Lyerin''s eyes narrowed as he sized up the man standing before him.


    There was no time to waste.


    The unknown urgency he felt of the situation was demanding him to take swift and decisive action.


    With a fluid desire for violence, he let the transformation wash over him. His body contorted, muscles bulging, skin rippling as fur sprouted. Horns elongated from his skull, curving menacingly as hepleted his shift into the Zur''Ibex Wilding form.


    "RAWR!" His roar echoed through the area, a blend of primal fury and supernatural power.


    In a split second, heunched himself at the man.


    The man widened his eyes, "What the-" but he was too slow, and Lyerin could see the unknown man''s minimal four state Eldren Apprentice level, and would only snort.


    The sheer speed and force of his movement were a blur, an explosion of motion. His hand, now a wed appendage, shed through the air with a whistling swish, connecting with the man''s throat.


    Graa!


    Blood sprayed out in a crimson arc as the man''s eyes widened in shock, and then dulled as life left him.


    Immediately, his body crumpled to the ground, lifeless.


    Without hesitation, Lyerin kicked the corpse towards the edge of the tform.


    Kaswosh!


    The body tumbled down, disappearing into the sea of raging ck Inked Cannibals below.


    Their guttural growls and frenzied movements grew louder as they tore into the fresh meat, like a cacophony of savagery and hunger.


    Turning his attention to the helicopter, Lyerin''s keen eyes scanned its condition. It looked intact, but there was no key in sight. "No problem," he muttered, rolling up his sleeves and assessing the control panel.


    Years of experience kicked in as he expertly removed the casing, exposing the wires beneath. "Just need to bypass the ignition..."


    His fingers worked quickly, stripping wires and making precise connections.


    Crackle! Spark!


    He connected the final wires, and the helicopter''s engine roared to life. Lyerin allowed himself a brief smile of satisfaction before hopping into the cockpit.


    As he lifted off, thendscape below shrank rapidly.


    The city sprawled out beneath him, a patchwork of destruction and chaos.


    Buildings stood like broken teeth against the skyline, somepletely copsed, others still burning. Streets were rivers of debris, punctuated by the swarming figures of the ck Inked Cannibals.


    Higher and higher he climbed, the helicopter thrumming steadily as it cut through the air. From this vantage point, the true scale of the devastation was evident.


    Smoke plumes rose in twisted columns, and the asional explosion dotted the horizon.


    The long sound of sirens everywhere was haunting.


    The apocalypse had turned his world into a nightmarish tableau of ruin.


    Despite the rity of the scene below, unease gnawed at his inside. An almost ache that settled in his chest. He clenched his teeth, trying to focus on his goals. Revenge.


    The Borgias family.


    The races outside Earth of this Eldritch Universe.


    They were the enemies. They were the ones who needed to pay.


    But his thoughts kept circling back to her. Corora. The girl who had somehow be a focal point of his inner turmoil.


    "She''s going to ruin everything," he mumbled, eyes fixed on the horizon. "I can''t afford distractions. I need to find a way to break this curse, this sense of ownership."


    His mind raced, searching for solutions. "Maybe... maybe I could level up my resistance to her. Develop an immunity to this bond." He shook his head, frustrated. "No, that won''t work. It''s not just a bond.


    It''s something deeper, something... wrong."


    The unease tightened, making his chest feel like it was in a vise. He didn''t want to admit it, but the thought of severing the connection with her made him feel... sick.


    Just by thinking about it.


    Even though he knew it was a curse, he still couldn''t fight back against it!


    It was like a physical pain, an ache that settled in his bones. "Damn it," he growled. "I don''t want to let her go."


    He tried to focus on practicalities, mumbling to himself. "Okay, if I can''t break the bond, maybe I can find a way to... counteract it. Level up something else to offset it. But how?"


    The more he thought about it, the more confused and angry he became. The idea of losing Corora, of being free from thispulsion, should have been a relief.


    However, that thought instead, felt like a massive loss he couldn''t exin, a wound that he couldn''t bear to inflict on himself. "What''s happening to me?" he whispered, shaking his head. "This isn''t me. I''m stronger than this… my mind is stronger than this!"


    But the reality was undeniable. He didn''t want to lose her. Even thinking about it made him feel hollow. And that realization was terrifying. "She''s mine," he thought fiercely, gripping the controls tighter. "And I''m not letting her go.


