Stomach growling, James closed his eyes and focused his senses on his surroundings. The blood would draw the attention of the other Forsaken soon enough. Even now, he could hear the scratching of claws growing ever closer. His rebar felt heavy in his hands as he thought through what was happening.

  I have some unknown knowledge coming to me. I heal rapidly and without using Aether. Pain isn’t as bad as it used to be, and I can somehow see souls and absorb them. What the hell does Soul Strength mean?

  Slowing his breathing, he fell into meditation that he had perfected over the years. His racing thoughts slowed and when he opened his eyes, he found clarity. He needed to get away from the bodies and into a secure building. He also needed to find a source of food and water.

  Those were his three priorities if he was going to survive and figure out what was happening with his body. Curiosity made him touch his stomach and his core. It was still shattered but in the very center of its remains, a flickering ember was growing. It was no bigger than the nail of his pinky and glowed white, just like the Forsaken.

  Another mystery.

  Looking up and down the street, he listened to the approaching claws. They were coming from everywhere and he made his choice. He didn’t know how to get out of the ancient city, but he knew if he followed one of the streets to the end, he should find the city edges.

  Cardinal directions didn’t mean anything and with that thought, he headed north. The broken streets shifted underfoot as he walked. Uneven stone made him stumble and he was forced to use the rebar to brace himself. The rust and flaky metal dug into his hand, filling the air with a cloying scent.

  He managed to cross two blocks before the cackling laughter of the hounds started up. Glancing over his shoulder, he watched as seven of the monsters fought one another for the corpses he had left behind.

  Goosebumps rising on his arms, he pressed on before more could join the hunt. Another two blocks away, he found an old building that wasn’t filled with rubble. Slipping through the cracked door, he took a deep breath and scanned the interior.

  Claws had shredded walls and the floor from its previous inhabitant. The sun barely let in enough light through the broken windows to see the bones in the corner. The pile was large, announcing the home of an experienced hunter.

  Gulping, he sniffed the air a few times and found the scent of the Forsaken diminished. The natural scent of death that the Forsaken were known for was nearly absent and only the scent of decaying bones and flesh reached him.

  Whatever lived here is gone.

  With that simple thought, he walked fully into the room. At the edges of the space, he found discarded ancient technology that hadn’t corroded away. He knew what some of it was from museums, and he recognized computers and keyboards. Stories had it that humans used to work in offices, utilizing the machines to make their lives easier.

  Chairs were barely more than splintered remains with rotten fabric. Two out of a dozen desks were still functional against the back wall, blocking the stairs leading up into the building. The space was large enough for a pack of the hounds to share if they could work together.

  This place will work for now. I need to explore further up and see if I can’t find a safe place to rest.

  Gripping his rebar tighter, he moved to the desks and tested their sturdiness. The wood didn’t crack or break apart as he put pressure on them, but it did groan, making him wince.

  As quickly as he could, he climbed over and entered the stairwell. Darkness surrounded him as he ran one hand along the wall while ascending. The stairs switched back, bringing him to the second floor and into the light from the windows.

  Blood stains coated the ground and walls. Small holes dominated the wall with some of them showing small metal projectiles still encased in the stone. What was once likely wallpaper had deteriorated to the point that it was only remnants of color.

  More computers and desks dominated the space. Skeletons were scattered around moldy dividers that separated the desks into their own small boxes. Holes were sprinkled throughout the dividers in no discernable pattern and several of the skeletons sat on chairs, hunched over on the desks.

  What happened here? I have never explored the buildings before. The skeletons are clearly human and from the Great War that rent the world.

  Walking through the room, he opened drawers as carefully as he could. Paper notebooks were breaking down and rotting and he was unable to collect them. Wood chipped off into his hands as he closed the drawers, and more than one handle broke off.

  The stairs continued, leading higher into the building, but he wasn’t done exploring the floor he was on. The edges of the room had individual offices behind broken glass windows. In one of them, he found a bedroll with a skeleton and blood stains. The fabric was moldy, but serviceable.

  At least I have that if needed.

