The acrid taste of burnt metal and something else—something metallic and strangely vital—still lingered on Kaelen's tongue. The memory of the [Abyssal Evolution System] interface flaring to life before his eyes was seared into his mind, less a memory and more a persistent afterimage against the backdrop of the crumbling cityscape. Chapter 1, "The World that Hungers," hadn't just been a title; it was the fundamental law of this broken reality. And now, Kaelen felt that hunger, not just in his own gnawing stomach, but as an echo resonating from the System itself. It demanded fuel. It demanded biomass.
[System Initialized. Host Status: Weakened. Energy Reserves: Critical.] [Objective: Consume Biomass to Initiate Abyssal Evolution.]
The notifications scrolled across his vision, translucent blue text against the grey ruin. Kaelen clutched his head, the phantom taste intensifying. He'd consumed... something... in the chaos of the world's shattering. A mutated scavenger rat, maybe? The memory was hazy, overshadowed by the sheer shock of survival and the System's sudden activation. But he remembered the result: a faint warmth spreading through him, a slight easing of the crushing fatigue, and the acquisition of his first, rudimentary Skill.
[Skill Acquired: Minor Toxin Resistance (Passive) - Derived from Rattus Pestis Minoris genetic data.]
It wasn't much, but it was proof. The System was real. Consumption equaled power. Survival meant eating everything.
His stomach cramped violently, a physical manifestation of the System's critical energy warning. He needed to hunt. Now.
Kaelen forced himself to focus, pushing past the dizziness. He mentally probed the System interface, trying to recall the brief tutorial messages that had flashed by. "Status," he subvocalized, his voice raspy.
A more detailed screen overlaid his vision:
[Host Status: Kaelen] [Physiology: Human (Baseline)] [Energy Level: 4/100] [Biomass Reserves: 0.2/10] [Evolution Stage: 0 (Nascent)] [Skills:] - Minor Toxin Resistance (Passive) [Available Evolution Pathways: None (Requires sufficient Biomass and Genetic Data)]
Four percent energy. It felt generous. He felt like he was running on fumes scraped from the bottom of an empty barrel. The world swam slightly. He needed biomass, and soon.
He scanned the desolate street. Overturned vehicles rusted under a perpetually overcast sky, their metal skins peeling like sunburnt flesh. Shattered buildings clawed towards the heavens, their empty windows like vacant eyes staring into the abyss. Movement flickered in the periphery.
Low to the ground, skittering between piles of rubble, was a creature unlike anything Kaelen had seen before the world broke. It resembled an oversized cockroach, easily the length of his forearm, but its chitinous shell pulsed with a faint, sickly green luminescence. Its mandibles clicked audibly, sharp and serrated, scraping against the cracked pavement as it scavenged for unseen morsels.
[Target Identified: Lumina Blatta (Mutated Insectoid)] [Threat Level: Low (Caution Advised)] [Potential Biomass Yield: 1.5 Units] [Potential Genetic Data: Bioluminescence, Chitin Reinforcement, Acid Spit (Trace)]
The System's analysis was cold, clinical, and utterly vital. 1.5 Biomass Units. More than enough to get him out of the critical zone. Potential new skills. His hunger, both physical and System-driven, surged.
Kaelen crouched low, grabbing a jagged piece of rebar from the ground. It was heavy, unwieldy, but better than nothing. He moved slowly, using the wreckage for cover, his heart pounding against his ribs. The Lumina Blatta seemed preoccupied, its antennae twitching as it investigated a pile of debris.
He closed the distance. Ten meters. Five. The creature suddenly froze, its luminescent glow intensifying slightly. Its head swiveled, multifaceted eyes fixing on Kaelen's position. It sensed him.
No time for stealth. Kaelen burst from cover, raising the rebar high. The Blatta reacted instantly, letting out a high-pitched chitter and spitting a globule of viscous, green liquid. Kaelen instinctively twisted, the acid splashing harmlessly against a concrete slab beside him, sizzling and smoking on impact. Acid Spit (Trace) - the System had warned him.
He brought the rebar down with all his might. It struck the creature's carapace with a sickening crunch. The Blatta shrieked, thrashing wildly, but the blow had cracked its shell. Greenish ichor oozed from the wound. It wasn't dead. It scrambled, trying to flee on damaged legs, its mandibles snapping defensively.
Kaelen didn't hesitate. He struck again, and again, the heavy iron bar crushing the creature's head and thorax. The thrashing stopped. The luminescence faded.
Silence descended, broken only by Kaelen's ragged breathing. He stared at the mangled insect, revulsion warring with a primal sense of triumph and overwhelming hunger.
[Target Neutralized. Proceed with Consumption?]
He knelt, the rebar falling from numb fingers. Reaching out a trembling hand, he placed it on the cracked carapace. "Consume," he whispered.
The world dissolved into data. Kaelen didn't see himself eating the Blatta in the traditional sense. Instead, the System took over. He felt a strange pulling sensation, originating from his palm. The Blatta's physical form seemed to de-rez, breaking down into shimmering particles of green and brown light that flowed into his hand, absorbed directly into his being through the System's interface. It wasn't eating; it was assimilation. He felt the creature's final, fading bio-signature, the faint chemical tang of its acid, the structural resilience of its chitin – all translated into raw data and energy.
[Biomass Consumed: +1.6 Units] [Energy Level: 20/100] [Genetic Data Analyzed: Lumina Blatta] [Skill Acquired: Minor Chitin Reinforcement (Passive) - Skin resilience slightly increased.] [Skill Acquired: Glow (Active) - Emit faint bioluminescence. Energy Cost: 1/min] [Trace Genetic Data Secured: Acid Spit (Requires further related data for Skill manifestation)] [Evolution Pathway Updated: Basic Insectoid Adaptation (12% Progress)]
The gnawing hunger subsided, replaced by a surge of energy, faint but undeniable. His skin tingled, feeling subtly tougher. He experimentally activated the 'Glow' skill. A faint, greenish light emanated from his skin for a second before he quickly shut it off, startled.
He had done it. He had hunted, killed, and consumed. The System rewarded him. He felt stronger, more capable. But as he looked at the spot where the Blatta had been, now just a faint stain on the concrete, a cold understanding settled in his gut, deeper than the lingering echoes of consumption.
This was just the beginning. The world hungered, and so did the Abyss within him. To survive, to evolve, he would have to become the ultimate omnivore, the apex predator in a world determined to devour him first. The hunt had just begun.