The Path of Beasts

The city's ruins stretched endlessly before Lyrien, a labyrinth of twisted metal, shattered glass, and crumbling concrete. The once-great metropolis now lay in decay, overrun by nature's relentless grip and the eerie quiet of a world abandoned. Lyrien moved swiftly through the desolate streets, his motorbike purring like a sleek predator, tires gliding over broken asphalt.

The system's interface hovered in his vision, displaying a translucent map with a blinking marker—his destination. The location of his disciple, Xulios, was still miles away, deep within the treacherous heart of the lower sector. 

SYSTEM OBJECTIVE: 

1. LOCATE DISCIPLE, XULIOS. 

2. SURVIVE. 

3. GAIN POWER.

The directive was clear, but Lyrien knew it wouldn't be a straightforward journey. The lower sector was a graveyard of broken dreams and deadly predators, the kind of place that swallowed the weak and tested the strong.

He'd barely made it through the first zone when the air shifted around him. His heightened senses—one of his two starting abilities—flared to life, picking up the faintest vibrations in the earth, the whisper of movement in the shadows. Lyrien slowed his bike, allowing it to coast to a silent stop. The wind carried a scent of rot and wet fur, signaling the presence of creatures lurking nearby.

"Heightened Senses, activate." 

The world around him became a symphony of sensations: the low growl of a creature's breath, the faint crackle of energy in the air, the rustle of something moving just out of sight. His hand hovered over the hilt of his dagger as he scanned his surroundings.

---

As he moved through a narrow alley, the tension in the air thickened. Something was waiting for him. He could feel its gaze, predatory and patient, tracking his every move. The alley opened into a wide courtyard littered with the remnants of a battle—burned-out vehicles, shattered glass, and a strange greenish fluid that hissed where it touched the ground.

Suddenly, from the corner of his eye, he caught a blur of motion. A creature leaped from the shadows—a monstrous, four-legged beast with scales like armor and eyes that glowed an unholy yellow.

SYSTEM ALERT: 

SPECIES IDENTIFIED: VORAX HUNTER 

THREAT LEVEL: C-RANK 

RECOMMENDATION: ELIMINATE WITH CAUTION

Lyrien's muscles tensed as he dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding the beast's razor-sharp claws. He rolled to his feet, eyes narrowing as he assessed his opponent. The Vorax Hunter was fast—too fast to rely on brute strength alone. He needed to outthink it.

He activated his Heat Vision, a beam of searing light cutting through the air, aiming for the creature's eyes. The beast shrieked as one of its glowing orbs exploded in a burst of heat and steam, temporarily blinding it. 

Taking advantage of its momentary disorientation, Lyrien lunged forward, slashing with his dagger. The blade found a gap between its armored scales, sinking deep into the creature's flesh. A gush of dark blood spattered the ground as the Vorax Hunter collapsed, twitching in its death throes.

EXPERIENCE GAINED: 100 XP 

LEVEL UP! 

NEW LEVEL: 3 

REWARD: +5 TO ALL BASE STATS

He felt a surge of strength flood his veins, the familiar rush of leveling up. His muscles tightened, senses sharpening even further as the system's power rewrote his body on a molecular level.

---

The battles only grew fiercer as he ventured deeper into the lower sector. The buildings loomed taller, casting long shadows that hid even more dangers. Packs of mutated canines roamed the streets, their once-friendly eyes replaced by glowing red orbs, their jaws filled with teeth like shards of glass.

Lyrien fought his way through them, his skills improving with every encounter. His movements became fluid, almost instinctual, as he used his heightened senses to predict their attacks. Dodging and weaving between snapping jaws, he struck with precision, his dagger flashing in arcs of silver light.

EXPERIENCE GAINED: 50 XP 

EXPERIENCE GAINED: 75 XP 

LEVEL UP! 

NEW LEVEL: 4 

REWARD: NEW ABILITY UNLOCKED

He paused, chest heaving, as the system presented his latest gift.

