Adrian looked at his hands, four of them to be precise in confusion. Even though he was fully aware that he has been Corrupted, it was still difficult to come to terms with it. So he did not. He looked at his azure skin with contempt, but he knew he had to do something drastic in order to survive. His power as a Commonality was not enough to defeat an Ontological Glitch, not even close.
So he became Corrupted and frenzied with bloodlust. He became an Azure Beast.
He did not like being one though, so he did not accept it. He rejected the nature of the abomination with all his willpower. There was nothing he could do about his new nature though, but he knew there was some way the system would be able to intervene. It is supposed to be against Corruption after all, even though it was still bore the stench of the Void. And he was right.
The Weave did intervene.
He felt something deep inside the core of his being change, as if responding to his desires and fears. He feared being a lonesome abomination, and desired to be free from Corrupted. Even though the latter was impossible, the former was fixable. Shortly after his silent plea to the Weave, he felt his body change in a strange and alien way. His muscles rearranged, and he could feel his two extra arms growing limb. It was so painful that he crouched helplessly on the ground.
A loud growl escaped his beastial maw, and slowly, the gowl turned to a low groan. He heard his voice again. That momentarily distracted him from the pain, which was a good thing. He had never felt so elated since arriving to the desolate island. Even though they were a little bit stretched and torn, his clothes still hung from his battered body. It seemed that transforming had taken a huge toll on his body, all while consuming large torrents of his Essence. That was okay though.
He opened his human eyes again, and looked around. He was beyond glad to be able to see again. Facing an Ontological Glitch on a unfamiliar environment, blind on top of that was a situation he did not wish upon his enemies. Especially newly awakened Commonalities like him. He was not exactly a newly awakened, but it was still too early for him to face a creature like that.
His body was battered and hurting all over, so he soothed the pain and healed himself. There were also two gaping holes where the two additional arms had been, so he healed them as well. It made sense really, a human body was built to withstand so many arms, it it simply registered them as wounds. He mended all the broken bones and the hollow wounds he must have obtained from the battle with the Remnant of the Demon Queen.
'Remnant of the Demon Queen...'
He stood up and walked towards the corpse of the creature, his body slowly mending itself in the process. He looked down at the corpse and frowned. From the looks of it, he must have tore through the abdomen of the abomination after being swallowed by it. He did not remember any of that, unsurprisingly though. The last thing he remembered was listening to the Noise, on the way to the creature's stomach. He shuddered just thinking about everything he saw.
There was also something else he vaguely remembered. The Weave announced not one, but two kills, which could only mean one thing. The abomination was pregnant, and he killed its unborn baby. Even though they were still Chaos Creatures that wrecked havoc in the Sacred Sanctuary, he still felt horrible for what he had done. He felt guilty for some reason he could not understand. He did not understand if he felt horrible because he never liked the idea of killing children, even if they were Corrupted or creatures of Chaos.
Or it was he felt certain kinship to the creatures because of his new nature. His Corrupted one that is.
He sat down on a large rock beside him, and looked down the mountain with a distant expression. He listened to the roaring Skysea in the distance, and watched as dozens of creatures approach him, tracing the scent of blood. At least they were not after him because that only meant trouble. Even if they were, he would be able to use the dead creature as a diversion.
Before he could get up to leave, he heard the familiar voice of the Weave inside his head:
[You have acquired a new Ability: Transformation]
#
"Luke, what exactly are you doing here?"
Luke looked at his brother in confusion.
"What do you mean Jake? I live here, remember? Being a Gentry is really getting into your head."
Jake looked at him with a somber expression.
"You do not belong here Luke, what are you doing here? Are you dead?"
"You know, you should never joke like that dude. Why would I be dead, how even?! I am right here am not?"
Jake did not say anything after that, seemingly no longer interested in the conversation. The shift was so sudden and noticeable it was as if Jake had completely forgotten about it. He probably had been considering that was not the first time he has said something like that to Luke.
Yes it is true, Luke had sensed that something was wrong ever since their mother baked them that banana bread a week ago. He probably started feeling unsettled long before that, since his awakening most likely. He shrugged it off and just thought it was the effect of being a Commonality, you just view the world differently than mundane humans.
But he started doubted that was the case.
Everything around him seemed wrong. Even the existence of his family seemed...wrong. Everytime he attempted to summon the Weave system, something would interrupt him, as if the world itself was convincing him otherwise. He also never heard the Noise, and had no idea why. Luke was not a genius, but he was smart enough to realize that something around him was wrong.
At first, he thought that maybe one of his brothers had succumbed to the Noise, and thus to Corruption. But he quickly dismissed that strange idea. Neither his family nor himself seemed to be one of the Corrupted, so it was something else. Something his mind refused to fathom, literally. Everytime he thought about the strange reality he was living in, his mind drifted somewhere else.
And that was bound to happen sooner or later.
"Luke! Stop daydreaming you will be late for the Academy. On a Monday no less. Truly distasteful on your part."
Luke cursed out loud and packed all of his materials in his backpack. He needed to be fully ready and concentrated, especially because it was a Monday. So he cleared his mind of all unnecessary thoughts and dashed towards the door. His brothers were Gentries and so they were much faster than ordinary Commonalities, as such they never worried about being late.
He waved at his brother and sprinted out of the door, oblivious to the conversation that transpired a moment ago.
#
Lenny felt something scratch his cheek, which was now swollen with blood. He swinged his fist foward, and felt it connect with a jaw. The creature stumbled and fell to the floor. He dislocated the knee of one creature with his foot, all while wrecked havoc inside the ribs of another. The girl protected his back admirably as well.
He wondered if the beauty was doing okay, but he had no time to check on her. He had a lot on his plate as well. And besides, she had a weapon and he did not. That was a considerable advantage in the battle they were fighting. She did not need to outright kill the creatures, she could just immobilize them and move on.
Lenny was a child of war, and so he was different from the rest of them.
After long seconds of fighting though through the horde of endless abominations, he finally found the Mind, and it was not at all what he was expecting. If he was honest with himself, he did not know exactly what he was expecting, he never really thought about it. He had heard before, powerful awakened talking about The Hive and its Mind, but no one really went in depth into what it looked like.
The Mind was a single creature, taller and visibly more powerful than the rest. It was about half a meter taller than Lenny, with lean muscles and two obsidian horns. The creature's eyes burned with murdererous fury, but Lenny was not really having it. He was tired, beaten, battered and still extremely hungry. He had no time to face another creature in combat.
And so he did not.
He twisted his torso and bend his body backwards, he grabbed the girl by the waist and pulled her towards him. He had practiced that move for a long time, and had finally perfected it. He snatched the azure dagger from her hand, while simultaneously shielding her with his strong arm. His arm flashed and the dagger in his hand became a blur.
With one swift motion, he slit the throat of the Mind creature and sent it plummeting towards the crimson floor. He heard the familiar voice of the Weave in his head.
[You have slain an Ontological Glitch, the Fallen Hive.]
[You have received an Item: Mind Blade.]