The Unregistered Creature

"You guys still alive?" Reiner's voice crackled through Deren's helmet speaker, accompanied by frantic keyboard clacking from the control room. Behind him, the tech crew shouted over one another, trying to stabilize a system thrown into chaos by an unknown signal. One technician was already panicking as Core energy graphs spiked and dropped erratically with no discernible pattern.

"Technically, yes! Mentally? Still buffering!" Kael shouted as he slid behind a pile of rubble, dodging the creature's slashing claws. Dust flew everywhere, and the screech of its talons against asphalt sparked tiny bursts. Kael rolled and nearly slammed into a heap of rusted steel.

The creature was unlike any known Metavore. Its body was slender and long, with six jointed legs, its skin like a blend of steel and black stone that moved as if it were liquid. Each motion shook the ground, and red streaks pulsed from within it—like damaged but still-active Core veins. But the most disturbing thing: no identification data whatsoever.

Its eyes—if those glowing pits could be called eyes—burned with deep crimson, like embers holding ancient rage. Its breath sounded like metal being ground to dust.

Ryn scanned it with his military device. "No signal. This isn't from the simulation. It's real. But... not like any Metavore ever recorded. No standard energy structure. Even its Core pulse... is erratic. And old."

"So this is... something new," Ryn murmured. "Or maybe... something ancient that's returned."

Deren pressed his back against a pillar, breathing heavily—not out of fear, but from mental exhaustion. This was far outside the boundaries of his peaceful, lazy lifestyle. He checked the tools on his belt.

"If it's not from the system, not a regular Metavore, and not part of the training… then it's definitely something that shouldn't be here."

Kael looked up and shouted, "DEREN! It's coming back!!"

Without hesitation, Deren pulled a small smoke launcher from his pouch — an old gadget he jokingly called the Smoke Potato, because of its round shape and its signature stench, like rotten potatoes left in a shoe for two weeks.

"Cover your noses!"

Thick smoke filled the combat zone — greenish-gray and sharp enough to sting the soul. The creature recoiled — not from the chemicals, but because its Core reacted violently to the inorganic particles. Its internal sensors were disrupted. It thrashed in confusion, clawing walls and the ground as if in pain.

Kael coughed violently. "Der… your gadget smells like lizard shoes mixed with a gas bomb!"

Ryn glanced at Deren's tool, still covering his face. "That's a weapon too?"

"Failed prototype. Originally made to escape Clarice when she asked for financial reports. Turns out... also works against no-name monsters."

"If that's the failed one, I don't wanna imagine your successful ones," Ryn muttered, activating his tactical visor.

The creature screamed, then slammed its front limbs into the ground. A mini Core shockwave burst across the terrain, scattering debris in all directions.

Deren raised his arm to shield his face, and in the middle of the chaos—he saw something. The creature's bones formed patterns… symbols. Symbols he had seen once in Clarice's old research. Ancient Core sigils.

"Guys... this isn't just a wild creature. It came from the past... and they might be coming back."

Reiner's voice came again, more serious now. "Observation team recommends full retreat. But Lt. Sarka wants to see how you handle it."

"She's insane, isn't she?!" Kael yelled.

"Or… she wants to know how far the 'anomaly named Deren' can go," Ryn said, staring at him.

Deren shrugged. "Still hoping this is just a nightmare from eating expired bread last night."

And then the creature jumped again — this time, like a black bullet streaked with red, tearing through the air.

It came back with blazing speed. Ryn shouted, reinforcing his shield. Kael fired his socket launcher — but nothing stopped it, only slowed it down.

Deren stood up straight.

"Okay. I'm done."

He pressed a small switch hidden in his glove. Blue Core light spread from his palm up his arm. A ring of mechanical symbols flickered in the air — not standard tech, but his own unpublished experiment.

"Three seconds. Don't move."

Kael and Ryn ducked without question.

Deren tossed a small object — coin-sized — into the air.

Click.

A reverse-pattern explosion burst out, forming a concentrated Core pressure that stunned the creature's energy nerves. For a moment, everything went silent… then the creature collapsed, body trembling violently before freezing like a cracked statue.

Kael stood with wide eyes. "Deren… what was that?!"

"Micro-ether pressure condenser... beta version," Deren said, picking up the device. "Still leaks on the right side. Not stable if ambient temperature goes above 30°C."

Ryn nodded slowly. "But enough to bring down something the system can't even identify."

Deren sat on a chunk of debris. "I just wanted lunch and a nap. Why does everything have to be dramatic?"

Back in the control room, Reiner and Sarka watched in silence.

"He's not even trying," Reiner said.

Sarka crossed her arms. "And that's what's most concerning."

Elsewhere, beneath the city...

A massive Core pulsed deep underground. A voiceless echo spread through the global Core network:

"The Sleeper Has Awakened... and the Bearer of Light has returned."

Meanwhile, across the city…

Clarice stared at three holographic monitors in front of her. One showed a chaotic graph of Core energy. Another displayed the location of Deren and his two teammates, trapped in the simulation zone. Her eyes narrowed at a sudden spike — a Core pulse the system couldn't identify.

"What is that thing…" she muttered. Her fingers flew across the control panel, enlarging a section of the image. The creature's eyes — glowing red with double-ringed patterns — were unlike any known Metavore.

She activated a link to a covert archive network. "Ava, scan our ancient records. Look for Core shapes with dual spiral frames and vein lines extending to the legs."

A voice responded through the terminal, "Partial reference found in pre-invasion archives. Unregistered category. Ancient label: Primal Core Entity."

Clarice froze. "So this isn't a Metavore... it predates them."

Her gaze returned to the screen, where Deren was seen casually leaning behind a pillar — looking relaxed despite the chaos around him.

"You don't even know it yet, Der…but they're chasing you because you're the one who accidentally woke them up."