The forest smoldered behind him.
Hari didn't look back.
Each step away from the burning glade echoed with change. The hunter he spared — now marked with his blood — was the beginning of a new kind of evolution. He didn't need to kill anymore to grow.
He just needed to wound.
To leave a piece of himself behind — like a curse, like a virus.
> [Trait Active: Blood Branding – First Mark Confirmed]
→ Host: Revenant-Class Hunter "Kyria Vane"
→ Tracking: Enabled
→ Passive Assimilation: 2% Skill Mimicry in Progress
---
Hari stopped by a shattered tree.
He pulled up his status screen.
But it wasn't the numbers that mattered now — it was the reaction. Something deeper in the system had changed since devouring the Noctfang's will.
A new tab had appeared:
> [Bloodline Evolution Path – Eclipse Branch]
• Tier I: Predator of the Eclipse (✔)
• Tier II: Night Sovereign (Locked – Mutation 3 Required)
• Tier III: ???
Bloodline Fragment Sources:
Kyria Vane (Flame Domain) – Assimilation: 2%
??? – Undiscovered
Hari stared at the words.
His evolution wasn't just passive anymore.
Now it was branching.
---
That night, Hari took shelter beneath an ancient ruin — an old sun-temple buried beneath vines and decay.
He wasn't alone.
A girl sat in the dark.
Pale. Eyes red. Watching.
He'd sensed her before he entered — but let her stay.
She didn't move. Just whispered:
> "You're the one they're all afraid of."
Hari crouched near the broken altar.
> "And who are you?"
She smiled faintly.
> "Someone with no name anymore. Just a messenger."
"The Blood Priests are watching you now. And… the False Moon Cult is stirring."
> "Because of me?"
She nodded.
> "Because you're not part of the system."
"You're something older."
Hari looked away.
> "I didn't choose this."
> "Maybe. But now the world chooses you."
---
Suddenly, a tremor shook the ground.
A new notification flashed:
> [Warning: Tracking Signal Detected]
[Multiple bounty contracts uploaded]
[New Hostile: Bounty Guild "Ash Talons" – Total Threat: A-Rank Team]
Hari stood.
He felt it in the air.
> They're coming already.
The girl stood too.
> "I'll stay out of your way."
"But if you survive… meet me in Hollowshade. There are others like you."
She vanished into mist.
Hari walked to the temple doors.
---
The night beyond was cold and vast.
In the distance, fire bloomed on the horizon.
He could see them — five figures moving like predators through the trees.
They didn't know who they were hunting.
> [Evolve Every Kill – Passive Active]
[Blood Branding – Second Mark Opportunity]
Hari smiled, just a little.
> "Let's give them something to fear."
---
To be continued in Chapter 15: Ash Talons Fall
---