Chapter 3 – Escape Through the City and the Gaze of Monsters
[Henrique's Perspective]
Silence weighed heavy in the air.
Even the children, usually restless, barely breathed as the world crumbled around them.
The school they had taken shelter in no longer felt safe.
With every hour, the tremors beneath the ground grew stronger.
It was as if something — or many things — were moving below, digging tunnels, sniffing out... souls.
Kiala appeared at the door.
"We need to leave," she said, her voice soft but carrying the weight of a hundred centuries. "They are closing in."
Henrique didn't argue.
He gathered his children, still staggering from the pain of the newly fused core in his chest.
But something had changed inside him.
He was no longer the broken man who begged for answers — now, there was a thirst in his eyes.
As they moved through the hallways, the System reacted.
[Muscle Slash upgraded to Level 2]
Damage increased to 135%. Energy consumption reduced.
"This..." Henrique muttered. "The System… it's recognizing me."
"You're evolving," said Kiala. "Few humans have. Most die before reaching Level 5."
"You're still on the first step."
They stepped outside the school.
And the city had grown worse.
Monsters roamed in pairs.
Some crawled over buildings like enormous insects.
Others seemed made of living smoke, with blank white eyes and teeth all over their skin.
But what struck Henrique most… was what stood still.
At the intersection up ahead, three creatures stood with almost human shapes.
Their skin was gray, their mouths sewn shut with iron threads.
Each had a third eye open on their forehead — unmoving, fixed on Henrique.
"What are those?" he asked in a low voice.
"Observers," Kiala replied. "They do not attack. They only watch those who carry… destiny."
"They know about me?"
"They know you carry something rare."
Henrique swallowed hard.
He felt exposed before them. The third eye seemed to peer straight into his soul.
They fled through alleys, avoiding the main roads.
Leandro no longer cried, but watched everything with a mix of awe and fear.
Miro slept in his sister's arms. Henrique was tired — but steady.
That's when they heard the scream.
A human scream.
Henrique froze, heart racing.
"Help… someone… please!"
It was a weak voice, but filled with desperation.
"Let's go," Henrique said, changing course.
"You'd delay your escape for a stranger?" Kiala asked coldly.
"I'm still human."
Kiala stared at him for a moment. Then said nothing.
Down the alley, two men — filthy, armed with makeshift blades — were looming over a boy, no older than Sónia.
"We ain't got food, brat. But you can still be useful, huh?"
Henrique moved on instinct.
[Active Skill: Muscle Slash – Level 2]
With one wide step, he slashed the first man's abdomen.
The body collapsed without a scream.
The second turned just in time to see Henrique's fist crush his jaw.
The boy fled in terror.
[You have defeated: Corrupted Human – Level 3]
[+70 EXP]
[Drop: Core Fragment (Low Grade)]
Henrique panted.
"I… killed again."
"And you will save as many as you wish… if you keep killing," Kiala said.
"Those who survive without killing… will be enslaved by those who kill for them."
Henrique picked up the fragment. He didn't know what to do with it, but his body burned.
"So this is it… the new world?"
"Yes."
"Welcome to the true battlefield."
[Lívia's Perspective]
She woke on the cold apartment floor.
But her body was no longer entirely human.
All the mirrors in the house had cracked.
In each one, a different version of herself appeared — crowned, bloodstained, cruel.
[Soul Synchronization: 17%]
[Imperial Blood identified]
[New skill: "Empress's Gaze" – Active (Level 1)]
A visual command that subjugates creatures of lower intelligence.
"What… power is this?"
Below the balcony, the city burned.
She raised her hand — and with her own eyes, saw two mid-level monsters kneel before the building.
Not just out of fear.
But obedience.
"You've returned. You are the Empress of Stellar Blood."
And she smiled.
"Henrique…"
"Let's see if you can abandon me now."
[Henrique's Perspective]
With the children safe for now and the path ahead uncertain, Henrique sat on the curb outside a destroyed store.
His hands trembled.
But his eyes were more alive than ever.
Kiala sat beside him — not touching the ground, floating gently, as if the world no longer reached her.
"Why are you with me?" he asked.
She looked at him.
And for the first time… her face looked sad.
"Because you carry something… that could change everything."
"What?"
"An ancient core. A power that doesn't belong to this time."
"The same kind of power that slumbers… inside your ex-wife."
Henrique turned to her, stunned.
"How do you know about her?"
Kiala smiled faintly.
"Because your story and hers have been entwined for millennia."
"You've just forgotten. And she… is remembering."
As night fell, the Observers vanished.
But new presences began to stir.
On top of buildings, humans in makeshift armor appeared — wielding energy weapons Henrique had never seen.
One of them pointed at the group.
"Hey! You there! Stop right now!"
Kiala rose to her feet.
"The first hunters have arrived."
"Friends?"
"Perhaps. Or perhaps… predators in disguise."