The Butcher’s Dawn

  A Symphony of Blood and FrostThe world had shifted violently overnight, as if the very fabric of reality itself had been brutally torn apart and stitched back together haphazardly with jagged threads of chaos. The prison—El-Qasr, that grim fortress of despair—was now a distant, horrifying memory, swallowed completely by shadows and echoing screams. Those who survived the first brutal day stumbled forward, their bodies battered and broken but their spirits fractured beyond any hope of repair. The grand gates of the border vilge stood invitingly open, offering what should have been salvation. But inside was no sanctuary, no warmth, no comfort. Just eyes.

  Dozens of eyes.

  Hundreds, perhaps, in the dim light.

  Some were human, but most were distinctly not.

  They watched the newcomers with thinly veiled disgust—or worse—a chilling, assessing hunger. These weren’t welcoming gnces; they were cold appraisals, clinical calcutions weighing whether these broken, bleeding men were worth keeping alive or better served as easy prey. The air carried low whispers in nguages alien and harsh to mortal tongues, each strange sylble sharp enough, it seemed, to cut gss. And at the very center of it all stood Aleksander, his head held impossibly high, his hands buried deep in the pockets of his old, torn prison pants. His stark white hair billowed lightly in the wind, making him look like a cursed hero inexplicably plucked from some ancient, forgotten myth—except he didn’t care, not even slightly, to be one.

  Aleksander wasn’t here for redemption or fleeting glory. He was looking for something to kill, or at the very least, something powerful enough to finally shut the incessantly chattering System up.

  [System Notification: The Rules Change]

  As Aleksander stepped onto the uneven ground of the bustling market square, the familiar, unwelcome voice returned—a persistent, low hum in his mind, now annoyingly chewing gum, its tone dripping with obvious mockery.

  ?Day 2 Initiated. Welcome to the World of Varnok. Remaining Prisoner Hosts: 32.?

  ?Host: Aleksander – Cssification: S-Unknown. Status: ? Bugged. ?

  ?System Override: Certain functions have been restricted until further notice. Please refrain from uniterally freezing reality.?

  “Cheater,” the System spat, its artificial edge ced with sudden, sharp venom.

  Aleksander’s pale gray eye twitched minutely.

  “You again?”

  The System chuckled, a sound like static wrapped in silk, its voice oozing false, syrupy sweetness.

  ?Why so serious, Snowfke? Missed me? Oh, wait, that’s right, you don’t miss anything... You just destroy it.?

  He ignored it. Mostly. Its presence was like a low, annoying drone.

  Around him, the vilge market truly bustled with strange races bartering loudly in nguages he didn’t know and didn't care to learn. Slender-eared elves adorned with intricate vine tattoos exchanged glowing, phosphorescent herbs for rough-hewn chunks of strange fungus. Barrel-chested dwarves with cnking mechanical arms hauled heavy crates filled with dead, desiccated rats. Cloaked lizardmen slithered silently through the crowded nes, their rough scales shimmering faintly under the dim, filtered light. It was a bizarre cacophony of alien activity, yet none dared linger too close to the silent, white-haired figure of Aleksander.

  A small boy with thin goat legs, carrying a rge basket, accidentally bumped into him, sending a scattering of red berries across the dusty ground. The child froze instantly when Aleksander turned his pale gaze toward him.

  “S-Sorry… sir… I didn’t see you… at all…”

  Aleksander stared bnkly down at him, his expression empty.

  “Then you’re already blind.”

  The boy, terrified, simply ran. No one stopped him. No one said a single word to Aleksander.

  Behind Aleksander, the few surviving prisoners—only a handful now—caught up, their faces pale, gaunt, and haunted. They looked like wretched ghosts dragged unwillingly from the deepest depths of hell, their skin smeared with the drying blood—not theirs—but that of others who hadn't been so lucky. Their eyes darted around nervously, searching frantically for any sembnce of safety in a world that clearly offered none. They whispered among themselves, their voices trembling uncontrolbly with raw fear.