  Checking the rest of the offices, he didn’t find anything apart from several mushrooms claiming one of the desks. He didn’t know if they were poisonous or not, but he was beyond hungry and started picking them.

  Within minutes, he had dozens of the small white mushrooms. Their frilled undersides held hints of dust and spores, and their heads were so small that he could eat all of them and likely still be hungry.

  Popping one into his mouth, he found them to be sweet and tangy. But it wasn’t until a message appeared in his mind that he started to worry.

  New skill: Poison Resistance: Level 1/10

  New skill: Rot Resistance: Level 1/10

  New skill: Corruption Resistance: Level 1/10

  Blinking wildly at all of the notifications, he chewed slowly and swallowed. The moment the mushroom hit his stomach, pain lanced through his body, and he sunk to his knees. The skin on his arms started to break down, turning black with a pungent smell.

  Whatever skill was healing him, fought against the rot, rebuilding his body faster than the mushroom could kill him. He had to clench his mouth shut as tight as possible to stop from screaming as the rest of the mushrooms tumbled from his arms.

  What the hell is happening? Is everything going to try and kill me?

  Minutes passed before another notification came through.

  Poison Resistance: Level 2/10

  Rot Resistance: Level 2/10

  Corruption Resistance: Level 2/10

  Toxin levels in body are currently four percent. Emergency initialization sixty percent.

  What the fuck am I supposed to do with that knowledge?

  Another dozen minutes passed before the rot stopped and his pain faded away. His growling stomach reminded him that he was still painfully hungry, but when he glanced at the mushrooms, his face paled.

  They better not be my only choice…

  Climbing back to his feet, he staggered and nearly fell back down. His blood felt like it was on fire as it coursed through his body.

  Must be the corruption.

  Biting back the pain, he staggered out of the office and into the main room. He needed water still, or something that could keep him hydrated. He knew there would be nothing in the city, unless it rained recently, and he was lucky enough to find a puddle.

  The pain in his body slowly faded as he headed to the stairs. Walking up to the next floor, he found more offices, only these ones weren’t broken and blood stained. The concrete was cracked, but not enough to compromise the floor below it.

  What happened on the previous floor that didn’t happen here?

  Frowning, he searched the floor and found an abundance of the white mushrooms. He could technically eat them, and he had a feeling if he did, he would eventually become immune to their nature. But he also didn’t want to nearly die after every bite.

  He didn’t bother picking them at the moment, instead, letting them grow in case he needed them in the future. The wooden desks they were eating were nearly decomposed, and he was lucky to find them alive still.

  Returning to the stairs, he found the next floor was the open roof. But to get to it, he had to disassemble a barricade of fragile wood and metal. Wooden spikes greeted him after that, decomposed and easy to break. Once he finally stepped foot onto the roof, he found a living space filled with skeletons. From kids and babies, all the way to adults, everyone had died while trying to survive the Great War.

  He didn’t know what to say upon seeing so much death and desperation. The world had come a long way since the war. A few hundred years had passed since the world was rent and the cultivators rose to power. He was among the ones that won the war. Or at least, he was until his core was shattered.

  Closing his eyes for a moment, he listened to the sounds of the Forsaken shift around the city. Claws scraping and growls filled the air now that he was outside. The rich scent of blood wafted on the breeze, likely coming from the massacre of hounds down the street.

  Opening his eyes, he found that he had a reason to smile. Sitting in the middle of the roof were four rain barrels and if the sun was shining on them properly, they held water.

  Stepping up to them, he avoided the bones and peered into the blue, plastic barrels. Then his heart stopped. A layer of taint was floating on the surface of the water. Mixed in were larva from some sort of bug that were on the verge of hatching. Their parents weren’t around, thankfully.

  Frowning, he turned away from what he had hoped would be his answer to survival. He didn’t know how often it rained, but if he learned, he would clean the barrels as best he could and start using them.

  A cackle filled the air from the street below him. Heart pounding, he peered over the edge of the building and watched as a hound crawled through the broken window of the first floor.

  He had no way to escape without going through the monster. With his rebar in hand, he returned to the third floor and prepared himself. He could handle one Forsaken.

