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Chapter 2 - I became a what?

I tried to pull it off again, twisting, clawing at my skin till it turned red, but the damn thing didn't even move. It was like it had melted into the bone, welded straight into me. Panic shot through my chest, but the ring only pulsed, slow and steady, like it was laughing at me.

"Then again what the fuck is this host system?" I muttered, gripping the counter so hard my knuckles cracked.

My eyes burned. "What the fuck do you want from me?" I hissed. The counter under my palms felt like it was tilting. The words flashed again in front of my eyes, neat and calm like they were mocking me.

[HOST SYSTEM STABLE]

[COMPATIBILITY: 100%]

[ADAPTATION: 23%]

I stumbled back, hit the fridge with my shoulder. "Stop. Just stop."

But instead of stopping the text shifted, scrolling down like an invisible screen.

[QUERY DETECTED: "WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS HOST SYSTEM"]

[ANSWER: A TOOL. A GATEWAY. A CONTRACT]

[PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: SATISFACTION OF CUSTOMERS.]

The words hung there. Collect experiences. Fulfill desires. My stomach turned.

"I didn't sign up for this," I whispered.

[CONTRACT SEALED UPON WEARING THE RING]

[REVERSAL: NOT POSSIBLE]

The glow flared, brighter now, heat rushing up my arm into my chest, lower into my gut. My knees went weak. It wasn't just pain anymore; there was something else under it, a buzz deep in my skin, almost like electricity but softer, hotter, like a slow burn sliding down my spine. I gasped and clutched the edge of the counter, forehead against the cold tile.

"What the hell…"

[INITIALIZING ENHANCEMENTS]

[MOOD SCAN: ACTIVE]

[PHYSICAL STATE: OPTIMIZED]

[LIBIDO MODULE: ONLINE]

That last one hit me like a punch. My pulse kicked hard, heat coiling low in my stomach, sharp enough to make me double over. I squeezed my eyes shut and swore under my breath but the system kept going.

[MISSION AVAILABLE]

[LOCATION: ECLIPSE NIGHTCLUB]

[TARGET: MADAM LAMIA]

[STATUS: PENDING]

The card on the counter vibrated against the wood, soft at first, then harder, like a phone ringing. The silver letters glowed brighter. The ring pulsed again, slow and deep, in time with my heart.

I stared at it, my chest still heaving. "Madam Lamia…" I muttered. The name tasted strange in my mouth. I didn't even know her but the sound of it sent a shiver down my spine.

The system threw one last line across my vision before fading:

[COME]

I stood there, the kitchen suddenly too small, too quiet. The air smelled faintly of metal and my own sweat. My hands shook but my legs moved anyway. Hood up, card in my pocket, the ring burning against my finger like a brand.

Whatever this was, it wasn't letting go of me.

The card was still glowing faint against my chest when I slipped it back into my pocket. I pulled my hood up and pushed out the door, steps dragging heavy against the sidewalk. The city was alive but it felt like I was moving through another world, cut off from the laughter, from the taxis honking, from the smell of food carts frying meat I couldn't afford. My stomach cramped but there was nothing I could do. Pockets empty, just a couple coins that wouldn't even get me bus fare. So I walked.

It wasn't close. The address was deep in the city, past all the spots I knew, and every block stretched longer than the last. Shoes wet from old rain, hoodie damp, breath fogging in the cold air. My legs burned but I kept going because the card kept pulling at me, hot like a magnet against my chest. The ring pulsed slower now, steadier, like it was guiding me step after step.

Hours blurred. My thoughts frayed at the edges. Every time I blinked, purple light danced behind my eyelids. At first I thought it was just exhaustion but then the system's voice slid back into my head, calm as ever.

[ADAPTATION: 67%]

[HOST INTEGRATION: STABLE]

I clenched my fists. "Stop whispering in my head…"

But the numbers kept climbing the further I walked. 72%. 85%. My body started feeling different—lighter, stronger, like the ache in my calves didn't matter anymore. The cold didn't bite as hard. My breath didn't hitch. Something was shifting under my skin, deeper than bone.

By the time I reached the edge of the district where neon lights spilled like blood across the streets, my chest squeezed tight.

[ADAPTATION: 100%]

The glow behind my eyes flared so hard I stumbled, clutching a wall, heart hammering. Then the words rolled across my vision, sharper than before.

[ADAPTATION COMPLETE]

[SYSTEM: GOING OFFLINE]

[UPGRADE APPLIED – ADDITIONAL FEATURE GRANTED]

I tried to speak but the air caught in my throat. The text didn't wait.

[NEW FEATURE: SELF-ASSESSMENT]

[ACCESSING HOST PROFILE…]

The world tilted. My vision split, part of me seeing the dark street, part of me staring at glowing lines of text that burned like fire into my skull.

———

[PROFILE]

Name: Noah Cross

Age: 24

Race: Incubus

Skills:

➤ Mood Scan

➤ Relationship Tracker

➤ Libido Optimization

➤ Self-Assessment

———

I froze. The word stared back at me, big and cruel. Incubus.

My mouth went dry. "No. No, that's… that's not me…"

The text didn't answer.

"Hey! What the fuck does that mean?" I shouted, voice cracking into the night. But there was nothing—no flicker, no response. The system went quiet, like it had dropped me cold after burning its message into my brain.

I stood there, chest heaving, sweat rolling down my temples even in the cold night air. My hands shook as I pressed them against the wall, trying to steady myself.

Incubus.

The word echoed in my skull. My legs moved again before my head caught up, dragging me further down the glowing street. The closer I got to the nightclub, the hotter the ring burned, steady, like a drumbeat dragging me toward something I wasn't ready for.

The music reached me before the building did, low and heavy, vibrating through the pavement. My eyes lifted, and there it was—Eclipse, black doors gleaming under the red neon, the crowd gathered outside moving like shadows. My chest tightened as I stepped forward.

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