"Sometimes pain isn't punishment."
"Sometimes it's the price of waking up."
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> [Time Remaining: 6:07:14]
> [Divine Task: Survive until moonrise]
> [Status: Hollow Rank – No Divine Acts unlocked]
———————————————
Joe Lanzeta didn't run.
He couldn't.
His legs were heavy. His lungs fought for air.
The glyph burn on his chest pulsed like a second heartbeat—one that didn't care if it killed him.
All around him, the Celestialspawn closed in. Four of them. Maybe five. It was hard to tell. Some of their limbs bent wrong. Some didn't have faces—just carved stone masks, like ancient coins melted into flesh.
They hissed in a language he couldn't understand.
But the intent was clear.
> Devour the Vessel.
Joe grabbed a broken pipe from the ground.
Pathetic weapon. Bent. Rusted. But it had weight.
He raised it anyway.
> "Come on," he muttered, forcing his body to stay upright.
"Just... come on."
The first beast lunged.
He swung wide. Missed. The pipe clanged off the stone wall behind him.
Teeth tore across his ribs.
Blood sprayed. Pain exploded.
Joe screamed—and swung again.
This time he connected.
The metal struck bone. Cracked something inside the creature's shoulder. It reeled, more out of surprise than pain. Celestialspawn didn't feel things the way humans did.
But Joe felt everything.
He staggered back, gripping his side. Blood leaked fast.
The other three closed in.
> One breath.
One heartbeat.
One second from death.
And then—
———————————————
> [SOUL SPIKE: DETECTED."]
———————————————
His eyes flashed white.
The glyph across his chest flared—no, burned. His veins lit up like firewire. His pulse roared in his ears.
The pain didn't go away.
It multiplied.
But he didn't fall.
———————————————
> [COVENANT PROTOCOL: FLICKER RANK ACTIVATED
> [Divine Act: [Blood-Linked Reversal] Unlocked (1 use only)
> [Warning: Overuse may cause organ failure, neural instability, or death.
———————————————
Joe dropped the pipe.
His hands curled into fists. His body moved—faster than thought. He didn't understand the technique. He didn't need to.
> His pain became motion.
His agony became fire.
He slammed his elbow into the nearest spawn's throat—bones crunched, fluid exploded from its eye sockets. Another beast rushed him. He ducked low, drove a knee into its ribs, and ripped the mask clean off.
It disintegrated on contact.
Then his legs gave out.
The light faded.
His body collapsed into the dirt—shaking, bleeding, cold.
———————————————
> [Divine Task Status: 4:33:50 Remaining]
> [Warning: Vital signs unstable.]
> [Recommendation: Seek shelter.]
> [Penalty for failure: Permanent bond severance. Vessel termination.]
> [Secondary note: "You are not alone."]
———————————————
Joe's vision dimmed.
His last thought before unconsciousness:
> That burn… it didn't kill me.
It made me strong—just long enough to survive.
---
In the distance, someone was running toward him.
White hair. Crimson eyes. A voice like frost—
> "Idiot. I told you to survive. Not bleed out like a hero."