11th Rotation of the Vore Cycle, 3448 A.E.

Kael woke to the sound of silence and the warm weight of covers tucked high beneath his chin. It took him a moment to remember where he was—not the creaking rot of a Brinewatch loft, but the soft hum of clean insulation and filtered air. The mattress didn’t sag beneath him. The pillow didn’t smell like mold. The blanket was thick, warm, and real.

He shifted slightly and felt something stir beside him. He looked down.

Sera.

She was curled into herself, a blanket cocoon around her small frame, breathing softly. One hand peeked out from under the folds, her fingers twitching with dreams.

She must’ve slipped in sometime in the middle of the night.

Kael sighed but said nothing. She was adjusting. They all were.

A soft chime flickered into his vision.

[ArkSeal Notification Hub — Pending Items: 182]

— 79 unread reviews
— 43 missed calls (clients)
— 60 job offers (search and rescue, demo, disposal)

His eyes widened.

The interface blinked gently, waiting for him to respond.

He sat up slowly, careful not to wake Sera, and whispered, “Filter offers. Show by distance and payout.”

The results shifted. His earnings yesterday hadn’t just made a splash—they’d made a crater. Most of the jobs were clustered in the southwest—still dealing with the beast wave aftermath—but others were beginning to crop up in adjacent districts. All of them were urgent. Some even offered bonuses for same-day start.

His lips parted in disbelief. Yesterday, he was begging for work. Now he was choosing it.

From the kitchen, the savory scent of food wafted in—eggs, toasted starches, and bacon. The smell lured a low growl from his stomach.

“Mom’s at it again,” he murmured.

A moment later, her voice rang out through the apartment, firm and clear.

“Breakfast is almost done! Everyone, up and wash your faces and brush your teeth!”

Kael reached over and gently shook Sera’s shoulder.

“Hey, time to get up. Breakfast is almost ready.”

She stirred groggily. “I couldn’t sleep alone…”

“I figured,” Kael said softly. “But we talked about this, remember? It’s okay for now. Just don’t get used to it. You’re growing up, and it’s not proper to sleep beside men—even your brother—forever.”

She mumbled something incoherent but nodded and dragged herself out of bed, feet padding against the floor as she disappeared into the hallway.

Kael opened his ArkSeal again and quickly scheduled the four most promising jobs for the day, spacing them with realistic travel times. Then he called Brogan.

“Hey, Kael,” came the cheerful voice.

“Can you swing by in about an hour? And I want to book you for the whole day. We’ve got a heavy route.”

“Already got your name on the list,” Brogan said with a laugh. “You’re my ticket to retirement.”

Kael smirked, then hung up.

He stood, stretched—and stopped. His arms tensed. His back ached slightly. The ceiling felt lower than it had yesterday.

He walked into the bathroom, half on instinct, and caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror.

He blinked.

His shirt clung to his torso, tight around the chest and shoulders. His traps rose higher than he remembered, and his arms… they looked like they belonged to someone in their twenties who trained for combat daily.

His face hadn’t changed much. Still lean, sharp-eyed. But there was something older in his reflection now. Something sturdier.

He leaned closer, brushing his teeth slowly.

Was this from devouring so much matter yesterday?

Could his body be converting part of it directly into physical strength?

He didn’t know. But it was happening, whether he understood it or not.

When he emerged from the bathroom, the living room was buzzing with motion.

Sera was already seated at the table, hair messy but eyes bright. Malik was dragging himself upright from the couch, yawning and scratching his chest like a wild animal.

Elira looked up from the stove and narrowed her eyes.

“Kael…”

He looked over. “Yeah?”

“You grew again.”

Malik squinted. “He definitely grew. Dude, you were like… eye level with your mom two days ago. You’re almost my height now.”

Kael glanced down at his legs. “Didn’t notice until this morning.”

“It’s not just your height,” Elira said. “Your frame too. You’re filling out fast.”

“I think it’s my trait,” Kael muttered. “I’ve been eating... a lot.”

