Chapter 8: The Cost of Awakening
The tunnel was narrow, wet, and smelled of rust and old firecrackers. Kael sat in silence as the girl—tiny, barefoot, wearing a dress made of stitched rags and hope—offered him a slice of unripe mango with salt.
"My name's Nika," she said. "You don't have to tell me yours. Monster names are secret, right?"
Kael didn't answer. He couldn't.
Codex Observation: Host heart rate elevated. Cortisol spike detected.
Classification: Emotional restraint under pressure.
She giggled and nudged the fruit into his hand. "You're weird. But you're not scary. The real monsters… they scream at night."
Kael looked away. His hand was shaking. The claws—still beneath the skin—itched, twitched, begged to come out.
"You like her," XENOVORAX whispered.
"Shut up," Kael muttered.
"You want to protect her. But you can't even protect yourself."
He stood. "We're leaving."
Nika frowned. "But—"
A soft sound echoed down the tunnel. Not footsteps. Not water.
Breathing.
Then, a voice distorted through a modulated helmet: "Target thermal trail confirmed. Prepare restraint gel."
Kael grabbed Nika's hand. "Run."
They bolted. Through twisting corridors, past graffiti written in old Tagalog, around sleeping dogs and rats fat from trash. Kael's body adjusted without command—his muscles pulled harder, his breath timed perfectly. His senses stretched.
But the Lantern Dogs were faster.
A dart missed his shoulder by inches. It hit a wall. The cement melted.
Codex Warning: Acidic neuro-serum confirmed. Paralytic effect irreversible in civilians.
Probability of child survival: 6%.
"Let me take control."
"No."
"You will lose her."
Kael turned a corner and skidded into a dead end. The tunnel had collapsed.
"Shit."
Nika looked up at him, breathing fast. "I'm not scared. You're strong. You'll beat them."
He crouched down and shielded her with his body.
Footsteps.
Laser sights.
Then, the woman with red goggles appeared—leader of the Lantern Dogs. She raised a rifle.
"Kael Sorrén," she said. "You are now government property. Step away from the child and kneel."
"No, no, no, no—"
He was about to stand when Nika stood first.
She stepped forward, arms out.
"Don't shoot Kuya Monster!" she yelled. "He saved me!"
The woman hesitated. Her rifle dropped a centimeter.
Then her comms crackled: "Take the shot. Orders confirmed."
Kael moved.
Too late.
The dart hit Nika in the side of the neck.
Her body went rigid. Then limp.
Kael caught her before she fell. Her eyes were still open.
Still blinking.
She whispered, "It's okay. Monsters cry too."
Then she stopped blinking.
Host neurological instability critical.
Emotion override imminent.
Kael screamed.
The Codex pulsed.
The bone beneath his skin cracked. Muscles tore and reformed. His arms blackened with armor-like plates. His eyes split into slitted pupils. His scream became a roar.
XENOVORAX surged.
The cement wall behind him exploded outward.
Kael was no longer just human.
He was the apex between regret and wrath.
He launched forward. The woman fired twice. Both darts shattered against his chest. She barely dodged as Kael slammed her into the tunnel ceiling.
Two more soldiers attacked.
One got his arm torn off.
The other was crushed against a rusted pipeline.
"Yes…" XENOVORAX hissed. "Now you see."
Kael stood in the debris, chest rising and falling, Nika's tiny form still in his arms.
The surviving soldier hit a beacon on his wrist.
Emergency evac requested. Subject has entered Stage 2.
Codename: Echo Host.
Kael fled.
He didn't remember how. Just blood. Fire. Smoke. Screams.
He buried Nika under the old mango tree where she said she first saw the stars.
He didn't say a prayer.
He didn't cry.
Codex Sync: Complete.
Stage 2 Integration: Activated.
Memory sequence unlocked: Project Womb – Origin 01.
Far below the Philippine Trench, something ancient opened its eyes.
A presence stirred.
It had felt the roar.
And it smiled.