The warehouse was silent except for Kite's slow, steady breathing and the distant moan of wind through broken windows.
Damian sat in the corner, his back pressed against cold concrete, glowing eyes fixed on nothing. His minions were gone. His stomach growled. And his mind wouldn't shut up.
That Lord.
He'd been avoiding thinking about it. Too scary. Too big. Too above his pay grade.
But now, with Kite's words echoing in his head, he couldn't stop thinking of it.
"Hey." His said his voice barely a whisper. "System."
[Online.]
"That Lord. The Abomination. You said it was different from me."
[Correct.]
"How?"
[Analysis: The Abomination encountered was an 'Inborn' variant.]
Damian frowned. "Inborn?"
[They are zombies who turned into abomination immediately after mutating, this only has about 0.01% of occurrence]
"Wait." Damian said as he sat up straighter. "So it didn't earn it? It just… got lucky?"
[Unlike host that is not gifted, some humans have Genetic predisposition or Rare cellular compatibility with the meteor energy, making them unique]
" If so why did they still turned into a zombie, huhn?…."
....
....
"Aren't you gonna answer"
[System is not obligated to answer.]
"Tch! Already expected that what you will say."
He glanced at Kite's sleeping form. Small. Curled up. Even asleep, she had positioned herself like she was protecting herself from him, which made the whole scene oddly amusing.
"System," he said quietly. "Could I become like that?"
[Define 'like that.']
"You know. A Lord. Commanding hordes. All that."
After a slight pause.
[Host's evolution path is unprecedented. Inborn Abominations have fixed potential. Host's potential is… unknown.]
"Unknown good? Or unknown bad?"
Silence.
"System?"
…
"Hey. This is the second time….at least answer one..."
…
Damian sighed, rubbing his face. "Right. Back to ignoring me."
He looked at Kite again.
I'm I supposed to turn her.
His stomach growled. Loudly. A deep, painful cramp that made him double over.
[Hunger Gauge: 38% - Intense Hunger]
"Oh, shut up," he muttered. "I know."
He stood, bones cracking. Kite didn't stir. It seems she is dead to the world. Lucky her.
"I'll be back," he whispered to no one. "Probably."
---
The streets were empty. Strangely empty. A quiet had settled over the place, soft and unfamiliar. Maybe the earlier horde had driven everything away, leaving behind a silence that felt oddly new.
Damian moved silently through the shadows, nostrils flaring.
Where is everyone?
Then he caught it. A scent. Rot. Decay. Fresh.
He followed it to a collapsed convenience store. Inside, two Level 2 Walkers feasted on something unrecognizable.
Damian grinned.
"Room service."
He moved fast, his agility of 80 made him a blur. Claws tore through the first Walker before it could react. The second spun, jaw snapping, but Damian was already behind it.
[Level 2 Walker killed]
[+2 EP]
[Biomass detected. Consume?]
He didn't hesitate. Then the feast began.
The meat was cold. Rancid. Perfect.
Yeah. This is what I needed.
By the time he finished, his hunger gauge had filled to 51%.
Then all of a sudden, he heard it.
It was wet, it made tearing sounds that was louder than a zombie could make,
So he decided to turn.
It was not a zombie. Neither an animal. It was Something in between.
It had once been a dog, maybe. Now it was the size of a small car. It flesh hung in strips. Multiple legs twitched where they shouldn't be. It had eyes that were too many which glowed in the dark.
[Threat detected]
[Tier2 Creature - Mutated Canine]
[Level: 8]
[Warning!! The Creature carries necrotic venom. Each Bite will cause a rapid decay in living tissue. Effect on undead: Unknown.]
Damian's grin faded.
"Great. The science experiment from hell."
The creature lunged.
---
Damian dodged, but barely. Claws raked his side, even though it was shallow, he felt it.
Burning.
Not his usual pain. Something was wrong. His flesh where the claw hit was turning dark. Spreading.
"System?! What the hell!"
[Necrotic venom detected. Host is undead. Effect: Unknown. Monitoring.]
"UNKNOWN?! That's your answer?!"
The creature circled around Damian, black ichor drooling from it mouth.
Damian clenched his claws as the burning spread.
Great. First time I go for a snack run, and I get poisoned by a nightmare dog.
He grinned anyway.
At least it'll be a good story.
Then he lunged at it.
His movements were stiff but relentless, his feet slapping against the pavement as he charged. The mutated canine answered with a roar that shook the alley walls. Several of its limbs slammed against the ground and it burst forward, the enormous mouth yawning open as if the street itself were about to be swallowed.
The jaws snapped down.
Damian twisted at the last second, the bite shattering a mailbox behind him with a metallic crunch. The Teeth screeched against steel while the creature thrashed its many limbs, trying to drag him closer.
He grabbed one of the twitching legs and yanked hard. It tore away with a wet rip.
For a split second, Damian stared at the limb in his hand. Still twitching.
The beast shrieked, making its mouth flexing wider, saliva spilling like rain, then two more limbs lashed out, striking Damian in the chest and knocking him into a parked car.
Metal dented.
