The two boys didn't expect the system message to appear.
Neither of them had an ability even remotely close to canine necromancy.
"It's not for me," Riven whispered, staring at the system prompt. Even though their system windows looked similar, both of them could always tell when a message belonged to them—or to the other.
And right now, Riven knew.
This one was Jordan's.
"I'm… compatible with his core," Jordan said slowly. "But that doesn't make any sense."
"Well, you did say your Ink wasn't compatible with the Water Evolution."
"Yeah—but water. This guy could revive the dead."
"Look," Riven said, rubbing his eyes, exhaustion finally catching up to him. "This isn't the time to question it. We'll ask later. Just take the call, and let's get out of here."
"…You're right."
Jordan had a hundred questions burning in his head, but he swallowed them down. This wasn't the place—or the time. He tapped Yes.
The moment he did, a familiar sensation washed over him—the same soothing, almost pleasurable feeling of a core being drawn into his body.
SYSTEM: Your Dark attribute has increased.
"Dark… huh," Jordan thought.
Without another word, he grabbed Riven's shoulder and started walking them out of the alley.
The two decided it would be smarter to remove their masks. If anyone saw them now, they'd just look like two teenagers caught in the collateral damage—same as everyone else.
Jordan had been carrying Riven at first, but after a while, he stopped. The healing had kicked in, knitting flesh and bone back together until Riven could walk on his own.
They headed for the bus stop, eager to leave Section D behind—even though they hadn't been there long.
As expected, more and more gang members passed them by. None of them paid the boys any attention. To everyone else, they were just civilians.
"Dammit!" someone suddenly yelled.
The boys glanced back and saw a man holding something like a walkie-talkie. His face was pale.
"We've got an issue!"
"What is it?" another man shouted from farther down the street.
"It's been confirmed, sir. Canin is dead."
"What—"
The voice that answered wasn't angry.
It was afraid.
Canin had been the only person that man knew who could stop Crow Nick. Nick wasn't a fighter—he was a tactician. There was no way Nick could've done this alone.
"…Shit," the man muttered. "Fine. Then it's finalized. From today on, we surrender. Go tell Darren."
"Yes, sir!" the man yelled before sprinting out of the alley.
"Well," Jordan whispered as two men rushed past them, "that was fast."
"They must've realized something went wrong," Riven whispered back.
The image of Canin's severed head flashed in his mind again. He forced himself to shake it off.
Jordan… Riven thought. I can't tell if we're even anymore—or if he's stronger than me now.
At first, Riven had assumed he was the stronger of the two. But tonight…
Jordan had help. That sword—whatever it was—gave him enough strength and speed to keep up. Not to completely overpower Canin, but enough.
If I had that… could I do the same thing?
"Hey," Jordan said suddenly, snapping Riven out of his thoughts.
After a few minutes of walking, Jordan pointed down the street.
"Isn't that—"
Riven followed his gaze.
Two figures stood there. Black hair. One shorter than the other, but not by much.
"…Crasfer," Riven realized.
"Shit," Jordan cursed.
The two immediately stopped walking. Instead of sprinting, they slowed down—trying not to draw attention.
Too late.
"Did you see the—" Jordan started.
"The uniform," Riven finished.
"Yeah. And how close he was to that guy."
The two broke into a run, not stopping until they reached the bus stop. Both of them bent over, breathing hard.
"So… Crasfer's part of a gang?" Riven said between breaths.
"Yeah. Looks like it. And the way he was standing—while everyone else kept their distance—it's safe to say he's close to whoever that sword guy was."
"Maybe the—"
"Later," Riven cut in. "What kind of relationship does Crasfer have with him?"
Jordan frowned, thinking.
"Brother? No—we know Crasfer doesn't have siblings."
"Maybe he paid the boss to get close?"
"No," Jordan said immediately. "That doesn't make sense. Where would he get that kind of money? And even if he did, why stay that close after? It was like the guy was trying to keep him—"
"—protected," Riven realized.
Jordan looked at him.
"It was like he was shielding him," Riven continued. "Just in case things went bad. Or… he was showing him something."
"But we know he doesn't have a brother," Jordan said.
"We know he doesn't have a cousin."
"We know his mother's out of the picture."
"And we know his father—"
Riven stopped.
Jordan did too.
Their eyes widened at the same time.
"…His father," they both whispered.
The sound of the arriving bus snapped them back to reality. They quickly quieted down as the doors opened.
Despite the chaos tearing through Section D, the bus followed its route like nothing had happened.
The boys boarded, dropped five units each, and moved to the back—sitting in the same seats they had when the night first began.
As the bus started moving, they realized something was wrong.
It wasn't leaving Section D.
It was going deeper.
With every extra stop, more of the devastation became visible. They hadn't noticed it before—too focused on Canin—but now…
The destruction was massive.
Bodies littered the streets—alive or dead, it was impossible to tell without checking. Houses were reduced to rubble, only fragments left behind. Shards of ice and scorched pavement from fire attacks were scattered everywhere.
There had been far more Evolvers involved than they'd realized.
As the bus went deeper into the district, everyone onboard—which was five, including Riven and Jordan—could see the spectacle unfolding before their eyes.
Two men were fighting in the middle of the street.
Or rather… one was fighting, and the other was desperately trying to survive.
Crow slashed wildly with his sword, forcing Darren onto the defensive. Darren didn't have the time—or the space—to charge a large explosion. All he could do was dodge, barely staying alive. At several points, the man was forced to use small explosions beneath his feet, propelling himself backward just to avoid a fatal strike.
The passengers watched in awe.
Someone with a sword was holding off an Evolver.
