers were not in his favor, and remaining surrounded was a death sentence. The only way out was to carve a path through them.

The first creature reacted swiftly, its sinewy limbs jerking as it raised clawed hands in defense, but it was not fast enough. Kurai's spear plunged into the hollow cavity of its chest, slipping through the gaps in its chitin to pierce the vulnerable flesh beneath. The beast let out a twisted, rasping screech as he ripped his weapon free, pivoting to keep his momentum.

The second lunged before he could recover. Kurai barely twisted away, feeling the graze of jagged claws against his ribs. Pain seared through his side, but he used it as fuel, spinning and driving the butt of his spear into the beast's face. The impact sent it reeling, its chitinous mask cracking as it staggered back.

Then the rest came.

Six creatures lunging at him. They moved with precision, their attacks calculated. They flanked, they reacted, they pressed where they saw openings.

For every strike he made, three came in response.

The third and fourth came in low, one swiping at his legs, the other trying to hook claws into his exposed shoulder. Kurai leapt, using his reinforced body to twist mid-air, kicking off the clawed hand that nearly caught him. His own counterattack followed before he even landed—his spear found a throat, the weight of his descent driving the stone tip through the creature's body. He landed into a roll, twisting his spear free, his breath ragged as blood sprayed across the damp ground.

The others hesitated just for a moment, reassessing.

Kurai wiped sweat from his brow, his heart hammering.

They are definently not the same as before, he mused grimly.

His grip on his weapon tightened as he adjusted his stance. His movements had already begun surpassing what he once believed possible, the aether fueling his every action, sharpening his reactions, strengthening his muscles. He was faster, more precise, and his strikes held a power that should not belong to mere flesh and bone. He had fought against men, against beasts, but never before had he felt himself moving like this—untethered, flowing between offense and defense as if guided by something beyond him.

But still, they adapted. The creatures came in force, four at once.

Kurai bent low, his spear sweeping out in an arc as he pivoted off his back foot. The two nearest creatures recoiled, barely avoiding the strike, but he did not let up. He surged forward, closing the distance, his free hand striking out in a brutal palm to the nearest one's exposed abdomen. The chitin seemed to bend and small fractures were seen, a testament to his newly acquired strength. As it stumbled backwards Kurai's spear followed, slicing across its throat before burying itself in the gut of another. The creature shrieked, clawing wildly at his arm, but Kurai yanked the spear free and finished it with a downward stab that shattered its skull.

More pain. A heavy impact crashed against his shoulder from behind, sending him sprawling forward. A mistake.

Claws raked across his back. White-hot agony flared through his body, but he rolled with it, twisting away just in time to avoid a second attack meant to tear into his spine. He gasped, blood slick beneath his fingers, but he had no time to check the wound. The remaining creatures pressed him relentlessly.

His vision blurred. His breath came ragged.

The voice of the system came, distant, drowned out by his heartbeat, by the sounds of battle. Seven times it seemed to whisper in the background.

"You have absorbed another creature's aether. You have grown stronger. 20 points have been allocated."

The energy flowed into him with each kill, but it was not the same as before. This was denser. Heavier. The moment their aether poured into him, he felt its weight settle throughout his body, coiling into his limbs like molten steel. His wounds still bled, but his movements remained strong. His body should have been giving out, but instead, it pushed forward, hungering for more.

The last of the eight snarled before charging. It feinted left before veering right at the last second, claws outstretched, seeking his throat.

But Kurai saw it now.

The energy. The movement. The openings.

His body moved before his mind caught up, the aether surging within him as he sidestepped with impossible speed. His spear lashed out in a final, brutal thrust. The creature gurgled as the weapon plunged through its chest, pinned to the jungle floor.

Stillness.

His body heaved with exhaustion. His clothes were soaked in blood—some of it his own, most of it not. His arms trembled, but his grip on the spear remained firm. His vision swam, the energy still burning through him, filling him to the brim.

Then he remembered—

The two behind him.

A deep breath. The battle was not over.

He turned, just as they closed in.

His body screamed in protest, but he forced himself forward. He twisted between them, avoiding the first set of claws that aimed for his throat. The second slashed across his forearm, drawing blood, but he ignored the pain. Aether surged through his veins, guiding his movements as he sidestepped, his spear reversing in his grip to plunge into the nearest creature's exposed neck.

The beast gargled, its jagged teeth snapping weakly as it crumpled.

The last one lunged, jagged claws swiping through the air, its intent murderous. Kurai twisted low, feeling the rush of wind as the attack barely missed his throat. With a final burst of strength, he drove his spear upward, slipping it past its raised arms and into the unarmored flesh beneath its jaw. The creature convulsed, a wet gurgle escaping its throat before it went still.

Panting, he wrenched the weapon free, his vision blurring from exertion.

Silence.

Aether flooded his system once more, but he barely registered it this time. His body was battered, wounds leaking fresh blood onto the jungle floor.

And yet, through the exhaustion, through the haze of combat, he felt it.

He turned his gaze toward the last figure—the one who had watched from afar.

It did not move. It stood there, its jagged teeth curling into the same twisted mockery of a smile the others had worn. It made no attempt to pursue.

Or, Kurai realized, perhaps it couldn't.

Some kind of restriction… What's going on...

The realization settled into him. Whatever the reason, the momentary reprieve was welcome. He did not dare stand around to contemplate further.

Staggering, blood seeping from his wounds, he turned and began moving. His vision blurred, his body aching in ways that told him he was dangerously close to his limit. If this were three days ago, he would already be on death's door.

But the aether within him gathered where he needed it most. It pulsed into his legs, allowing him to run. It coursed through his bloodstream, slowing the loss of life that seeped from his torn flesh.

After what felt like an eternity, he reached the river, the pink hue of dusk settling over the trees.

He would not make it back in time.

He needed to find another place to sleep for the night.