Kyan opened his eyes to a strange and oppressive environment. The sky above was shrouded in a dense mist, obscuring any sign of light. Around him, trees with crimson leaves and gnarled, slender trunks stood like grotesque sculptures. It was a sight that could disorient anyone, but Kyan remained calm. He knew that the last thing he could afford was to give in to panic.
"Analyze. Assess. Survive," he murmured, recalling the cold logic he had developed during his endless death loops.
Rising to his feet, he began exploring the terrain. Though the environment was unfamiliar, the subtle signs around him did not go unnoticed: crushed leaves, broken branches, footprints in the soil. Kyan followed these clues with the precision of someone who had trained relentlessly. After all, he hadn't learned tracking by instinct but as a vital skill refined over thousands of failed survival attempts.
A few hours later
Following the tracks, Kyan arrived at an old structure in the heart of the forest. The house seemed on the verge of collapse. The roof sagged, and the rotting wooden walls looked unable to support their own weight. The sight of the house only heightened his suspicion. Something felt off.
He remained hidden in the shadows of the trees, observing the scene ahead. It was then that voices caught his attention. He focused his gaze and saw two figures standing near the house's entrance.
The first figure was a young man with an inhuman appearance. His skin was so pale it almost seemed translucent, reflecting the dim light that pierced the mist. His platinum hair shimmered against the somber backdrop. He stood motionless, leaning against a wall with his arms crossed, yet there was something about him that set off all of Kyan's alarms. Even still, the young man exuded a cold and controlled menace, as if he could effortlessly obliterate everything around him at any moment.
The second figure was a young woman with wolf-like ears twitching nervously amidst her dark hair. A long scar ran across her face, marking her as someone who had survived a fierce battle. Her posture was aggressive, her muscles taut like a beast ready to strike. She gestured violently as she argued with the young man.
Though Kyan couldn't understand the language they spoke, he could feel the conflict: the woman seemed furious, her voice laden with intense emotion, while the pale-skinned man remained unfazed, a faint smile on his lips as if amused by her outburst.
"He's dangerous," Kyan thought, his eyes fixed on the man. It wasn't the woman, with all her fury and feral instinct, that concerned him. It was him. The pale young man didn't need to move to make it clear that, if he wished, everything around him would be reduced to ashes.
As Kyan considered his approach, the figures abruptly stopped. Both turned in his direction, as if they had sensed his presence.
The pale man remained still, but his silver eyes locked onto Kyan's, cold and calculating. The woman, however, reacted swiftly.
With a guttural growl, she leapt forward. In mid-motion, her hands transformed into long, sharp claws glinting in the faint light. Her speed was supernatural, and in an instant, the short distance between her and Kyan vanished.
He took a deep breath, his body reacting automatically. This wasn't the first time he had faced something like this, but now he was alone, unarmed, without allies. And above all, he knew the true danger still stood, watching from the shadows.
The woman charged like a predator, too fast for untrained eyes to follow. For an ordinary person, it would have been impossible to even react. But Kyan was no ordinary person. He didn't rely on strength or speed. His experience and mindset guided him.
As she closed in, the world seemed to slow in his analytical mind. He realized he didn't have enough time for a conventional dodge. The only option was drastic. Without hesitation, he deliberately dislocated his own shoulder with a swift motion, throwing his body out of the woman's path.
The impact was brutal, but he remained composed. The pain, while excruciating for anyone else, was merely another distant sensation for him, just part of his existence now. Using her momentum, Kyan maneuvered his body to unbalance her, sending her crashing to the ground with a heavy thud.
The woman rolled across the ground, clearly surprised. Her claws scraped the earth as she tried to stabilize herself, but the strike hadn't been flawless, and the humiliation was palpable.
She sprang up in a single motion, glaring at Kyan with a mix of rage and bewilderment. How could a human predict and react at such speed? Hatred burned in her eyes, but it quickly shifted to the pale man, as if seeking support.
However, the young man merely watched her with a mocking smile. His gaze seemed to taunt her, as if he were amused by her failure.
The woman's face flushed with anger. Her claws trembled, and her fists were clenched so tightly her knuckles turned white. The pale man's implicit disdain seemed to affect her more than Kyan's resistance.
Meanwhile, Kyan analyzed the situation with precision. He kept his guard up, his mind noting every detail of their movements. The man, standing motionless as if unshakable, emanated a presence that made him seem even more dangerous. Every fiber of Kyan's being screamed not to underestimate him.
But he wouldn't retreat. His breathing was steady, even with his shoulder out of place. He had lived through thousands of deaths; danger, though constant, was familiar ground.
The tension between the three was palpable, and Kyan waited. He knew that to survive, he had to exploit every moment of hesitation against them.
...
As the woman prepared for another attack, something unexpected happened. The pale man vanished from where he stood and reappeared in front of Kyan in a motion so swift and fluid it seemed more like teleportation than agility. Before either of them could react, he slowly raised his hand.
Both Kyan and the woman felt their bodies freeze instantly. It wasn't physical strength or visible tricks. It was something beyond their comprehension, an invisible pressure holding them immobile.
The man's eyes never left Kyan, or rather, something specific. He tilted his head slightly, his gaze fixed on the small drop of blood trailing down Kyan's injured shoulder, about to hit the ground. With an almost imperceptible gesture of his hand, he stopped the drop mid-air.
The drop hovered, vibrating gently as if obeying his will, then floated toward the man, stopping right before his eyes. His face displayed something akin to utter fascination. He regarded that fragment of life as if it were the most precious discovery he had ever made.
The woman, still held by the man's power, strained against it, her teeth clenched in frustration. Her eyes burned with irritation as she watched the man's full attention focused on Kyan's blood. Yet, she couldn't hear what he was saying.
"You are... different," a voice echoed directly in Kyan's mind, deep and melodic, but with a tone that made him feel as if his very essence were being scrutinized. "Your blood... it carries something I haven't seen in ages."
Kyan felt his anger and distrust boil within him, but he was powerless against the overwhelming force the man exuded. He tried to move a finger, anything, but the invisible force holding him was unrelenting.
The woman, meanwhile, only saw the man standing silently, staring at the drop of blood. To her, nothing else was happening, which only left her more confused and irritated.
Finally, the man diverted his gaze from the drop of blood, making it vanish with a simple blink. He turned his face slightly toward Kyan, as if pondering something, while his presence continued to suffocate the air around them.
...