The dawn had no warmth.
Cain stood beneath the broken sky, the ruins of the Pit far behind him. Smoke curled from a nearby forest fire—likely the result of a Purifier spell cast during the hunt for him. The scent of scorched earth mingled with ash and pine, and in the distance, crows circled like sentinels of death.
But none of that mattered.
He was alive.
And more than that—he was awakened.
A glowing panel flickered before his eyes, translucent and jagged around the edges like cracked glass. The [System] felt less like a tool and more like something alive—watching, adapting.
[BEASTBINDER SYSTEM – ACTIVE]Host: Cain VirellRank: E (Newborn)Status: Partial Fusion – Shadow Wolf (Nyx)Beast Core Fragments: 1Beast Bond: 6% (Tier 0)Soul Traits:– Umbral Affinity (Shadow-Type Skills gain +5% potency)– Resilient Will (Pain Tolerance +12%)
StatsSTR: 5 [+1]AGI: 4 [+1]VIT: 3INT: 3WIS: 2CHA: 1
Available Points: 1
Skills:– Umbral Sight [Lv.1]– Feral Reflex (Passive)– Beastbind: Nyx – Fusion Level 1
Cain stared at it, absorbing every line.
He was still weak—barely stronger than an apprentice squire—but the potential hummed just beneath his skin. One point wouldn't change much, but it felt like the beginning of something far greater.
He placed it into VIT—he needed to survive before he could strike.
"A wise choice," Nyx murmured. "But strength alone won't carry you. The world will chase us now."
Cain clenched his fists.
"I hope it does."
He found a cloak among the corpse of a long-dead traveler buried under the roots nearby. The forest had reclaimed him, but Cain scavenged what he could—boots, wrappings, a satchel, and a bone-handled dagger. Nothing noble. Nothing blessed.
But Cain wasn't either.
He tied back his dark hair with a strip of cloth and pulled the hood over his head. His reflection in a puddle showed a shadowy version of the boy Darius once knew—his right eye still glowed faintly, wolf-slit, cold.
No going back now.
He walked for hours—slow, careful, avoiding roads. The Blackreach Forest was dense and ancient, tangled with briars and rot. He saw things in the trees—flickers of shadow, the glow of beast-eyes watching. But none dared approach.
Not with Nyx's presence clinging to him like a second skin.
Eventually, he reached a cliffside overlooking the valley beyond. Far in the distance, a fortress city loomed like a vulture on a mountain—Arcaen Hollow, home to the Order of Purity.
Cain's jaw tightened.
He could see the golden towers, the spears on the battlements, the burning crucibles meant for people like him.
His blood boiled.
"You were born to be culled," Nyx whispered. "Now you will cull them."
But not yet.
He needed power.
[System Notification – Side Quest Available]"Whispers in the Woods"A strange presence stalks the beasts of Blackreach. Slay the false predator.
Difficulty: DReward: 2 Stat Points, 1 Skill Fragment, Beast Bond Progress (+5%)
Cain smirked.
"Looks like the forest wants to test me."
He looked over his shoulder, back into the shadowed woods.
Let it come.
Let everything come.
He had crawled from a pit meant to erase him. He had bound with a cursed beast and survived. The old Cain—the loyal one, the naive one—had bled out on that altar.
What stood now was something new.
A beastbinder.
A revenant.
A future killer of gods.
And his hunt had just begun.