Kieran's knuckles ached from how tightly he gripped the jagged rock in his palm. It was a pitiful excuse for a weapon, but it was the only thing he could find. His breath came in shallow gasps as he crouched behind a splintered black stone outcropping, peering at the approaching creatures.
The **wolf-like beasts** prowled closer, their skeletal faces twitching as they sniffed the air. Glowing crimson eyes pulsed with a faint, malevolent rhythm. There were **six of them**, their slick, sinewy bodies low to the ground as they crept toward his Dominion Core.
Kieran's hands were slick with sweat. **No troops. No resources. No defenses.**
Just him.
"Come on, think," he muttered under his breath, trying to steady his nerves. "You've been in worse spots than this."
He hadn't, of course. There was no comparison between fighting some back-alley enforcers on Caldris and facing supernatural monstrosities in an alien wasteland. But he lied to himself anyway. **It kept the fear from consuming him.**
The **Territory Core** behind him hummed faintly, its violet energy casting a faint glow over the jagged terrain. The core's light flickered erratically—still unstable from the recent activation. He glanced at it, gritting his teeth.
**If the Core fell, so did his Dominion.**
The system interface flashed.
---
**[SYSTEM ALERT: Territory Under Attack]**
**Defend the Core or face Dominion Collapse.**
**Failure will result in Sovereign Termination.**
---
Kieran clenched his jaw. **Sovereign Termination.** Not a comforting phrase.
The lead wolf-creature, the largest of the pack, suddenly **snapped its skeletal jaw** in his direction, emitting a bone-chilling snarl. Its tongue, a wet, serpentine mass of black sinew, slithered out and flicked in the air, tasting his scent. The creature's **spine crackled** as it moved—joints popping unnaturally, limbs bending at grotesque angles.
Kieran felt a **surge of nausea**, but he fought it down.
**They've caught my scent. No more running.**
Without giving himself a moment to hesitate, he burst from his cover. His boots slammed against the cracked stone, scattering dust and ash as he sprinted toward the Core.
The creatures let out **piercing howls**, their skeletal frames clattering as they bounded after him. Their claws scraped against the stone, sending up sparks as they leapt from crag to crag, gaining speed.
Kieran skidded to a halt just before reaching the Core. His eyes flicked to the system prompt, his heart hammering against his chest.
---
**[EMERGENCY SUMMONING AVAILABLE]**
**Resource Cost: 10 Dominion Points**
**Troop Type: Wraithborn Sentry (Tier 1)**
**Quantity: 1**
---
**Dominion Points?** He barely had a clue what they were, but he didn't have time to figure it out. His hand shot out and slammed against the system interface.
"Summon!" he barked.
The Core **pulsed violently**, sending jagged arcs of violet energy into the ground. The stone beneath it **fractured** and splintered, and from the churning earth, **a humanoid figure rose**.
It was **shrouded in tattered, dark armor**, its skeletal face obscured beneath a cracked, iron mask. Its eyes burned with spectral light, and **black chains dangled** from its arms, glowing with faint ethereal runes.
The **Wraithborn Sentry** staggered slightly as it fully emerged, its form partially incorporeal. It was less a soldier and more a twisted revenant—an echo of some long-forgotten warrior.
It turned toward Kieran, head tilting slightly in acknowledgment.
"Guard the Core!" Kieran roared.
The wraith **snapped its arms forward**, the chains extending like whips, glowing with violet energy. The first wolf lunged.
With a flick of its arm, the wraith's **chain lashed out**, wrapping around the beast's neck. The creature let out a guttural snarl, snapping its jaws violently, but the chain **tightened**, crushing its windpipe. The wraith gave a sharp tug, and the wolf's skeletal neck **snapped with a sickening crunch**.
But the remaining five were already upon it.
The wraith **swung its chains in a wide arc**, smashing into two of the creatures and sending them tumbling into the dust. One recovered instantly, launching itself forward, its claws slicing toward the wraith's chest.
**Too slow.**
The wraith **caught the creature mid-air**, slamming it into the ground. Its chains **tightened around the beast's legs**, pinning it down.
For a brief moment, Kieran thought he had a chance.
Then he heard the **skittering behind him**.
His stomach turned cold.
Before he could react, **one of the wolves had slipped around the battlefield**, cutting off his escape. It lunged, its skeletal jaws snapping toward his face.
Without thinking, Kieran **swung the jagged rock** in his hand. The impact caught the creature across the muzzle, but the beast barely staggered. Its jaws clamped down on his forearm, **ripping through his jacket**.
White-hot pain shot through him. He screamed.
His vision blurred with red, but his instincts screamed louder. With a desperate surge of adrenaline, he **drove his knee into the beast's ribcage**. The wolf growled and twisted, but Kieran grabbed its **skull with both hands** and slammed its face into the jagged stone beneath them.
Once. Twice. Three times.
The creature's **skull cracked**, black ichor spilling from its maw.
Kieran shoved its limp body aside, panting heavily, his arm slick with blood.
His vision spun. His limbs were trembling. **He wouldn't last.**
The wraith was still fighting, its chains smashing into the remaining beasts, but it was slowing down. The creatures were **wearing it down**, forcing it into a defensive stance.
Kieran staggered toward the Core, his boots slipping on the blood-slicked stone. His vision blurred, but he saw the system prompt blinking again.
---
**[TALENT ACTIVATION AVAILABLE]**
**Dominion Talent: Arcane Siphon (Rank: Unknown)**
**Effect: Absorb enemy energy upon kill.**
**Activation Cost: 15 Dominion Points**
---
He didn't hesitate. **"Activate!"**
A surge of **raw energy** exploded through his veins. His wounds burned, but the pain was almost distant—drowned out by the sudden, intoxicating **rush of power**. His hands glowed faintly with violet light, and the **blood from the wolf's corpse** seeped into the cracks of the Core, absorbed as Dominion energy.
The interface flashed.
---
**[Dominion Points: +25]**
**[Wraithborn Sentry Empowered: +30% Strength]**
---
The wraith let out a low, distorted growl. Its chains ignited with **dark fire**, and its movements became **faster—more fluid and violent**. It lashed out with a brutal swipe, severing the spine of one of the remaining wolves.
Another wolf lunged, but the wraith caught it mid-air and drove its ethereal blade through the beast's ribcage, impaling it.
The creatures fell one by one, their **black blood seeping into the stone**. The final beast snarled and turned to flee, but the wraith's chains lashed out, catching its hind leg. With a violent tug, the creature's limbs were **ripped from its body**, and it fell in a twitching, broken heap.
The battlefield fell silent.
Kieran dropped to one knee, his body trembling. His vision blurred with exhaustion, but he stared at the **crimson-streaked ground**. The bodies of the beasts slowly **disintegrated into black mist**, absorbed by the Core.
His system interface buzzed faintly.
---
**[Territory Defended: +100 Dominion Points]**
**[Survival Event: SUCCESS]**
**[Core Stability: +20%]**
---
He exhaled sharply and **slumped against the Core**, barely able to hold himself upright. His limbs were weak, his breaths uneven, but he had done it.
For the first time since arriving in this **forsaken realm**, he felt something other than fear.
He felt power.
And it was just the beginning.