The pre-dawn air of the Obsidian Expanse was cold enough to steal the breath from one's lungs. A shroud of grey mist clung to the black, glassy ground. Kaelen stood at the edge of the camp, a shadow among shadows.
His decision to join the hunt was born from a sharp, bitter lesson learned the previous day. When Borin's party had returned with the Cinder-backed Crawler, the Index had flared in Kaelen's vision for a fleeting moment: Essence Yield: Impure. But in the chaos of the camp and the public butchering, he had no opportunity to investigate. Later, when he'd discreetly passed the discarded carcass, he had focused his will, searching for the promised shard. There was nothing. The Index had offered a cold, simple explanation: Essence Signature Dissipated. Target expired >24 standard hours.
The shard had a time limit. A 24-hour window. He had missed his first chance at a higher-quality component. He would not miss the next.
This understanding sharpened his focus. It wasn't just about finding prey; it was about timing.
The hunt proceeded as before. Borin, the bull, leading the two wiry hunters, Loric and Fenn. And Kaelen, the whelp, the afterthought. His climb to the obsidian spire was not just obedience; it was a strategic choice. From his perch, he was a spectator god, watching the stage being set.
When the two Cinder-backed Crawlers emerged, the Index confirmed their value. Two Impure yields. The battle unfolded—Borin's powerful stand, the archers' supporting fire, the shriek of the first wounded beast. Kaelen watched with an unnerving calm, his mind dissecting their movements, their weaknesses, their teamwork.
When the second Crawler scrambled up the ridge to attack Fenn, creating chaos, Kaelen saw his window. He moved like a whisper, a predator's shadow detaching from the rock. His target was the first Crawler, its body cooling on the ravine floor, the battle for its life having ended mere moments ago.
Hovering above its skull was the prize: a hazy, flawed mote of light, swirling with the dark spots of its chaotic life force. The Impure Essence Shard. It was present. It was his.
He focused his will. Mine.
The shard dissolved and streamed into him. It was not just a jolt of power. It was a feeling of profound, deep satiation. It was like a starving man taking his first bite of food, a feeling that quieted a deep, gnawing void within him he hadn't fully understood he possessed. The beast's dying rage was a secondary spice to the main course: the calming of his own intrinsic hunger.
A roar from the ridge—Fenn was down, his leg savaged. The second Crawler, mortally wounded, tumbled from the rock face and landed in a heap nearby. It twitched, and was still.
A new shard bloomed into existence, visible only to him.
Without hesitation, Kaelen pulled it in. Another wave of satiation washed over him, stronger this time. The warmth in his limbs intensified, the nagging ache of malnutrition fading into a background hum. This wasn't just power; it was vitality. It was sustenance.
He had never felt more complete.
He retreated to the shadows just as Borin charged down into the ravine. The confrontation was the same. The suspicion in the hunter's eyes, Kaelen's flawless, fearful lie. It was a trivial piece of theater. His mind was elsewhere, focused on the silent text now glowing in his consciousness.
Harvester: Kaelen
Cultivation: Uncultivated (Mortal)
Void Corpus Status: Satiated.
Essence Shard Inventory: [Cracked] x1, [Impure] x2
Harvested Abilities: None
Sufficient Essence detected. Commence Crucible Foundation?
[Y/N]
Then, two new lines of text appeared below, stark and absolute. System notifications. The rules of his existence, laid bare.
Alert: Essence Signatures destabilize and dissipate after 24 standard hours. Harvest must be completed within this window.
Warning: The Void Corpus requires the regular harvest of sentient essence to maintain stability. Failure to harvest from a sapient target (Human, Demi-human, etc.) at least once per monthly cycle will result in progressive vitality decay. Current cycle ends in: 27 days.
Kaelen's blood ran cold, a feeling entirely separate from the morning chill.
This was not a gift. It was a leash.
The hunger he had just sated wasn't a metaphor; it was a literal clock. He had to kill, not just beasts for power, but people for maintenance. The monthly murder of his mother had not just been a catalyst for his awakening; it had been his first, unknowing payment to the system that now owned him.
He now understood. He wasn't just a predator by choice. He was a predator by necessity.
"Whelp! Help me with these cores!" Borin's voice boomed, grounding him.
Kaelen blinked, the mask of the timid boy snapping perfectly back into place. "Yes, Master Borin."
He knelt, his hands working on the physical Fire Core, his mind lightyears away. He now had two ticking clocks. The 24-hour window on every kill. And the 27-day timer until his own body would begin to rot from the inside out.
First, he would answer the Index's other question. He would see what "Crucible Foundation" meant. Then, he would start planning his next hunt.
Not for a beast, but for a man.