Daemon's Tier 2 senses mapped the entire estate in his mind. Fifteen guards. Viktor in the main hall with three of his closest men. Servants scattering to avoid the search. And somewhere above, Vivienne moving calmly through the manor, her emotional signature steady despite the chaos.
She knew he'd been discovered. Through their new bond, she could feel his danger. But she was playing her part perfectly—the concerned wife, asking what the commotion was about, showing no signs of betrayal.
Daemon (telepathic to Vivienne):Stay calm. Act normal. I'll get out.
Vivienne:Be careful. Viktor has had combat training. Don't underestimate him.
The guards were getting closer. Daemon heard their boots on marble, their swords scraping against scabbards as they drew weapons.
He had seconds to decide.
The corruption whispered its dark suggestions:
Corruption: 19%Whisper: You have Mind Whisper now. Turn the guards against each other. Make them see enemies in their own shadows. Watch them tear each other apart while you walk free.
Whisper: Or use your Corruption Aura. Amplify their base fears and desires until they're useless. Make them run. Make them hide. Show them what real terror feels like.
Whisper: You're Tier 2. They're nothing. You could kill them all if you wanted to.
The last suggestion sent a chill through Daemon. Kill them? Could he do that?
His old self—the one from two weeks ago—would have said no. Would have been horrified at the thought.
But his current self, standing in the shadows with golden runes glowing beneath his shirt and power humming in his veins, found the idea... possible.
He could kill them. He had the power now.
But should he?
[CRITICAL DECISION POINT]Choose approach:
1. VIOLENT PATH - Kill/injure guards to escape
Corruption: +10-15% Guaranteed escape Establishes reputation as dangerous Crosses moral line May traumatize partners through bonds
2. MANIPULATION PATH - Use Mind Whisper and Corruption Aura
Corruption: +5-8% Good escape chance Establishes reputation as unnatural/frightening Maintains non-lethal approach Partners will accept more easily
3. STEALTH PATH - Use new abilities to slip away undetected
Corruption: +0-2% Moderate escape chance Maintains low profile May be caught and forced to fight anyway Safest morally
4. CONFRONTATION PATH - Face Viktor directly
Corruption: +3-8% (depends on actions) High risk Maximum psychological impact Could end threat permanently or escalate danger Most dramatic
Daemon's hand moved to the small knife at his belt—the only weapon he carried. Against fifteen armed guards, it was useless for traditional combat.
But with his new abilities?
He made his choice: Manipulation with the option to escalate if necessary.
His Corruption Aura spread outward like invisible fog, touching the minds of everyone nearby. The passive effect was subtle—making people more susceptible to fear, to desire, to their basest instincts.
Then he activated Mind Whisper, targeting the nearest guard.
You're alone. Everyone has abandoned you. They've left you to face the monster alone. Run. Run now.
The guard's emotional signature spiked with terror. He looked around, saw his fellow guards still approaching, but the whisper made him feel isolated. Made him certain that if he stayed, he would die alone.
He ran.
The other guards shouted after him in confusion. "Garrett! Where are you—"
Daemon whispered to the next one: Your wife is with another man right now. You can see it. Feel it. She never loved you. She's laughing at you.
That guard's face twisted with sudden, irrational fury. He turned and shoved the man beside him. "You bastard—you've been with her, haven't you? I've seen how you look at her!"
"What? Are you insane?" The shoved guard pushed back, and suddenly two of Viktor's men were grappling with each other while the others tried to separate them.
Daemon moved while they were distracted, slipping past them through a side corridor. But more guards appeared ahead—a patrol coming to investigate the noise.
He ducked into a storage room, pressing himself against the wall. The guards passed within feet of him, but his Corruption Aura made them uncomfortable, made them want to leave this corridor quickly. They hurried past without checking the room.
Corruption: 19% → 22%Note: Mind manipulation, even non-violent, increases corruption steadily
Through his bond with Maya and Sera, he felt their distress. They could sense what he was doing—feel the dark edge of his powers being used.
Maya (telepathic):Daemon, what are you doing? I can feel... something wrong...
Sera:You're scaring me. Your emotions feel different. Cold.
Daemon:I'm escaping. Using what I have to. I'm fine.
But he wasn't fine. He could feel the corruption working on him, making these choices easier. Making the suffering of his enemies seem justified. Making their fear seem satisfying.
He needed to get out before he crossed a line he couldn't uncross.
