Chapter 4 First Blood, First Choice

I stepped out from behind the dead serpent before I could talk myself out of it.

"Over here," I called, voice rougher than before. My claws scraped stone as I moved into the open.

The small cluster of survivors jerked toward me. Six, maybe seven people huddled in a cleared patch between fallen pillars. Dust still hung thick in the air. A big disgraced-looking fighter with fresh cuts across his chest gripped a broken spear. Two older slaves crouched low, eyes wide. And there she was, the woman with the calm voice.

Lysa. She knelt beside a bleeding man, hands steady as she pressed cloth against his thigh. Mid-twenties, maybe twenty-eight, dark hair tied back practical, face smudged but eyes sharp and clear. No panic in her. Just focus.

"You," the spear guy growled. "The hybrid. You made it down too."

Before I could answer, Lysa looked up. Her gaze flicked over my changed arms, the new scales, the faint golden glow still fading under my skin, but she didn’t flinch. "You’re hurt. Badly. Sit. I have medicine."

"I’m fine," I lied, even though my side still throbbed.

She stood anyway, pulling a small vial from a pouch at her belt. No hesitation. "Drink this. It’ll stop the bleeding and dull the worst of it. We don’t have time for pride out here."

I took the vial. Her fingers brushed mine, warm, steady. The liquid tasted bitter, like crushed roots and something metallic. Heat spread through my chest almost immediately, mixing with that golden burn still alive inside me.

"Thanks," I muttered, handing it back. "The girl. Mira. You seen her?"

Lysa’s eyes softened. "She’s here. Shaken but alive. You pulled her out?"

I nodded once.

From behind a chunk of rubble, Mira peeked out. Her small face lit up when she saw me, even with everything. "Ren!"

She limped over fast, ignoring the others. I crouched so she didn’t have to look up too far. Her infected veins stood out dark against her pale skin, but her eyes were bright.

"You saved me," she said, voice small but steady. "I thought I was gone."

"Couldn’t leave you there," I replied, resting a clawed hand on her shoulder. The new talons looked huge next to her.

The spear guy, Dak, someone called him, shifted uncomfortably. "We need to move. That surge might bring more…"

A low growl cut him off.

From the green mist between the ruins, a smaller predator slunk out. Sleek, four-legged, spines along its back, eyes glowing hungry. Not legendary, but fast and mean. Wilds scavenger drawn by the blood and noise.

"Shit!" one of the slaves yelped. The group froze. Dak raised his broken spear but his hands shook.

The beast coiled, ready to spring straight at Mira.

My body moved before my mind caught up. New instincts roared up hot and sharp. "Get behind me!" I snarled, shoving Mira toward Lysa.

The creature leaped. I met it mid-air, shoulder slamming into its chest. We crashed into the dirt together. It snapped at my throat. I drove my claws into its side, ripping deep. Hot blood sprayed across my chest.

"Stay back!" I shouted at the others as they scrambled. "Don’t just stand there!"

Dak finally moved, jabbing with the spear, but the beast twisted and slashed his arm. He cursed loud. The others pressed against the rubble, eyes wide with terror.

I wrestled the thing onto its back. It was stronger than it looked. Jaws clamped on my forearm, teeth grinding against my new scales. Pain flared, but the Codex gold surged again, feeding me.

[Essence available. Minor yield.]

"Not now," I growled under my breath. I jammed my free hand into its throat and tore. Flesh gave way with a wet rip. The beast thrashed, claws raking my chest, reopening half-healed wounds. I roared and slammed its head against a rock once, twice. On the third, its skull cracked. It went limp.

I shoved the corpse off me and stood, breathing hard. Blood, mine and its, dripped from my arms. The scales on my forearms had spread higher, darker, catching the weak light with an ugly sheen. Golden veins pulsed visibly beneath the skin for a moment before fading. My hands looked less like hands now. More weapon.

The group stared.

One slave backed away. "What... what are you?"

"Monster," another whispered. "He’s turning into one of them."

Dak wiped blood from his arm, eyes narrowed but not fully afraid. "That thing would’ve killed us. He saved our asses."

Lysa stepped forward, calm as ever. She touched my shoulder, fingers pressing lightly on the new scales. Her hand lingered there a second longer than it needed to. Warmth seeped through. "Let me see the wounds. That medicine should help, but…"

Mira pushed through the adults without fear. She looked up at me, taking in the claws, the scales, the changes that made the others flinch. Her small hand reached out and touched my scaled forearm.

"You’re like me now," she said softly, voice full of something too close to wonder. "Different. But still you."

The words hit harder than the beast’s teeth. I stared down at her, throat tight. For a moment the golden thing inside quieted, just watching.

Lysa’s hand stayed on my shoulder. She squeezed once, gentle. "We should bind those cuts before they get infected. There’s more coming. I can feel it in the air."

Dak grunted. "She’s right. We can’t stay here. Hybrid... Ren. You leading or what?"

I opened my mouth to answer, but another distant roar rolled through the mist. Closer this time. The survivors shifted nervously. Mira pressed closer to my leg.

Lysa met my eyes, steady, waiting. Her hand still hadn’t left my shoulder.

I looked at the scared faces around me, at Mira’s trusting stare, at the fresh blood on my claws. The Codex pulsed once in warning.

[Next integration threshold approaching.]

The Wilds stretched dark and hungry in every direction. We weren’t safe. Not even close.

And something told me the real choice had just started.