[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-dawn-walker":3,"chapter-dawn-walker-dawn-walker-chapter-20":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Dawn Walker",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1836968,2443,"Chapter 20: Thirst That Water Cannot Touch IV","dawn-walker-chapter-20",20,"\u003Cp>---\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet’s throat worked again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gulp!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His body drank like it had been waiting for this its entire life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His mind panicked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His mind screamed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But his body did not care.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The system chimed softly, almost approvingly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ding!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[System Advisory: Blood consumption detected.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Host fatigue recovery: accelerating. Blood awakening resonance: stabilizing.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet’s stomach twisted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wanted to stop.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wanted to be a man again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wanted to spit the blood out and wipe his mouth and pretend it never happened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then the relief hit deeper.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The thirst that had been torturing him for weeks —three weeks in chains, three weeks of slow dehydration, three weeks of his body dying and surviving— finally eased.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For the first time since waking in that dark room, Sekhmet felt full in the only way that mattered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He drank again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gulp!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Renn’s struggles weakened slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His claws, once sharp with confidence, began to tremble.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His breathing turned ragged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His howl cracked into a broken whine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet tore his mouth free with a wet sound.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shlk!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Blood coated his lips. It ran down his chin. His chest heaved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stared at Renn, horrified.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Renn stumbled back, clutching his neck. Blood seeped between his fingers. His eyes were wide, not with greed anymore, but with fear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What are you,\" Renn rasped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet’s lips parted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He did not have an answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He only knew his body felt stronger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He only knew his thirst was not screaming anymore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He only knew his mouth wanted more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet’s jaw tightened hard, as if clenching could hold back the hunger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Someone you should not have tried to rob,\" Sekhmet said, voice rough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Renn snarled weakly and lunged again, desperate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet moved faster than before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He sidestepped, grabbed Renn’s wrist, and twisted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Crack!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Renn howled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet’s blood sword formed instantly in his other hand, the blade sharper now, more stable, as if the blood in his system had learned what it wanted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shhhh!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet drove it into Renn’s side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shhk!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Renn coughed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Blood sprayed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet’s eyes locked onto the blood like a starving man seeing food.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The hunger surged again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet stepped forward and slammed Renn down onto the stone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thud!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He pinned him, knee on Renn’s chest, and leaned in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Renn’s eyes widened, panic filling them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Wait,\" Renn choked. \"We can—\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet did not let him finish.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He bit again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Crunch!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Blood flooded Sekhmet’s mouth, richer this time, because Renn’s heart was still fighting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gulp\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet’s mind flickered with images that were not his.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A forest under moonlight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Claws digging into dirt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The joy of chase.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The taste of warm flesh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet’s stomach turned, but his body drank.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gulp!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The system chimed again, calm and relentless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ding!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[System Advisory-\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Good quality blood detected: Werewolf lineage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Blood awakening progress: increasing. ]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet drank until Renn’s struggles weakened into twitching.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gulp!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He drank until Renn’s heartbeat slowed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ba... dum... ba... dum...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He drank until the heartbeat stuttered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ba... dum...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He drank until it stopped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet pulled back, panting, blood smeared across his mouth and chin. His hands trembled. His stomach felt heavy, but not sick. Full.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Full in a way water had never given him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Renn’s werewolf body lay limp beneath him, eyes half-open, mouth slack. The fur began to recede slowly as the moonlight still washed over him, leaving behind a corpse that looked more human again, but twisted by death and hunger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet stared at the body, shock creeping back in now that the fight was over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had killed him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had killed him after saving him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And worse...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had drained him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet’s throat worked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and immediately regretted it because now his hand was even more stained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He staggered back and sat against the stone, breathing hard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His chest rose and fell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His heart was hammered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ba - dum Ba - dum Ba - dum\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His hands shook slightly as he stared at them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He felt energized.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He felt clear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He felt less pain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His injuries still existed, but they dulled, as if blood had coated them from the inside and softened their screams.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He should have been relieved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He should have been grateful to survive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instead, shame crawled up his spine like cold insects.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I drank blood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I drank him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I am not—\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet stopped the thought because he did not know what he was allowed to be anymore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The bat in his pocket crawled out again, blinking, eyes wide at the smell of fresh blood. It perched on Sekhmet’s shoulder, then looked down at the corpse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Batbatbatbat,\" it chirped eagerly, as if asking if dinner was served.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet stared at it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You are disgusting,\" he muttered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The bat blinked innocently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Batbat.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet exhaled slowly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He needed to ground himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He needed facts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He forced himself to ask the system, voice low.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"System,\" he said. \"What did I just do?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The system answered immediately, as if it had been waiting for the question.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[System: Host performed blood consumption.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Effect: stabilized host blood thirst.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Effect: restored fatigue and enhanced recovery.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Additional effect: blood proficiency increased.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A new notification appeared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Ding! System Notification-\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Blood Proficiency: +1%\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Source: Werewolf Blood\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Current Blood Proficiency: 1\u002F100\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Note: At 100%, the host may upgrade one Blood skill to Level 2.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet stared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"One percent. From one kill. From one feeding.\"His jaw tightened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So this is how it works.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The system was not just giving him abilities.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was shaping him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was rewarding him for drinking blood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet’s stomach twisted again, but the thirst remained quiet, satisfied for now, like a beast licking its chops after a meal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked at Renn’s corpse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Regret hit him like a slow wave.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had regretted saving him earlier, but now the regret changed shape.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not because he had killed a traitor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because he had become the kind of thing that fed like a predator.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet swallowed hard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he remembered something important.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Renn had attacked first.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Renn had planned to kill him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Renn had waited for the moon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Renn had been smiling while asking for his loot.\u003C\u002Fp>",1012,"2026-06-09T06:31:32.656Z",1,"novelbin.me","dadb1e2cc16ef1863866de3f63b329e18f34be6ac20895fad67844b00254b9e3","dawn-walker-chapter-92","dawn-walker-chapter-19",359,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fdawn-walker-cover.jpg"]