Loki was running. Snow fell, the ground thick with it, stretching across a field with no end. He turned his head to look behind him. The monsters were still after him. About six wolves ran in pursuit.
Loki screamed and kept running, panting and sweating. He was only in his underwear, and the cold bit into him, but he kept running for his life. The wolves were six feet tall, white, with blue tails that occasionally shot thunderbolts in Loki's direction. He felt a bolt nearing and dove to the side to avoid it, scrambling back to his feet.
Then he saw a huge monster a nine‑foot wolf standing directly in front of him. Loki stopped in his tracks, snow spraying around him. The wolf had a crown mark between its brows. Before Loki could decide which way to run, the other wolves had circled him. Their tails were aimed at him, ready to fire.
He stood his ground, making fists. His blue hair blew across his face.
The alpha wolf howled. The wolves shot their thunderbolts.
Loki ran toward one and jumped, throwing a punch at its face. The wolf fell back. Then he felt a sharp pain across his back one wolf had slashed him. A thunderbolt struck his position, and Loki felt himself lifted into the air. Burn wounds formed on his chest and legs. His hair stood on end.
Grinning, Loki felt a rush of adrenaline. Spinning mid‑air, he clashed with the wolves. He lost count of how many times he was slashed or struck, but he kept punching, swinging, refusing to fall.
When he finally stood on his feet again, the six wolves were panting. Three were limping. One had a limp tail. The alpha wolf, which had been observing, howled. The wolves backed away.
Loki turned to face the alpha. He stood his ground, covered in burns and marks.
The alpha wolf dashed toward him. Loki shouted and ran forward to meet it, his eyes growing brighter. The wolf opened its jaws. Loki felt pain in his shoulder as it bit down. He punched it in the eye, but he could feel his life leaving him. The wolf shook him around and tossed him to the ground.
Loki lay in the snow. His left arm and one leg were gone. He watched the wolf approach, place a paw on his chest, and growl at him. He shouted at it, tried to get up.
The wolf opened its jaws and snapped down.
Loki's eyes shot open.
He was in bed, gasping. He threw the sheets off, hands flying to his arm, then his leg. Both were still there. His heart pounded as the dream faded, leaving only the cold sweat on his skin.
What were those monsters? He thought he might have seen them in a book somewhere.
He got up and headed to the bath. After washing, he stared at himself in the mirror. His eyes were still black, but the blue in them had grown a bit bigger. He thought of Ray's shining blue eyes, then turned away and went back to the bedroom.
He put on his clothes. Before leaving, he knelt by the bedside and prayed.
"Mari, I will never forget. Look above us from up there."
Then he walked out to the hall.
Pan, Tars, Mary, and Ken were seated at a desk, talking. Joycelyn, Lisa, Lucas, and Jon were not there.
Ray stood at the window at the end of the hall, his back to the room.
Loki approached. "Hi, guys. Good morning."
He sat beside Tars. The squad went quiet. He noticed Tars blush, and Pan and Ken look away. Mary was writing in a book.
"So, what were you guys talking about?" Loki asked.
"Nothing," Tars said, tucking her sleeves.
Loki stared at her, then smoothed her hair. "You seem better today."
Ken coughed. "Hey, you're not going to apologize for yesterday?"
Loki sighed, patted Tars on the head, and looked at Ken. Staring at his mismatched blue and black eye, Loki felt no remorse. They deserved it, he thought.
"You want an apology? Sorry for being reasonable and telling you to get yourselves together, and for being too "
He felt Tars tap his leg.
"What?" he asked.
"Don't talk like that," she said, frowning.
Loki watched her. She stared back fiercely. He recalled her slapping him awake back in Camp 12.
"And what are you going to do, sla—"
A sharp pain crossed his face. Tars had slapped him. She stood, stepped on his foot, and walked to another seat. The room went quiet.
Loki stared at Mary, who was writing in her book much faster now. Ken had a grin on his face. Pan stared with his mouth open.
"What are you staring at?" Loki asked.
"You're not so tough now," Pan said.
Loki sighed, stood up, and walked toward Tars. Her blue hair was tied in a ponytail. He looked at her annoyed face, touched her chin, and lifted it toward him, bending down.
"I told you not to slap me awake." He looked into her yellow and blue eyes.
"Hey, let go of me! You're acting like a big jerk, you know!" Tars tried to free herself.
"I'm sorry," Loki said, moving closer.