  “He’s still alive…”

  “He’s always alive…”

  “Why can’t we just leave him behind?”

  But leaving Aleksander behind felt impossible. Even in his profound silence and stillness, his presence dominated the space around him completely, casting a shadow colder than the moon itself, a shadow that seemed to anchor them unwillingly in pce.

  Meanwhile – Behind the Scenes: Systems Breach

  Inside the cold dimensional abyss, unknown to the frightened prisoners or the strange vilgers, complex systems buzzed and whirred in a voidlike control room filled with corrupted UI fragments and flickering, chaotic binary codes. Monitors dispyed fragmented, arming data streams, each pixel pulsating erratically as urgent arms bred across unseen, distant dimensions.

  __ Error Detected: Host ‘Aleksander’ Cannot Be Tracked

  __ Unauthorized Freezing of Beast-Css Creature (Titanic Lv. ???) Confirmed

  __ System Chain Corruption Rate: 27.45%

  A lone silhouette leaned over a data terminal, its form indistinct, almost shimmering, against the chaotic backdrop of cascading errors and fshing warnings.

  “He’s the one... Isn’t he?” the figure asked, its voice calm, almost clinical, yet distinctly tinged with a strange awe.

  Another shadowy figure responded, its tone hesitant, unsure. “Should we initiate a full system reset?”

  The first silhouette paused, considering the data before it. “…No. Let the bug grow. Let’s see how far it gets before it breaks everything.”

  And so, the System continued its monitoring, its original protocols overridden by a dangerous curiosity—or perhaps something far darker and more deliberate.

  Back in the Vilge: Chaos Strikes Again

  Back in the heart of the vilge, a new, urgent bell suddenly rang, its sharp, metallic cng reverberating violently through the narrow streets and crowded nes. Each ring sent shockwaves of pure panic rippling through the assembled crowd. Market stalls were instantly overturned in the rush to flee. Merchants vanished into doorways or side alleys. Even the armored guards abandoned their posts, running for cover as though pursued by unseen, terrifying horrors.

  Aleksander blinked slowly, his expression registering the sudden, chaotic shift.

  “Again?”

  A loud voice echoed over the city’s embedded magic announcement stones, amplified unnaturally by arcane forces, cutting through the rising din:

  __ “MONSTER SIEGE – SECTOR V INITIATED! ALL COMBAT-ABLE CITIZENS REPORT TO YOUR POST IMMEDIATELY! NON-FIGHTERS STAY INDOORS! THIS IS NOT A DRILL!”

  The other prisoners, their faces etched with terror, turned as one to flee, their primal instincts screaming at them to find any avaible shelter, to hide. But Aleksander simply walked forward, his pace steady and unhurried, his expression remaining utterly unchanged.

  ?Seriously?? the System hissed, its tone shifting abruptly between intense exasperation and utter disbelief.

  ?Are you allergic to hiding or something?! You literally just killed a 60-ton meat dragon yesterday! Today you—wait... why is your status changing again?!?

  Aleksander didn’t answer. He never did. Instead, he moved through the growing chaos like a ghost, his pale gaze falling on the outer vilge wall. Already visibly cracked and bleeding strange magic, the ancient structure trembled violently under the heavy weight of repeated impacts from the other side. Dust rained down from above in thick clouds, coating the ground in a fine, gritty yer.

  A new beast roared—an unearthly, guttural sound that cwed relentlessly at the ears of anyone unfortunate enough to hear it up close. This one wasn’t as rge as the Titanic creature from El-Qasr, but it radiated palpable malice, its pure fury evident even before it fully appeared.

  The Monster: A Nightmare Made Flesh

  This beast didn’t fly. It didn’t stomp with earth-shattering weight. It leapt.

  And when it nded heavily on the cobblestone ground, it instantly crushed three armored guards into paste, their bodies reduced to crimson, unrecognizable smears on the blood-soaked ground.

  “He’s... smiling!” screamed a barrel-chested dwarf nearby, his voice cracking audibly with sheer terror.