  ***

  Luna Rys crouched on the edge of the cliff. Her ears twitched in the wind as the scent of her prey was near. For years, her people had lived off anything that lived. Her chosen weapon, a spear, made from the bone of a towering Forsaken.

  Her tail helped her balance as she peered over the twenty-foot drop. The trees below her were filled with green leaves, hiding the Forsaken that she was hunting. Her dantian thrummed with power as she prepared to drop on her unsuspecting prey.

  She was a hunter. One of the most important people in her village. Ever since the Great War transformed the world and separated her people from the humans, they had lived as nomads, moving around the world. The Fenrir were powerful and filled with pride and only she felt different.

  What else is in the world?

  She had asked herself that question time and time again. She didn’t want to fall into the rut that her parents had adopted. The world was vast and filled with not only humans, but other demi-humans that were in hiding. The humans and their sects dominated the world, but they weren’t the only ones that cultivated. They were just the only ones that had the security of numbers and strength against the Forsaken.

  Gripping her spear, she dropped from the cliff. Qi flooded her body as she absorbed the landing while barely disturbing the dust in the air. Her prey was a rabbit with a large horn, standing three feet tall.

  Its meat was succulent and tasty and would feed her and her people for a week. This was her responsibility, her purpose given to her by her people.

  Stalking through the forest, she never disturbed the leaves and twigs. The Qi in her body erased her scent and her footsteps as she followed the tracks left by the Horned Rabbit. Its hopping steps covered five feet at a time, but its passage through the brush and trees left many broken branches and disturbed markings.

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  An hour passed as she progressed slowly. With each sniff of the air, she shifted her path through the forest. Another ten minutes later, she found her mark.

  The rabbit was covered in soft, black fur that denoted it as one of the Forsaken. Why all of the monsters were black was a mystery that she would never solve. What she did know was that they could be killed and eaten, just like anything else alive in the world.

  Raising her spear, she prepared to strike. Qi swirled in her dantian, filling her limbs with power as her weapon started to glow. With a simple push of her dantian, she blurred across the ground and impaled the monster through the heart. Twisting her weapon, she opened the wound further before withdrawing and watching it fall as a corpse.

  Too easy. There has to be something in the world worth living for. I can’t keep living in the past with my people. I want more. Much more.

  ***

  James slunk through the building, descending to the first floor and the waiting hound. The creature was sniffing the air, searching for him as he peered over the desks barricading the stairwell.

  The flickering flame in the monster’s body was rich and called to him. He knew what he needed to do and raised his hand. The connection to the flames was near instant as he started siphoning the soul of the beast.

  Roaring in pain, the Forsaken snapped its attention to him and charged. Claws carved into the floor, tearing grooves into the concrete. James watched the hound raise its front claws, the bone shimmering in the low light. Blood dripped from its palm, most of it running down to its elbow.

  Raising his rebar, he stepped back into the stairwell as the hound leapt over the desks and slashed at his neck. His quick shift allowed him to evade, but the stairs behind him nearly caused him to trip.

  Calming his breathing like he had done in hundreds of battles, he watched the hound carefully. Bloody claw marks littered its body as the white flames seeped into him. The soul of the monster was fading, robbing it of strength. It was wary as it approached him, crouched low and ready to spring forward.

  Keeping his rebar raised between them like a quarter staff, he tried to call his Aether out of reflex. Pain wracked his body, robbing him of his senses as he screamed and collapsed.

  A moment later, claws were tearing into his arm and sides. Blood streamed from his body as the hound broke his ribs and nicked his liver. Strength faded him quickly as he did his best to cover his vitals as the beast tore into him.

  Powerful jaws clamped down on his wrist, destroying bone and pulling his arm away so that the beast’s claws could puncture his chest, searching for his heart. James knew this was the end.

  Then the hound fell on top of him, its claws no longer carving his body apart.

  Minutes passed as he felt his wounds heal far faster than they had any right to. The corpse of the hound was heavy against his side, pressing down on him and covering him in its scent of death.

  When he heard sniffing outside the building, he froze. Claws scratched at the door, but it lost interest and moved on, helping his heart calm.

