The shadow creature's claws whistled past Ethan's ear, close enough to draw blood. He ducked, stumbled, but somehow kept running. His lungs burned, his legs screamed, but the creature was faster. Smarter. The gunshots were almost deafening now. He could see the fighters ahead—a man in tactical gear firing a modified shotgun, a woman with glowing hands creating blades of light. They were holding their ground against a swarm of monsters, but they hadn't noticed him yet. Or the shadow creature closing in behind him.

  "Help!" he shouted, his voice breaking. "Behind me!" The man in tactical gear—ex-military or maybe just a well-prepared civilian—spun around, shotgun raised. His eyes—hard and calculating—swept over Ethan, then past him to the shadow creature.

  "Just what we needed," the man said, his voice matter-of-fact. "Another monster. Move left, we'll cover you."

  Before Ethan could respond, the shadow creature lunged again, its movements liquid and predatory. The man fired, but the creature twisted aside with impossible grace, the shotgun blast tearing through empty air.

  "Get down!" the woman shouted, her hands already glowing with gathered light. Ethan dove as blades of light sliced through the space where he'd been standing, forcing the shadow creature to retreat.

  The three of them formed an uneasy triangle—Ethan on one side, the man with the shotgun on another, and the woman with glowing hands on the third. The shadow creature circled them, its green eyes gleaming with intelligence.

  "Can you fight?" the man asked, his voice clipped and professional.

  "I can try," Ethan gasped, his hands trembling. The System's energy thrummed through his veins, but he didn't know how to use it, didn't know if it would be enough.

  "Then try," the woman said, her light constructs already forming. "We'll create an opening."

  The shadow creature attacked again, moving faster than Ethan could track. But this time, he wasn't alone. The man's shotgun roared, forcing the creature to dodge, while the woman's light blades cut off its escape routes. For a moment, the creature was exposed.

  Ethan moved on pure instinct. His hand shot forward, connecting with the creature's side. A surge of heat rushed through his fingers, a pulse of raw energy that yanked something from the beast like tearing away a sheet of plastic.

  [Essence Acquired: Rending Claws]

  The creature shrieked, a high-pitched sound of agony that cut off abruptly as it convulsed and dropped to the ground, motionless.

  "Impressive," the man said, his voice carrying a note of genuine surprise. "First time I've seen one of those go down without a fight."

  Ethan nodded, suddenly aware of how he must look—disheveled, blood-spattered, wild-eyed. "I don't know what I am anymore. The System... it changed something inside me."

  The man's expression softened slightly, recognition in his eyes. "We're all trying to figure that out. Name's Ray. Former NYPD SWAT, for whatever that's worth now." His eyes swept the area with practiced efficiency, marking exits, angles of attack. "Those things are getting organized. Started out random, attacking anything that moved. Now they're setting up ambush points, herding people. Like they're learning." He gestured to the woman, who was still focused on the battlefield, her glowing eyes scanning for threats. "That's Marlene."

  "Ethan," he replied simply. "I was... nobody. Just trying to make rent."

  Ray studied him for a moment longer, then nodded as if coming to a decision. "Well, Ethan Nobody, you led that shadow thing right to us, which gave us a chance to take it down together. You got powers, you fight. You don't, you run. Simple as that."

  "I can fight," Ethan said, with more certainty than he felt.

  "Good. We found a rec center nearby—solid brick building, defensible. A few of us are trying to get people there, set up some kind of safe zone. But it's getting uglier by the minute." Ray looked him over, taking in his disheveled appearance but also noting the way he stood—no longer cowering. "You got that look. Just Awakened?"

  "Yeah. About an hour ago, maybe less. Time's... weird right now."

  "First portal opened a few blocks away about three hours ago," Ray said, checking his shotgun's chamber. His voice had that cop's habit of stating facts like he was filing a report. "From what we can tell, some people got powers, most didn't. Those who did—like us—seem to get different abilities. No rhyme or reason to it that we can figure."

  "How many... like us?" Ethan asked, the question feeling important somehow.

  "Not enough," Ray said grimly. "Most people who survive the initial change... they don't last long. The System changes them in ways they can't handle." He trailed off, watching as Marlene finished off the last monster in the area with a precise strike of her light blade, then approached them, her eyes gradually dimming from their ethereal glow to a more natural blue. Up close, Ethan could see she was older than he'd initially thought—maybe mid-forties, with streaks of gray in her dark hair. Her face was lined with exhaustion, but her gaze remained sharp.