Sera gave a small laugh. “You’re gonna be a giant. Like one of those awakened beast tamers!”

“I don’t think I want a pet that could eat me,” Kael said dryly.

Elira ushered them to the table, setting down the last of the plates. “Eat first, then talk nonsense.”

They did. Between bites, they talked over plans for the day. Elira was going to spend the morning working with Sera on her studies. Malik mentioned getting a cheap data lens to read up on construction and demolition protocols. Kael simply said they had a full schedule of jobs ahead.

After breakfast, the boys dressed and prepared for the day.

As they stepped outside, the sun was already climbing. Kael looked to the sky briefly and felt something tighten in his chest.

He was changing—physically, mentally, professionally. The world had started to shift around him.

And he wasn’t planning to slow down.

The morning air outside the Grays was crisp, the kind of air that made Kael feel like things were changing for good. He and Malik stepped outside the apartment building, the rising sun painting the skyline with amber streaks, and found Brogan already waiting out front—leaning against his pedicab with his signature bandanna tied around his curls and a grin on his face.

"Morning, legends!" Brogan grinned as they approached. “Got you booked for the day. So where to first—death, destruction, or debt?”

Kael smirked. “Bank. Then beast debris.”

Malik gave him a skeptical look. “Is that how you plan to run your business? Sloganeering?”

Kael shrugged. “Might work.”

They climbed in, Malik stretching his arms with a groan, Kael settling in with a quiet exhale. Brogan kicked off, his powerful legs moving with casual efficiency as he wove the pedicab through the outer streets toward the commercial mid-ring. The morning traffic was light, a few delivery carts and commuters weaving lazily through the Grays’ exterior stretch. As they made their way through the winding streets, Brogan rambled cheerfully.

“Now, I tell you what, yesterday? Insane. Never seen so many dead things in one place that weren’t already salted and pickled. Whole districts look like angry gods sneezed on them. But you two? Like clockwork. I tell everyone I was there. Front row seat. Me. Front row. Old Brogan.”

Kael and Malik didn't say much, just listening to Brogan's rambling while taking in the morning sights.

The ride to the bank didn’t take long. The district was waking up, but still quiet—early workers trudging along, shopfronts flickering to life.

The Trust & Trade Bank was sleek, too clean for the dusty exterior zones. The building stood out like a gold coin in a pile of scrap.

The cab slowed.

“We’re here,” Brogan called. “Trust & Trade Bank. Be careful in there. They charge extra for breathing.”

Inside, Malik handled the process like he was applying for a mercenary license—quick, calm, and cracking jokes. The attendant raised a brow more than once, but the paperwork went smoothly. When it came time for the ArkSeal, Malik tensed a little.

“You sure it’s not gonna burn?” he asked.

The clerk, expressionless, applied the seal to his palm. The black ink spidered across his skin in an elegant geometric pattern—and a moment later, Malik blinked as the connection formed. He staggered slightly, grabbing the counter.

“Woah…”

Kael chuckled. “Yeah. Takes some getting used to.”

Once outside, Kael tapped into his own ArkSeal, opened a transaction window, and transferred twenty thousand Dravaran Marks to Malik.

Malik flinched like he’d been slapped. “Bro… What the hell?! That’s—”

“You earned it. More than earned it.”

“We agreed on two hundred!”

Kael met his eyes. “You saved kids. A lot of the bonus came from that. Take it.”

Malik opened his mouth, then closed it again. A flush crept up his neck, and he gave a small, solemn nod. “Thanks.”

They climbed back into the pedicab. Brogan launched them off without ceremony, pedaling hard as they made their way toward the northwestern cleanup zones.

“Now, let me tell you—yesterday?” Brogan said as he cruised. “I told my cousin in SW-2, ‘You should’ve seen it. Kid chewed a whole building like it was fried plantain.’ He didn’t believe me. Thought I was drunk. I told him, ‘Drunk? I was pedaling a miracle.’ Then I said—”

Neither Kael nor Malik responded.

