The ruins shook.

  Jarek barely avoided instant death.

  The Stormfang detonated forward, a streak of red and gold lightning tearing through the mist. The air itself collapsed inward from the force, a thunderclap shattering stone as it ripped through the space where he’d been standing.

  Jarek hit the ground hard, his body rolling across shattered concrete. He bit back the pain, forcing himself up, ribs burning, head pounding. He didn’t have time to be stunned.

  The Stormfang was already adjusting.

  Golden eyes locked onto him. No wasted movement. No hesitation. The beast had learned his patterns, was already recalculating its next attack.

  Jarek wasn’t fast enough.

  His breath came ragged as he scrambled behind a broken column, pressing his back against the cool stone. Static still clung to the air, prickling against his skin. His body was screaming, but his mind was sharper than ever.

  Think.

  This thing didn’t just rely on speed. It was tracking him.

  "It doesn’t need to see you," Reiner had warned him. "It listens. It feels pressure shifts, temperature drops, the way the air bends around movement."

  "If you think you can just disappear, you’re already dead."

  Jarek exhaled slowly, activating the Umbral Veil. His presence blurred, his outline smudging into the mist, becoming harder to define. Not perfect. It wouldn’t make him invisible. But it would make him harder to pin down.

  The Stormfang stopped.

  It didn’t attack.

  It didn’t lunge blindly.

  It waited.

  Jarek cursed under his breath. Shit. It knows.

  The Apex turned its head slightly, ears twitching. Then, deliberately, it lowered itself to the ground.

  It was listening.

  It wasn’t falling for tricks.

  Jarek’s grip tightened around his sword. If he tried to move, it would hear him. If he stayed still, it would outlast him.

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  No good options.

  Unless…

  Jarek’s gaze flicked to the broken debris around them.

  If sound was what it relied on—he’d give it something to hear.

  Jarek grabbed a small shard of concrete from the ground. Slowly, carefully, he twisted his wrist and flung it toward a collapsed section of wall behind the beast.

  The moment it struck stone—the Stormfang reacted.

  A sonic boom of acceleration—lightning ripped through the ruins as the Apex exploded toward the sound. It crashed into the rubble, claws carving through dust and debris—

  But something was wrong.

  Jarek had already moved, circling to strike its flank, but before he could even bring his sword down—

  The beast was gone.

  Another detonation of force.

  Jarek barely had time to twist before claws raked toward his ribs. He blocked, but the impact sent him flying. His back slammed into the remains of a collapsed storefront, knocking the air from his lungs.

  Shit. Shit.

  It had faked being fooled.

  It had let him think the trap worked—then baited him instead.

  Jarek gritted his teeth. The Apex wasn’t just intelligent—it was ruthless.

  If he kept trying the same tricks, he’d be dead before the next heartbeat.

  His fingers flexed against the ground. Blood dripped from his lip, warm and thick.

  Then he saw it.

  A line of fractures in the ground.

  Thin—but deep.

  Caused by the Stormfang’s previous acceleration.

  An idea clicked into place.

  Jarek pushed off the ground, forcing himself to move despite the pain. His feet were unsteady, his ribs felt like they’d been crushed, but he had no choice.

  The Apex was already recovering, golden eyes locked onto him again. It would charge any second now.

  Jarek shifted his stance. Deliberate. Weak-looking. He let his weight shift just slightly, just enough to make it think he was vulnerable.

  It worked.

  The Stormfang launched forward—this time for the kill.

  Jarek didn’t try to dodge.

  Instead, he angled himself toward the fracture line in the stone.

  Just before impact, he kicked off the ground—

  —and the Stormfang’s own force carried it straight into the weakened section.

  The floor collapsed.

  Stone shattered, an entire section of the ruins crumbling inward as the beast slammed through, its own momentum dragging it deeper into the rubble.

  Jarek landed on unsteady feet, gasping for breath. His legs threatened to buckle, his vision swam, but he forced himself to move. Now was his only chance.

  His sword came down.

  Not at the beast’s throat—he wasn’t delusional. Even off-balance, it was too fast for that.

  He aimed for the shoulder instead.

  The blade bit deep.

  Not deep enough to kill.

  But deep enough to bleed.

  Jarek felt it hit his skin.

  The hunger ignited.

  [GENETIC INTEGRATION: APEX-TIER MUTATION ACQUIRED.]

  NEW TRAIT: VELOCITY BREAK.

  Reaction Time Boosted by 60%

  Short Burst Acceleration Achieved

  Environmental Awareness Sharpened

  Jarek’s vision blurred. His body seized—then unlocked. The battlefield snapped into perfect focus.

  He felt the wind shift before it happened.

  He saw the pressure changes in the mist.

  He knew exactly how the Apex would recover—

  —before it even moved.

  And it did recover.

  The rubble shifted.

  Lightning pulsed through the beast’s veins, its eyes flaring brighter, the charge crackling along its frame.

  But something was different.

  Jarek lifted his arm, watching as arcing light spread across his own skin.

  Not red and gold.

  His was violet.

  Something new.

  The Apex snarled, its muscles coiling.

  Jarek exhaled, rolling his shoulders.

  The electricity around him surged.

  He wasn’t just reacting anymore.

  He was matching it.

  The Apex lunged—

  And this time, Jarek charged to meet it.