1:03 AM — Rooftop
Zack was already waiting.
He felt Kael before he saw him.
That same controlled pressure.
Kael stepped out from the shadow of a water tower.
"You're getting sloppy," Kael said calmly.
Zack didn't turn.
"I handled it."
Kael's eyes flicked to Zack's phone in his hand.
"With vampires," Kael replied. "Yes."
Silence.
"With humans? No."
Zack finally faced him.
"You here to fight?"
Kael shook his head.
"No."
That alone changed the air.
The Reality
Kael walked closer, slow.
"Your video has spread through three networks already. One private."
Zack's jaw tightened.
"What network?"
Kael looked at him directly.
"Hunters."
Not the Circle.
Not vampires.
Something else.
"They monitor anomalies," Kael continued. "Rapid regeneration. Bullet resistance. Strength spikes. They log patterns."
Zack crossed his arms.
"So?"
"So," Kael said evenly, "you killed five vampires in two nights. You absorbed ranked blood. You were filmed surviving a firearm."
Pause.
"You are no longer rumor."
Zack Pushes Back
"Good," Zack said. "Let them come."
Kael's expression didn't change.
"You misunderstand."
He stepped closer.
"When vampires hunt you, they test your strength."
"When humans hunt you, they test your weaknesses."
Zack didn't like that.
"What weaknesses?"
Kael's eyes flicked toward the hospital behind them.
"You still have attachments."
Zack's steel knuckles formed instinctively.
"Don't."
Kael didn't react.
"You fight like someone protecting something."
Silence.
"That makes you predictable."
Truth About Hunters
Kael leaned against the rooftop railing.
"There are organizations. Old ones. Older than the Circle."
"They don't care about vampire politics."
"They don't care about ranking."
"They capture."
"Experiment."
"Contain."
Zack's eyes hardened.
"They can try."
Kael finally looked almost amused.
"They will not try strength first."
"They will try isolation."
"They will try exposure."
"They will try fear."
Zack's breathing slowed.
He hated that Kael sounded certain.
Tension Shift
"Why tell me this?" Zack asked.
Kael didn't hesitate.
"Because if they take you, I don't get to see how far you grow."
Zack stared at him.
"You want me stronger."
"Yes."
"Why?"
Kael's answer was simple.
"Because something worse than you exists."
Silence hit heavier than any punch.
Training Advice
Kael stepped back.
"You rely on regeneration too much."
"You allow damage."
"That builds bad habits."
Zack didn't argue.
He knew it was true.
"Then what?" Zack asked.
Kael replied calmly.
"Learn to avoid being hit."
"Not because you can't survive it."
"But because hunters won't let you."
System Notification
As Kael turned to leave—
A faint message appeared in Zack's vision.
NEW COMBAT CONDITION IDENTIFIED
EFFICIENCY PENALTY: OVER-RELIANCE ON REGENERATION
That annoyed him.
But it made sense.
Kael paused at the edge of the rooftop.
"One more thing," he said without turning.
"If you kill too quickly, the Circle moves."
"If you grow too visibly, the Hunters move."
"So what?" Zack asked.
Kael glanced back slightly.
"Grow quietly."
Then he vanished into the city.
Zack Alone
Zack stood there thinking.
Hunters.
Circle.
Exposure.
He looked down at his hands.
Steel faded back into skin.
He clenched his fists.
If humans come—
He can't just punch through it.
He needs discipline.
He needs control.
And he needs to protect his mother without drawing attention.
New notification flickered.
ADAPTIVE GOAL UPDATED
SURVIVE WITHOUT EXPOSURE
Zack exhaled slowly.
Level 7.
And now—
The game changed.
End of Episode 7.