The world was silent. The constant hum of the city, the distant sounds of traffic, even the birds chirping—all of it faded into nothingness.
Alex's eyes fluttered open.
Pain. His entire body ached as though it had been torn apart and stitched back together. His breath was shallow, ragged. He tried to push himself up, but his arms shook violently, unable to hold his weight.
Then he looked around.
He was still on the street. The ghoul that had attacked him was gone, the only trace of it being a few scattered pieces of debris from the destruction it had caused. Alex's gaze drifted to the ground, where his blood had pooled around him, but now it seemed strangely... darker. More like oil than anything human.
He wiped his forehead, feeling the sticky, unfamiliar sensation of cold sweat. His head felt like it was about to burst.
Then he saw it.
A shimmering display of light, appearing in front of him like a hologram. Words began to form, glowing against the darkness in the air.
---
SYSTEM INTERFACE
Name: Alex Kairo
Race: Halfling Ghoul
Strength: 15
Stamina: 30
Agility: 16
Hunger Level: 25%
---
"What the hell…" Alex muttered, his voice hoarse.
A shock ran through him, coursing from his chest to his fingertips, like an electric current. His body trembled as the words glowed brighter. The system.
The system that had spoken to him moments before the ghoul struck. He hadn't understood it then, but now it was all too clear. This... this was part of what was happening to him. The reason for the transformation. But... Halfling Ghoul? What was that supposed to mean?
He stood unsteadily, his vision spinning for a moment before stabilizing. The world seemed different somehow. His senses were sharper, more attuned to everything around him. Every footstep, every movement of the wind felt... amplified.
He flexed his fingers. Strength pulsed through his veins, but it wasn't like the human strength he was used to. It felt... rawer. Feral. His muscles twitched with a life of their own.
He didn't have time to focus on that. His mind raced back to the fight. The ghoul's words. The system's interface. The sudden surge of power that had coursed through him when he needed it most.
Ghoul Integration: 7%…
The words came back to him in a flash. The pain, the hunger—it was all tied to this. The integration process hadn't finished yet. His body still wasn't fully acclimated. But what did that mean for him now?
He touched his chest. The pendant, the necklace his mother had given him, was no longer there. It was gone, reduced to nothingness when the system activated. He could feel it—no longer hanging around his neck, but still inside of him. The energy from it, the system, was now embedded deep within.
But there was something else. A hunger.
His stomach twisted painfully as the craving surged again, gnawing at him. Flesh. Blood. He didn't know how, but the feeling of needing to feed was growing stronger. It was like a beast inside of him, desperate to be let out.
"No," he muttered to himself, staggering forward, his legs unsteady as he tried to make sense of it all.
But deep down, he knew that wasn't entirely true. Not anymore.
His body wasn't fully ghoul, but it was closer than it had ever been. And he wasn't sure what that meant for him—whether it was a blessing or a curse.
He needed to focus. Get to the academy. Get control of this... whatever was happening to him. The last thing he needed was to become a mindless monster. The system would help. It had to.
But as he staggered to his feet and began walking, the hunger didn't subside. It lurked, bubbling just below the surface.
---
In the distance, a figure stood, watching him. The same hooded figure that had been present before—quiet, calm, observing. The figure didn't approach, just stood there in the shadows, waiting for something.
Alex's mind buzzed with questions, his heart racing. Who was that? And what role did they play in all this?
The figure didn't seem to acknowledge Alex, yet their presence felt overwhelming, like a shadow that couldn't be escaped. There was something unnerving about the way they remained silent, as if they were waiting for Alex to make the next move.
Alex's instincts screamed at him to stay alert. There was something off about that person. But his thoughts were cut short when another update flashed across his system interface:
---
SYSTEM UPDATE
Assimilation Progress: 9%…
Warning: Hunger Level Rising
Suggestion: Immediate Action Required
---
"Shit..." Alex hissed. The hunger was getting worse.
---
SYSTEM WARNING
Hunger Level: 75%
Critical Alert: Mental Instability Detected. Immediate Feeding Required.
Alex's stomach churned with desperation. His body demanded something... flesh, but he didn't want to give in to it. The fear of what it would turn him into—the monster he was already becoming—was a constant weight on his chest.
With no other choice, he pushed forward, attempting to ignore the gnawing urge, but his thoughts were clouded. The figure in the distance remained, their head tilted as though watching his struggle.
Then the person approached him saying "a ghoul"?
Interesting
Then Alex fell unconscious.
When he woke up the huner was gone,the last thing he remembered was a hooded figure approaching him.
Who was that person? Was it an ally? Or a threat?
He had no answers. No idea what was going on. But the academy loomed ahead, its gates open and welcoming, just like they had been in his dreams.
And so, Alex walked toward his uncertain future, knowing that whatever waited for him there... it would be far worse than anything he had yet faced.