the echoes in the dark

The subway tunnel was a throat of concrete and shadows. Litus could hear his own heartbeat, a frantic rhythm that seemed to echo off the damp walls. Beside him, Kael limped, his face pale under the flickering light of a glow-stick.

"It’s here," Kael whispered, his hand trembling as he gripped his blade. "The vibration... it’s not the Officer. It’s something older."

From the ceiling, a mass of wet, translucent flesh uncoiled. It was a Tako—a minor beast, but deadly in the cramped space. Its multiple eyes swiveled independently, eventually locking onto the glowing blue veins in Litus's neck.

The beast shrieked, a sound that felt like needles pressing into Litus’s brain. It lunged, its barbed tentacles whipping through the air.

Litus remembered the exam question: How do you defeat a beast? He remembered Tusa’s teachings. Aim for the eyes and legs.

He activated the carbon-fiber gloves. As the first tentacle struck, Litus caught it. The "Cold Flames" flared, but this time they didn't scatter; the gloves channeled the energy into a focused, icy spear. The tentacle shattered into frozen shards.

The Tako roared in agony, but Litus didn't stop. He slid under the beast's main body, his palms glowing with a terrifying intensity. He slammed his hands against the creature's central joints.

"Eyes and legs," Litus hissed.

A wave of absolute zero erupted. The beast didn't just freeze; the very atoms of its form seemed to stop moving. With a final crack, the Tako collapsed into a pile of dark, frozen dust.

Litus stood there, panting, his gloves smoking from the thermal shock. He had survived his first real hunt. But in the distance, a deeper, louder roar answered.

The Alpha was waking up.