"Didn't that piss guy say the Blood Moon wouldn't happen for a while?" I asked, observing the illusory sphere of energy floating in the palm of the Umbridge. Within the sphere, I saw the chaos happening around Seraphis Kingdom. While people sat in bars, engaging in drunkenness and laughing heartily about their sins, demons and ghouls latched to their bodies, tearing away at their souls and sucking their life energy.
"For some unknown reason, it's earlier than usual—a lot earlier."
At this moment, I recalled what the Umbridge had told me regarding Oscar and the wraith inside him. Without saying anything further, I stood up from my obsidian seat and transported myself down to the physical plane. The moment I did so, my body habitually flinched when I caught sight of everyone standing in my room—even Oscar.
Ruth and Daisy watched as my form grew more physical, the illusory crimson energy gradually dissipating as my body regressed to a state of semi-normalness.
"You can grow wacky horns, and you can glow and stuff?" Ruth's jaw was slacked as she observed me.
I didn't take any time to acknowledge her words, immediately turning to Damien. The boy was clutching the hem of Daisy's shirt, his bottom lip trembling. His entire face was pale, and his lips were bordering on azure blue. Judging by the way his body was shivering profusely, he was most likely left in the cold for a while.
"Are you ok?" I immediately stood up, approaching Damien and kneeling in front of him.
The white haired boy, who was usually defiant and snarky, shook his head as a small amount of moisture accumulated in the corners of his wide, matching white eyes.
"W-why did you—"
Before he could finish his question, Oscar fell to the floor in a fit of coughing, clutching his lower abdomen as if suppressing the urge to vomit all his organs out around him. His eyes bulged uncontrollably, bordering on an extent where anyone would claim they'd pop out. His coughs emanated spasmodically, strained, and tight from his throat.
At this moment, his bulging eyes rolled back in his head, and his mouth split in a silent scream, opened to an inhuman extent. The wraith I had seen before flew out, cackling and squealing like a kid left loose in a candy store. The illusory creature, composed of dark, fibrous energy, immediately looked towards me.
Strangely, everyone in the room was hyperfixated on Oscar's form on the floor, paying no heed to the anomaly flying around the room. Just then, it hit me: they can't see the wraith because they don't possess supernatural abilities! Taking note of this, could I perform any actions without them taking me as delusional or mentally ill?
The wraith cackled as it flew in my direction, ready to consume anything along the way. I leapt back, almost tripping on one of Damien's toys and falling onto my ass.
"The hell are you doing?" I heard Ruth call out, turning away from Oscar's form on the floor.
"We got a sick friend here!"
I suddenly broke out into a cold sweat, some habitual instinct clawing at my throat. I didn't know whether I should tell them about the creature in the room or blame my movements on delusion. Before I could make an answer, everyone else in the room, except for Damien, fell to the floor and curled into balls.
I watched, my stomach dropping to my toes as their spinal cords protruded from their skin in a bloodless process, erecting towards the ceiling. Their eyes sunk into their heads, and sheets of skin covered the gaping holes. The teeth in their mouths sharpened almost to the extent of daggers, and their dirty, untrimmed fingernails also grew and sharpened, flickering in the dim lighting of the lanterns.
Seeing this, Damien's body froze in horror, but he only managed to react moments later, darting to the other end of the room and hiding under his bed. I could hear his wooden bedframe trembling just like his body was, and it made my heart ache. I wanted to comfort the boy, but I had more important things to deal with.
With an inhuman shriek, the three creatures darted out of the room, running on all fours down the halls of the medical facility. Before long, I could hear the screaming and panic echoing down the hallways, followed by an abrupt silence. Before I could even think of investigating, a surge of pain flooded my body as I fell to the floor.
I took notice of my skin rippling and liquifying, my muscles contorting and writhing like a cluster of bugs. Another shot of pain coursed through my body—adjacent to a spear being driven into the most sensitive nerves of my back just by my spine. I sank my head into the floor as tears sprinkled the corners of my eyes, threatening to spring through.
