[Lower Cavern System - Following the Path]
The bioluminescent moss grew thicker as Vorn descended, creating pools of blue-green light that revealed more of the cavern's structure. This wasn't random cave formation - someone had carved passages here, smoothed walls, created a deliberate path deeper underground.
His silk-enhanced movement made the journey feel effortless. Anchor points that would have challenged a normal climber became simple swinging posts. His enhanced grip let him traverse surfaces that should have been impossible.
Near a collapsed section of tunnel, something glinted in the moss light. Vorn investigated and found a leather journal, weathered but readable.
He opened it to the final entry:
'Day 47 in the sealed zone. Found the temple. Massive structure, carved into living rock. The mana density is overwhelming. Something's alive down there.
Warning to whoever finds this - don't trust the temple. Don't speak to whatever's inside. It corrupts everything it touches. The slime... it offered me power, partnership, freedom. All lies.
I barely escaped. If you're reading this, turn back now.'
Vorn studied the handwriting. Desperate, rushed, written by someone genuinely terrified.
He closed the journal and tossed it aside.
"This guy was human," he said to the empty cavern. "Certainty, I'm not."
His body pulsed with mana that felt alien compared to normal transcendent energy. The silk production, enhanced grip, changed nervous system - whatever the spider had injected was still transforming him.
He continued deeper.
---
[The Temple Approach]
The passage opened into a vast chamber that defied the cavern's natural architecture. Carved directly into the stone was a temple that belonged in ancient civilizations, not hidden underground.
Massive columns supported a ceiling lost in darkness. Symbols covered every surface, pulsing faintly with their own light. The craftsmanship was perfect - not hewn by tools, but shaped by a master craftsman.
No doors. Just an entrance that yawned open like a mouth.
The mana density tripled as he approached. His enhanced senses cataloged the environment automatically - temperature, humidity, air pressure, electromagnetic fields. Everything was wrong. This space existed outside normal physical laws.
He stepped inside.
The symbols immediately brightened, responding to his presence. The air itself felt alive, pressing against his skin with awareness that tracked his movements.
"Impressive," he said aloud, his voice echoing strangely in the space.
Something shifted in the darkness above.
---
[First Contact]
A mass of black liquid dripped from the ceiling, pooling on the floor before reshaping itself into a floating orb. A single eye opened in its center, studying Vorn with obvious intelligence.
Vorn prepared for combat, silk production ready, muscles tensed for enhanced movement.
"Nonono," the slime said, its voice echoing from everywhere at once. "Calm down. We can be reasonable here."
Vorn didn't relax, but he didn't attack either. "You can talk."
"I can do many things. The question is whether you're smart enough to listen."
The slime shifted, becoming more solid, more defined. Not quite humanoid, but approaching it.
"I've been here too long," it continued. "Centuries, maybe longer, time moves strangely in places like this. I want out."
"Then leave."
"I'm bound here, ancient contracts, magical barriers, the usual imprisonment nonsense. But you..." The eye focused on him intently. "You're changing. Not fully human anymore, but not monster either. You're my way out."
Vorn considered this. Monster contracts were rare, requiring specific taming classes and massive power differentials. He had neither the class nor the overwhelming strength usually needed.
"I'm not a tamer," he said.
"I don't need a tamer. I need a partner. Someone who can carry me beyond these barriers."
"And what do I get?"
The slime's form brightened with what might have been excitement. "Let me show you."
---
The chamber filled with movement. From the walls, the floor, the ceiling - black liquid emerged and began taking shape.
First came a flame slime, roughly humanoid but crackling with internal fire. Heat radiated from its form, and when it moved, it left glowing footprints on the stone.
Next, a shadow slime that seemed to absorb light around it. Vorn's enhanced senses could barely track its position - it existed in the spaces between perception.
Finally, a crystal slime that rang like a bell when it moved. Its surface reflected the temple's symbols in complex patterns that hurt to look at directly.
"Absorbed souls," the original slime explained. "Every creature that dies here, I can claim, convert, improve, these three have been with me the longest."
