The Bloodforged Kin

After the dishes were in the dishwasher and everything was cleaned up, Zavier settled into his chair and rubbed his face with both hands.

"Okay," he said, looking up at his family. "I've been turning this over in my head since it happened, and I think we need to talk through what we're dealing with."

The kids set their phones aside. Tess curled up in the corner of the couch, still wound tight from the day's events.

"First question," Zavier said. "Does anyone else feel... different? Physically, I mean."

"Yeah," Cass said immediately. "When I grabbed that bat earlier, it felt lighter than it should have."

Luna nodded. "My shoulders don't hurt from holding that squirrel back. They should be killing me right now."

"And I've been testing some things," Zavier said, holding up his bandaged finger. "This is from about an hour ago."

Tess's eyes narrowed. She knew her husband well enough to recognize his experimental moods. "Please tell me you didn't cut yourself on purpose."

"I wanted to see if we healed instantly now. We don't - or at least, not from everything."

"So the healing we felt when we leveled up was..." Luna started.

"A one-time thing, maybe," Cass finished. "Like a reset button."

Zavier nodded, a flicker of pride crossing his face at how quickly they were connecting the dots. "That's what I'm thinking. Which means if we get seriously hurt, leveling might be our only way to fix it."

Tess shifted forward, her hand unconsciously drifting toward the pistol beside her. "Okay, but why are we assuming we need to level at all? Can't we just... stay out of trouble?"

Cass shook his head, leaning forward with the intensity he usually reserved for explaining game mechanics to his parents. "Mom, you heard what that voice said. Challenges are going to escalate whether we want them to or not. And in every game I've ever played, the people who don't keep up with the power curve get steamrolled."

"It's not a game though," Tess said, though her voice carried less conviction than her words.

"No," Luna agreed, tucking her legs under her, "but the leaderboard thing felt like a threat. Like we're being ranked for a reason."

Cass nodded, his jaw tightening. "It may not be a game to us, but it seems like it's a game to someone."

Zavier watched the exchange with quiet satisfaction. His kids were sharp - they were getting there on their own, making the connections he'd hoped they would.

"There's something else," he said, his tone growing more serious. "Something about those rankings that's been bothering me." He paused, making a gesture in the air. Part of the system announcement flickered into their vision.

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Mason Cane:
Fifth kill. Immediate advancement of one level.
First human kill. Offensive reward to be issued at level five.

The room fell silent. Luna's eyes widened as she read it again. Cass went very still, the way he did when processing something that upset him.

But it was Tess who understood first. The color drained from her face as the implications hit her.

"Oh God," she whispered, her hand moving instinctively to cover her mouth. "They're rewarding murder."

"What do you mean?" Luna asked, though something in her expression suggested she was starting to understand.

Tess's voice was tight. "That last line - 'first human kill.' The System didn't just record that someone died. It celebrated it. Gave him extra experience for it."

Cass sat back hard against the couch cushions. "So people are going to start..." He couldn't finish the sentence.

"Hunting each other," Zavier said quietly. "Yes."

The weight of it settled over them like a heavy blanket. Luna wrapped her arms around herself. Cass stared at his hands, his mind clearly racing through the implications.

"But the police-" Luna started.

"Will be overwhelmed," Zavier said gently. "Think about it - they're dealing with giant creatures attacking people, probably trying to protect their own families, and now they've got people murdering each other for power upgrades. How many cops do you think are going to prioritize investigating one murder when there are probably hundreds happening?"

Tess's jaw clenched. She could see where this was heading, and every protective instinct she had was screaming.

"The military-" Cass tried.

"Is probably pulling back to protect strategic assets," Zavier said. "Politicians, infrastructure, probably major cities. They're not coming to help small-town Wisconsin when the whole world just became a war zone."

The room was quiet except for the soft tick of the wall clock. Zavier could see the fear creeping into his children's faces as they realized what he was telling them.

"So we're on our own," Luna said, her voice smaller than usual.

"We're together," Zavier corrected. "And we're going to get strong enough that we don't need anyone else's protection."

Tess stood up abruptly, her face flushed. "Okay, that's enough." Her voice was strained, caught between her need to protect her children's innocence and her understanding that there might not be any innocence left to protect. "You're scaring them, and they don't need all of this tonight."

Zavier looked up at her, seeing the conflict in her eyes. "Tess, they need to understand-"

"They understand enough," she said, her words coming out harsher than she meant them to. "Tomorrow we'll figure out what we need to do. Tonight, they need to be able to sleep without nightmares about people hunting them."

Zavier opened his mouth to argue, then closed it. She wasn't wrong - there was a difference between preparing them and traumatizing them. He didn't agree, but he nodded slowly.

"You're right," he said. "We'll pick this up tomorrow."

Tess's expression softened slightly, and she reached out to squeeze his shoulder as she passed. "Come on, kids. Let's get ready for bed."

As they filed out, Zavier caught the worried look Cass shot back at him. His son understood more than Tess was comfortable with, but maybe that wasn't entirely a bad thing.

After they'd gone, Zavier went to the liquor cabinet and poured three fingers of Balvenie. Tomorrow they'd need to start preparing for a world where other people might be their greatest threat. Tonight, he'd let Tess give their children one more peaceful sleep.