Ren walked home with a bag of groceries that cost more than his father had made in a month.
He bought steak—real, vacuum-sealed ribeye, not the synthesized protein paste the government issued to Sector 9. He bought fresh vegetables, a bag of rice, and a month's supply of Mana-Blockers for Maya.
The rain hammered against his hood, but Ren felt warm. For the first time in years, he wasn't walking with the weight of immediate starvation on his shoulders. He had 4,000 credits. It wasn't freedom, but it was breathing room.
"You are wasting resources," Gluttony grumbled as Ren passed a bakery. "Why buy bread? There is a perfectly good rat in that dumpster. High protein. Crunchy."
We are not eating the rat, Gluttony, Ren projected the thought back. And we are not eating the baker.
"Pity. He looks doughy."
Ren climbed the fourteen flights of stairs to his apartment, his legs moving with a mechanical, tireless rhythm. The [Constitution: 11] stat meant he wasn't even out of breath. He unlocked the door to 14-B.
The smell of lavender air freshener hit him, masking the underlying scent of sickness.
"Ren?" Maya called from the bedroom. Her voice was weak, but hopeful.
"It's me," Ren called back. "Come to the kitchen. You need to see this."
Maya shuffled out, wrapped in a thick blanket. When she saw the groceries on the small, chipped table, her eyes went wide.
"Meat?" she whispered, reaching out to touch the vacuum-sealed package. "Ren... this is real meat. Did you rob a bank?"
"I told you, I got a bonus," Ren lied, his voice steady. He unpacked the vegetables. "Tonight, we feast. No nutrient paste. No canned soup."
He started cooking. The smell of searing beef filled the small apartment, a scent so rich and foreign that it made Ren's mouth water for the wrong reasons.
[Hunger: 42%]
[Advisory: Consuming cooked flesh destroys 40% of the Bio-Mass. Eat it raw.]
Ren ignored the prompt. He cooked the steaks medium-rare. He plated them with rice and steamed broccoli.
They sat down. Maya ate with a reverence that broke Ren's heart. She chewed slowly, savoring every bite, color returning to her pale cheeks.
"It's so good," she mumbled, grease shining on her chin. "It tastes like... like before Mom died."
Ren smiled, cutting a piece of his own steak. "Eat up. You need the protein."
He put the meat in his mouth. To him, it tasted like ash. It was dead matter. His new physiology craved the iron tang of fresh blood, the pulse of a fading heart. But he chewed and swallowed, pretending it was delicious.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
The sound was heavy. Aggressive. It rattled the flimsy door in its frame.
Maya froze. Her fork clattered onto the plate. The color that had just returned to her face drained away instantly.
"Ren," she whispered, her eyes darting to the calendar on the wall. "It's Tuesday."
Collection Day.
Ren set his fork down. He wiped his mouth with a napkin. "Stay here, May. Keep eating."
"Don't open it," she pleaded, grabbing his wrist. Her hand was cold. "If we pretend we're not home—"
"They know we're home, May. They can smell the food."
Ren stood up. He walked to the door, his movements fluid and silent. He checked the peephole.
Three men stood in the hallway. They wore cheap leather jackets with a green snake emblem stitched on the collar. The Vipers.
The man in front was Korg. Ren knew him. Korg was a "Reject"—someone who had failed the Awakening process but retained the enhanced muscle mass. He was six-foot-four, a wall of slab muscle and bad decisions. He held a baseball bat wrapped in conductive mana-wire.
Ren unlocked the door.
He opened it, stepping into the threshold to block their view of the apartment.
"Ren Walker," Korg grinned, his gold-capped teeth glinting in the flickering hallway light. "Heard a rumor you got flattened in the Weeping Caverns. I was just telling the boys we might have to repossess your furniture to cover the interest."
The two goons behind him snickered. One of them was spinning a butterfly knife.
"I'm not dead, Korg," Ren said softly.
"Evidently." Korg slapped the bat into his open palm. Smack. Smack. "So. The payment. 5,000 credits. Plus late fees. You're three days behind, Walker. The Vipers don't like waiting."
Ren looked at Korg.
In the past, Ren would have been trembling. He would have been calculating how much pain he could take to protect Maya.
But now?
Ren looked at Korg's neck. He saw the thick jugular vein pulsing beneath the skin.
Thump... Thump... Thump.
It sounded like a war drum.
[Target Identified: Korg (Human - Reject)]
[Threat Level: Negligible.]