  Strength returned to him after another ten minutes. Pushing the corpse of the monster off himself, he sat on the bottom step and gingerly held his crushed wrist. The bones were grinding and snapping back into place, sending their own pain through his body.

  The claw marks that had dominated his flesh were nearly gone and his blood was replenished.

  What is happening to me? Did that skill keep me alive?

  He didn’t have all of the answers yet, but a notification did appear in his mind.

  Regeneration: Level 6/10

  Rot Resistance: Level 3/10

  Soul absorbed. Soul Strength: 0.15

  Body is low on resources. Eat and drink to prevent falling into stasis. Suitable source of nutrition three feet in front of you.

  Pausing his gaze on the Forsaken, he grimaced. Whatever system was talking to him wanted him to eat the hound. He could already feel his body waning and it wouldn’t last much longer.

  Crawling forward, he picked up the monster’s arm and swallowed his fears. Biting into the flesh of the hound, he felt blood squirt between his teeth as he tore out a chunk of meat. The raw taste was visceral on his tongue and made him gag out of reflex.

  He only chewed a few times before realizing that the meat was too tough for him to break apart. Swallowing it whole, he watched as the hound leaked blood.

  Suitable water replacement in your hands.

  Grimacing at the message, he lowered his mouth to the wound and sucked at the blood. The thick liquid coated his tongue with a taste so vile that he nearly hurled. In fact, bile rose in his throat before he forced it down and kept drinking.

  Despite his reluctance, he felt the meat and blood settling in his stomach. He didn’t feel pain, and energy was already returning to his body. Part of his mind was revolted by eating the monster. But the rational side of his mind knew he had to survive. He didn’t know why he was receiving messages and skills, but he knew if he could figure it out, he might be able to kill the man that destroyed him.

  The ember in his body burst to life as his anger took hold. Flickers of power flowed through his heart and into his arms. Bending down, he took another bite out of the hound and swallowed the meat.

  The new mark let more blood seep from the wound, and he quickly drank.

  I can’t get over this taste. It’s beyond disgusting.

  Gritting his teeth, he sat back and recovered from his latest bite. His stomach still felt empty as the flickering ember empowered his body. Something about the Soul Strength made him feel like more than a mortal. The small fraction that he had grown gave him strength that resembled a beginner on the path to cultivation.

  Emergency initialization seventy percent.

  It was nearly done. Soon he would hopefully be given more information. His ground core and withered spirit veins were breaking down, dissolving into the ember that had grown in his abdomen.

  He felt his lip turn up into a snarl as he grabbed the hound and brought it to his mouth. Tearing another chunk off the beast, he swallowed before drinking the blood. Bite after bite, he feasted until his stomach couldn’t hold any more.

  Body resources full. Time until reserves are full: Three hours and fifty-nine minutes.

  Reserves?

  The simple message confused him. But he could feel the food and blood in his stomach breaking down and flowing into the ember. He didn’t know what was happening, but he had no control over it.

  Pushing the dead hound away from him, he retrieved his rebar and moved back to the second floor. His steps felt stronger as he moved over to the sleeping mat and removed the skeleton.

  Don’t know what to do with you, but I don’t think you’ll mind being stuffed in the corner.

  With the bones moved, he laid down and thought out his options. He felt stronger after absorbing the three souls, but was there a limit? How strong could he become? Could he do anything with the souls?

  He had too many questions for his new strength system. He also needed to eat more mushrooms and grow his resistances. If he could get stronger by simply having things happen to him, than he should strive to improve.

  There was a certain thrill to the prospect. He understood that he wouldn’t have to meditate for hours, days, or even weeks to progress. He just needed to fight. Something that he was comfortable with, but never truly pursued.

  Getting back up, he grabbed his rebar and returned to the first floor. Tossing the corpse over the desks, he added it to the bone pile in the corner and moved to the door. The sound of the Forsaken moving around was still present, and the sun had barely progressed towards noon. He had hours in his day to improve his skills and see what else he could learn.

  Stepping onto the street, he scanned the area. A few blocks to the south, a pile of bodies had been built. Corpses of the hounds were being picked at by other hounds as they finally worked together.