Daemon made his way toward the servant's exit—the one he'd entered through. Almost there. Almost free.
Then Viktor's voice echoed through the halls, magically amplified:
"Daemon Vorst. I know you're here. I know you've somehow survived. But running and hiding?" Viktor's laugh was cruel. "Is that what you've become? A coward skulking in shadows?"
Daemon froze.
"I killed your father, you know." Viktor's voice was conversational, intimate, as if they were alone together. "Oh, everyone thinks it was natural causes. Heart failure. But I poisoned him slowly over months. Watched him waste away. And he never suspected his own brother."
Daemon's hands clenched into fists. The runes on his arms blazed gold beneath his sleeves.
"And your mother—she knew, I think. At the end. That's why she drank herself to death. Not grief. Guilt. She knew she'd married her husband's killer and couldn't live with it."
Rage building. Corruption responding. Dangerous threshold approaching.
"So come face me, nephew. Let's settle this like men instead of you sneaking around my house like a rat. Unless you're too much of a coward?"
It was bait. Obvious bait. Viktor was trying to provoke him into doing something stupid.
But the corruption wanted him to take it. Wanted him to confront Viktor. Wanted violence and revenge and blood.
Corruption: 22%Whisper: He murdered your father. Your mother. He tried to murder you. He deserves death. You have the power now. Use it. Make him pay. Make him BEG.
Whisper: And you can. Your new abilities make you stronger, faster. Your Aura will terrify him. Your Mind Whisper can break his will. You could make him kneel. Make him confess. Make him suffer as your parents suffered.
Daemon's breathing was heavy. The servant's exit was right there. Twenty feet away. Freedom.
Or he could turn around. Face Viktor. End this now.
[CRITICAL CHOICE]Partners weighing in through bonds:
Maya:Don't do it. This is what he wants. He's trying to control you. Get out. We'll plan properly. We'll make him pay when we're ready.
Sera:Whatever you choose, I support you. But please... please don't become a monster to fight monsters.
Vivienne:He's baiting you. But... gods, Daemon, he admitted to murder. If you have evidence of this conversation, if you can make him confess publicly... that's worth more than violence.
Evidence.
Daemon's mind cleared slightly. He was in an estate full of servants. Some loyal to Viktor, but others resentful, scared, just trying to survive. And Viktor had just confessed to fratricide through magically amplified speech that everyone could hear.
Witnesses.
"You're right, uncle," Daemon called out, not showing himself but projecting his voice. "You did kill my father. And everyone in this estate just heard you admit it."
Silence.
Then Viktor's forced laugh. "And who would believe servants? Peasants with no credibility?"
"Lady Vivienne would believe them. Your wife heard you. And she has credibility." Daemon smiled in the darkness. "How do you think the other nobles will react when your wife testifies that you confessed to murdering your own brother?"
Through his bond, he felt Vivienne's fierce satisfaction. She'd been standing in the right place, and everyone had seen her hear Viktor's words.
"You know what the penalty is for kinslaying, uncle? Even for nobles?" Daemon continued. "Execution. Public execution. The Church is very clear on that."
More silence. Viktor was realizing his mistake.
"So here's what's going to happen," Daemon said, moving toward the exit even as he spoke. "I'm going to leave. You're going to let me. Because if you don't, if anything happens to me, your wife will go to the authorities with what she heard. And you'll hang."
"Vivienne would never—"
"Your wife despises you," Daemon said flatly. "Did you really think she didn't know about your mistress? About the girl you keep in the west quarter? Vivienne knows everything. And she's been waiting for a reason to destroy you. I just gave her one."
He was at the exit now. The door was unguarded—all the guards had been pulled to the search.
"So thank you, uncle. For the confession. For the witnesses. For making this easier than I'd hoped." Daemon opened the door. "I'll see you soon. At your trial."
He stepped out into the garden, then ran.
Behind him, he heard Viktor roaring orders, guards scrambling. But he'd already activated his Enhanced Stamina, pushing his Tier 2 body to speeds no normal human could match.
He was over the estate wall and into the forest before they even got the gates opened.
Thirty Minutes Later - Maya's Cabin
Daemon burst through the door to find Maya and Sera waiting anxiously. The moment they saw him, both women rushed forward.
"Thank the gods," Sera breathed, throwing her arms around him. "We felt you in danger, felt your emotions going dark—"
"I'm fine," Daemon assured them, hugging them both. "I got out. No one hurt."
