First bonus chapter
(Trial Three: Genetic Compatibility Test Result)
Another jolt of energy from the pod sent Morca's back arching off the slab. Fresh pain crackled along every nerve.
He felt two forces swirling inside him like dueling serpents – one of utter emptiness, the other of burning bloodlust.
They coiled, battled, and for one terrifying moment, Morca thought they would tear him apart from within.
His vision blurred, doubled – reality itself seemed to ripple.
'Was that… someone inside the pod with me?'
A tall, indistinct figure emerged to his left, outlined in swirling black mist. Its eyes were twin voids, gazing at him with a sorrowful pride.
To his right, another phantom flickered into being – muscular, cloaked in bloody red light, and crowned with a halo resembling a blazing crimson moon.
Two silhouettes. Two overwhelming presences. Though the pod was cramped, they felt impossibly vast.
"Who… are you…?" Morca rasped. His voice cracked like dry leaves.
