Jay and Nathan stood frozen in place, the absence of the demon corpses unsettling enough. Neither of them spoke for a moment, too caught up in the unease slowly wrapping around them like a cold mist.
Then, they heard it.
A noise. Wet. Muffled. Sloppy.
It came from beneath the bridge.
Without a word, the two ran toward the sound, driven by a mixture of fear and the need for answers. As they approached the shadows under the bridge, the smell hit them first—thick and foul, like rotting meat simmering in sewage.
Then they saw it.
And both of them stopped dead in their tracks.
A monstrous creature loomed in the darkness, half-hidden in shadow but unmistakable in form. It was massive—easily three times the size of the demons they had just fought. Its body resembled that of a grotesque caterpillar, only it wasn't covered in hair or armor.
It was made entirely of rotten flesh.
Patches of skin peeled away, revealing pulsing veins and sinew underneath. Chunks of meat dangled from its sides like melting wax. And it was moving—slowly undulating forward with a sickening squelch, dragging itself over what remained of the blood-soaked ground.
The smell grew worse with each second. Nathan gagged. Jay clutched his stomach.
"What… the fuck is that?" Jay gasped.
The creature let out a gurgling hiss, its body pulsating unnaturally. It was feeding—absorbing.
Jay and Nathan watched, horrified, as the demon leaned over the spot where one of the previous monsters had fallen. Its fleshy tendrils wrapped around invisible matter, and then—like magic or madness—flesh began to reappear from the air, slowly reconstructing the missing body.
Only to be swallowed by the abomination.
It didn't chew. It didn't tear.
It absorbed.
The body dissolved into the creature, like water into dry sand. Muscles folded inward, bones cracked, and all of it merged with the mass.
Jay took a step back, his eyes wide. "That… that's the second one."
Nathan didn't respond. He was too focused, jaw clenched, trying to keep his stomach in place.
Then came the last body.
The caterpillar-like demon reached the spot where they had executed their final kill, and repeated the process. Once again, from thin air, the corpse returned—only to be consumed completely. Sinew melted into the creature. Bones vanished inside.
Then it stopped.
And the real horror began.
The thing paused, its bloated body twitching violently. Bubbles of pus burst across its surface. Bone fragments pushed outward through the skin, only to be sucked back in. Flesh churned as if it were boiling from within.
Then it screamed.
A high-pitched, unnatural cry echoed through the air, causing Jay and Nathan to drop to one knee, clutching their ears. The very air seemed to tremble.
"Make it stop…" Jay groaned.
But the scream did stop.
Only to be replaced by transformation.
The creature convulsed, folding in on itself. Bones extended and retracted like spikes from beneath its hide. Flesh twisted and tore, reforming and rearranging with each pulse. It was like watching a grotesque rebirth—one that defied every rule of nature and sanity.
It didn't grow limbs. It didn't form a head.
It folded into a pulsing, fleshy orb.
Like an egg.
An egg made of meat.
Jay staggered backward and vomited.
Again.
Nathan, who had been trying to hold himself together, finally lost it too. He turned and threw up beside Jay, retching loudly as the sight overwhelmed him.
The stench was unbearable. The visuals were worse.
This was no longer just a monster.
This was something unnatural. Something forbidden.
An egg of horror.
A silence followed, broken only by the low, wet thrum of the pulsing flesh.
Jay wiped his mouth, his face pale. "I'm not fighting that thing."
Nathan, still recovering, nodded rapidly. "No. Hell no."
They looked at each other, then at the thing.
And deep in their guts, they knew:
Whatever was inside that egg… it wasn't going to be easier than the demons they had just killed.
Jay and Nathan slowly backed away from the pulsating mass of flesh. The smell still lingered in their noses, thick and oily, as if it had latched onto their skin. Their bodies were tense, instincts screaming danger, but their minds were racing in different directions.
Jay wiped the last bit of vomit from his mouth with the back of his hand. "We can't just leave," he muttered, still keeping his eyes locked on the egg-like abomination. "That thing just ate three demons. Who knows how strong it's gonna be when it hatches?"
Nathan took a deep breath and spat to the side, face still pale. "Exactly. Which is why we need to get the hell out of here and report this to the Association. This is way above our level, man."
Jay turned to him sharply. "So what? We just let someone else take the credit? Do you know how many levels we could gain if we kill whatever's in there?"
Nathan gave him a look of disbelief. "Credit? Jay, are you hearing yourself? That thing made us puke just by existing! And you think it's a good idea to fight it just to level up?"
"I'm not saying it'll be easy," Jay said, voice low but intense. "But we've come this far. We already killed three demons. I'm level 7 now, and your shadow powers are evolving fast. This is exactly the kind of challenge we need to grow even more."
Nathan shook his head. "You're not thinking straight. This isn't like the others. That thing… it's different. It doesn't even move like the others. It absorbed their corpses, Jay. Not ate—absorbed. Like some kind of parasite."
Jay frowned, glancing back at the pulsing mass. The egg had begun to emit a faint red glow, the veins across its surface glowing like molten metal.
"We don't know what the Association will do," he said, less sure now. "Maybe they'll just nuke the place and we'll lose our chance."
"Good!" Nathan shouted. "Let them nuke it! That thing isn't something you level up on. It's something you avoid, or you die trying."
Jay paused. For once, he didn't have a retort.
Nathan sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Jay, I get it. You want power. You want to get stronger fast. But dying here doesn't help anyone. You've got your sister, your grandpa… Think about them."
Jay clenched his fists, struggling. He looked back at the egg. It had begun twitching more violently now, the flesh rippling and contracting.
He could feel it—something was about to happen.
"I just…" he muttered, voice quiet. "I can't keep waiting for luck. This system gave me a chance to climb. I can't afford to stay weak."
Nathan softened his tone. "I know. I feel the same. But strength without caution is just suicide."
They stood there, facing the grotesque orb of pulsating meat, the air thick with tension and blood. Neither spoke for a few moments, both caught in the gravity of the decision.
Then—
CRACK.
The sound made both of them jump.
A fracture had appeared across the surface of the flesh-egg. A jagged, glowing line of red split the mass open like a wound.
CRACK—CRACK—CRACK.
Dozens of fractures followed. The egg began to pulse faster, like a heart pushed into overdrive. Blood oozed from the cracks. Pieces of bone jutted out violently, then retracted again like claws teasing freedom.
Jay took an involuntary step back. "It's hatching."
Nathan's breath caught in his throat. "We're too late…"
Suddenly—
BOOM.
The egg exploded, sending shards of meat, bone, and black sludge flying in all directions.
The two friends shielded themselves, diving behind debris as chunks of the grotesque shell rained down like the aftermath of a biological bomb.
Silence followed.
Then…
Something began breathing in the darkness.
Something that was not human.
And it was awake.