The wind had grown sharper.
Snow whipped against Aiden Draven's face, stinging his skin like knives. The Frost Plains stretched endlessly northward, a frozen desert of glass and steel, punctuated by the occasional skeletal tower rising like a jagged tooth.
Aiden moved without hesitation. Every step left a fleeting footprint, which melted into code almost instantly, leaving no trace behind. The Devourer stirred within him, restless and hungry. Even without combat, it wanted to feed. Hunger was never patient.
> [Fragment acquired from Core of Silence: Cryo Blade Skill confirmed]
He flexed his fingers. Frost tingled along his palms, spreading up his arms, a subtle hum beneath his skin. The Devourer's whispers were faint, coiled like a snake in his chest. Another life, another power… I want it.
Aiden ignored it. The voice of EVE from the void still echoed in his mind: "You will need enemies strong enough to teach you the price of everything."
Enemies. Strong. Human.
He hadn't encountered one yet. Until now, only monsters — predictable, programmable. But humans? Unpredictable, dangerous. Alive.
---
The first sign came subtle. A shimmer in the snow — not frost, not wind, but deliberate. A movement, crouched, observing.
Aiden froze. His eyes, now faintly red from the Devourer's residual energy, scanned the horizon. Nothing. Yet the sense of being watched persisted.
> [Detection: low-level human presence ~200 meters ahead]
Aiden's lips curled faintly. Not a monster. Not prey. Something… else.
He crouched, slipping into shadow. The snowstorm hid him, but the air carried their scent — a mixture of fear, sweat, and blood magic. Whoever it was, they were not a casual wanderer. They were a hunter.
A rustle. A flash of movement. A figure emerged from the wind, stepping carefully between ruins, boots silent on ice.
Aiden stepped forward, voice calm but cutting through the storm:
"Show yourself."
The figure froze. A young man, armor blackened with frost and scratches, hood pulled low over his face. Only his eyes were visible — sharp, calculating, green like shards of glass.
"You're the Devourer," he said. No accusation, no greeting. Just fact. "I've been waiting for you."
Aiden tilted his head, eyes narrowing. "And you are?"
The man smirked, pulling two daggers from his belt — curved, black blades, frost etched into the edges. "I'm the first real test. Call me Varrick. I kill predators."
The words were casual, but the green eyes burned with lethal intent. This was no ordinary player. This was someone who thrived on danger — a mirror to Aiden in some twisted way.
> [Enemy Detected: Human PvP, Level 43, Threat Level: Extreme]
Aiden's lips twitched — almost a smirk. "I prefer to eat predators," he said softly.
Varrick laughed, a short, sharp bark, and lunged. The daggers glinted in the dim light, arcs slicing through the snow. He moved like a shadow, twisting, slashing, predicting Aiden's next step.
Aiden's hand went to his sword instinctively. Red energy coiled around the hilt as he activated Devourer Protocol – Partial Release. The blade pulsed.
The first clash shattered ice beneath their feet. Sparks flew as metal met metal, frost shattering into mist. Aiden stepped back, rolling, feeling the Devourer inside him surge with anticipation. Hunger. Power. Everything waiting to be taken.
Varrick's smile widened. "Not bad." He twirled both daggers, striking in rapid succession. "But you're predictable."
Aiden's eyes glowed faint red. Every muscle tensed. He didn't speak. He let the Devourer react for him.
The first strike he blocked — and in that instant, the Devourer absorbed a fraction of Varrick's energy. Not the full skill — that required a kill — but the essence. Reflexes sharpened. Awareness heightened.
> [Human Combat Insight Acquired. Reaction Time +5%]
Varrick hissed. "Interesting…" He dodged another strike, eyes narrowing. "So you can touch me."
The snowstorm intensified, wind howling around the ruined towers. Their movements were a dance of death — fluid, lethal, each strike met with counter, each misstep punished. Aiden wasn't just fighting for survival; he was cataloging, learning. Every swing, every feint, every intention of his opponent was feeding him, sharpening him.
Hours might have passed. Minutes. Time became irrelevant. Only motion, only anticipation, only hunger remained.
---
Then came the opening.
Varrick lunged recklessly, overcommitted. His guard left a fraction of a second exposed — a heartbeat.
Aiden didn't hesitate. His sword bit into the frost-coated ground, releasing a pulse of red energy that surged through the ice, tearing at the snow and the air. The Devourer surged — instinct, hunger, instinct again — and struck Varrick across the chest.
The daggers were absorbed. The weapons vanished, not into him, but into data fragments that the Devourer consumed, integrating reflex patterns, minor frost enhancements.
Varrick stumbled, eyes wide. "Impossible…"
Aiden's blade hovered at his throat. Red light pulsated faintly, flickering across his face. He didn't speak.
> [PvP Outcome: Opponent Disabled, Threat Level Neutralized]
[Human Data Partially Consumed. Combat Skill Lv.1 Acquired]
Varrick's chest rose and fell, eyes blazing with hatred — and respect. He didn't resist further. Instead, he fell to one knee, panting, defeated but alive.
Aiden sheathed his sword, stepping back. His voice was calm, emotionless. "I warned you. I devour predators. Not pawns."
Varrick's lips curled into a bitter smirk. "Then I'll hunt you again."
> [Enemy survives. Rival established.]
Aiden didn't answer. Rivals were necessary. They were mirrors of his own power, a way to measure himself. This one… would be dangerous. And that was good.
---
The snowstorm began to ease. Gray skies gave way to dim, purple twilight. The ruins of the Frost Cathedral glimmered faintly in the distance, scattered shards of crystal floating in the air.
Aiden moved forward, toward the north — toward the next Core. Varrick's words echoed behind him: "I'll hunt you again."
He didn't flinch. He didn't fear. He had learned long ago: fear was a luxury for the weak. Hunger, patience, and calculation — that was all that mattered.
> [Core Fragment Detected: Northern Sector – 15 km]
The fragment pulsed faintly, faintly blue in the distance. Something about it felt familiar, like a memory half-remembered. The same voice whispered again — EVE.
> "You are the anomaly, Aiden Draven. No one else survives this cycle the way you do. And yet… you are not ready."
Aiden's hand went to the hilt of his sword again. The Devourer stirred — stronger, hungrier.
"Ready," he whispered, "is irrelevant."
The first real test was behind him. The real hunt was only beginning.
---
The storm cleared, revealing jagged peaks in the distance, black against a violet sky. Beyond them lay unknown ruins, monsters, players — survival itself.
And in the shadows, eyes watched. Rivals, enemies, predators. All waiting for the Devourer.
Aiden Draven smiled faintly. Coldly.
Let them come.
> [Cycle Two – Survival Day 2 begins…]