Primal Will Untamed

Zephyr, face contorted in rage, attacked one of the lions with a pair of kitchen knives held tight. He landed on its back with a jarring thud, like a clumsy rider mounting a stallion. Bloodthirsty and focused on its prey, the lion barely acknowledged the new threat on its back, its claws and teeth ripping away at its victim. This lapse in attention proved fatal. Zephyr plunged both knives into the lion's neck, the blades sinking deep with a sickening crunch.

The lion roared in agony, its entire body twisting as it tried to dislodge the blades. Zephyr held on, knuckles white, wringing the knives further in a desperate gamble. Blood sprayed, painting the grass ruby-red. With a final heave, Zephyr delivered a decisive thrust, silencing the lion's roar with a wet gurgling. The momentum sent him crashing onto the ground, ribs screaming in protest. He lay there, dazed, as the lion thrashed, dragging him through the grass and trees like a ragdoll.

The brutal journey left Zephyr battered and broken. Blood welled from his mouth, internal injuries taking their toll. Yet, his sacrifice had borne fruit. The lion's movements grew sluggish, its once vibrant eyes dulling until they faded into lifeless orbs. With a heavy thud, it collapsed, stillness replacing its primal fury.

Zephyr stared down at the lifeless lion, exhaustion etching lines on his face. He blinked, the tremor in his hands mirroring the soreness that replaced the earlier rage. The victory tasted bitter, the cost too high. He'd felled beasts far fiercer and more monstrous in his past life, yet this one had brought him to the brink. Death loomed, a dark whisper promising oblivion. This second life, a gift without memory or purpose, might not bloom again.

But that thought only fueled his fire, a desperate will to prevail. He focused on his ragged breaths, hoping against all odds to survive and mend the fissures within. Alas, his hope for a breather shattered as a whimper sliced through the air.

Young-Jae, bloodied and battered, was on the ground, caught in the jaws of another lion. "Mr. Quinn!" he shouted, voice choking with pain. "Argh, h-help! My a-arm!" His left arm dangled limply, raw flesh exposed after a savage bite.

Though dazed and weak, Young-Jae fought back. He swung the kitchen knife wildly, connecting with the lion's neck in a shallow scrape. It wasn't enough to deter the beast, but it bought him a few precarious seconds.

Pain flared through Zephyr's body, but adrenaline kept him on his feet. His grip on the kitchen knives tightened, slick with blood and sweat. Lurching forward, he closed the distance with surprising speed despite his sloppy movement. Just as the lion lunged, teeth primed to rip off Young-Jae's arm, Zephyr struck from behind.

The beast, slick and adept, reacted instantly. With a flick of its head, it released Young-Jae and spun aside, Zephyr's attack grazing mere inches from its flank. Momentum carried him past, crashing him onto the hard ground.

Opportunity flashed. The lion pounced, a guttural snarl tearing from its throat as it aimed for Zephyr's head. He reacted with desperate speed, twisting his body just enough. Instead of his skull, the lion's fangs clamped down on his left shoulder, a searing agony lancing through him. He let out a stifled yell, the taste of iron flooding his mouth.

Young-Jae dissolved into sobs. His entire body was wracked with tremors. He darted his terrified gaze between his near-severed arm and Zephyr, now pinned under the monstrous lion's ferocious jaws. The sight made him scared witless. He clamped his jaw, biting his lip until it bled, deciding to run away alongside the anxiety that rooted him in place.

At the same time, Zephyr's vision swam, consciousness slipping through his grasp. Then, a jarring alarm pierced the fog in his head: a cold, mechanical voice devoid of empathy.

Ding!

A crimson alert flashed across his internal vision.

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[Warning!]

[Warning!!]

[Red Alert! Host vitality below 10%.]

[Over cumulative injuries and potential fatality detected. The existence of the System and the host may disappear...]

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The sound jolted Zephyr back from the brink. He forced his gaze towards the lion, feeling its hot breath on his left cheek, the System's warnings fading momentarily.