The creature surged forward again, its massive maw plunging toward him like a collapsing tunnel.
But he didn't run.
He stepped straight into it.
As the jaws closed, Damian jammed the torn limb sideways between the rows of teeth. Bone cracked as the mouth tried to clamp shut. The limb wedged deep, forcing the jaws apart just enough.
The beast thrashed violently, its extra limbs hammering the pavement.
Damian didn't let go.
With a guttural snarl, he drove himself forward and sank his teeth into the soft flesh where the creature's skull met its throat. Rotting jaws tore through muscle and sinew.
The monster shrieked, its limbs flailing wildly, smashing against walls and metal.
But Damian held on, ripping deeper until the creature's struggles slowed… then stopped.
The alley returned to silence.
Only the massive mouth of the canine remained open, frozen like a grotesque gate.
…..
Minutes later.. he wasn't sure how many though, Damian stumbled back toward the warehouse.
His side still burned. The black veins hadn't spread further, but they hadn't faded either. His vision blurred. His thoughts scattered.
[The Necrotic venom is Active, -5 HP will be taken every hour if it is not treated or adapted.]
[Current HP: 310/350]
"Treated how?! There's no zombie hospital!"
Silence.
"Of course."
He cursed silently as he barely made it through the warehouse door. As he saw Kite who was still asleep.
Damian slumped into the corner, his back against the wall.
The world spun.
As his hunger roared at him.
[Hunger Gauge: 40% - Hungry]
No. No no no. Not now. Not again.
He clutched his side. The black veins pulsed. His vision flickered.
Stay awake. Stay in control. Stay…..
Darkness crept in.
The last thing he saw was Kite's sleeping form.
Then lights out.
—---
He didn't know how long he was gone, all he could feel was pain, and hunger, always the hunger.
Kite woke to silence, as the day break.
For one blissful second, she forgot where she was. Forgot the screams. Forgot the fire. Forgot the way Varric's hand had burned her sleeve when he threw her to safety, everything felt calm.
Then she opened her eyes.
And saw him.
Damian was in the corner of the warehouse, curled up, shivering.
Kite froze.
"Zombies don't shiver, or do they. Kite pondered".
But there he was, his rotting frame trembling, his claws digging into his own arms, his glowing eyes squeezed shut like he was in agony. Dark veins crawled up the side of his neck, pulsing with every shudder.
What the hell happened to him? She thought.
Then she moved forward. She should have stayed back. Should have used this chance to escape.
Instead, she found herself moving closer.
"Hey," she whispered. "Damian?"
He didn't respond. Just kept shivering, his breath did zombies breathe? coming in ragged, uneven gasps.
Kite crept closer. Five feet. Three. Two.
She reached out a hand
Then Bam!, His eyes snapped open.
And they weren't his anymore.
Blank. Hungry. Feral.
"Damian…"
He lunged at her.
Kite barely had time to react. Her flames erupted on instinct, her azure flame blazing between them, but he was fast.too fast his claws raking toward her face.
She caught his wrists. Barely. His strength was insane, pressing her back, pinning her against the wall.
"Damian!" she screamed. "Snap out of it!"
His jaws snapped inches from her face. Those dark veins pulsed wildly. He wasn't seeing her. He was only seeing meat.
Fresh, juicy meat.
Kite's flames surged, pushing him back just enough to breathe, but he kept coming. Kept pressing forward.
I'm going to have to kill him.
She thought to herself.
As she raised her hand, azure fire building….
Damian froze.
His eyes blinked. Once. Twice.
Confusion replaced the hunger.
"Kite." His voice came out hoarse, rough like gravel dragged across stone.
Then he looked down.
His hands were clamped around her wrists. Her flames burned inches from his face.
Her back was pressed against the warehouse wall. He was looming over her like something feral.
Damian let go instantly. He stumbled backward and hit the floor hard.
"I wait…" His hand went to his head, fingers digging into his hair. "I didn't mean to"
Kite didn't lower the flames.
"You attacked me."
The words were quiet, but sharp.
Damian blinked at her, confused.
"No… I wouldn't" He stopped.
His eyes dropped to his hands. The claws. The dark veins fading slowly along his arms.
Memory flickered back. His injury. The hunger
"…I lost control."
Kite watched him carefully, flames still dancing around her fingers.
"You said you could control it."
"I can," Damian said quickly, his words tight. "Usually."
He looked down again, jaw clenching.
"I was just hurt. And hungry. That why earlier…" He shook his head not planning to explain further.
Silence then stretched between them.
They had just known each other for less than a day.
And now this.
I'm sorry," he said. "I'm so sorry. I didn't, I mean I would never…."
[DING!]
The sound echoed in Damian's mind.
[Necrotic Venom: Adaptation complete.]
[Host has developed partial immunity.]
[New ability acquired: Venom Resistance (Lv1)]
[Claw ability mutating…]
[Mutation complete.]
[Claw (Lv3) → Venom Claw (Lv1)]
[Effect: Attacks have 15% chance to inflict 'Necrotic Poison' (weakened version of canine venom).]