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Vorlag hadn't given up. He'd called in the big guns. Kael looked at the pathetic bounty from the locker – food, water, temporary sanity. Then he touched the cold Wrath-Band fragment in his pocket. Power demanded sacrifice. Sanity. Blood. He had 200 XP to earn before a holy executioner came knocking. The War God's path grew ever steeper, ever darker. He closed his eyes, the generator's hum his only shield against the storm inside and out.
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The violet hum of the warding generator was a fragile lifeline in the ruins' oppressive silence. Kael devoured a nutrient brick, its chalky taste a stark contrast to the phantom whispers clawing at the edges of the field. The System's cold voice confirmed the new reality:
> **SYSTEM:** *"PROGRESSION PARAMETERS UPDATED PER USER DIRECTIVE."*
> *"CLARIFICATION:*
> * **EXPERIENCE POINTS (XP):** *Solely* for Level Advancement. (Current: Level 3 | XP: 0/200)
> * **WAR POINTS (WP):** *Solely* for Skill/Quirk Acquisition & Upgrades. (Current: 125 WP)
> * **STAT INCREASES:** Automatic +1 to ALL Stats upon Level Up. (Next: Level 4)"
> *"OBJECTIVE REMAINS: ACQUIRE 200 XP BEFORE ELITE LIGHTBRINGER ARRIVAL (EST: 5 HOURS)."*
The weight of the Wrath-Band Fragment in his pocket pulsed, a siren call of power and madness. **125 WP.** Enough for something significant. But the cost? His sanity hung by a thread at **52/100**.
> **SYSTEM:** *"ANALYZING WRATH-BAND FRAGMENT... COMPATIBILITY CONFIRMED. POTENTIAL SKILL UNLOCK: [WRATH-SURGE] (TIER 1)."*
> *"EFFECT: TEMPORARILY CONVERT USER'S RAGE/FEAR INTO STAT BOOST (CHOOSE: STR, AGI, OR END). DURATION: 30 SECONDS. COOLDOWN: 10 MINUTES."*
> *"COST: 100 WP + SANITY DRAIN (VARIABLE: 5-15 POINTS PER ACTIVATION)."*
> *"WARNING: FREQUENT USE ACCELERATES PSYCHOSIS."*
Power. Immediate, brutal power. Exactly what he needed against the ruins' dangers to grind XP fast. But the sanity cost... Vorlag's face flashed in his mind, the Lightbringer's imminent threat. *No choice.* He gripped the cold metal fragment. "Unlock it."
> **SYSTEM:** *"UNLOCKING SKILL: [WRATH-SURGE] (TIER 1)."*
> *"WAR POINTS DEDUCTED: 100 WP. REMAINING: 25 WP."*
> *"WARNING: SANITY VULNERABILITY INCREASED. PSYCHOTIC BREAK PROBABILITY: 88%."*
A jolt of icy fire seared his nerves. The ward's hum momentarily faltered. The whispers surged – *KILLER! CONTAGION!* – before the violet light pushed them back. Sanity: **50/100**. He felt different. Raw. Like a live wire wrapped in fraying insulation. The Wrath-Band seemed fused to his palm.
> **SYSTEM:** *"SCANNING RUINS... XP SOURCE DETECTED: SCOUT PARTY (x3). AFFILIATION: GUTTER SCAVENGERS (HOSTILE). LOCATION: 200M EAST. THREAT LEVEL: LOW-MEDIUM (INDIVIDUAL), MEDIUM (GROUP)."*
> *"ESTIMATED XP YIELD: 15-25 PER TARGET. RECOMMENDATION: ENGAGE. UTILIZE NEW SKILL."*
Kael slipped out of the armory, the System overlaying a tactical path through rubble-strewn streets. His enhanced Perception (**PER: 2**) picked out the scavengers long before he saw them: the scrape of boots on stone, guttural whispers, the faint smell of unwashed bodies and crude oil. Three figures, clad in patched leather and scavenged plating, cautiously prodding debris with spears tipped with sharpened rebar.