    Ever."


    Soon, his eyes reddened.


    "If I can''t get rid of her, I will just stomp on everything with her by my side. I will just strengthen the tribe, and then, I can do anything after that!"


    As the helicopter approached Sector 101, the first city to fall in his past life, Lyerin''s resolve hardened.


    The city that was said to be the beginning of the true danger of apocalypse, the birth of the monster-infested wastnd that the world had be.


    Up in the sky, Lyerin piloted the helicopter with a steady hand, his mind a whirl of thoughts and emotions.


    Suddenly, a familiar, unsettling sensation gripped his heart. He knew exactly what it was and where it came from. His bond with Corora, seemed inexplicable and overpowering, tugged at him, guiding his gaze toward a distant point below.


    As he maneuvered the helicopter in that direction, the sight that met his eyes left him speechless. It was a train station, swarming with ck Ink Cannibals.


    The tform and surrounding tracks were a writhing mass of dark, rotting bodies, their inhuman growls and shrieks echoing upwards.


    Train stations, Lyerin thought grimly, were some of the most dangerous ces during this apocalypse. The high density of people trapped in confined spaces made them prime breeding grounds for the ck Ink Cannibals.


    "Did that girl really hope to survive this ce?" he mumbled to himself, frustration and concern warring within him. "Maybe she thought she could travel and leave this ce?" The more he thought of Corora''s careless decision making, the more desperate he felt to reach her.


    Immediately, Lyerin came up with a n.


    The helicopter''s engine noise was already drawing the attention of the ck Ink Cannibals.


    They turned their grotesque, ink-streaked faces upwards, their eyes, if they could still be called that, locked onto the source of the sound. He had to create a distraction.


    Flying higher, he quickly formted a strategy. He would send the helicopter forward at full speed, jump out, and let it crash into a building, drawing the Cannibals away from the station.


    Taking a deep breath, he set the controls and leaped into the open sky.


    Bang!


    The helicopter crashed into a random building with a thunderous explosion.


    The st sent a massive shockwave through the area, mes licking the sky as debris rained down.


    The explosion worked as intended, drawing the attention of the ck Ink Cannibals.


    Three of the nearest Cannibals, once humans but now twisted, nightmarish creatures, turned towards the explosion.


    Their heads jerked unnaturally as they locked onto the source of the noise.


    One had a gaping wound where its mouth should be, another''s limbs were twisted at impossible angles, and the third dragged a shattered leg, yet all three moved with unnerving speed towards the mes.


    As the explosion echoed through the station, more Cannibals emerged from the shadows.


    Some crawled out from beneath the train cars, while others poured out from the station''s darkened corridors.


    They moved like a swarm, driven by a singr hunger, their collective growls rising in a horrifying symphony.


    Lyerin felt like he was suspended in eternity, waiting for thest of the Cannibals to leave the area. He watched with a mix of impatience and anxiety, every second feeling like an hour.


    Finally, thest of the creatures disappeared towards the explosion site.


    Taking his chance, Lyerinnded quietly on the roof of the station.


    Moving with swift careful movement, he made his way to the bathroom. With a powerful kick, he smashed open the men''s bathroom door.


    Kabang!


    The force of his entry reverberated through the tiled walls.


    He was momentarily impressed by Corora''s choice of hiding ce.


    The men''s bathroom, with its locked cubicles, offered more security than the exposed stalls of the women''s restroom. But his admiration was cut short by the sight of four ck Ink Cannibals inside.


    Without a moment''s hesitation, Lyerin coated his hands with Eldren Mana, soon, an energy emerged from his hands that turned into a w with an energy that seemed to crackle around his fingers.


    He moved with calcted violence, smashing the Cannibals'' heads with brutal force.


    Crack!


    Thud!


    One by one, they fell with their heads exploding into the bathroom wall like a ck sttered paint, with their bodies even twitching in the throes of death.


    Breathing heavily, Lyerin began opening the cubicles, checking each one methodically.


    The first three were empty, but as he approached thest one, a strange sense of eagerness filled him. He swung the door open and froze.


    Inside, huddled together and trembling with fear, were two teenage girls.


    Their wide, terrified eyes met his, and for a moment, the chaos of the world outside seemed to pause.


    Lyerin stood there, staring at the two girls.