"But you used your corruption abilities," Maya said, studying his face. "I could feel it through the bond. The manipulation. The fear you caused."
"I did what I had to." Daemon met her eyes. "And I'd do it again."
Corruption: 22%
No further increase - violence avoided, clever solution found
Maya nodded slowly. "You're changing. We can all feel it. You're becoming... harder. Colder."
"I'm becoming what I need to be to survive." Daemon pulled away from them, pacing. "Viktor admitted to murdering my father. Everyone heard it. Vivienne is going to use that against him. This is good. This is progress."
"At what cost?" Sera asked quietly. "I felt what you did to those guards. I felt your satisfaction when they suffered. That's not who you were."
"Maybe that's not who I was," Daemon said, his voice sharp. "But it's who I'm becoming. And if you can't accept that—"
He stopped. Took a breath. Through his bonds, he could feel their hurt at his tone.
"I'm sorry," he said more gently. "This is hard for me too. I can feel myself changing, and I don't like all of it. But I need you both to trust that I'm not going to lose myself completely. You keep me grounded. You keep me human."
"Do we?" Maya asked. "Or do we just make you feel better about the darkness?"
It was a brutal question, and Daemon didn't have a good answer.
Before he could respond, he felt a new presence approaching through the forest. His Desire Sense identified it immediately.
Vivienne.
"She's coming here," he said. "She must have slipped away once the chaos started."
A minute later, Vivienne arrived, slightly disheveled from her hurried walk but composed. She took in the cabin, then the two other women, her sharp mind clearly assessing the situation.
"So these are your other partners," she said. No jealousy in her tone, just observation. "The healer and the barmaid. Maya and Sera."
"Vivienne," Maya acknowledged coolly. "I'd say welcome, but this is an unexpected visit."
"I need to speak with Daemon. About what happened." Vivienne's eyes found his. "Viktor is furious. Paranoid. He's convinced you have some kind of demonic power—the guards who saw you described feeling unnatural fear. He's called for Church Inquisitors."
Daemon's blood ran cold. "Inquisitors?"
"They hunt witches, warlocks, and System Bearers," Maya explained to Sera. "They're trained to resist mental manipulation and detect supernatural abilities. If they come here..."
"They'll find you immediately," Vivienne finished. "Your runes. Your aura. Everything about you screams 'system user' to someone who knows what to look for."
[MAJOR THREAT ESCALATION]Church Inquisitors: Elite hunter unitResistance to mental abilities: HighCombat capability: Extreme
Detection abilities: Will sense Daemon within milesEstimated arrival: 3-5 days
"Then we need to leave," Sera said. "Go somewhere they can't find us."
"Or we need to finish this before they arrive," Daemon countered. "Strike at Viktor now, while he's vulnerable. Use his confession against him. Ruin him publicly before the Inquisitors show up."
"That's insane," Maya said. "We're not ready for that kind of confrontation."
"Then when will we be ready?" Daemon's frustration boiled over. "I'm Tier 2 now. I have power. I have allies. I have Viktor's wife on my side and evidence of his crimes. When is a better time?"
"When you have more control," Maya said firmly. "More partners to support you. More cultivation to strengthen you. Daemon, you're at forty-two points toward Tier 3. You need five hundred. You're barely started."
"And how long will that take? Weeks? Months? While Viktor hunts me and Inquisitors close in?" Daemon shook his head. "No. We act now."
Corruption: 22% → 23%Note: Impatience and aggression increasing with corruption
Vivienne stepped forward. "There might be a middle path. Viktor is hosting a gathering tomorrow night. Minor nobles, merchants, political allies. It's a show of strength—proof that he's still in control despite the rumors about his nephew's return."
"You want me to attack him there? In front of witnesses?"
"No. I want you to ruin him there." Vivienne's smile was cold. "If you could somehow make him confess again, publicly, in front of people who matter... people he needs to maintain his power... his credibility would be destroyed. His allies would abandon him. And the Church would have to act on his confession rather than on rumors about you."
"How would I make him confess?" Daemon asked.
"With your abilities. Your manipulation. I've felt what you can do—the whispers, the aura, the way you make people feel things." Vivienne met his eyes. "Could you make Viktor confess to murder in front of fifty nobles?"
Daemon considered his Mind Whisper ability. It was subtle—he couldn't force someone to do something completely against their nature. But if Viktor already felt guilty, already had the confession lurking in his mind...