*Perfect.*
He focused inward, on the cold knot of fear for the Lightbringer, the burning ember of rage at Vorlag, the crushing despair of being hunted. He *fed* it to the Wrath-Band. "Wrath-Surge: Agility!"
> **SYSTEM:** *"[WRATH-SURGE] ACTIVATED (AGILITY). DURATION: 30 SECONDS."*
> *"BASE AGI: 9 → TEMP AGI: 18."*
> *"SANITY DRAIN: -8 POINTS. CURRENT SANITY: 42/100."*
The world snapped into hyperfocus. Sound sharpened. Light intensified. His body felt impossibly light, almost vibrating with kinetic potential. The whispers became a deafening shriek – *FASTER! KILL!* – but buried beneath the surge of power. Time seemed to slow.
He moved.
One scavenger turned, eyes widening. "Wha—?" Kael was already past him, a phantom blur. A chop to the throat (non-lethal, XP target!) dropped the man choking. The second scavenger lunged with his spear. Kael sidestepped effortlessly, the crude weapon passing through air where he'd been. A sweeping kick shattered the man's knee. He screamed, collapsing.
> **SYSTEM:** *"XP GAINED: +20 (TARGETS NEUTRALIZED). TOTAL XP: 20/200."*
The third scavenger, larger and wearing a rusted helm, roared and charged like a bull. Kael let him come. At the last second, he flowed *under* the wild swing, coming up inside the man's guard. He drove his fist, fueled by unnatural speed, into the scavenger's solar plexus. The air blasted from the man's lungs. He folded, gasping like a fish.
> **SYSTEM:** *"XP GAINED: +15. TOTAL XP: 35/200."*
> *"[WRATH-SURGE] ENDED. AGILITY: 18 → 9. COOLDOWN INITIATED."*
The world slammed back into normal speed. Dizziness washed over Kael. He staggered, clutching his head. The whispers roared back, louder, more insistent, mingled with the scavengers' pained groans. *Weak! Pathetic! You need MORE!* Sanity: **42/100**. He felt hollowed out, trembling. The Wrath-Band felt searing hot against his skin. He'd gained **35 XP** in less than a minute... but the cost was terrifying.
He rifled through the scavengers' meager supplies – a few more nutrient pastes, a water skin, a chipped but serviceable dagger. Then, the System's warning flared crimson:
> **SYSTEM:** *"ALERT: HIGH-ENERGY SIGNATURE DETECTED CROSSING STYX CANAL."*
> *"ANALYSIS: TEMPLE LIGHTBRINGER ELITE. SIGNATURE CONFIRMED: 'SERAPHIM-CLASS PURIFIER'."*
> *"ESTIMATED TIME TO USER LOCATION: 60 MINUTES."*
**One hour.**
Panic warred with exhaustion. He needed **165 more XP**. He couldn't afford another massive sanity hit like that so soon. He looked at the dagger in his hand, then towards the deeper, darker heart of the ruins where the System pulsed a faint, ominous marker: **[AREA: 'THE GODFALL CRATER'. THREAT LEVEL: EXTREME. ESTIMATED XP DENSITY: VERY HIGH.]**
Before he could decide, a beam of searing *white light* lanced down from the sky, vaporizing a crumbling tower less than half a kilometer away. The thunderclap that followed shook the ground. A figure, silhouetted against the roiling dust cloud, hovered on wings of pure, blinding radiance. The Lightbringer Elite had arrived early. And it wasn't bothering with stealth.
The Purifier's voice, amplified and devoid of mercy, echoed across the wasteland:
***"ABOMINATION. YOUR DIVINE CONTAGION ENDS NOW. SURRENDER FOR PURIFICATION... OR BE ERASED."***
Kael ducked behind a shattered wall, heart hammering against his ribs. The warding generator's violet light seemed pathetically dim against the Purifier's blinding radiance. 60 minutes became zero. The hunt was over. The execution had begun. He had **35 XP**, a stolen dagger, a sanity meter screaming towards oblivion, and a fallen god's ghost whispering desperate, bloody strategies in his ear. The War God's path demanded everything. Survival demanded more.
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