  "Who's this?" she asked, her voice clipped.

  "Ethan," Ray said. "He led that shadow thing right to us. Smart move—gave us a chance to take it down together."

  Marlene's eyes narrowed as she studied Ethan. "What can you do? We need to keep moving, but I want to know what we're working with."

  The directness of the question caught him off guard. "I... I can take things from them. Abilities. And I think I can combine them somehow."

  "Combine?" Marlene's gaze sharpened, interest kindling in her tired eyes. "You mean you can use more than one essence at a time?"

  "Something like that," Ethan admitted. "But it's not just using them. It's... changing them. Creating something new."

  Ray let out a low whistle. "Well, damn. Looks like we picked up a rare one."

  "Don't expect any handouts," Marlene said, but her voice had lost some of its edge. "People have been dying left and right, and if you think you're special, you better prove it."

  "I intend to," Ethan replied. "Just tell me where to aim."

  Ray grinned, the expression more wolfish than humorous. "You'll fit right in. Now, if you're serious about helping, we need to push through to the rec center. Got people waitin' on supplies we scavenged." He gestured to a backpack at his feet that Ethan hadn't noticed before.

  "What's at the rec center?" Ethan asked.

  "People. Survivors. Mostly normal folks who got caught in this mess. Some Awakened like us keeping them safe." Ray checked his ammunition. "We've been trying to establish a safe zone. Somewhere the monsters seem less interested in."

  "They're getting more aggressive, though," Marlene added. "More organized. It's like they're learning."

  More monsters were emerging from the shadows between abandoned cars and out of the surrounding buildings, their movements more coordinated than the frenzied attacks Ethan had encountered earlier. He could see the faint auras clinging to their bodies, the System's way of marking which ones held Essence.

  His eyes narrowed as he mentally assessed his current abilities. Berserker's Will was still recharging, but he had the newly acquired Rending Claws essence stored and ready.

  Frenzied Hunger (Used in Synthesis)

  Guttural Resilience (Used in Synthesis)

  Rending Claws (Stored)

  He needed to become stronger, and quickly. The only way was to fight—to take what he needed from the monsters before they tore him apart.

  Ethan's hands curled into fists. "Let's do this."

  Ray cocked his shotgun, his grin grim and feral. "Now you're talking."

  More monsters charged from the darkness, their shrieks a twisted harmony of hunger. Ethan was done running. His hands trembled as he focused on the essence he'd stored, willing it to activate. Rending Claws.

  He closed his eyes, concentrating on the foreign energy nestled in his core. Unlike before with Frenzied Hunger, this energy felt different—colder, more precise. He visualized it flowing into his hands, his fingers, transforming them.

  Nothing happened.

  "Come on," he hissed, frustration mounting as the monsters drew closer. Ray was already firing, Marlene's light spears cutting through the air beside him.

  "Whatever you're planning, do it now!" Ray shouted.

  Ethan tried again, this time imagining the claws as extensions of himself rather than foreign tools. He felt a slight tingling, his fingertips numbing, but still no transformation.

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  "I can't—it's not working!" he called back, panic edging into his voice.

  "Then use what does work!" Marlene snapped, her light constructs slicing through a leaping creature.

  Ethan dodged a monster's lunge, barely avoiding its slashing claws. His mind raced. What was he doing wrong? The stored essence was there, he could feel it, but accessing it was proving harder than before.

  A memory flashed—the moment he'd absorbed Rending Claws, the sensation had been sharper, more focused than Frenzied Hunger. Maybe each essence required a different approach?

  He tried again, this time imagining the essence as a weapon he was unsheathing rather than an energy he was channeling. The change was immediate—a tingling that spread through his fingers, skin rippling like disturbed water. Dark, razor-sharp claws emerged from his fingertips, curving wickedly. The transformation stopped halfway, only three fingers on his right hand successfully changing.

  "Shit," he muttered, staring at his partially transformed hand. The claws were there, but incomplete.

  "Whoa," Ray muttered, eyes wide despite the chaos around them. "That's... definitely something."

  "Keep trying!" Marlene called, her voice more encouraging than before.

  Ethan concentrated harder, sweat beading on his forehead. Wisps of violet energy began to coil around his fingers like ethereal smoke. Slowly, the remaining fingers transformed, his left hand following suit. The claws felt alien at first, heavy and awkward, not the natural extensions he'd hoped for.

  "Got it," he gasped, flexing his newly clawed hands experimentally. "But I don't know how long I can hold it."

