A deep, rumbling growl rolled through the mist.

  Two golden eyes burned through the fog, locked onto him.

  The Alpha Ravager.

  The boss of the Gate.

  It had seen everything.

  And now?

  It was coming for them.

  Jarek’s pulse hammered in his ears. The mist was a living thing, wrapping around them, each breath sharp and cold. His body thrummed with power, his senses razor-edged, the recent evolution still simmering under his skin.

  Beside him, Cyrille’s knuckles were white against the hilts of her knives. She didn’t smile. Didn’t quip. Her voice came out low, tight, a whisper that barely reached him.

  “Please tell me you’ve got a plan, Ghostfang.”

  Jarek’s lips curled into a smirk, sharp as a blade. “Yeah. Don’t die.”

  She huffed, somewhere between a laugh and a curse. “Solid plan. Real inspiring.”

  The Alpha moved.

  It was a shadow in the mist, a ripple of muscle and menace. The air went still, the world holding its breath.

  Jarek’s instincts flared, every muscle coiling tight. The beast wasn’t just a monster—it was judgment, and they were in its territory.

  The Alpha struck—a silver blur, claws scything through the fog.

  Jarek's body moved on instinct, Phantom Reflex snapping him sideways. Claws raked stone, shattering rock into a storm of sharp fragments.

  A shard bit into his cheek. Blood mixed with the cold air, the sting bringing him back into focus.

  The Alpha didn’t pause. It flowed, its body a seamless blend of speed and power, the mist parting around it.

  Jarek rolled to his feet, his blade flashing. He saw the weight shift, the twitch of muscle—

  The air shivered.

  A tail whipped out of nowhere, bone-plated, a cudgel of raw force.

  Jarek ducked. The tail whooshed over his head, smashing the wall behind him into a cloud of dust and gravel.

  Cyrille darted left, her knives a flash of silver. She threw—two blades, quick as a heartbeat, aimed for the Alpha’s eyes.

  The beast twisted, a ripple of muscle beneath silver fur. The knives skittered off stone, the echo sharp and hollow.

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  Her voice was tight. “Well, shit.”

  The Alpha’s head snapped toward her. Its lips peeled back, a grin of fangs and hunger. It lunged, speed and death in a single line.

  Cyrille moved, but the ground betrayed her—loose stone, her ankle turning.

  Jarek’s instincts screamed. He launched forward, crashing into her. Their bodies hit the ground as the Alpha’s claws raked through empty air.

  They tumbled, a tangle of limbs and dust. Cyrille’s breath hissed, pain flickering across her face as her shoulder slammed against rock.

  The Alpha charged again, jaws wide—a tunnel of teeth.

  Jarek shoved himself up, his blade snapping forward.

  Steel met bone with a sickening crunch, the impact rattling up his arm. The Alpha snarled, a sound like metal grating against metal, its weight driving into him.

  Jarek’s feet dug into the ground, stone splintering beneath him. His muscles burned, the pressure threatening to fold him in half.

  Claws lashed out—a blur of motion.

  Jarek twisted—too slow.

  Pain ripped across his side, the Alpha’s claws grazing his ribs. Heat flooded his coat, the fabric sticking to his skin.

  He snarled, slashing back—a brutal arc, his blade tearing across the Alpha’s muzzle.

  Blood—dark and steaming—splattered onto the stone, its hiss sharp in the mist.

  The beast recoiled, its golden eyes molten with rage.

  Jarek’s breath was harsh, his pulse a drumbeat of war. Pain lanced through him, but beneath it was clarity—a focus that narrowed the world to red and white and the next breath.

  The Alpha’s lips curled, a snarl too intelligent, too knowing.

  And then the mist moved.

  It swelled, twisted—phantom shapes coiling in the corners of his vision. Shadows danced, flitting through the fog, real and not.

  Jarek’s night vision warped. The mist blurred reality, his movement prediction faltering, the world tilting as his senses fought against the shifting illusions.

  The Alpha vanished.

  Cyrille’s voice came, tight, sharp. “Where—”

  A blur. Claws.

  She reacted—too late.

  The Alpha hit her like a wrecking ball, muscle and bone slamming her into the rocks. Her daggers clattered away, swallowed by the mist.

  She hit the ground, a sharp crunch, her breath escaping in a ragged gasp. Blood slicked down her temple, a thin line of red against the grey of stone.

  Jarek’s vision narrowed, the world contracting to a pinpoint of rage. His blood roared, the hunger in him a living thing, coiled and sharp.

  The Alpha stepped forward, its golden eyes locked onto Cyrille.

  She struggled up, one knee on the ground, her stance unsteady but her gaze still sharp with defiance.

  “Not done yet, asshole.”

  The Alpha moved—a death blow, fast and final.

  Jarek surged forward, his body a coil of muscle and instinct. His blade cut through the mist, steel biting deep into the Alpha’s flank.

  The beast howled, its tail a blur of white bone and fury, arcing toward him.

  Jarek braced—too late.

  The impact hit him in the ribs, a crack that reverberated through his bones. His body hit stone, the world flipping, sky and rock and mist blurring together.

  Pain seared through his side, his vision flickering, but he moved. His muscles responded, every inch of him tight and desperate.

  The Alpha bore down, jaws wide—a tunnel of death.

  Jarek twisted—a fraction too late.

  Claws raked across his chest, the leather of his coat shredding, blood spattering hot and sharp.

  But his blade found the gap—a sharp, desperate thrust, steel driving up into the Alpha’s neck.

  A wet crunch. Blood poured over him, thick and suffocating, the heat of it cloying in his lungs.

  His hunger ignited—a firestorm in his veins.

  Jarek held on, his blade buried deep, his muscles burning, every inch of him straining against the beast’s weight.

  The Alpha’s golden eyes dimmed, the light in them fading to nothing.

  Its body collapsed, a mass of dead weight and fading warmth.

  The mist stilled, the air holding its breath.

  Jarek lay beneath it, his veins burning, the power surging through him—cold and sharp and alive.

  A familiar pulse throbbed behind his skull.

  [GENETIC INTEGRATION COMPLETE.]

  NEW SKILL ACQUIRED: "UMBRAL VEIL"

  "Umbral Veil" – Blend seamlessly into mist and shadow. Obscures presence, creates subtle illusions within fog. Enhanced stealth and misdirection.

  Jarek exhaled. The mist echoed his breath, the world bending to his will. His powers weren’t just growing.

  They were merging.

  He had become the shadow in the mist.