Three days later.
Word spread fast in The Undercroft.
Within forty-eight hours of Kaelen and Ryker's first venture outside the walls, half the kids in the shelter were whispering about mutant parts and the fortune they could make selling them to the black market traders.
Kaelen hated it.
He'd told Ryker to keep quiet about what happened, but apparently "quiet" wasn't in Ryker's vocabulary. His friend hadn't mentioned Kaelen's powers—thank the gods—but he had bragged about killing a mutated hound and selling its teeth for twenty credits.
Twenty credits was more money than most families in The Undercroft saw in a month.
Now, every desperate scavenger with a death wish was eyeing the breach in the wall.
"You're an idiot," Kaelen muttered as they sat on the roof of the shelter, watching the sun set over the wasteland. The sky was a bruised purple, streaked with orange and red—beautiful, in a toxic sort of way.
"What?" Ryker grinned around a mouthful of actual bread. Real bread, not the gray sludge they usually ate. He'd bought it with his share of the credits. "I'm a genius. We made money. We didn't die. I call that a win."
"You also painted a target on our backs. What happens when people start asking questions? When they want to know how we killed that thing?"
"We tell them we got lucky. Found it already injured. Whatever." Ryker shrugged. "Stop worrying so much. You're like an old man trapped in a kid's body."
If only you knew, Kaelen thought bitterly.
"He's reckless," Crust observed. "But useful. Reckless people make good shields."
"He's my friend."
"Friends are liabilities. Especially in a world like this."
"Shut up."
Ryker glanced at him. "Huh?"
"Nothing. Talking to myself."
"Weirdo." Ryker took another bite of bread, then offered it to Kaelen. "Want some?"
Kaelen shook his head. His appetite had been... strange lately. Sometimes he'd go days without eating and feel fine. Other times, he'd wake up ravenously hungry, like something inside him was draining his energy.
He knew what it was, of course.
Crust.
The creature sealed inside him was growing stronger. Feeding on his divine power. And the more Kaelen used his abilities, the more the Catastrophe stirred.
It was only a matter of time before—
"Before what, little god? Before I consume you? Please. If I wanted to do that, you'd already be gone. No, I need you alive. Strong. Because when the time comes, we'll need each other."
"For what?"
"You'll see."
That night, Kaelen dreamed.
But it wasn't a normal dream.
He stood in a vast, empty void—an endless expanse of darkness stretching in all directions. There was no ground beneath his feet, no sky above. Just... nothing.
And yet, he could see himself. His small, four-year-old body glowing faintly in the dark.
"Where am I?"
His voice echoed, repeating endlessly into the void.
"You're inside yourself," Crust's voice rumbled from everywhere and nowhere. "This is your soul. Or what's left of it."
"What do you mean, 'what's left of it'?"
"Look."
Kaelen turned.
And his breath caught.
Behind him, towering impossibly high, was a massive shape. At first, he thought it was a mountain. But then it moved, and he realized—
It was Crust.
The true form of the Catastrophe.
Its body was serpentine, covered in black scales that shimmered like oil. Massive wings were folded against its sides, each one large enough to blot out the sun. Its head was draconic, but wrong—too many eyes, too many teeth, its jaw splitting in ways that defied anatomy.
And it was chained.
Thousands of golden chains wrapped around its body, binding it in place. They glowed with divine light—the same light Kaelen could summon.
"This is what your father did," Crust said, his voice shaking the void. "He sealed me inside you. Bound me with his dying breath. These chains are made of his power. And every time you use your abilities, they weaken."
Kaelen's stomach dropped. "You mean... the more I use my powers, the closer you get to breaking free?"
"Exactly."
"Then why would you give me a system? Why would you want me to get stronger?"
Crust's massive head lowered, bringing one of his glowing red eyes level with Kaelen.
"Because, little god, I don't want to break free. Not yet."
"What?"
"Freedom without purpose is meaningless. I spent ten thousand years sealed beneath a mountain, dreaming of the day I would be released. And when that day came—when you, in your arrogance, broke my prison—I rampaged. I destroyed. I killed."
The creature's voice grew quieter.
"And for the first time in my existence... I felt empty."
Kaelen stared at him, not understanding.
"I am the Catastrophe," Crust continued. "A force of pure destruction. That is my nature. But destruction without meaning is just... noise. Chaos. I destroyed your world, little god. I killed billions. And it meant nothing."
"So what do you want?"
Crust's eye narrowed.
"I want to see what you'll become. You, Aelion—Kaelen—whatever you call yourself. You were given a second chance. A chance to rebuild what was lost. To protect what remains. And I... I want to see if you'll succeed. Or if you'll fall, just like your father."
"And if I fall?"
"Then I'll be free. And I'll finish what I started."
The chains rattled, and Crust's form began to fade back into the darkness.
"But I don't think you'll fall, little god. You're too stubborn for that."
Kaelen woke with a gasp, his heart pounding.
He sat up in his pod, drenched in sweat, his hands shaking.
What the hell was that?
"A conversation," Crust said calmly. "You needed to understand what's at stake."
"You're insane."
"Perhaps. But I'm also right. Now go back to sleep. Tomorrow, we hunt again."
"I'm not going back out there."
"Yes, you are. Because you need to level up. And because that boy—Ryker—will drag you out whether you want to go or not."
Kaelen groaned and flopped back down on his mattress.
Crust was right, of course.
He always was.
The next morning.
"So," Ryker said, sliding into the seat across from Kaelen at breakfast. "I've been thinking."
"That's dangerous."