  The group was too large for him to fight, at least currently. He could hear Forsaken all around him, and the closest seemed to come from the building across the street.

  Walking over the broken street, he nearly lost his footing when a small six-inch section gave away and disappeared into the subspace of the city. With a frown, he shifted so the sun could shine through the hole and found tunnels beneath him with pipes and hanging metal wires.

  Where can I enter that place? What’s down there?

  He didn’t want to collapse the street to find out, but he decided that finding the entrance would be on his list to accomplish.

  Finishing his approach to the building, he rested his back against the wall and peered through the doorway. The dark interior was barely lit by the sun, and he found display cases littered around the room. Their glass was shattered and the metal rusted while the interior was filled with jewelry.

  A shop. The ancients didn’t have enchanted rings. Worthless junk.

  Touching his own fingers, he found for the first time that his jewelry had been taken from him. He should have noticed before, but the day hadn’t exactly been kind to him. His storage rings with all of his possessions were likely in the hands of the man that broke him.

  Gripping his rebar tightly, he glanced at his outfit. The usual robes that he would wear were absent and in their place were his undershirt and pants. Holes and blood covered both, exposing bare skin and dried blood. He was a mess and would need some sort of clothing if possible.

  Noting that the Forsaken wasn’t in the room, he stepped inside. His steps shifted glass as he crept towards a door at the back of the room. Swallowing his nerves, he kept his weapon raised as the sound of claws scratching the floor drew closer.

  Before he could reach the door, the tall figure of the hound stepped out. Its black skin rippled with muscle as its internal flames flickered through its body. Focusing on the flames, James pulled and felt the connection between them establish.

  The loss of its soul enraged the hound, and it charged. Saliva dripped from its maw as it raised both arms to tear him apart.

  Stepping to the side, James avoided the attack and whipped out with his rebar. The metal struck hard, and bones broke in the creature’s side that caused it to slide across the ground.

  Recovering, it eyed him warily as its soul was pulled from its body. Its instincts drove it to attack again, and James met it with a raised weapon, blocking the descending claws. His arms shook as the beast started to overpower him and he was forced to jump back and leave his weapon.

  Sliding his feet across the ground, he dropped into his martial stance and calmed his racing heart. The hound stomped on the rebar, bending the metal before charging again. Slightly hunched over, it put all of its power into its legs and leapt.

  Shifting to the side, James grabbed its outstretched arm and twisted. The airborne monster couldn’t avoid having its body thrown into the wall. Its head cracked against the stone wall, and it slumped to the ground, dazed. Before it could get up, its soul was ripped from its body, and it fell as a corpse.

  Soul absorbed. Soul Strength: 0.2

  New skill: Improvised Weapons: Level 1/10

  It appeared using the rebar enough times gave him a new skill. He didn’t quite understand it until he retrieved his bent rebar and instantly understood the flaws with his choice.

  Something spoke to him, telling him that the weapon was fragile. It was too rusted and decayed to be of much use. It would still serve for the time being, but he needed something more. Glancing out the door, he eyed the hole into the lower level of the streets.

  Would I be able to find something down there?

  The instant knowledge was odd and a little disconcerting. His mind was being influenced by the system, just like his body. How much was going to change?

  Walking over to the dead hound, he nudged it with his rebar. Its flame was gone, and his ember was larger. The sparks flickering off it, flowed through his body, giving him strength. He wanted to know what would happen when the initialization finished. With that thought in mind, he returned to his shelter.

  ***

  Luna carried the Horned Rabbit into her village. It had already been gutted and bled dry, and its black fur could be used for clothes. Her own chest wrap and shorts came from such an animal.

  “Is this all you have brought us?”

  Dropping the rabbit, Luna turned to the voice. Elder Brim had a snide grin as he looked over her latest kill.

  “It’s plenty of food,” she stated.

  “Ren would have killed two of them if not take down one of the buffalo.”

  Scowling, Luna snorted. “Then send him out next time. I won’t overhunt and our people don’t need another feast to soothe your ego.”

  “Watch your tongue,” Brim snarled.

