The creature lunged.
Fast.
Too fast.
Kael barely reacted—his body moving on instinct as he threw himself sideways.
CRASH.
The ground where he stood a second ago shattered.
The stone cracked. Dust exploded into the air.
"…Okay."
Kael pushed himself up, breathing hard.
"Definitely not normal."
The creature turned slowly.
Its body flickered—unstable, like it couldn't fully exist.
Its limbs bent at unnatural angles.
Its form… wrong.
Then it moved again.
Kael clenched his fists.
"Come on…"
A faint spark flickered across his fingers.
Weak.
Unstable.
"That's it?" he muttered.
The creature was already on him.
Kael reacted—this time faster.
He twisted his body, narrowly avoiding a distorted claw that tore through the air beside his head.
He countered.
His fist slammed into the creature's side—
And passed through it.
"—What?!"
The creature's form glitched.
Then solidified.
Its arm snapped forward—
THUD.
Kael was thrown back, skidding across the stone floor.
Pain shot through his side.
"You've got to be kidding me…"
He pushed himself up again, breathing harder now.
"Physical attacks don't work?"
The system responded instantly.
"Corrupted entities exist between states."
"Standard impact: ineffective."
Kael wiped blood from his lip.
"Then what does work?"
A brief pause.
"Energy-based interaction recommended."
Kael stared at his hands.
The weak sparks flickering across his fingers.
"You mean this…?"
The creature didn't wait.
It attacked again.
Kael stepped back—barely avoiding another strike.
His heart pounded.
His body was slower now.
Weaker.
But his mind—
Sharp.
"Energy…"
He focused.
The faint spark flickered again.
Unstable.
Hard to control.
"Come on…"
The creature closed in.
Closer.
Faster.
Kael didn't move.
Not this time.
He focused everything on one point—
His hand.
The core pulsed weakly.
Responding.
A spark became a current.
A current became a surge.
Just as the creature reached him—
Kael moved.
His hand shot forward—
This time—
Charged.
CRACK.
The moment his hand made contact—
The creature screamed.
A broken, distorted sound.
Its body flickered violently.
Energy surged between them—unstable, violent, real.
Kael's eyes widened.
"That worked—!"
But it wasn't over.
The creature lashed out wildly, its form destabilizing as it tried to pull away.
Kael held on.
Instinct.
The same instinct from before.
Absorb.
The energy shifted.
Not just attacking—
Pulling.
"—!"
The creature's form began collapsing inward.
Fragments breaking apart into raw energy.
Kael's body trembled.
This wasn't like before.
Not life force.
Something else.
Colder.
Dangerous.
"Warning—"
The system cut in.
"Unstable energy intake detected."
"Stop—!"
Too late.
The energy flooded into him.
Violent.
Corrupted.
Kael gasped, dropping to one knee as the last of the creature dissolved into nothing.
Silence returned.
He breathed heavily, clutching his chest.
The glow flickered—
Then stabilized.
"…I'm still… alive…"
His hands shook.
Faint energy still danced across them—
It's different now.
Sharper.
The system spoke.
"Adaptation… successful."
Kael let out a shaky breath.
"Yeah…"
He looked at where the creature had been.
Gone.
But something remained.
Not physical.
A feeling.
"That wasn't just a monster…"
His chest pulsed faintly.
"…it was something broken."
Silence answered him.
Then—
The system spoke again.
"Correction."
Kael frowned slightly.
"What?"
"That was not the only one."
The darkness beyond the pillars shifted.
More movement.
More shapes.
Watching.
Kael slowly stood up.
His body is still weak.
His energy is unstable.
But his eyes—
Focused.
"…"
A slow breath left his lips.
"Alright…"
"Let's see how many I can take."