The pain in my back worsened—followed by something I could only describe as more weird than painful. The bones in my back began to shift beneath my skin, as if parting to give way to something. I let out a sharp gasp as I felt two objects protrude out of my back, semi-transparent, flapping habitually—wings? Before I could register this change, another bout of excruciating sensation focused near my ribs and sides.
The flesh and bones parted again in four different areas, giving way to something else. From these holes in my slides, insectoid limbs protruded out, spiny and clawed on the edges, but lacking hands or any human traits. My forehead burned—but it wasn't the Apocalypse sigil. A cluster of spots on my forehead erupted with pain.
At this moment, my vision fragmented with a sharp blink, and I could see countless angles of the room from this single position. I could see behind me, beside me, and under me. This sharp, surreal perspective sent an overwhelming surge of nausea through my body, making me stumble backwards and close all six of my eyes.
It didn't take a genius to guess that the effects of the Demon-Maggot Disease were finally surfacing.
Though it took a little effort, I finally opened my eyes and looked towards the door, and the ceiling, and floor beneath my feet. My other arms habitually extended, and the semi-transparent, goo-covered wings on my back flapped wildly, spilling the viscous liquid everywhere, even on my gray tunic. After recalling the reason I had to leave to begin with, I immediately darted towards the door, only to slam headfirst into the wall.
Damnit, how do bugs do this so precisely? The fangs in my mouth clicked together in annoyance as I slowly stood back up, one of my additional arms finding respite against the wall, helping me to my feet. After regaining my equilibrium, I pressed my body against the walls and narrowly shuffled out the door, still pressing my body against the wall as I made my way down the halls.
My eyes widened the moment I caught sight of the carnage staining the walls and floors. I saw a small amount of patients splayed across the floor, their chests torn open to reveal the flesh and blood underneath. Their rib cages had been split apart, allowing the creatures, which were previously my allies, to pry into them and consume their bodily organs.
Even amidst the stomach-churning sight, I clenched my eyes tightly and made my way down the corridors, trying my hardest to control all of my muscles and ensure none of my eyes would instinctively open, causing me to faint upon seeing the grizzly sight. The air around me smelt of flesh and blood, the metallic stench stinging my nose.
This sensation was even more painful then regularly, for every hair on my body seemed to be ultra-receptive to this. Is this some weird trait predominantly owned by bugs, some ability to smell and hear through the hairs on their skin? I didn't have the time to ask myself these questions, as my body fell backwards, greeting a flight of stairs that descended below.
My body tumbled backwards into the darkness, tumbling down the fight of stairs. My countless arms tried to grab onto something for respite, but to no avail. A sharp, needle-like pain coursed through my head the moment it hit the stone floor. My ears, the hairs on my skin, and my nose all buzzed, feeling like static. My head lolled to the side as I attempted to regain my sense of distance and perception, my entire body knocked ajar from the collision.
As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, a sound from within it roused me to my feet. Muffled—yet chaotic. It sounded exactly like the screams let out by those creatures after they transformed. Accompanied by this, I heard the sounds of tearing, metallic clinking, and some sort of frame straining and yelling under weights. The blackness of the room gradually shifted to something resembling gray, much like the night vision I had activated when those horns of mine were active.
The space around me was narrow, with a single door at the end of the chamber. With slow, feeble steps, and a trembling body, I approached the door and opened it. I was greeted by a room, dimly lit by a single lantern, one that lacked windows or any way for natural light to filter in. Lining the walls were numerous medical beds, equipped with leather straps and restraints.
Lying on the beds were the three creatures—Ruth, Daisy, and Oscar, all shrieking and writhing in their inhuman forms.
"I must say, you look different, Isaac." A voice sounded from the corner, cold and cynical, yet familiar. My head snapped to the left, immediately catching sight of a singular amber eye in the darkness. This figure suddenly stood up, stepping out into the dim light. Isaiah Walls, clad in medical attire and a black mask, towered over me.