The Pike Place Market was crowded with tourists and locals, the afternoon sun casting long shadows between the stalls. Fish flew through the air at the famous fish market, street performers played for spare change, and the smell of fresh flowers mixed with roasting coffee.
To normal eyes, it was a typical Seattle afternoon.
Through Jake's Supernatural Sight, it was a nightmare.
Void entities clustered everywhere, in the shadows beneath stalls, clinging to stressed vendors, swarming around arguing couples. But these weren't the small shadow-bugs he'd seen before. These were larger, more solid, feeding with an intensity that made the air rumble.
And they were all moving in the same direction.
Jake followed the flow of entities toward the lower levels of the market, where the older shops and storage areas created a maze of corridors. The crowd thinned here, mostly just staff and the occasional lost tourist. The void entities grew thicker, their movements more agitated.
[Warning: Entity concentration reaching critical mass]
[Recommend proceeding with caution]
"Little late for that warning," Jake muttered, but he slowed his pace, trying to look casual while tracking the supernatural activity.
The entities were converging on a storage room at the end of a dimly lit corridor. The door was slightly ajar, and through the gap, Jake could see green light pulsing from within. The air around the door felt wrong, thick, oppressive, like the pressure before a thunderstorm.
[ANALYZE]
[VOID NEST - Rank D]
[Concentrated manifestation of negative energy creating spawn point for void entities]
[Threat Level: Moderate (nest will continue spawning entities until destroyed)]
[Weakness: Disruption of core energy structure]
[Note: Nest likely created by prolonged negative emotional event or deliberate ritual]
A nest. The entities weren't just gathering, they were being born here.
Jake's palms started sweating. He was level two. He had one offensive ability he couldn't even use yet. This was insane.
But if he walked away, the nest would keep spawning entities. They'd spread through the market, feeding on people's stress and sadness, making everything worse. The system had given him power for a reason.
He pulled out his phone and texted Raven: "Found void nest in Pike Market lower level. D-rank. What do I do?"
The response came quickly: "GET OUT. D-rank will kill you. I'm 15 minutes away."
Jake looked at the pulsing green light, at the entities pouring out of that room. Fifteen minutes might be too long.
[HOST has insufficient power to destroy nest directly. However, disruption is possible with current abilities. ANALYZE can identify core structure. MINOR SPIRIT BOLT could damage core if spiritual energy is supplemented.]
"Supplemented how? I don't have enough Spirit!"
[Emergency Protocol available: Temporary Spirit boost through life force conversion. WARNING: Will cause severe fatigue and potential injury. Recommend only in critical situations.]
Jake weighed his options. Wait for Raven and risk the nest growing stronger. Try the emergency protocol and risk hurting himself. Or walk away and let the problem fester.
Some choice.
"If I do this emergency protocol thing, will I be able to fight?"
[HOST will have approximately 30 seconds of enhanced Spirit capacity before exhaustion sets in. Recommend precision over power.]
Thirty seconds. One shot.
Jake took a deep breath and approached the storage room. Through the gap in the door, he could see the source of the green light, a swirling mass of energy about three feet in diameter, pulsing like a diseased heart. Void entities were literally crawling out of it, emerging as formless shadows that quickly took shape.
None of them had noticed him yet.
[ANALYZE]
The core structure became visible, a dense knot of energy at the center of the mass, about the size of a baseball. That was the target. Hit that, and the whole nest would collapse.
"Activate emergency protocol," Jake whispered.
[Confirm: This will cause significant physical distress]
"Confirmed."
Pain lanced through Jake's body as the system converted his life force into spiritual energy. It felt like every muscle was cramping simultaneously, like his blood had turned to ice. His Spirit stat spiked from 8 to 30, the numbers glowing red to indicate the temporary boost.
[30 seconds remaining]
Jake pushed the door open and raised his hand toward the nest. The void entities shrieked, a sound like nails on glass that only he could hear and began swarming toward him.
"MINOR SPIRIT BOLT!"
Blue-white energy erupted from his palm, a bolt of pure spiritual power that streaked across the room. His aim was sharp and on point, the bolt struck the core structure dead center.