  “Or what?” Luna snapped. “You’ll throw me out of the village? You need me.”

  Smirking, Brim glanced at her kill before regarding her. “There are plenty of ways to punish your insolence, child.”

  For some reason, a shiver passed through her body. She had clashed with the elder on many occasions, but it seemed recently that it had been growing worse. The way his eyes roamed her body was unsettling.

  “I’ll put the kill away, elder.”

  “You do that, child.” Turning, Brim walked away. With his back turned to her, she spotted the strands of hair that had been tied to his dreads. The markings of the women he had claimed through his lifetime.

  Touching her own snow-white hair, she couldn’t help but imagine it being added to his collection. Would her hair stand out against his coppery coloring?

  Swallowing hard, she grabbed the rabbit and started carrying it to the kitchen. The sooner she could drop it off, the sooner she could run to the river and clean up. Something told her that her freedom wasn’t guaranteed for much longer.

  ***

  James rested with his eyes closed as the message he had been waiting for appeared.

  Emergency initialization complete. Please stand by.

  Sitting up, he felt a wave of vertigo pass through his body. The ember in his stomach flared with sparks that flowed through his body before another message came through.

  My beautiful son. If you are receiving this message then the experiment was a success and you are in dire need of assistance. Your core has likely been destroyed. I have prepared for such a situation, knowing that the Misty Mountain Sect would harbor hatred towards your genius.

  From a young age, I always knew you would upset the sect head. You developed your core early and flourished. That’s why I had to enact this plan. Your father was against it, but I wouldn’t relent, and we blamed the recovery from the procedure on you catching the flu.

  My dear child, I know what I did was unfair, but now you have a chance to continue living. Your soul has been activated, and I infused you with Soul Siphon. Everything has lifeforce that you can feed on to grow stronger. Soul Attacks will be your greatest strength. It may not be able to replace Aether, but the soul is boundless. I don’t know what direction your growth will take, but you need to feast. Grow stronger and thrive.

  The skills that you can gain are endless if given the time and circumstances to grow. Resistances, fighting guides, even magic are within your grasp. I won’t pretend to understand how to gain them, but I do know that you can. The procedure took on a life of its own once it merged with your body. Listen to its warnings and instructions. If it is working like I hope, it’ll guide you to an extent.

  I’m sorry that I couldn’t be with you to see this day. Know that I always loved you,

  Mother.

  James felt his eyes well up with tears as he read through the message a second time. His mother was always a strange woman, but to know that he was an experiment was something else. He could feel the love that she put into helping him, knowing that his day might come.

  Closing down the message, he received another.

  Review Status? Y/N

  Yes.

  The message faded and a knew full bodied message appeared.

  Name: James Matson

  Soul Strength: 0.2

  Soul Skills

  Soul Siphon

  Skills

  Regeneration: Level 6/10

  Pain Resistance: Level 4/10

  Heat Resistance: Level 2/10

  Poison Resistance: Level 2/10

  Rot Resistance: Level 3/10

  Corruption Resistance: Level 2/10

  Improvised Weapons: Level 1/10

  A list of everything he had gained so far was listed in detail. They were all self-explanatory and for the first time, it felt like the situation was real. He truly did heal fast, and the pain was lessening in his fights. But would Heat Resistance truly help him survive the nights?

  What other soul skills can I gain? What other skills can I gain for that matter? Is this truly a new way to grow stronger? How did my mother even come up with it?

  There were too many questions, and he knew he would have to grow stronger to answer most of them. With that in his mind, he got up and grabbed his bent weapon. Returning to the street, he found the hole leading to the tunnels under the street and smiled. They ran north to south, and he figured if he headed north, he would find the entrance.

  With his weapon in hand, he didn’t hesitate to start walking. His body felt stronger, and he was looking forward to stealing more souls. He was in a city filled with Forsaken that were ripe for the picking. He had no real reason to leave unless they stopped helping him grow.

  He of course wanted to destroy his old sect and would once he proved he was growing stronger. He had a long away to go before he could kill the nascent soul of his old sect head.

  With a smile on his face, he ventured further into the city. It was time to steal more souls.