[CRIMSON SYSTEM INTERFACE - LEVEL 1 INITIALIZATION COMPLETE]
WELCOME, HOST: BRAYDEN VALE.SYSTEM STATUS: STABLE BUT STARVED.VERSION: REVAMPED CRIMSON SYSTEM 1.0.1PRIMARY DIRECTIVE: ASCENSION THROUGH CARNAGE.STARTING MODE: BLOODROOT.LIMITATIONS: 99.6% SEALED.
BASE PERKS UNLOCKED:
Bloodsense (Lv.1) — You can smell blood up to 10 meters away.
Rendstrike (Lv.1) — A melee strike that causes microtears in muscle tissue.
Crimson Insight (Lv.1) — Grants a 3-second boost to reaction time during combat. Causes mild nausea.
[LOCKED] Bloodfracture, GodsCourge, Red Exodus… (FULL TREE CLASSIFIED)
WARNING: HOST PHYSIOLOGY INCOMPATIBLE. MUTATION REQUIRED.WARNING: SYSTEM IS HUNGRY. FEED REQUIRED.WARNING: THE STORM KING REMAINS WATCHING.YOU ARE HIS VESSEL NOW. DON'T BREAK.
THE AWAKENING
Brayden shot upright, choking on air.
A red glow flickered in the corners of his vision, like someone had turned on neon lights inside his skull. Strings of unreadable glyphs and red-threaded code slithered across his sightline, blinking, breathing, alive.
He blinked.
Still there.
Then the voice hit deep, barbed, and metallic. Like a demonic AI reading scripture through broken speakers.
"CRIMSON SYSTEM SYNCED. HOST ACCEPTED. DEATH THRESHOLD: 11%."
He stared, barely processing.
"...what?"
The screen zoomed in.
"YOU ARE CURRENTLY LEVEL ONE TRASH.""EVOLVE OR DIE.""SUGGESTED MISSION: DRAW FIRST BLOOD."
And all Brayden could think about was…
"Man, I'm starving."
He sat up on the crusty twin mattress of his dorm room, blinking against the flickering red overlays. The room still smelled like ramen and Febreze. His laptop was dead. His fan was wheezing like a dying goat. The tiny fridge hummed like it held a demon inside.
"Coulda waited till after breakfast, freaky ghost system…"
A faint red line still hovered in the air. It followed him when he moved his head. Persistent. Parasite-like.
He groaned and dragged himself out of bed.
THE MIRROR MOMENT
The bathroom light flickered to life with a sad buzz. The mirror was fogged, cracked in the corner — but clear enough to show something that made him freeze.
His reflection wasn't his.
Gone were the baggy eyes and cracked lips. The acne scars. The broken nose from that soccer fight in tenth grade.
In their place was something else.
Flawless. Chiseled. Uncanny.
Cheekbones sharp enough to cut glass. Skin pale with a healthy glow, like moonlight on marble. His hair, once a tragic mop, now fell in jagged black strands like a K-pop villain. His jawline? Illegal.
But it was the eyes.
Red. Veined with moving glyphs.
He stared.
And the mirror blinked first literally cracked an inch deeper as if rejecting the sight of him.
"What the actual…"
He leaned in.
"Still hungry though."
THE CALL
His phone buzzed.
MARK 🐸 calling...
He answered on speaker, still shirtless.
"Yo, you alive? Cafeteria's about to shut down breakfast in ten."
Brayden yawned.
"Didn't even know I fell asleep, man. I'll be there in five."
A beat of silence.
"Wait... Did you do the psych assignment? The one due this morning?"
"Mmm..." Mark smirked. "Nope. But thats whta i have u for brother.
Breakfast on me."
"Deal. Extra bacon."
Click.
OUT THE DOOR
He threw on a hoodie his old, beaten-up gray one with the faded cartoon panda flipping the bird. His jeans were wrinkled. No socks. Combat boots unlaced.
The Crimson System interface tried to flash another alert in front of his eyes:
"WARNING: FIRST KILL REQUIRED FOR CORE UNLOCK."
Brayden waved a hand through the air like swatting a mosquito.
"Later. First mission: eggs and bacon."
Behind him, the lights flickered again.