the mountain's echo

The air in the abandoned barracks smelled of rust and ozone. Litus stared at his palms, which were still stinging from the surge of blue energy.

"Control it, or it will consume you," Kael said, leaning against a cracked pillar. "The Wealthy don't just hunt monsters, Litus. They hunt us. To them, a human with Instinct is a defect in their system. A bug that needs to be deleted."

Litus gripped the book tightly. "What is this mountain? Why does it feel like it’s calling me?"

"It’s the only place they fear," Kael replied, his eyes darkening. "But before we get there, you have to survive the night."

Suddenly, the heavy steel doors of the barracks groaned open. A group of High-Rank Officers marched in, led by a man with a cybernetic eye that glowed a predatory red. "Section 402," the officer barked. "There’s a discrepancy in the waste report. Someone used unauthorized force today."

Litus felt the book pulse against his ribs. His blood began to boil. As the officer approached him, Litus’s gaze fell on a collection of confiscated items on the officer's belt. Hanging there, stained with dust, was a silver pendant.

It was Tusa’s.