Actaeon, the Start

Prologue

"Would I have made a difference if I was there?" the Hunter thought as he stood in front of the grave of his beloved ones.

A common tragedy amongst humans is death by a Poisoned One. A species that has plagued the human race recently. An anomaly has occurred in evolution causing random production of venom and increased aggressive nature in animals. It used to just be snakes and anti-venom, but this phenomenon has brought in a new wave of toxins. Animals all over the world started falling prey to the Poisoned One, humans included. At first they it was an epidemic from mosquitoes, but by the time the humans found a solution a third of the population was already wiped out. The human race was able to develop tougher skin that prevented small incisions made by mosquitoes and small insects, however the Poisoned Ones also started evolving. Their skin also became tough enough to withstand bullets and grew larger in size. They attacked cities, villages, anywhere that had human inhabitants. The military forces were able to hold off the attacks with their guns and artillery, but couldn't reach all of humanity. Productivity plummeted and resources for ammunition became hard to obtain. The human race, forced in to hiding, slowly trickled down to 1/3 of its original population within 2 years.

It is hard to believe his village was attacked 5 years ago. The Hunter remembers seeing his pregnant wife on her deathbed like it was yesterday. He knew an attack could have happened any day, but he also had a duty to provide food and water for the village. Food was becoming scarce within his vicinity so he decided to trek a little farther. He brought back so much food that, but only to find his village destroyed. His wife poisoned with the other hunters and huntresses struggled to breathe and explained what happened. They have all been poisoned by a pack of Tigris Variatio, an evolved tiger. Poisoned Ones hunted by infecting the victim and returning to prey when they're weakened. Judging from the amount of villagers left, the Variatios are on their way back when the Hunter arrived.

"Get her out of her", one of the hunters coughed, "Those things are coming back to finish the job, and she doesn't deserve to die like this".

The hunter wanted revenge, but he was powerless with no proper equipment. He swallowed his pride and carried his wife away. He got her to a safe house and spend the remaining hours comforting her.

"What happened wasn't your fault", his wife weakly spoke.

"But I could have done something", replied the Hunter.

"I am your wife and I am fully aware what your limits are," She smiled, "I'm glad you weren't there."

A day later she passed away.

For the next five years, the Hunter lived in solitude, and in obsession. He studied the anatomy of the Poisoned Ones, researched anti-venom for the new toxins. He was close to exhaustion and mental breakdown.

Until one fateful day, he came across his chance for redemption.