The tunnel narrowed as Ren descended, the stone walls closing in like ribs from some titanic corpse. His tentacles brushed against carvings older than language—spirals, eyes, open mouths—each one pulsing faintly as if remembering him.
As if recognizing him.
As if welcoming him back.
The Abyss purred.
Y̶̯̾ő̸͇u̶̩̅ ̵̣̀g̴̨͛r̵̯̿ǫ̸̈́w̷̥͗.̸̗̇
G̸͉̈́o̷̬͊ỏ̶͕d̸̺̐.
Ren ignored it—
—or tried to.
But its presence pressed against his thoughts like a hand on the back of his skull, guiding him downward. The water thickened with silt and a metallic tang. Something died here recently. Many somethings.
His tentacles brushed bone fragments littering the ground. Jagged. Fresh.
A mother's corpse floated near the entrance—a massive crustacean, its abdomen torn open. Its egg sac was shredded. The water reeked of fetal ichor.
Ren recoiled instinctively, drifting back—
And a wet vibration echoed from deeper inside.
A heartbeat.
Not his.
Something moved.
Something big.
Something hungry.
He slid forward, cautious. But the Abyss chuckled—low, delighted.
Ñ̵͉o̷̞̓ ̶̩̍m̵͉̈́o̵̹̍r̸̢̓e̶̡̐ ̵̳̎ḧ̷̳́e̷̢̎s̶̺̏ỉ̵͔t̵͔̉ä̷̜t̶̼̚ǐ̶̯ö̴̩́ṅ̸͚.
Ÿ̸̨́o̵̡͑u̸̬̔ ̸̭̓w̵̳͊i̸̩̎l̵̦̽l̵̟̂ ̷̛̭f̸̈́ͅe̵͙̐ẻ̵͓d̴͙̎.̶͎̃
"I won't be your puppet," Ren whispered—not with sound, but with thought.
The Abyss answered with a cold caress.
Y̷̖͠o̸̤͂u̶̲̎ ̵̰͒ẁ̴̭e̶̯͆r̴̯͗e̷̝̽ ̸̢̌m̸̫̅y̸̯̒ ̴̹̌p̷̌ͅu̶̯͋p̷̫̉p̶̞͆ë̴̠́t̶͒ͅ ̸͑͜l̴͚̍o̶̤͝n̴͍͑g̸̟̑ ̵̼̏b̸̢̄e̵̹͠f̷͈̀o̸̳̍r̴͇̓ė̴̤ ̵̤̈y̶̪̍ỏ̴̭u̶̗͌ ̸͚͗k̷̙̉n̸̡͗è̷̳w̸͖͛.̶̰̉
Ren didn't answer.
Because ahead, the cavern opened.
And he saw it.
The Black Womb Beast
It clung to the cavern ceiling—a pulsing, bloated mass of flesh shaped like a swollen cocoon. Dozens of black tendrils connected it to the stone. Below it lay a pool of thick crimson fluid. Dead hatchlings floated inside, half-formed, dissolved.
The Womb Beast's surface quivered.
A slit peeled open.
An eye stared down at him—round, lidless, pupilless.
A soft gurgling echoed through the chamber.
The eye dilated.
The Womb Beast recognized prey.
Ren froze.
Its tendrils snapped downward like spears.
He dodged, twisting sharply. The stone shattered where he had been a heartbeat ago. More tendrils sliced through the water, moving too fast for something so massive.
One clipped him.
Pain flared—raw, electric—across his flank as black ichor leaked from the wound.
Ren hissed.
The Beast shuddered in delight.
S̷̰̚m̷̺͠e̵̥͘l̸̢͌l̵̞͝ ̴̘́ô̴̢f̵̥͐ ̸̩̽n̵̻̕ě̶̮w̸͇͋ ̶̠̍b̷̬̽l̵̦͑o̴̝͗o̸͖͝d̷̨̈́…
The Abyss hissed approvingly.
F̷̫̄i̸̺͑g̸̢̕ḧ̸̙ṱ̸̍.̶̮̂
Ḻ̵̌e̷̺͑a̸̤͋r̵̞̈́ṅ̸̠ ̷̗͐o̷̟̎r̷̛͙ ̶̺̒d̵̟̈́i̵̤͘ê̸̻.̴̫̿
Ren lunged.
Not because he wanted to.