[Nutritional Value: High in Calcium and Steroids. Liver is likely toxic due to alcohol abuse. Suggestion: Snap the femur and consume the marrow.]
Ren blinked, pushing the thought away. "I have the money."
He reached into his pocket and pulled out the credit chip Silas had given him. "4,000. It's all I have."
Korg snatched the chip. He slotted it into a portable scanner. "4,000," he muttered. He looked disappointed. He wanted a reason to use the bat.
"It's short," Korg said, leaning in. He smelled of stale tobacco and cheap cologne. "The debt is 5,000. Plus 1,000 for the late fee. You're 2,000 short, Walker."
"I'll have it next week," Ren said. "Take the 4,000. It covers the interest."
Korg laughed. He pushed past Ren, trying to look into the apartment. "Next week? The Boss doesn't do credit. Maybe we take something else as collateral. I smell steak. And I hear... is that your sister?"
Ren didn't move. He put a hand on Korg's chest.
"Don't," Ren said.
Korg looked at the hand on his chest. He looked offended. "Get your hand off me, rat."
He swung the bat.
It wasn't a warning swing. It was a swing meant to break ribs. Korg was using his full Reject strength.
Maya screamed from inside the apartment.
CRACK.
The sound echoed down the hallway.
But it wasn't the sound of ribs breaking. It was the sound of wood splintering.
Ren had caught the bat.
He had caught it mid-swing with his left hand. His fingers were wrapped around the barrel of the weapon.
Korg's eyes went wide. He tried to pull the bat back. It didn't move. It was like he had hit a statue.
"You..." Korg stammered.
Ren looked up.
The hallway lights flickered. The temperature seemed to drop ten degrees.
Ren's eyes were no longer brown. The violet rings were flaring, glowing with a bioluminescent intensity that cut through the gloom.
[Intention: RELEASED.]
"I paid you," Ren whispered.
His voice wasn't loud, but it vibrated in Korg's bones. It was the low frequency growl of a predator protecting its den.
Ren squeezed his hand.
CRUNCH.
The solid ash wood of the baseball bat exploded in his grip. Splinters rained down on the linoleum floor. The conductive wire sparked and died.
Ren dropped the shattered remains of the handle. He took a step forward.
Korg stumbled back, tripping over his own feet. The two goons behind him stopped laughing. The one with the knife dropped it.
They were thugs. They were used to bullying the weak. They knew how to handle fear.
But they didn't know how to handle this.
This wasn't a Scavenger. This felt like standing in a cage with a tiger that hadn't eaten in a week.
"What are you?" Korg gasped, clutching his chest where the pressure of Ren's aura was making it hard to breathe.
"I'm a debtor," Ren said, his voice devoid of emotion. "And I just made a payment. Now leave. Before I decide to take a refund out of your hide."
"Eat him," Gluttony urged. "Just one bite. The shoulder looks tender."
Ren took another step.
"We're going!" Korg yelled, his voice cracking. "We're going!"
He scrambled backward, nearly falling down the stairs. "This isn't over, Walker! The Boss... The Vipers own this sector! You can't fight us all!"
They ran. Their heavy boots thundered down the stairwell, echoing like fleeing rats.
Ren stood alone in the hallway.
He looked at his hand. A few splinters were embedded in his palm. He watched as his skin rippled, pushing the wood out, the small wounds sealing up in seconds without a trace.
He took a deep breath, visualizing a wall slamming down over the Hunger. The violet glow in his eyes faded. The oppressive weight in the air lifted.
He turned back to the apartment.
Maya was standing in the doorway. She was clutching the doorframe, her face pale. She had seen him catch the bat. She had seen the glow.
"Ren?" she whispered.
Ren forced a smile. It felt brittle. "It's okay, May. I just... I've been working out. Scavenger work builds muscle."
Maya didn't look convinced. She looked at the splintered wood on the floor, then back at her brother. She didn't say anything. She just nodded, slowly.
"Come on," Ren said, guiding her back inside. "The steak is getting cold."
He closed the door and locked it.
But as he sat back down at the table, Ren knew the truth.
He had bought time, but he had also painted a target on his back. Korg would tell his boss. The Vipers would come back, and next time, they wouldn't bring bats. They would bring guns. They would bring Awakened.
Ren looked at the ID card in his pocket.
I need to be stronger, he thought, slicing his steak. I need to be a monster they are afraid to touch.
"Agreed," Gluttony purred. "Shall we go for dessert?"