The inside of the cave was unexpectedly spacious, with a smooth, even floor.
Crystals embedded in the walls emitted a dim green glow, providing just enough light.
The air was filled with a strange scent, a blend of herbs and rotting organisms, that was both calming and slightly nauseating.
"Well, look who's here."
A hoarse voice came from the depths of the cave. "Another poor soul cast aside by the Order?"
Oliver moved forward cautiously until he could make out the speaker, a twisted figure seated atop a stone platform.
It was vaguely humanoid, but its body was covered in deep purple scales.
Its head had fully transformed into that of a reptile, its mouth grotesquely elongated into a snout filled with jagged teeth.
"Welcome to the land of freedom, Oliver West," the reptilian figure rasped.
"Looks like your 'awakening' isn't going too well, huh? Half your face already looks like a nightmare. Must hurt like hell."
As he spoke, more figures emerged from the shadows of the cave.
Some looked vaguely human. Others were grotesquely mutated beyond recognition.
But they all shared one feature: glowing red eyes, like smoldering brands.
"Where's Cynthia?"
Oliver asked bluntly, trying to ignore the mockery.
The reptilian figure let out a screeching laugh.
"Eager to see your old flame? She's no angel, you know, always seducing our brothers, stirring up trouble…"
"I asked where she is!"
Oliver's voice grew sharper with anger. The black liquid on his body began to churn violently.
"Look at the feisty little newbie, already barking orders?"
Another voice chimed in, this one belonging to a woman who still appeared mostly human.
Except for her eyes, which had fractured into insect-like compound structures, gleaming strangely in the dim light.
"You freaks have no right to mock me," Oliver sneered. "I've just begun my awakening. Soon I'll have full control. Unlike you, I won't become a slave to base instinct and desire."
The cave fell silent for a beat before erupting in harsh, mocking laughter.
"Hear that? This fool thinks he can 'control' the awakening!" the reptilian figure nearly fell over laughing.
"Where'd this poor bastard crawl out from?"
"Poor thing doesn't realize he's already doomed," the compound-eyed woman sneered.
"Awakening isn't something you control, idiot. It controls you."
The reptilian man wiped away tears of laughter.
"Your so-called self-discipline? It's paper-thin once full awakening takes over."
Oliver glanced around. At least a dozen mutated beings were sneering at him.
Anger blazed in his chest, but he forced himself to stay calm.
"Looks like you all need a lesson."
His gaze locked on the reptilian figure, the loudest among them.
In the blink of an eye, Oliver ghosted across the cave, appearing directly in front of him.
Before the creature could react, Oliver's tendril-like eye stabbed into his forehead.
"Y-you!"
The creature shrieked in pain, convulsing as its scales rapidly lost color.
The jeers stopped instantly. The other awakened ones recoiled, their expressions shifting to fear and shock.
Oliver could feel the creature's strength being drained, a new energy flowing into his body, washing over him in a wave of intoxicating pleasure.
When he pulled back, the reptilian being had turned into a dried-up corpse.
All life had been sucked out of it. The once-purple scales had turned lifeless gray.
"What, no one's laughing now?"
Oliver scanned the crowd coldly, the red glow in his eye flaring brighter with power.
No one answered. The other awakened stood ready, but none dared make a move.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
Slow applause echoed from deeper in the cave, followed by a familiar female voice:
"Quite the performance, Oliver."
From the shadows emerged a naked female figure.
It was Cynthia, but she had changed completely.
Her skin had taken on an unnatural sheen. Several tentacle-like appendages extended from various parts of her body, some twitching in the air as if alive.
But the most disturbing transformation was her lower half.
It had turned into some kind of mollusk-like form, her legs replaced by slime-dripping tendrils that left a wet trail across the floor.
"My dear Oliver is still so full of fire."
Cynthia's voice was syrupy sweet, laced with a twisted sensuality.
"Just arrived, and already killed one of our brothers? That's hot."
"Cynthia…"
Oliver stared at the grotesquely mutated woman before him, emotions roiling in his chest.
They had once been allies, united in their pursuit of forbidden power. But now she was a stranger.
"What, scared by my new look?" Cynthia giggled, her tentacles writhing restlessly around her.
"Don't worry. You'll get used to it soon. In fact, this form has all kinds of… advantages."