The soldiers moved with precision that spoke of intelligence, not just instinct. They were individuals, not simple constructs.
"How many?" Vorn asked.
"Currently? Dozens, with proper feeding and time? Hundreds."
Vorn studied the demonstration. The power was impressive, but power without control was useless. And something about the slime's eagerness made him suspicious.
"What's the catch?" he asked.
The slime hesitated for the first time. "I'll need to live... close to you. In your shadow, technically. Direct connection."
"Possession."
"Partnership! I serve, you command. I just need freedom from this place."
---
[The Negotiation]
Vorn walked around the chamber, examining the symbols, the architecture, the slime soldiers. They tracked his movement but didn't react aggressively. Disciplined.
"You've been here centuries," he said. "Alone, trapped, tesperate."
"I wouldn't say desperate-"
"You just offered to become my shadow slave for a chance at freedom. That's an act of desperation."
The slime's form flickered with what might have been anger, but it controlled itself.
"Fine, yes, i'm desperate. This place is a prison, and I'm tired of being contained. But that doesn't make my offer worthless."
Vorn stopped walking and faced the creature directly. "Here's what I think. You're powerful, but you're also predictable. You've been alone so long you'd accept almost any terms for companionship and freedom."
"That's not-"
"Which means I can set the terms however I want."
The chamber fell silent except for the soft sounds of the slime soldiers moving restlessly.
"What are you saying?" the slime asked carefully.
"I'll consider your offer. But only under specific conditions."
Vorn's voice took on the tone he'd used during his systematic training - clinical, analytical, completely certain.
"First - total authority. Not partnership, not cooperation. You obey, no exceptions, no arguments, no independent decisions that affect me."
"That's... harsh."
"Second - complete transparency. I know what you're thinking, planning, wanting at all times. No secrets."
"Reasonable, but-"
"Third - you prove your value continuously. The moment you become more burden than benefit, the contract ends."
The slime was quiet for a long moment. Its soldiers had stopped moving entirely, waiting for their master's decision.
"And in return?" it asked.
"Freedom from this place. Purpose beyond sitting in a cave for centuries. And..." Vorn smiled slightly. "The chance to see what kind of war we can start."
---
[The Pact]
The slime considered his terms. Around them, the temple symbols pulsed brighter, responding to the mana tension between the two beings.
"You drive a hard bargain for someone who's outnumbered fifty to one," the slime finally said.
"I'm also your only way out. And you know it."
Another pause. Then: "Fine, total authority. Complete transparency. Continuous proof of value, done."
The contract formed not through system prompts, but through direct mana resonance. Vorn felt the connection establish itself - not in his mind, but in his shadow. The slime's presence settled there like a new organ he'd never had before.
"Command me," the slime said from within his shadow.
"Show me your soldiers, all of them."
The chamber filled with movement. Dozens of slime creatures emerged from hidden spaces - some humanoid, others abstract, all radiating power that felt different from normal dungeon monsters.
But as they formed, something changed. The flame slime's features shifted, becoming more defined, more familiar. The shadow slime's outline clarified into a recognizable shape.
They looked like him.
Not exactly - each retained characteristics from their original forms. The flame slime had burn scars across its face. The crystal slime's skin reflected light strangely. But the basic structure, the build, the way they moved - all borrowed from their new master.
"They take traits from their absorbed souls," the slime explained from his shadow. "And from whoever commands them."
Vorn studied his reflection army. Each face was familiar but different - like looking at versions of himself that had lived different lives, made different choices.
"Useful," he said finally.
The temple pulsed once, then went quiet. Whatever ancient bindings had held the slime here were dissolved. The contract was complete.
Vorn turned toward the passage that would lead him back to the surface, his shadow trailing behind him - alive, watching, waiting for orders.
"Let's go see what the world thinks of us," he said.
Behind him, the slime soldiers dissolved back into liquid and flowed into his shadow, ready to emerge when needed.
The real test would come when he returned to a world that thought he was still human.