  They weren’t wrong.

  The beast had a horribly warped humanoid face, fixed in a wide, leering grin filled with rows of twisted teeth that didn’t belong to any known race or creature. Its body was a grotesque amalgamation of gnarled brambles, thick mud, shattered bones, and disturbingly, still-twitching human hands—some still clutching reflexively, as if clinging desperately to life despite being brutally severed from their owners. It rushed forward with unnatural speed, its wicked cws extended, ready to tear flesh from bone with horrifying efficiency.

  Aleksander stepped calmly into its path, directly confronting the approaching nightmare.

  ?Oh. This’ll be good.? the System chuckled in his mind, its tone dripping with dark, expectant amusement.

  ?What are you gonna do this time, Host? Scare it to death with your frosty stare??

  Aleksander pulled his right hand slowly from his pocket and raised a single, deliberate finger. The air around him seemed to tremble in response, charged with unseen, potent anticipation.

  Then nothing happened.

  ?Uh-oh.? the System said aloud in his mind, its voice now tinged with a distinct, triumphant glee.

  ?Looks like you’re officially nerfed, Host, remember? You can't freeze anything anymore today. Reset cooldown: 23:59:41. Better luck tomorrow, Snowfke!?

  Aleksanger squinted minutely, his brow furrowing slightly in rare frustration.

  “…You're kidding.”

  ?I’d never kid a war criminal, handsome. Not my style.?

  The beast was now only a few feet away, its eyes glowing intensely red, its grotesque mouth gaping wide to reveal rows upon rows of jagged, blood-stained teeth. Aleksander did the only logical thing left to do, given his restricted abilities.

  He ducked quickly, smoothly, under its charge.

  The beast flew past him with immense force, its momentum carrying its massive, awkward body several paces beyond where Aleksander had stood just moments before. In one fluid, unexpected motion, he grabbed its exposed ankle mid-air, spun with surprising strength, and smmed it brutally into the ground like a heavy sledgehammer impacting fragile stone.

  BOOM.

  Bones shattered with sickening cracks. The earth beneath them cracked and split. The beast screamed, a high-pitched, unearthly cry that echoed agonizingly off the walls of the nearby buildings. Aleksander didn’t use his power, not a single drop of ice. He didn’t need to. With brute force alone, he broke it completely.

  [Epilogue:Blood and Appuse: The Aftermath]

  For a moment, after the impact, all was silent again. The vilgers peered cautiously from behind windows and doorways, their faces pale with shock and disbelief. Then came the low murmurs, growing slowly louder until they became a unified chorus of awestruck whispers echoing through the square.

  “He’s not a man…”

  “He’s the f***ing apocalypse.”

  One man, one of the few surviving prisoners, approached Aleksander—the bald guy from Block D, trembling visibly like a frightened puppy.

  “I-Is it over now?”

  Aleksander looked him directly in the eye, his expression as unreadable as stone.

  “No.”

  He pointed past the damaged outer wall, where distant, dark shapes already loomed ominously against the horizon.

  “They’re sending more.”

  And then...

  The second siege began in earnest.

  Epilogue: Day 2 Ends - Marked for Extermination

  By the grim end of the second day, 28 prisoners were dead. Only 4 remained alive. And only one, Aleksander, hadn’t bled a single drop.

  Aleksander sat calmly atop the still-twitching corpse of the humanoid beast, drinking water slowly from a broken fsk. Around him, the air was quiet again, the chaotic battle temporarily subdued, a fragile peace. But far beyond the blood-stained sky, something else, something powerful and unseen, had begun to watch him with intent focus.

  ?...Let’s mark him.? a voice said from the hidden heavens, detached, cold, yet deliberate.

  ?Aleksander. The anomaly. The Butcher of Day Two.?

  And deep within the System logs, a new entry appeared:

  Danger Level: Upgraded to RED – Extermination Recommended

  [End of Chapter 2...TO BE CONTINUED]