The first rule of hunting: become less than a shadow.
Asher didn't breathe too loud. Didn't step too hard. The forest didn't acknowledge him, and that was exactly what he wanted.
> [Entropy: 4.0%]
[Kill Points: 110]
[Subsystem: Stealth – XP: 0%]
[Skill: Ritual Echo – Cooldown: 2h 18m]
He wore the mask like second skin now. The red streak. The jagged crack. He'd caught his reflection once in a puddle and didn't recognize the face. That was good.
Parasight whispered quietly through his head, syncing to his heartbeat. There were no tutorials. Just instinct and suggestion. And hunger—code that adapted with every drop of blood spilled.
Tonight, he hunted not just for survival.
He hunted for progress.
---
It took him an hour to track the first one.
The cultist had snapped. Feral. Living in the shell of a collapsed truck stop, ritual glyphs carved into his skin. Still muttering to Zalgo. Still feeding the darkness.
Asher waited.
Watched.
Moved only when the wind did.
When the time came, he struck—silent, brutal, precise.
The blade slit through the man's throat before he ever saw the mask. Asher held him down until the last breath shuddered.
> [Kill Confirmed – KP +60]
[Stealth Subsystem XP +12%]
[Entropy: 4.1%]
No guilt. Just necessity.
---
The second target was harder.
Younger. Faster. She bolted the second she spotted the glint of metal between trees.
Asher gave chase, but not directly. He used the terrain. Let her think she was escaping.
Then—
> [Skill Unlocked: Shadow Flicker – Ready]
A short-range blink through low-light space. Directional. Consumes stamina. Cooldown: 10s.
He activated it.
Space rippled. He vanished, reappearing just ahead of her path.
She barely had time to scream before his knife found her heart.
> [Kill Confirmed – KP +65]
[Stealth Subsystem XP +16%]
[Entropy: 4.3%]
[Skill Usage Logged – Shadow Flicker Proficiency: 3%]
Her blood steamed on the cold ground.
He stood still for a moment, listening to the forest breathe.
No sirens. No pursuit.
Just the quiet.
Just the mask.
---
Later, under the shelter of an old billboard, Asher cleaned his blade with rainwater. His gloves were soaked. His fingers numb.
But inside, something new had settled. A rhythm. A sense of direction.
> [Stealth XP: 28%]
[KP: 235]
[Replay Log – New Entries Available]
He opened the interface, scanned the shop options. Nothing yet screamed necessity.
But soon.
He was getting closer to something. He could feel it.
And far away, behind trees that shouldn't move, something else was watching.