"Shut up. Listen." Ryker leaned forward, lowering his voice. "What if we made this a regular thing? Going outside. Hunting mutants. We could make serious money, Kaelen. Enough to get out of this place. Maybe even enough to buy our way into the upper city."
Kaelen nearly choked on his porridge. "The upper city? Are you insane? People like us don't go to the upper city."
"Why not? We've got something they don't. Power. Skills. You've got your... thing. And I've got—" He paused. "Okay, I don't have anything yet. But I'm a fast learner!"
"Ryker—"
"Come on, Kaelen. Don't you want more than this?" Ryker gestured around the shelter. "Don't you want to actually live instead of just surviving?"
Kaelen stared at him.
The truth was... he did.
But he also knew what it would cost.
Every time he used his powers, he grew stronger. But so did Crust. And eventually, those chains would break.
And when they did...
"Stop overthinking," Crust said. "The boy is right. You need to grow stronger. And the only way to do that is to fight."
Kaelen sighed. "Fine. But we're doing this smart. We scout first. We don't take unnecessary risks. And if anything goes wrong—"
"We run. I know, I know." Ryker grinned. "You're such a mom."
"I'm keeping you alive, idiot."
"Details."
They left through the breach at dawn.
The wasteland was quieter in the early morning, the toxic smog thinner. Kaelen could actually see more than a few dozen feet ahead.
It was both better and worse.
Better, because he could spot threats from a distance.
Worse, because he could see just how dead everything was.
The ruins of the old world stretched out in all directions—skeletal remains of buildings, rusted vehicles, crumbling roads that led to nowhere. Nature had tried to reclaim the land, but even the plants looked wrong. Twisted. Mutated.
"This place is so creepy," Ryker muttered, sticking close to Kaelen's side.
"Stay alert. And stay quiet."
They moved carefully through the ruins, avoiding open spaces and keeping to the shadows. Kaelen's senses were sharper now—he could hear things Ryker couldn't, see movement in the distance.
"Two hundred meters northwest," Crust said. "Three mutated creatures. Rats, by the smell of them. Level 2 each."
"How do you know that?"
"I can sense living things. Their strength. Their malice. It's a useful skill. You'll learn it eventually."
Kaelen relayed the information to Ryker, who pulled out a jagged piece of metal he'd sharpened into a makeshift knife.
"Rats, huh? Should be easy."
"Don't get cocky."
They crept closer, moving between collapsed walls and piles of rubble, until finally they saw them.
The rats were massive—each one the size of a large dog, with patchy fur, glowing red eyes, and teeth like daggers. They were feeding on something—Kaelen didn't want to know what.
"Okay," Ryker whispered. "You hit them with your light thing. I'll finish them off while they're stunned."
"That's your plan?"
"You got a better one?"
Kaelen didn't.
He raised his hand, focusing his power.
The familiar warmth built in his palm, golden light beginning to glow—
And then one of the rats looked up.
Its eyes locked onto Kaelen.
And it shrieked.
"Oh, crap—"
All three rats turned and charged.
Kaelen didn't hesitate. He thrust his hand forward and shouted, "Divine Burst!"
Golden light exploded from his palm, slamming into the lead rat and sending it tumbling backward. The other two split up, flanking them.
"Ryker, left!"
"On it!"
Ryker dove to the side, slashing wildly with his knife. He managed to catch one of the rats across the snout, and it recoiled, hissing.
The third rat lunged at Kaelen.
He raised both hands and pushed.
The rat hit an invisible wall of force and slammed into the ground, dazed.
Kaelen didn't give it time to recover. He rushed forward and brought his fist down—
And golden light erupted from his knuckles on impact.
The rat's skull caved in with a sickening crunch.
[You have slain: Mutated Rat - Level 2]
[Experience Gained: 30 XP]
Kaelen spun around just in time to see Ryker stab his knife into the second rat's eye. It shrieked and collapsed, twitching.
[You have assisted in slaying: Mutated Rat - Level 2]
[Experience Gained: 15 XP]
The third rat—the one Kaelen had hit with Divine Burst—was getting back up, blood dripping from its mouth.
Kaelen and Ryker exchanged a glance.
And then they both charged.
Five minutes later, all three rats were dead.
Kaelen sat on a chunk of broken concrete, panting, his hands still glowing faintly.
Ryker was grinning like an idiot, covered in blood and grime. "That. Was. AWESOME!"
"You almost died."
"But I didn't! And we won!" Ryker kicked one of the corpses. "Three more kills. How much XP did you get?"
Kaelen pulled up his status window.
[Level 1: 95 / 100 XP]
"I'm close to leveling up again."
"Seriously? That fast?"
"The system rewards progress," Crust explained. "The more you fight, the faster you grow. But be warned—the stronger you become, the more XP you'll need for each level."
Kaelen dismissed the window and stood. "Let's harvest what we can and get out of here. I don't want to push our luck."
"Fine, fine." Ryker pulled out a cloth sack and started collecting teeth and claws. "But we're definitely coming back tomorrow."
Kaelen didn't argue.
Because deep down, he knew Ryker was right.
This was just the beginning.
That night, as Kaelen lay in his pod, a notification appeared.
[Congratulations! You have reached Level 2!]
[New Skill Unlocked: Divine Sense (Rank F)]
[Divine Sense: Detect the presence and strength of living creatures within a 50-meter radius.]
Kaelen smiled faintly.
One step closer.
"Indeed, little god," Crust purred. "One step closer to greatness. Or destruction. Only time will tell which."