[Velmora Outskirts – Crater Field 9]The ground was still scorched from the Omega Core event—fragments of glassy black obsidian marking where the explosion had ruptured the terrain. No one came here now. It was too close to death, too saturated with unstable Viora residue.
Except for Kiro.
He stood shirtless, skin still laced with faint scars from the energy he had absorbed. The Blood God System pulsed through his veins like wildfire—symbols glowing faintly across his spine and arms, a new layer of crimson tattoos not inked, but burned into him.
[System Upgrade Complete]New Trait Unlocked: Blood Engine Core – Converts raw Viora into adaptive enhancements.Warning: Continuous usage will strain vessel integrity.
Kiro exhaled. His breath steamed in the air, even though there was no cold. The blood around him responded to his will. With a flick of his hand, a dozen scarlet spears formed in the air and circled him, thrumming with residual heat.
He moved.
Faster. Stronger.
The Blood Engine surged, and he struck one of the fractured boulders with a single punch—red energy lancing forward like a beam. The rock shattered into a thousand molten shards.
Pablo sat crouched on a bent pipe, arms wrapped around one knee, watching silently. His wounds were bandaged, though his left side still bore the blackened burn marks from the teleport.
He could've gone home. Returned to the El'Vertigo estate and let the family clean things up. But after seeing what Kiro had become—what he was becoming—Pablo wasn't sure he could just walk away.
He reached into his pocket and ran his fingers over the lone Tarot Card he carried—Dark Leviathan—the last true legacy of his family's forbidden Viora arts.
His voice was a whisper. "You're not normal, Kiro. And neither am I anymore."
Kiro stopped training suddenly. His head turned slightly, just enough to let Pablo know he'd sensed him.
But he didn't say anything.
Didn't need to.
Not yet.