I was still gasping, my body burning from the installation of the Profane Midnight Body. The air in the room reeked of iron, ozone, and the faint tang of blood. The shadows beneath the bed and curtains writhed restlessly, as if alive, awaiting my command.
"Is this… mine?" I whispered, watching as one shadow twisted across the floor, answering to the rhythm of my breath.
A creak of wood made me whirl around.
The door to the room opened slowly. A castle maid, a young girl with wide, fearful eyes, entered carrying a silver tray.
"Lady Nyx, your—"
Her voice cut off. The tray clattered to the ground with a metallic crash. Water spilled from the glass, spreading in ripples across the stone floor.
I realized how I must look: standing before the mirror, eyes ablaze—one violet streaked with silver sparks, the other crimson, throbbing like a living ember—my sharpened horns glowing with a cursed scarlet light, dark veins pulsing beneath my skin.
The girl stepped back, trembling."Mo-Monster…!" she stammered, before turning to flee.
"Wait!"
I didn't think. It was pure instinct. I stretched out my hand, and the room's shadows leapt forward. Like living tentacles, they burst from the floor and coiled around her legs, dragging her down with a choked scream.
"N-no! Please!" she cried, clawing at the ground as the shadows bound her in place.
My heartbeat quickened. I didn't want to hurt her, yet the power responded too easily, like instinct made flesh. My right eye burned brighter, and a searing hunger rose up my throat. The sound of her heartbeat, the pulse of blood in her veins, thundered in my ears.
I could smell it. I could taste it without even touching her.
"Stop… stop…" I murmured, clutching my head.
< Warning: Eternal Hunger intensifies. >
The system's voice reverberated in my mind, but it did nothing to stop me. The choice was mine alone.
The girl sobbed, trapped. I could end her life, feed, test this newfound strength. A single gesture was all it would take.
But with titanic effort, I clenched my eyes shut and forced my will upon the shadows."Release her!"
The power obeyed reluctantly. The dark tentacles unraveled into smoke, setting the maid free. She scrambled to her feet and fled the room without looking back.
The door remained ajar, her hurried footsteps echoing down the castle halls.
I collapsed onto the bed, trembling."Gods… I almost…"
My tongue slid across my dry lips. The hunger was still there, alive, demanding more.
And for the first time, I truly understood:I was no longer just Nyx.I was a monster.
A monster who could choose—to devour, or to control.