"Hey," Riven whispered to Jordan, leaning closer. "Do you think that's the same sword you had before?"
Jordan squinted, studying the weapon carefully, then shook his head.
"No. That thing looks different from the one I used. And if it really was the same sword…" He paused. "I think he'd have taken that guy's head clean off."
Riven frowned. He didn't like the way his brother phrased that—especially since Jordan had literally taken a man's head barely an hour ago.
The fight slowed as another man, dressed similarly to Darren, stepped forward holding a white flag.
"What are they saying?" a woman asked. "We're too far to hear."
"I'm good at lip reading," a man replied, leaning forward. "They're saying, Stop fighting. We surrender."
His eyes widened.
"The one with the sword is asking why. The man with the flag is saying… Canon—no, Canin—is dead. They have no reason to fight anymore. Their leader is gone. The Eclipse Gang has surrendered. They're out of the war."
"Thank God," a woman cried. "I just paid Sunriot for a new house. I hope it wasn't destroyed by that idiot's rampage."
"I wouldn't say that if I were you," the bus driver called out loudly. "According to gang tradition, the defeated gang's members usually get absorbed into the winning one. That guy?" He nodded toward Darren. "He'll most likely be joining Sunriot."
Several passengers exchanged glances. The way the driver spoke made it sound like he'd lived through more than a few gang wars.
"Fine," Darren muttered at last. "I surrender."
He dropped to one knee, hands raised.
Crow let out a deafening war cry, announcing to everyone watching that the Sunriot Gang had won.
"Now all that's left," Crow said, lowering his blade, "is to find Nick."
"Funny you mention that," Darren chuckled weakly. "Nick isn't even in the Walls anymore. Guy bounced a long time ago."
"But how—" Crasfer started, only to be cut off by his father.
"You're wondering how he's still orchestrating all of this?" Crow said grimly. "Simple. He has someone who can communicate between the inside and the outside."
"No," Crasfer said. "I was going to ask… how do you know that?"
Crow froze.
His eyes widened as he realized that was a very good question.
"Nick is a scientist," Darren said calmly. "Let's just say there's a reason so many of us in the Eclipse Gang became Evolvers."
"What?" Crow demanded.
Before Darren could explain, a faint light flashed in his eyes. His head snapped upward unnaturally—like a man being puppeted.
"Dad," Crasfer whispered.
"Stand behind me," Crow ordered, stepping in front of his son.
The light faded.
Darren remained standing, but his expression was different now—empty, lost.
"I'm sorry," he said gently. "But… do I know you?"
The bus began moving again, pulling away as the fight ended. Stop by stop, passengers disembarked until only Riven, Jordan, and the bus driver remained.
Riven figured now was a good time to check their rewards.
⸻
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
Quest Complete.
Users have gained 250 EXP.
⸻
Then he opened the system again—this time, to check their stats.
[SYSTEM STATUS]
Name: Riven Harlow
Level: 3 (300 / 350 EXP)
Race: Human
Strength: 10
Speed: 12
[SYSTEM STATUS]
Name: Jordan Harlow
Level: 5 (300 / 650 EXP)
Race: Human
Awakening Stage: One
Strength: 10
Speed: 11
Durability: 15
When the two of them looked at Jordan's status, one thing immediately stood out.
His Durability had increased.
That alone was strange—but it also gave them a pretty solid idea why.
"So…" Jordan began, suddenly pounding his chest like a gorilla. "If I'm getting this right—lightning increases speed. Nature increases health. And dark—"
"Increases durability," Riven finished for him.
Jordan nodded. "Yeah. But now I'm curious… what increases our strength?"
"Probably nothing," Riven replied lazily, already leaning back and closing his eyes.
Jordan frowned. "What do you mean, nothing?"
"Well," Riven continued, sounding far too relaxed, "I have lightning. You've got ink—or dark ink, or whatever you want to call it. For some reason, they're tied to lightning and dark. But we both also have a connection to nature."
He paused.
"Maybe it's because humans have a small connection to nature?"
Even as the thought crossed his mind, Riven knew it wasn't true.
There had never been any proof. No records. No Evolver logs stating humans possessed a natural affinity for nature at all.
Yet… here they were.
I wonder if fairies have a connection to nature, he thought. But even then, that wouldn't make sense. I'm not a fairy.
His thoughts shifted.
But… Eryndor.
Riven's eyes slowly widened.
Did he do something?
He remembered the green energy. The way it flowed—calm, restorative, almost alive. If that energy was tied to healing or nature, then…
That would mean he could create it himself.
And if that was true—
Then he gave a piece of his own energy to the system.
Which would mean…
"The system is based on a fairy," Riven muttered under his breath.
His eyes widened further—but he shook his head.
It's just a theory.
Still, the more he thought about it, the worse it got.
If the system was based on Eryndor—and the game Legend of the Evolver—that would explain why they healed over time. Why he had cores. The nature core. The lightning core.
But then…
Why does Jordan have it too?
Riven sat up abruptly.
Actually… this doesn't make sense at all.
If the system truly altered his DNA to create cores, then Jordan's DNA would've had to change as well. Which meant there should have been some kind of process—some reaction—when Jordan was first added to the system.
But there wasn't.
Unless… it happened silently.
The thought made his head throb.
Riven groaned quietly and leaned back again.
I'll deal with this later.
For now, he shoved the theory into the back of his mind. Home. Sleep. He'd look at the rest of the rewards later.
⸻
An hour and a half later, the two of them finally reached home.
They slipped in through the window, careful to stay unnoticed by their parents.
That's when they saw him.
Joey was sitting upright, wide awake.
Riven swallowed.
"Oh shoot," he muttered. "How are we going to explain this?"