Pain lanced up Zephyr's left arm as he dug his fingers into the lion's thick fur, anchoring himself to prevent the beast from ripping his shoulder apart. Strength ebbed away, but surrender wasn't an option. Not today. He wouldn't die like this, not without one last rebellious stand.

"You won't break me, you overgrown mangy cat!" he rasped through his gritted teeth, the double mask muffling his voice but not his resolve. "Even if I go down, it'll be with my claws out, taking a chunk of you with me!" He clenched the battered kitchen knife tighter in his other hand, a steely glint in his narrowed eyes. With a surge of crude defiance, he launched his hand at the lion's head, blade flashing in the dim light.

Ding!

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[Triggered by the intense survival instinct fueled by regression, the host unlocks a new ability...]

[Flaming Will, acquired!]

[Flaming Will, activated!]

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[Flaming Will]

- Type: Passive

- Effect:

Activates automatically when the host's Vitality falls below 15%.

Grants a temporary boost of 200% maximum power for 30 seconds.

After the effect ends, the host suffers from "Ember Sickness," a debilitating status.

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Ding!

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[ Status Window ]

Vitality: 200/100

Status: Primeval Buffed

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A bolt of unexpected power surged through Zephyr, revitalizing his battered body. He barely registered the System message flashing before him, his focus solely on the renewed strength coursing through his veins. His swings became faster and harder, imbued with an experience he hadn't known before.

The lion, caught off guard by this sudden burst of agility, barely managed to evade the full brunt of Zephyr's attack. Instead of tearing its skull apart, the blade sank deep into its left shoulder, a scarlet chromatic bloom erupting across the thick fur.

Zephyr straightened, his muscles tense and visible beneath his skin. A burning rage, a potent killing intent, radiated from him like a physical force.

Yet, the lion stood unyielding. The pain may have stung, but fear was absent from its amber eyes. It unleashed a deafening roar that shattered the night's silence, a challenge accepted.

Suddenly, Zephyr closed the distance with a lightning-fast leap. He clapped his open palms into the lion's head, the force of the blow making the beast yelp in surprise.

Capitalizing on his momentum, Zephyr darted left, clenching his fists. He brought them down in a brutal double overhead strike, connecting with the lion's back with a sickening thud.

The impact sent the lion sprawling onto the grassy ground with a bone-jarring crash. The earth cracked beneath its weight, a small shockwave rippling outward that kicked up dust and leaves.

In what felt like an instant, Zephyr had single-handedly subdued the massive, enraged lion. An almost superhuman feat by any measure.

Zephyr stared at his blood-soaked hands, a strange mix of exhilaration and unease washing over him. The power he'd just unleashed was unlike anything he'd experienced, exceeding even his future memories of the serum's effects. This wasn't just a surge of adrenaline; his physical capabilities had transcended even the peak he'd achieved through those injections.

Zephyr scanned his surroundings, adrenaline fading and revealing the aftermath of the fight. 'It should be safe now.' He thought.

On the other hand, Young-Jae was nowhere to be seen. He only spotted Jae-Ya lying still some distance away and intended to check on her. But as he took a step, a wave of pain surged into him.

Zephyr choked back a cough, spitting onto the ground what turned crimson through the double mask. His left shoulder throbbed like a war drum, the arm turning cold and dead weight. Legs wobbling, he crumpled to the grassy ground, vision blurring around the edges.

Death gnawed at the fringes of his awareness, yet a tenacious urge to survive clung on, a stubborn ember in the encroaching darkness.

Ding!

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[Flaming Will has deactivated...]

[Ember Sickness has taken effect...]

[Trait: General movement will be temporarily debuffed, and there is a permanent reduction in the Vitality threshold.]

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[ Status Window ]

Name: Zephyr Quinn

Vitality: 5/85

Status: Critical, Paralyzed

Legacy: Human/Unrefined

Credits: 1

Sync: (Inactive) (Expand)

[ Abilities ]

Flaming Will (Passive)

[ System In-store: (N/A) ]

[ Inventory: (0/6) ]

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