Chapter 8: The Hidden World
The notification remained suspended before Fenrir's eyes.
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Main Quest: Enter The Hidden World
Description:
The Host has awakened but remains unaware of the supernatural world.
Acquire knowledge.
Discover the truth.
Locate supernatural activity.
Reward:
Bloodline Evolution Progress.
Access To New Features.
Failure:
None.
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Fenrir stared at the message for several moments.
Then he sighed.
"So, basically..."
"You want me to throw myself into danger."
[Correction.]
[Host will inevitably encounter danger regardless.]
"...Fair point."
The response was frustratingly accurate.
Since his awakening, danger seemed determined to find him.
The werewolves alone were proof of that.
If he intended to survive, ignorance was no longer an option.
He needed answers.
And quickly.
---
Fenrir spent the next few hours searching the internet.
At first, the results were exactly what he expected.
Conspiracy theories.
Urban legends.
Paranormal forums.
Clickbait articles.
Most of it was nonsense.
At least on the surface.
Yet the longer he searched, the stranger the results became.
Reports of impossible animal attacks.
Entire families disappearing overnight.
Abandoned towns with unexplained casualty rates.
Unsolved murders.
Ancient myths shared across entirely different cultures.
Patterns emerged.
Subtle.
Hidden.
Easy to overlook.
But they were there.
And now that Fenrir knew the supernatural world was real...
He could no longer ignore them.
"What do you think?"
[Probability of supernatural involvement varies.]
"That's not helpful."
[Host requested an opinion.]
Fenrir groaned.
OBLIVION was impossible to argue with.
---
Hours later, another pattern caught his attention.
Disappearances in Noxhaven, blackthorn district,the oldest district in Lunaris city where he lives.
Specifically, young adults.
Most cases occurred within major cities.
Victims vanished without explanation.
No evidence.
No suspects.
No bodies.
Yet something about the reports felt wrong.
Fenrir leaned closer to the screen.
Every disappearance occurred within a specific radius.
A radius centered around the city's older district.
The oldest district.
The same district that contained abandoned churches, forgotten subway tunnels, and countless historical buildings.
His instincts reacted immediately.
Something was there.
Something dangerous.
Something hidden.
[Potential Quest Location Identified.]
Of course.
OBLIVION had noticed it too.
Fenrir rubbed his forehead.
"I really hate it when you're right."
[Statement recorded.]
"..."
"That wasn't a compliment."
---
By late afternoon, Fenrir finally left his apartment.
The city appeared completely normal.
Cars filled the roads.
People moved through crowded streets.
Vendors sold food.
Children laughed.
Life continued as usual.
Yet now Fenrir noticed things he had not seen before.
Fear.
Exhaustion.
Stress.
His heightened senses picked up subtle details everywhere.
The rapid heartbeat of an anxious businessman.
The scent of alcohol on someone pretending to be sober.
The trembling hands of an elderly woman struggling to conceal her illness.
For the first time, Fenrir realized how much people hid.
How much suffering remained invisible.
It reminded him of himself.
No one had noticed his pain either.
Not until everything had fallen apart.
---
As evening approached, Fenrir arrived at the old district.
The atmosphere changed immediately.
The streets were quieter.
The buildings older.
The shadows deeper.
Even the air felt different.
Heavy.
Oppressive.
His instincts became instantly alert.
Every nerve in his body warned him to be cautious.
[Abnormal Energy Detected.]
Fenrir slowed his pace.
"Energy?"
[Non-human presence detected.]
A chill ran down his spine.
He was no longer guessing.
Something supernatural truly existed here.
And it was close.
Very close.
---
The sun gradually disappeared beneath the horizon.
Darkness spread across the district.
Streetlights flickered weakly.
Most pedestrians had already left.
Only a handful remained.
Then Fenrir noticed something unusual.
A young woman.
Standing alone at a bus stop.
She appeared to be around his age.
Long black hair.
Simple clothing.
A backpack hanging from one shoulder.
Nothing unusual.
Except for one thing.
No heartbeat.
Fenrir froze.
His enhanced hearing detected the heartbeat of everyone nearby.
Everyone except her.
The young woman suddenly turned her head.
Their eyes met.
Golden eyes.
Not human eyes.
For a brief moment, surprise flashed across her face.
Then curiosity.
Then caution.
The woman immediately looked away.
As though pretending she had not noticed him.
Yet Fenrir knew she had.
Because he had noticed her too.
Neither moved.
Neither spoke.
An invisible tension settled over the street.
Then a bus arrived.
The young woman stepped aboard.
Before the doors closed, she glanced at him one final time.
Then she was gone.
Fenrir remained standing in silence.
"What was she?"
[Unknown.]
[Not human.]
Helpful as always.
Yet something about her felt familiar.
Not physically.
Instinctively.
Almost as if something within his bloodline had reacted to her presence.
Not hostility.
Recognition.
The feeling vanished as quickly as it had appeared.
Leaving only confusion.
---
Moments later—
A scream shattered the silence.
A woman's scream.
Filled with terror.
Filled with desperation.
Fenrir's head snapped toward the source.
An alleyway.
Less than two hundred meters away.
Another scream followed.
Then silence.
Absolute silence.
His instincts activated immediately.
Predator's Instinct.
Alpha Predator's Instinct.
Sovereign bloodline.
Everything delivered the same warning.
Danger.
But there was something else as well.
A familiar sensation.
The same feeling he had experienced during the werewolf attack.
The scent of prey.
The scent of a hunt.
Fenrir clenched his fists.
He could walk away.
Pretend he had heard nothing.
Pretend it was not his problem.
That would be the smart decision.
The safe decision.
The normal decision.
Yet memories surfaced.
A dark alley.
Blood.
Pain.
Helplessness.
Being abandoned.
Being ignored.
Being left to die.
Fenrir's expression hardened.
"No."
He had experienced that feeling himself.
He refused to let someone else endure it if he could help.
Without another word, he ran toward the alley.
Toward the darkness.
Toward the scream.
Toward whatever nightmare waited within.
Unaware that hidden eyes were already watching him.
Watching his choices.
Judging his actions.
And for the first time since his awakening...
Someone within the supernatural world smiled.
Because the Last God Devourer had just taken his first step toward becoming something more than a monster.
He had chosen to save someone.
And that choice would change everything.