The nest exploded.
Green light flared, blinding and overwhelming. The void entities shrieked as their spawn point collapsed, their forms dissolving into mist. Jake stumbled backward as the blast wave hit him, the emergency protocol failing as his Spirit plummeted back to normal.
He hit the floor hard, every nerve ending screaming. His vision blurred, his muscles wouldn't respond, and for a terrifying moment he thought he might pass out.
[Quest Complete]
[Rewards: +3 Spirit, +2 Wisdom, 50 XP]
[Level Up! Level 2 → Level 3]
[Rare Shop Item unlocked: BASIC SPIRIT RESTORATION PILL]
[Warning: HOST physical condition critical. Rest required immediately.]
Jake tried to push himself up, but his arms gave out. He lay there on the cold floor, gasping, as his body slowly remembered how to function.
Footsteps pounded down the corridor. Raven burst around the corner, her hands glowing with purple energy, ready for a fight. She took in the scene, he destroyed nest, the dissipating void entities, Jake sprawled on the floor and her expression shifted from combat-ready to shock.
"You destroyed it." She knelt beside him, checking his pulse. "You insane bastard, you actually destroyed a D-rank nest."
"Is that... good?" Jake managed.
"It's suicidal. You're what, level two? Three?" She helped him sit up against the wall. "You should be dead."
"System had an... emergency protocol. Worked. Mostly."
Raven shook her head, but there was grudging respect in her eyes. "You got lucky. Next time, wait for backup." She pulled a small vial from her jacket. "Drink this. It'll help with the spiritual exhaustion."
The liquid tasted like battery acid and regret, but warmth spread through Jake's body almost immediately. His muscles stopped screaming, and his vision cleared.
[External Spirit Restoration detected. Physical condition improving.]
"Thanks," Jake said, his voice stronger. "What was that?"
"Spirit tonic. Black market stuff." Raven sat beside him, eyeing the destroyed nest. "So your system let you burn life force for power? That's hardcore. And stupid. But mostly hardcore."
"Didn't have much choice."
"There's always a choice. You could've run." She studied him. "But you didn't. Why?"
Jake thought about his apartment full of shadow creatures. About Sarah and her smile, completely unaware of the supernatural filth surrounding her daily life. About every normal person in Seattle living in ignorance while entities fed on their suffering.
"Because someone has to," he said simply.
Raven was quiet for a moment. Then she laughed, short and sharp. "You're either going to die young or become a legend. Maybe both." She stood and offered him a hand. "Come on. We need to get out of here before market security shows up."
Jake let her pull him to his feet. His stats had updated:
[Level: 3 (95/300 XP)]
[Charm: 7/100]
[Vitality: 15/100]
[Spirit: 12/100]
[Wisdom: 21/100]
[Leadership: 4/100]
"I owe you," Jake said as they walked out of the market. "For the help. The tonic."
"Yeah, you do." Raven grinned. "Lucky for you, I'm collecting allies, not debts. The city's getting more dangerous. Having some crazy system user who takes out nests solo might be useful."
"I'm not solo. I'm building something."
"Yeah? What?"
Jake hesitated, then figured she'd already helped him. "An organization. Something to fight back against this stuff properly."
Raven's expression shifted to interested. "You're building a faction? At level three? Lmao"
"Long-term project."
She laughed again. "You're insane. I like it." She pulled out her phone. "Give me your number. For real this time. If you're serious about building something, you'll need information, contacts, resources. I can help with that."
[New Contact: Raven established]
[Potential future recruitment opportunity identified]
As Jake walked home through the Seattle evening, his body aching but his spirit high, he realized he'd crossed a threshold. He wasn't just surviving anymore. He was acting. Making choices. Building something.
Tomorrow he had lunch with Sarah. Tonight he'd rest and recover. And the day after, he'd keep moving forward.
The Sisterhood was still just a dream for now, and dreams required action.
Good thing Jake Morrison was done being passive.
He was done being pathetic.
He was ready to become something more.