The world around me thrummed like it was alive.
Stone walls that should've been still instead pulsed faintly, as if veins ran beneath the surface. My boots scraped against the jagged floor, but the sound echoed too long—like the dungeon itself was holding onto the noise, tasting it.
[HP: 68%][Stamina: 52%][Corruption Level: Rising]
The last words burned in my vision. That corruption bar had started appearing ever since I absorbed the second aberration, the one with that grotesque centipede maw. At first it had flickered faintly, like a glitch. Now it sat there constant, mocking me. Each time I drew power from the things I killed, it climbed higher.
I exhaled, pressing my palm against the wall. It was faintly warm. Too warm for stone. Like it was flesh trying to disguise itself as rock.
"Don't lose yourself," I muttered. "Not yet. Not here."
But my voice cracked when I said it.
I followed the tunnel until it opened into a cavern that seemed to breathe. That was the only word for it—breathe. The ceiling swelled slightly, contracting in a rhythm that made my chest tighten. The air carried a wet, coppery tang that coated my tongue.
Something stirred at the center.
At first it looked like a pile of limbs stitched together, discarded in a heap. Then it twitched, convulsed, and began dragging itself upright. Skin sloughed off in ribbons, wet muscle flexing where bone jutted through.
A whisper coiled in the back of my mind.
Feed.
My own voice answered it, unbidden: I know.
[Enemy Detected: Fleshrend Husk – Tier Unknown]
The Husk let out a wet, hollow scream and charged.
I didn't think—I moved. My dagger sliced across its shoulder, but instead of tearing flesh, the blade lodged in something tough, like leather stretched too thin. The creature twisted, its elbow slamming into my ribs. Pain shot through me.
[HP: 61%]
I staggered but didn't retreat. Instinct took over. The hunger inside me flared and I let it. My hand shot forward, plunging past the creature's broken ribs into its chest. Hot fluid surged around my arm. I didn't search for a heart—I devoured.
[Skill Activated: Consume][Corruption +7%]
The Husk spasmed. My veins lit with fire as strength bled into me. The creature sagged, empty, collapsing into a twitching carcass.
I ripped my arm free, chest heaving. Black sludge clung to my skin before sinking in, disappearing like it had always belonged there.
[HP: Restored to 75%][New Ability Unlocked: Fleshknit – Regeneration passive acquired.]
I laughed. It was short, sharp, ugly. My body was literally stitching itself back together before my eyes. Cuts along my forearm sealed into pale scars.
But then the HUD burned again.
[Corruption: 43%]
The number jumped faster now.
And for a second—just a second—I thought I heard voices whispering behind my ears.
The cavern's far wall rippled. A section peeled open like a wound, revealing another passage. The dungeon was leading me somewhere, shaping my path. I should've been terrified, but instead, my blood thrummed with restless energy.
I stepped forward.
The passage narrowed until I had to crouch, my breath scraping against the walls. Then it spat me out into a chamber drenched in a sickly red glow. At the center was a figure—human.
No. Not human. Not anymore.
She looked like a girl at first glance, pale skin stretched taut across sharp bones. Her eyes glowed faintly blue, hair floating as if underwater. Strips of metal fused with her arms and collarbone, veins darkened beneath her skin. She wasn't like the Husk. She was… deliberate.
When her gaze snapped to mine, something in my chest lurched.
"You're… like me," she whispered.
Her voice wasn't broken, wasn't monstrous. It was clear.
I took a step closer, blade lowered but ready. "What are you?"
Her lips twitched into something between a smile and a snarl. "A survivor. Same as you. But not for long."
Her body convulsed. Metal along her spine split open and black tendrils lashed outward, rooting into the floor.
[Boss Encounter Initiated: The Bound One]
The HUD screamed warnings, but I didn't hesitate. I lunged forward.
The fight blurred into instinct. Her tendrils whipped through the air, gouging trenches in stone. I dodged, rolled, countered with slashes that barely grazed her shifting body. Every hit I landed regenerated instantly, the wounds sealing shut with sparks of unnatural light.
"You can't kill me," she hissed. Her voice doubled, layered with something deeper. "Not unless you embrace it. The hunger."
The words sliced deeper than her strikes. Because part of me knew she was right.
My dagger clattered to the floor. My hands shook. I could feel the hunger boiling beneath my skin, demanding release.
And then the decision snapped into place.
"Fine," I growled. "Then I'll stop pretending."
I let it in.
[Skill Surge: Consume Overdrive Unlocked][Corruption +15%]
My body twisted. My vision split, colors bleeding together. Claws tore from my fingertips, jagged and slick. My teeth sharpened. Pain became fire, fire became clarity.
I slammed into her, ripping through the metal plating along her ribs. She screamed—not in pain, but in recognition.
"Yes!" she shrieked. "Yes, that's it! You're becoming—"
I silenced her with a final plunge, tearing into the core beating beneath her chest. Energy exploded outward, knocking us both to the ground.
When the light faded, she was gone. Only a scorched mark remained.
I fell to my knees, chest heaving. My hands shook violently, claws retracting back into pale fingers.
[Boss Defeated: The Bound One][Ability Absorbed: Tendril Lash][Corruption: 61%]
The number froze me. Sixty-one. Past halfway.
I pressed my forehead to the stone, trembling. My voice came out hoarse.
"How much longer… before I'm gone?"
But the dungeon didn't answer. Only my HUD did—its letters burning brighter than ever.
[Warning: Corruption Threshold Approaching]
And still, despite the dread curdling in my stomach, a smile tugged at my lips.
Because I wasn't weak anymore.
I was becoming something far worse.