Tars blushed. "You are?"
"Then I'm sorry I hit you," she added.
Loki let go. He saw a flicker of disappointment cross her face before she looked away. He walked back to the others.
"I'm sorry, guys. Last night was—"
"Hey! You guys! Watch here!"
Ray's voice cut through. He stood at the front of the hall now, a box on the desk beside him.
"You guys are so nosy. And Loki, stop harassing Tars, you little shit."
Tars's voice shot up. "He's not! I like it."
The whole room went silent. Everyone turned to look at her. Tars realized what she'd said and stared at her boots.
"You're a lost cause now," Mary said, putting her book down.
Ken and Pan, now facing Ray, were shaking their heads.
Loki felt a smirk tug at his mouth. I knew she did.
Ray cleared his throat. "Hmm. Well, your attention here. Catch."
He tossed an object to each of them. Loki caught his—a small device with a glowing surface. Numbers flickered on it: 7:30 am.
"That's a watch. It tells the time. Right now it reads 7:30 in the morning. M means morning, A is afternoon, E is evening, D is dawn. There are twenty‑four hours in a day."
"So it's like the bells?" Mary asked.
"Better than bells. This one also tells you the date." Ray pointed to his own wrist. "See—12/3/160 M. That means the 12th day of the third month, year 160, Monday."
He talked for a few more minutes about days, months, seasons things the camps had never bothered to teach them. Then he turned to the board and began drawing.
A large circle, a smaller circle, and a tiny one. The large one sat far from the small, but the small and tiny were close together.
Ray tapped the big circle. "Erenstone." He moved to the far one. "The Mines. That's where the children's camps and teen camps are. We think there are adult camps there too." Finally, he pointed to the tiny circle. "And this is us. Redemption Valley. Where survivors of the Bloodline Injection come to redeem themselves."
"So we're not going back to the Mines?" Pan asked.
"No. You're done with that place." Ray looked around. "Any other questions?"
"Where are the others? Joycelyn and " Tars started.
"They've gone into the valley to evolve."
"Evolve?" Loki leaned forward.
Ray nodded. He wiped the board and drew a new chart:
Human → Evolver
1st Stage (10‑20%)2nd Stage (21‑35%)3rd Stage (36‑50%)Rebornist (?)
"So humans are at the bottom," Ray said. "First stage is what you are now, you survived the injection. Your bloodline has a percentage between 10 and 20. The bottleneck is 20%. To reach second stage, you take another injection."
"Another injection?" Mary asked.
"This one won't kill you. It'll just hurt like hell." Ray said it flatly, like he was describing the weather. "But that's not what you should be thinking about right now. What you need to focus on is how to evolve."
He leaned against the desk. "Your bloodline power grows when you push yourself. Life‑or‑death situations. Battles. The more you fight monsters, the more your DNA evolves."
Tars frowned. "I thought we fought monsters for human survival."
"That era is over." Ray's voice was calm. "Now we fight to evolve. Redemption Valley exists for one reason: to get strong enough to become a Rebornist. Once you hit that level, Erenstone opens its doors. You become part of the new human era."
"So there are other bloodlines?" Loki asked.
"Yes. Different sectors of Erenstone have different attributes. But here, we're Lightning Squad. The monsters in this region are mostly lightning‑attributed. That's why you were given the Lightning Bloodline—it makes evolving easier."
Ray paused, letting the information settle. Then he grinned. "I expected you to ask one very simple question by now."
He pulled up his sleeve, revealing his left wrist. The watch was embedded into his skin. "How do you know your current percentage?"
He held up his own watch. "These things. Put yours on your wrist, press the button at the bottom. It'll stick, and your information will show up."
Mary was the first. She pressed hers, winced. "It's painful... but I see something." A slow grin spread across her face.
Ken pressed his. Pan followed.
Tars looked at Loki, then pressed hers.
Loki stared at Ray for a moment, then placed the watch on his wrist and pressed.
Pain shot through his arm as something thin burrowed into his skin. He gritted his teeth. Then the surface of the watch lit up, words floating in front of his eyes.
Loki Throne
Evolver Stage 1 – 14%
Bloodline: Lightning Wolf
Attributes: Quick Steps, Good Nose, Lightning Shout
A red symbol pulsed beneath the words.
Rare Trait Unlocked: The Proud Lone Wolf
Alpha Class
Loki stared at the words. Alpha Class.
He looked up. Ray was watching him with a grin.