The Apex Predator System

EPISODE 3: The Shard from the Sky

The desert stretched endlessly before Raymond Cooper, a sea of golden sands beneath the dark canvas of night. He walked purposefully, his mind racing with thoughts of Harley, was she trully captured? He wondered.

He needed to stay alive, to achieve that, he needed to disappear — at least for a while. The city was a death trap, and the desert offered a chance to regroup and plan. He was not the only one on the morphidon threat list, if he could find any of the others, maybe they could survive.

His footsteps crunched over the sand, and the cool desert breeze whispered through the air. Above him, the stars twinkled like distant flames, scattered across an infinite void. The silence was comforting, giving him a rare moment of peace amidst the chaos.

But peace was fleeting.

Ray stopped abruptly when a streak of light pierced the sky. His eyes widened as he watched the object blaze across the heavens, burning a fiery trail behind it. It was moving fast — far too fast for a normal meteor.

“What the hell?” he muttered.

The fiery streak descended rapidly, crashing into the desert with a deafening boom. The ground trembled beneath Ray’s feet, and a shockwave of sand and heat blasted toward him. He shielded his face with his arm, squinting against the onslaught.

When the dust settled, he lowered his arm and stared at the distant impact site. The sand around the impact area had melted, forming slabs of glass from extreme temperatures.

A faint blue glow pulsed from the crater's center, casting eerie shadows across the dunes.

His curiosity got the better of him.

Ray adjusted the strap of his bag and began walking toward the crater. The glow grew brighter as he approached, illuminating the jagged edges of the impact site. The air shimmered with heat, and a strange humming sound filled the silence — like the faint whir of an engine or the pulse of something alive.

At the heart of the crater lay a shard of blue crystal, embedded deep into the scorched earth. It pulsed with an otherworldly light, sending waves of energy through the air.

When he paid closer attention, he noticed that every time the crystal pulses, faint white lines that look like electric circuits glow briefly and dim as the pulse restarts.

Ray knelt by the edge of the crater, staring in awe. “This isn’t a meteor,” he whispered. “It’s something else.”

Cautiously, he slid down the slope, his boots kicking up sand as he approached the crystal. The heat was intense, but he couldn’t tear his gaze away from the shimmering shard.

His hand reached out, hesitant but compelled by an unseen force.

The moment his fingers brushed the surface, he was shocked with electric current. Startled, he tried to pull away from the crystal, but an invisible force held his hand in place. The crystal let off a high-frequency buzz and exploded, shooting a beam of brilliant blue light into the sky.

Ray was thrown backwards, landing hard on his back. He gasped for breath, his ears ringing and his vision blurred. He tried to push himself up, but a searing pain shot through his arm.

Groaning, he glanced down and froze in fear.

A shard of the blue crystal was lodged in his forearm, its jagged edges glinting under the moonlight. It pulsed with the same eerie glow, sending waves of energy coursing through his veins.

He reached over with his other hand and tried to pull out the crystal, but it did not budge. He used a little more strength and pulled the shard, but it was useless, the shard had fused with his hand.

“What the hell?” Ray’s voice trailed off as his vision suddenly shifted.

A translucent window appeared in front of him, floating in the air.

Ray blinked, shaking his head. “Am I hallucinating?” he wondered

The window remained, its text glowing softly. He reached out to touch it, and his fingers passed through the projection.

“What is this?”

Before he could make sense of it, another wave of pain wracked his body. The crystal shard pulsed violently, and Ray screamed as blue veins spread from his arm, crawling up his neck and across his chest. His heart pounded in his ears, each beat reverberating through his entire body.

Ray’s mind spun as new windows popped up, each one filled with lines of incomprehensible data.

“Apex Predator System?” he whispered, reading what was written in the translucent window.

The pain subsided, leaving behind a strange sensation.

A mix of warmth and power coursing through his veins. He flexed his fingers, marvelling at how different his body felt. Stronger. Faster. Sharper.

Ray stared at the window, his mind racing. “What the hell is happening to me?”

Suddenly, a voice echoed in his mind, calm and mechanical.

“System analysis complete. You have been chosen.”

Ray stumbled backwards, clutching his head. “Who said that?” he asked

“I am the Apex Predator System, an advanced artificial intelligence designed to enhance the host’s survival and adaptability.” The system said.

Ray’s heart was beating abnormally fast. “I’m losing it. This is insane.” He muttered.

The system voice came back again and said.

“Your world is on the brink of collapse. You have been chosen to rise above the chaos and become a predator in this new age.”

As the voice speaks in his head, what it says appears on the window that Ray could see.

He took a shaky breath, trying to process the information. “Why me?” he asked with his voice breaking.

“Your genetic profile is compatible with the system. You possess the traits necessary for survival and dominance.” The system responded.

Ray shook his head, amazed at how advanced this technology must be.

“I’m just a spy. I’m no one special.” He added, thinking that he was targeted by mistake.

“You underestimate yourself, Raymond Cooper. Your potential is far greater than you realize.” The system voice responded.

Ray looked down at his arm, where the crystal shard was now fully embedded beneath his skin. The blue veins had faded, leaving only a faint glow beneath the surface.

“What does this system do?” he asked cautiously.

The system ignored him, refusing to answer the question. Instead, a new window appeared.

Ray’s eyes widened as he read through. “This can’t be real.” He muttered again.

The system voice continued.

“Your body has already begun to change. You will soon experience the full extent of your enhancements.” Counting down to awakening, twelve out of one hundred.

At that moment, his body temperature begins to rise. A few seconds later, he could see his body burning, as if someone had set him on fire.

Before long, he lost consciousness and fell on the sand of the desert.

As he remained unconscious. In his mind, images of unfamiliar places, planets, creatures and plants that are not from Earth flashed.

When he woke up, he was lying in the sand. His muscles felt elastic, his skin felt tighter.

Ray clenched his fists, feeling a raw power coursing through him. He lifted his hand up and gathered the energy, with a single swing, he punched the ground, and to his shock, the sand exploded beneath his fist, leaving a small crater.

“Damn,” he muttered, flexing his hand. “This is real.”

He noticed that the crystal shard that is lodged into his hand

The system chimed again.

Stage zero awakening has been completed.

Physical stats have been unlocked.

Your physical stats are at the peak of what a normal human who has spent years training can achieve.

Physical fitness is at one hundred percent.