Malik was glued to his ArkSeal interface, marveling at the flood of features and apps he never had access to—real-time maps, public work contracts, media libraries, forums, and reviews. It was like getting his first breath of air after living underwater.

Kael, meanwhile, wasn’t listening to anything but the strange hum in his mind—the low vibration of understanding and control. The invisible status screen was there again, ghostly white against the sky behind it. His trait’s interface had no opinions, no voice, no guidance. Just raw, labeled data and logic trees. A machine that mirrored what his mind could ask and nothing more.

“Show mana sources,” he said under his breath.

A delay. Then the response came.

[ENERGY RECORD — MANA ACQUISITION]
— First Source: Predabeast (C05-R09-3448 A.E.)
— Additional Sources: None Recorded
— Conclusion: System processing initiated post-predabeast devouring. Preceding energy not cataloged.

So that was it. Nothing tracked before the predabeast. Before that moment, the system had been a silent corpse. His trait had been functioning—but blind, deaf, and mute. Only once it feasted on that beast had it begun to quantify. Either something was special about that beast or it was the tipping point in gathering enough energy to activate the trait.

“Show project state.”

[PROJECT STATUS — ASHPORT ENVIRONMENTAL SIMULATION]
— Type: Worldshell Simulation (Baseline Urban Biome)
— Matter Core Construction: 81.5% complete
Default Primary Resource: Aura
Possible Other Primary Resources: Chakra
— Celestial Simulation: 19.3% complete
Default Primary Resource: Mana
Possible Other Primary Resources: Chakra, Prana
— Atmospheric Regulation: 38.1% complete
Default Primary Resource: Mana
Possible Other Primary Resources: Chakra, Prana
— Law Foundation: 12.2% complete
Default Primary Resource: Prana
Possible Other Primary Resources: None
— Life Engine: Dormant
Default Primary Resources: Chakra
Possible Other Primary Resources: None

Kael frowned. His jaw clenched.

It’s not trying to recreate the real world. Just a working model… A simulation of Ashport. A sandbox.

For that, it needed aura to create the physical world, prana to structure it and dictate how it works, mana to power it, and chakra to fill it with life.

Mana was probably the most critical at this point. It didn't just power the physics of the inner world, but the artificial simulations that Kael needed to survive in a world that was too small to produce and sustain them naturally. Things such as gravity, heat, day and night cycles—all of them were superficial recreations powered by mana.

In order to create these elements naturally, he would need to devour all of Celestria and its Sun. At the least!

While aura, chakra and prana seem to be a one-time use resource, mana is constantly drained by these systems, which are basically life support for Kael. If he wanted to stay alive once dragged into that world again, he needed to make sure that he had enough mana.

Prana was still a mystery, but it seems that without it, reality itself inside the inner world would remain incomplete, requiring a simulation rather than a real self-sustaining world. He would need prana to complete the natural law system and create a self-sustaining world.

He asked one more thing. “Show energy reserves.”

[CURRENT ENERGY RESERVES]
— Aura: 675.103
— Mana: 0.011
— Ki: 1.320
— Force: 0.188
— Chakra: 0.100
— Prana: 0.000

Kael whispered, "What do these numbers mean? What is 1 aura or 1 mana?"

[System Response to Creator Inquiry]
The Creator is the blueprint for reality. Each unit of each respective energy resource is equivalent to the amount of said resource present within the Creator's mind, body and spirit at the time of trait activation.

Kael thought for a moment. "That's amazing. This system truly treats me as a god."

His focus went back to the energy reserve levels.

"Everything is still too low—way too low!"

He looked out over the ruined outskirts of Ashport as they entered the damaged zones—flattened houses, shattered stone, craters still smoking in places. Somewhere out here was another building to devour, another few thousand metric tons to convert.

He would chew through them. He would crack the system wide open. He had to.

“Alright, boys,” Brogan called. “We’re here.”

The cab rolled to a stop, brakes squealing softly. Malik blinked, coming out of his ArkSeal daze.

“Already?”

Kael stood. “Let’s work.”