As she spoke, one of her tendrils coiled suggestively around Oliver's arm, making him shiver.
Its slimy surface secreted a liquid that caused subtle paralysis and strange sensations on contact.
"You've fully awakened?" Oliver asked, trying to focus through the bizarre feeling.
"Of course," Cynthia replied softly, with a satisfied tone.
"Fully, completely awakened. I no longer need to feed off the emotions of those pitiful slaves. Now, I can draw sustenance directly from pleasure."
Her tendrils wrapped tighter, creeping up his upper arm.
"And you? Looks like you stopped halfway."
"I need precision control."
Oliver tore away from the tendrils and took a step back.
"Cynthia, we agreed, the Sin Domain Black Crystal is just the first step. True awakening must be done in the right place, under the right conditions."
"Oh?" Cynthia arched a brow.
"You're still clinging to that silly plan? Waiting for the Bloodline Altar to open?"
"It's the best option," Oliver said firmly.
"The spatial rift at the altar will amplify the awakening, giving us purer power, not this…"
He gestured toward her grotesque form. "This enslavement to lust."
Cynthia wasn't offended. If anything, she laughed more brazenly.
"Look at you. Still so serious, still chasing perfection. Just like back in the Order, always needing to be in control, to know everything."
Suddenly her tendrils shot forward, wrapping around Oliver completely and dragging him to her.
"But you know what? After full awakening, desire isn't a shackle, it's liberation. Once you're free from silly things like morality and reason, you'll find a freedom like never before."
Oliver struggled, but Cynthia's strength was far greater than he anticipated.
Even with his mutated body, he was no match for her, especially now that she had fully awakened.
"Let me go…"
He gritted his teeth, but his body began reacting involuntarily to the tendrils' touch.
"Don't fight it."
Cynthia's voice grew more seductive. One tendril caressed his deformed cheek.
"Let me show you what real pleasure feels like."
As the tentacles coiled around him, her body began to secrete a thick fluid.
It gave off a disturbing scent, a mix of musk, rotting fruit, and exotic flowers.
The smell clouded Oliver's thoughts. A wave of desire unlike anything he had ever known rose within him.
"Damn it… no… I can't…"
Oliver felt his will crumbling. The black energy inside him surged uncontrollably, resonating with Cynthia's pheromones.
"That's it. Let desire and instinct take over."
Cynthia watched him struggle with satisfaction.
"Once you taste this, you'll never want to go back to your old constraints."
The other awakened ones formed a circle around them, watching hungrily.
Some began entwining with each other, driven by some unseen force.
Their twisted bodies writhed in the shadows, making unspeakable sounds.
"Let's have a party."
Cynthia whispered into Oliver's ear, each word like a hypnotic spell.
"Forget those complicated plans. Forget the Bloodline Altar. Forget everything."
Under the influence of the fluid and pheromones, Oliver's mind began to slip.
The memory of his once-perfect, always-composed self shattered.
In its place surged a primal, unfiltered craving.
He stopped resisting, letting her tendrils explore his body, basking in sensations he'd never imagined.
Each touch felt like a jolt of electricity through his veins, making him tremble.
The voice of reason faded to a whisper, then vanished in a flood of primal ecstasy.
Amidst the chaos, Oliver still tried to cling to a shred of consciousness, his ultimate goal: true power, beyond that of any wizard.
"The… Bloodline Altar…"
Through the haze, he clung to one last thought.
"I'll complete the true awakening there…"
"Whatever you say, my sweet Oliver,"
Cynthia purred, pressing her body against his, her many tendrils undulating with varied shapes and functions.
"But for now… enjoy the moment."
The cave remained dimly lit as the groans and twisted laughter of the awakened melded into a chorus of chaos and depravity.
…
Meanwhile, in a wide-open area at the center of the Order, flames roared skyward.
Marcus' twisted body was engulfed in fire, yet he still crawled forward.
Most of him had turned to charcoal, but his head and chest somehow clung to a horrific semblance of life.
Black veins pulsed visibly beneath his charred skin, like demonic runes etched in coal, writhing with his every move.
"R…Robb…"
His mouth opened and closed, slurring mangled words. Black, tar-like liquid oozed from his lips, leaving burning marks on the ground.