  A creature charged him, and Ethan lashed out instinctively. His aim was off, the claws slicing through the monster's shoulder instead of its throat. It howled in pain but didn't fall, lunging at him again with renewed fury. Ethan backpedaled, swinging wildly, the unfamiliar weapons throwing off his balance.

  "You've got to commit!" Ray shouted, blasting another monster. "They're not toys!"

  Ethan gritted his teeth and charged forward, driving his claws deep into the creature's chest. The sensation was horrific—organic resistance giving way, the vibration traveling up his arms as his claws pierced vital organs. The monster collapsed, and Ethan stumbled backward, bile rising in his throat, as a surge of energy flowed into him, strengthening his abilities.

  "I killed it," he whispered, staring at the dark ichor coating his claws. The violence was becoming familiar now, but something about this kill felt different. The way the creature had moved, almost human-like in its intelligence. The way it had retreated rather than mindlessly attacking. Was he still fighting monsters, or was he becoming one himself?

  "You're going to have to get used to it," Marlene said, her voice surprisingly gentle despite her harsh words. "It's us or them now."

  "And you're sure you can combine these abilities?" she added, her scientific curiosity breaking through her battle focus. "Like some kind of... essence alchemy?"

  Ethan nodded, trying to shake off his moral crisis. "I've already done it once. Created something called Berserker's Will. But it takes a lot out of me."

  "And it makes you stronger than just using one essence at a time?" Ray asked, his tactical mind clearly assessing Ethan's value.

  "Yeah, but the process is... painful. Dangerous, maybe." Ethan flexed his claws, already feeling more comfortable with them. "I don't know if I can do it in the middle of a fight."

  Ray's grin was savage. "Then you'd better get more practice. Because those bastards aren't stopping."

  They pressed forward, fighting their way through the growing horde. Ethan's movements became more fluid as he adjusted to his claws, but each kill left a mark on his psyche—a small voice questioning what he was becoming. The Rending Claws affected more than just his hands; they changed his instincts, making him more predatory, more willing to tear into flesh without hesitation.

  Is this still me? He wondered between kills. Or am I becoming something else?

  They reached the edge of the park, the battered remains of the neighborhood spread out before them like a shattered maze. The monsters weren't just in the park anymore—they filled the streets, some moving with clear purpose rather than blind aggression.

  And one of them was different from the rest.

  It shimmered like heat distortion, its form constantly shifting between solid and transparent. Unlike the other creatures, it didn't just move—it phased through the air, leaving ripples in reality like a stone dropped in water. Its body was a patchwork of darkness and light, pieces of it fading in and out of existence as it moved. Its eyes burned with an icy blue light that seemed to pierce through the darkness, and when it shifted position, it left behind ghostly echoes of itself that slowly dissolved into mist.

  "What the hell is that?" Ethan hissed, instinctively backing up a step.

  "Trouble," Ray spat, raising his shotgun. "Most of them just charge straight at you—all teeth and claws. But this one... it's not just fast, it's everywhere at once. Like trying to hit smoke."

  "Don't let it touch you," Marlene warned, her voice tight. "We lost someone at the rec center to one of these. Just a scratch, and they were gone in minutes."

  The creature paused, its form flickering like a broken hologram. Then it moved, not in a blur but in a series of impossible jumps—one moment here, the next there, never seeming to cross the space between.

  Ray fired, the shotgun blast tearing through the space where the creature had been a millisecond before. It had already shifted, circling them with predatory patience.

  Ethan turned, trying to keep it in sight, but it was too fast—a shadow dancing at the edge of perception. His claws suddenly felt inadequate, too slow for this new threat.

  "We need to—" he began, but the creature chose that moment to attack.

  It lunged, a streak of darkness aimed directly at Ethan's throat. He barely twisted aside, his claws flashing uselessly through empty air as the beast slipped past him like smoke. A razor-sharp appendage—not quite a claw, not quite a blade—raked across his shoulder, and pain flared like a line of fire.

  Ethan gasped, feeling something burning in the wound—the poison Marlene had warned about. His vision swam, the world tilting dangerously. He staggered, nearly falling.

  "Kid!" Ray shouted, concern breaking through his hardened exterior.

  But Ethan wasn't done. Not yet. As the creature circled for another attack, he forced himself to focus through the pain, through the poison slowly spreading through his system.

  Time seemed to slow as the creature lunged again. This time, Ethan didn't try to match its speed. Instead, he anticipated its path, waiting until the last possible moment before lashing out with his claws.