NEW ABILITY UNLOCKED: SHADOW PHASE 

DESCRIPTION: ALLOWS USER TO BLEND INTO SHADOWS, BECOMING INVISIBLE TO MOST FORMS OF DETECTION FOR 30 SECONDS. COOLDOWN: 2 MINUTES.

A grim smile tugged at his lips. This was exactly what he needed. The enemies were growing more numerous, more cunning, and the ability to slip past them unseen would be invaluable. 

Testing the ability, he melted into the shadows, his form becoming a wisp of darkness that slipped through the rubble-strewn streets. It was like walking in a different world, everything muted and distant, as if reality itself was holding its breath. He navigated past a patrol of monstrous hounds, their noses twitching futilely as they tried to catch his scent.

---

As the sun began to dip below the horizon, Lyrien found himself standing before a colossal, ruined cathedral. Its once-grand spires were now broken silhouettes against the darkening sky, the stained-glass windows shattered into a thousand glittering shards that littered the ground. This place had once been a sanctuary, but now it reeked of death and despair.

The system's interface flickered, a new alert flashing into view.

PROXIMITY ALERT: DISCIPLE LOCATION DETECTED. DISTANCE: 500 METERS. PROCEED WITH CAUTION.

His heart quickened. He was getting closer.

But as he crossed the threshold into the cathedral's courtyard, the air grew thick with a sense of foreboding. The ground was littered with bones—human and beast alike. A chill ran down his spine as he realized this wasn't just any hunting ground; it was a place of ritual, a feeding pit for something far more sinister.

The wind carried a low, mournful howl, and his heightened senses picked up faint whispers—a chorus of voices too broken to be understood. His instincts screamed at him to turn back, but he pushed forward. He couldn't stop now; his disciple was so close.

---

Lyrien moved cautiously through the shadowed corridors of the cathedral, where the floor was slick with a dark, viscous fluid that stuck to his boots. Every step seemed to echo louder than the last, the oppressive silence only broken by the distant sound of water dripping.

He activated **Heat Vision** to pierce the gloom, revealing hidden alcoves and lurking beasts. The cathedral's interior was infested with horrors—twisted amalgamations of flesh and metal that lashed out with claws and tendrils. Lyrien fought them off, using a combination of his heat beam and Shadow Phase to evade their frenzied attacks.

The system continued to reward his progress.

EXPERIENCE GAINED: 80 XP 

EXPERIENCE GAINED: 110 XP 

LEVEL UP! 

NEW LEVEL: 5

His body pulsed with the energy of another level gained, his power increasing with each victory. The system's interface flickered, a new notification appearing:

NEW ABILITY UNLOCKED: REALITY RIFT 

DESCRIPTION: ALLOWS USER TO WARP A SMALL PORTION OF REALITY FOR 5 SECONDS. COOLDOWN: 10 MINUTES.

Lyrien grinned at the notification. Reality manipulation was his true power, and this was only a taste of what he could eventually achieve. He tested the new ability on a group of incoming beasts, warping the space around them to send them hurtling into the cathedral walls, their bodies crushed by the force.

---

Finally, after what felt like hours of battling through the cathedral's winding corridors and vast halls, he emerged into a massive plaza. The last rays of sunlight filtered through the shattered ceiling, casting a pale, ghostly light over the desolate space. At the center of the plaza stood a grand fountain, long dried up, its statue frozen in a pose of anguish.

The system chimed one last time.

PROXIMITY ALERT: DISCIPLE IS WITHIN RANGE. DISTANCE: 100 METERS. PREPARE FOR CONTACT.

Lyrien's breath hitched. He had finally made it. The marker on his map was no longer a vague direction but a precise point just beyond the fountain. His heart pounded with a mix of excitement and anxiety.

But as he took his first step forward, the system's voice whispered a final warning in his mind.

DISCIPLE PRESENCE CONFIRMED, BUT UNKNOWN ENERGY SIGNATURE DETECTED. PROCEED WITH CAUTION.

The air grew colder, and an unnatural silence fell over the plaza. Lyrien could feel it—a darkness lurking just beyond his sight, something that shouldn't be there. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, every instinct screaming that this was not going to be a simple reunion.

But he pushed forward, determination burning in his grey eyes