Because instinct dragged him forward like a hooked chain.
His tentacles lashed, slicing at the tendrils. Black fluid sprayed as they severed. The cavern shook as the Beast recoiled, shrieking in a voice like boiling tar.
Its wounds pulsed—
Then sealed.
Regenerating.
Ren's minds raced.
Weakness… where?
The eye.
The womb.
The underside.
He darted upward.
The Beast roared, the water vibrating as a psychic shockwave slammed into him. For a moment he wasn't in the cavern—he was back in the submersible—
Metal screaming.
Water filling his lungs.
The crushing black swallowing him whole—
"ENOUGH!"
His voice wasn't human.
It vibrated the water.
It cracked some of the Beast's tendrils.
The Abyss went silent… then giggled.
S̴̝̽ȯ̶̱m̷̻̈́e̶̳̕t̶̲̿ȟ̸̲i̸̻̓n̷̢̈g̵̤̕ ̵̻͌ś̵̪l̷̳̽e̴̗͠e̶̿͜p̶̦̈s̸̝̕ ̵̧̕ỉ̶͕n̸̼̔s̵͆͜i̷̛͍d̸̠͂e̴̦͠ ̵̥̓y̴̳̍o̸̝͝u̴̼͗…
Ren didn't have time to ask what it meant.
The Beast lunged.
Its maw tore open beneath the womb—rows of needle-teeth spiraling inward.
A swirling vortex of blood and amniotic fluid erupted from its throat, dragging Ren toward it.
He forced mana—pure instinct—into his limbs.
> [Mana Threading Instinct Activated]
A faint shimmer danced across his tentacles as mana threads formed—thin as hair, sharp as wire.
Ren slashed.
The threads carved through the maw, splitting the flesh into strips. The Beast convulsed violently.
Its eye bulged.
Ren drove himself forward, stabbing his beak into the pupil.
The Beast screamed—
A psychic wail—
A mother mourning every dead offspring at once.
He pushed harder.
Twisting.
Tearing.
The eye burst.
Black fluid exploded in a cloud of rot.
The Beast thrashed, tendrils going wild, smashing stone pillars, cracking the ceiling—but Ren clung to its collapsing flesh, ripping deeper into the brain-like mass hidden behind the eye.
He devoured it.
Warm mana surged into him like a flood.
Screams.
Visions.
Thousands of unborn minds crying out as they dissolved inside the womb.
And then—
Silence.
The Beast sagged, collapsing into the pool below with a wet, final thud.
[Predatory Assimilation Complete.]
[Skill Obtained — Flesh Pulse Regeneration]
[Skill Obtained — Brood Sense]
The Abyss hummed with pleasure.
Y̷͙̋ō̴̰ṳ̵͐ ̵͎͑t̴̻̽ạ̵̃s̵̻̋t̸͕͠ĕ̴̡ ̷̭́o̸̟͆f̴͉̾ ď̵͈ȯ̷̩m̴͕̽i̶͎͒n̵͌͜a̸̺̾t̶͔̀ĭ̵̤o̸̱̕n̴̲̽.
G̵̝͗ö̷̙́ȍ̵̼d̴̼̐.̷̗͠
Ren shivered in the cooling blood, floating above the dead Beast.
He wasn't sure if he was shaking from exhaustion.
Or exhilaration.
His old self felt… far away.
A memory surfaced—unbidden, sharp.
Sitting in the submersible.
Notebook open.
Laughing with his colleague—
Mira.
"If we find anything down there, Ren, you owe me dinner."
"Deal. As long as you're paying the tip."
The memory burned.
Then faded.
Replaced by the taste of flesh.
Ren stared at his reflection in a fragment of shattered shell.
Black eyes.
Rows of faint bioluminescent markings pulsing along his limbs.
A creature built for the deep.
He whispered to himself:
"What am I becoming…?"
The Abyss answered with a smile he could feel but not see.
W̸̱͌h̶̥͝a̸̯͝ẗ̸̪́ y̸̘̋o̶͕̎u̵̦̔ ̵̖̈́w̴̩̏e̴̟̓r̵̬̉ȅ̴̩ ̴̼̎m̴̼͐e̵̡̾a̷̘̔n̴̡̆t̷̬̉ ̵̤̄t̸̮͛o̷̦̾ ̴͇̚b̷̖̋ȩ̶̚.̸̱̚