"Maybe," he said slowly. "If I can get close enough. If I can push on his guilt and paranoia. If everything goes perfectly."
"Then it's worth trying," Vivienne said. "Because if you succeed, you win without violence. Viktor is arrested by the Church for kinslaying, not for harboring supernatural enemies. You're seen as the wronged nephew seeking justice, not as a dangerous system bearer."
It was a good plan. Risky, but good.
"What about the Inquisitors?" Sera asked.
"If Viktor is arrested for murder, his request for Inquisitors loses credibility," Maya said thoughtfully. "They might come anyway to investigate, but without Viktor's sponsorship and political backing, they have less authority. We'd have more time."
Daemon felt all three women watching him through their bonds. Waiting for his decision.
[MAJOR DECISION POINT]
OPTION A: Accept Vivienne's plan
Risk: High Reward: Destroy Viktor's credibility without violence Corruption: +2-5% (manipulation in public) Timeline: 1 day to prepare
OPTION B: Wait and build more power first
Risk: Inquisitors arrive Reward: Stronger when conflict comes Corruption: +0% Timeline: Weeks/months
OPTION C: Strike directly at Viktor now
Risk: Extreme Reward: Immediate resolution Corruption: +10-15% (likely violence) Timeline: Tonight
OPTION D: Flee the region entirely
Risk: Abandoning revenge Reward: Safety Corruption: -5% (choosing humanity over vengeance) Timeline: Immediate
"We do Vivienne's plan," Daemon decided. "Tomorrow night. We ruin him in front of everyone he knows."
Corruption: 23% (no change - calculated risk without immediate moral compromise)
"Then we have one day to prepare," Maya said. "Daemon needs to practice his Mind Whisper ability. Test its limits. Understand exactly what he can and can't make Viktor do."
"I can help with that," Vivienne offered. "I know Viktor intimately. His weaknesses, his guilt, what buttons to push."
"And we need a backup plan," Sera added. "If the manipulation doesn't work, if something goes wrong."
"The backup plan is we run," Daemon said. "If I can't make him confess publicly, we get out before things escalate. But I think I can do this. I can feel my power now. It's... significant."
He flexed his hand, and golden light traced the runes on his skin. His Tier 2 body hummed with energy. His corruption abilities whispered seductive possibilities.
He was becoming something dangerous. Something powerful.
The question was: would he still be himself when this was over?
"Tomorrow night, then," Maya said. "We plan. We prepare. And we destroy Viktor Vorst without becoming monsters ourselves."
"Agreed," Daemon said.
But through their bonds, all three women felt his uncertainty. Felt the corruption whispering in his mind. Felt him walking a knife's edge between justice and vengeance, between power and monstrosity.
And none of them knew which way he would ultimately fall.
Later That Night
Daemon lay in bed between Maya and Sera, unable to sleep. Vivienne had returned to the estate to maintain her cover, though he could feel her through their bond—awake, planning, already gathering information for tomorrow.
"I'm scared," Sera whispered in the darkness. "Not of Viktor. Of what you're becoming."
"So am I," Daemon admitted.
"Then stop," Maya said from his other side. "Choose differently. Walk away from this revenge."
"I can't."
"You mean you won't."
"Same thing." Daemon stared at the ceiling. "My father was murdered. My mother driven to suicide. I was beaten and left to die. And you want me to just... what? Forgive? Forget?"
"I want you to survive," Maya said. "To stay human. Revenge is consuming you from the inside. The corruption isn't just a percentage on your status screen—it's real. It's changing who you are."
"Maybe I need to change. Maybe the person I was would never have been strong enough to survive."
"Or maybe the person you're becoming won't survive because he won't have anything worth living for," Sera said quietly. "Revenge and power aren't enough, Daemon. We learned that today. We felt your coldness. Your satisfaction at others' suffering. That's not you. That's the corruption."
Daemon wanted to argue. But they were right. He'd felt it too—the dark pleasure when the guards panicked. The satisfaction when Viktor made his mistake. The growing certainty that violence was not just acceptable but deserved.
He was changing. And not all of it was for the better.
"Help me," he said finally. "Tomorrow night. During the plan. If you feel me going too far, stop me. Pull me back."
"We will," Maya promised.
"Always," Sera agreed.
They held him as he finally drifted toward sleep, their bonds a lifeline keeping him tethered to his humanity.
In his dreams, he saw himself in two versions: one who destroyed Viktor and became a monster, and one who walked away and remained weak.
Neither felt like victory.