  The timing was perfect—his blades caught the creature across its side as it passed. It howled, a sound like metal scraping against glass, twisting away but not before Ethan felt the familiar pull of essence leaving its body and flowing into his.

  But this essence was different.

  The energy that seeped into his chest felt... slick. Cold. Like trying to catch mercury between his fingers. It writhed inside him, fighting assimilation, before finally settling into his core with a sensation like ice spreading through his veins.

  [Essence Acquired: Phantom Stride]

  [Note: Unstable Essence. Integration may be incomplete.]

  The creature hissed, wounded but not defeated. It circled again, more cautiously now. Ethan could feel the poison working through his system, his movements becoming sluggish, but also something else—the new essence responding to his desperation.

  Another monster lunged from his left, its maw wide and glistening with teeth. Ethan knew he couldn't dodge in time, not in his condition. Instinctively, he reached for the new essence, not knowing what it would do but hoping it might save him.

  The world blurred. His body felt insubstantial, like mist caught in a crosswind. For a heartbeat, he wasn't fully in reality—he could see through his own hands, the monster's teeth passing harmlessly through where his arm should have been.

  Then he snapped back to solidity, several feet from where he'd started. The sudden shift left him dizzy and disoriented, his stomach lurching violently. He collapsed to one knee, gasping.

  "What the hell was that?" he managed, his voice thin and strained.

  "You tell me," Ray said, his expression caught between awe and wariness. "You disappeared for a second there."

  "I... I think I phased through it somehow," Ethan replied, struggling back to his feet. His body felt wrong, like it had been disassembled and put back together incorrectly. "But I don't think I can do it again right now."

  The wounded shadow creature watched him from a distance, its green eyes narrowed with what almost looked like calculation. Then, to Ethan's surprise, it retreated, slipping away into the darkness between buildings.

  "It's leaving," Marlene observed, her voice tight with suspicion.

  "Maybe it decided we're too much trouble," Ray said, but he didn't sound convinced.

  "Or maybe it's reporting back," Ethan suggested, the thought chilling him. "Learning."

  The poison continued to work through his system, each heartbeat spreading it further. His vision was starting to tunnel, edges darkening ominously.

  "I don't feel so good," he admitted, swaying slightly.

  Marlene was at his side instantly, examining the wound on his shoulder. "The poison's spreading. We need to get him to the rec center—Celia might be able to help."

  "Can you walk?" Ray asked, his gruff voice hiding concern.

  "Yeah," Ethan lied, forcing himself to straighten despite the pain. "Lead the way."

  They moved through the shattered streets, Ethan fighting to stay conscious with each step. The new essence—Phantom Stride—felt volatile inside him, like it might activate randomly or tear him apart from the inside. He had succeeded in acquiring another power, but at what cost?

  The rec center loomed ahead, a squat brick building surrounded by makeshift barricades. People moved along the roof, some with weapons, others with powers that made the air around them shimmer strangely. He caught snippets of Spanish and English, prayers muttered in both languages as people worked to fortify the building. Some had painted symbols on the walls—familiar religious icons mixed with strange, glowing patterns that seemed to pulse in time with the portal's energy.

  "Almost there," Ray encouraged, supporting Ethan as he stumbled. "Just hold on."

  Ethan nodded weakly, his focus narrowing to just putting one foot in front of the other. The poison, the new essence, the day's trauma—it was all catching up to him now, his body reaching its limits.

  As they approached the final stretch, more creatures emerged from the shadows, drawn by their movement or perhaps by something else—Ethan's unstable essence, maybe, calling to them like a beacon.

  "We've got company!" Marlene shouted, her hands already glowing with gathered light.

  "Make a run for it!" Ray ordered, firing into the approaching horde. "The door's right there!"

  Ethan summoned his last reserves of strength, breaking into a stumbling run toward the barricaded entrance. Behind him, Ray and Marlene fought a desperate rearguard action, buying him precious seconds.

  People at the barricades spotted them, shouting and pointing. The makeshift gate began to open, ready to receive them.

  "Come on, kid!" Ray shouted, already shoving past him to help clear the barricade. "Inside, now!"

  With one final push, Ethan staggered through the opening, the poison making his legs finally give out as he collapsed inside the rec center's foyer. The last thing he saw before darkness claimed him was the barricade closing behind them, sealing out the nightmare outside—at least for now.

  Marlene's voice came to him as if from a great distance: "Get Celia. Now. We need this one back on his feet before more come."

  Then consciousness slipped away like water through his fingers.