Gray's heartbeat slowed, almost to a stop. Then, as if something had gripped his heart and twisted it, his pulse spiked violently. It thundered in his ears, fast and loud, as if his body was panicking on his behalf. Blood rushed out from his wounds, forming a pool beneath him. He clutched his chest, gritting his teeth. The pain was unbearable.
Then came the cracking. Bones shifted. Muscles twitched. Gray could barely breathe. His limbs jerked uncontrollably as if they were no longer his. He screamed. The sound echoed across the corrupted forest, high-pitched and broken.
Through the agony, something strange happened. His wounds began to close. At first, only the bruises faded. Then the deep gash along his side sealed before his eyes, the torn flesh knitting itself together. His broken ribs popped back into place one by one.
Gray couldn't form words anymore. His thoughts were fragmented. Pain overwhelmed logic. His vision blurred. Then, it all stopped. The pain, the shaking, the screaming.
Silence.
Gray lay still for a moment, staring at the tree canopy above. His breath slowed. A strange warmth coursed through him. He slowly stood, shaky but alive.
Beneath him, a pool of blood shimmered. In it, he saw his reflection. His chestnut hair had turned gray. His once bright eyes had dulled, becoming two empty orbs. His skin was pale. His muscles, more defined. Something was different. Wrong, even.
He raised his arm. The suit was shredded, but the wristband remained. As if responding to his thoughts, it lit up. A notification blinked onto his vision.
[ A primal force invades your body... ]
Gray narrowed his eyes.
'Primal force? Was it that seed of corruption?'
Another notification appeared.
[ Congratulations! You have ranked up! ]
He opened it immediately.
[ Name: Gray ]
[ Status: Healthy ]
[ Rank I Marked - You have been marked by the corruption. ]
[ Strain: Wither Strain ]
[ Passive Trait: Unawakened]
[ Skills: None]
[Talent: None]
[ Affinity: Unknown ]
[ Evolution Threshold: 0% ]
Gray stared at the information, breath shallow. The term was clear.
Strained. He was one of them now.
From the stories he heard growing up, the Strained weren't human anymore. They were beings twisted by the continent's madness. Sometimes gifted. Sometimes cursed. But always changed.
He dismissed the screen and picked up his sword from the dirt. Then his gaze slowly rose to meet Lyleen's.
She was still standing. Her head reattached. Her face expressionless. Her movements stiff, unnatural. But worst of all, she was walking toward Oryn.
Gray's heart clenched. He realized something.
She wasn't attacking him.
'Why? Was it because he was now one of them? Marked by corruption?'
He didn't have time to hesitate.
Gray sprinted. His legs moved with a power that felt foreign. Inhuman. The ground behind him cracked under his speed.
Four tentacles burst from Lyleen's back, writhing and twitching. One lashed out.
Gray dropped to the ground, rolled under it, and sprang up. His sword swung with precision.
Thump.
A tentacle dropped to the ground, sliced cleanly.
Lyleen paused. She turned to face him. Her eyes were hollow voids. But she was focused now. Her arms raised, and the tentacles flared outward.
Gray tightened his grip. He exhaled.
She charged. The corrupted Lyleen moved erratically, twitching with jerky motions. One of her hands gripped a rusted blade, and her mouth opened wide, letting out a low guttural screech.
Gray met her halfway.
They clashed. Blade to blade. Tentacle to flesh.
Gray twisted his body, dodging a wild swing, then countered with a fast slash. Lyleen stumbled, leaking black fluid. A tentacle stabbed toward his chest. He grabbed it with his free hand and yanked, pulling her off balance. Then he drove his sword into her shoulder.
She shrieked. Her body convulsed, but she didn't fall.
Gray pulled his sword out just in time to block another strike. Their weapons clanged. Sparks flew. The corrupted roots around them pulsed as if reacting to their fight.
Gray felt stronger than ever. But Lyleen was fast. Too fast.
She ducked under his next swing and punched him in the stomach. Hard. He staggered back. Another tentacle wrapped around his leg and flung him across the clearing.
He crashed into a tree, the bark splitting on impact. He gasped for air. His bones didn't break this time. They strained but held. He stood up.
Lyleen was coming again. Gray raised his sword.
Another memory stabbed into him.The way she had protected him before. The moment she fell.
The Territory effect echoed in his head.
"The roots remember your sins."
His sin was letting her die.
Was this punishment?
Lyleen screeched again, all trace of humanity gone. She charged.
Gray swung his blade.
They clashed once more. Gray drove his shoulder into her chest, pushing her back. He dodged her strike, then landed one of his own. But she didn't stop.
Tentacles wrapped around his arms. He struggled, tried to break free, but they held fast. Lyleen raised her rusted blade and drove it toward his heart.
Gray screamed.
Something cracked in the air.
His body pulsed.
[ Corruption Response Detected ]
[ Skill Unlocked: Severing Bloom - Your next attack explodes with stored agony.]
Without even reading it, his body on instinct used the skill.
A dark aura gathered around his blade. It vibrated in his grip.
Gray roared and twisted his body, snapping the tentacles holding him. He swung the sword, now enveloped in a haze of black mist.
The blade connected.
A sound like shattering glass echoed.
Lyleen's torso split open, corrupted matter splashing outwards in a bloom of decay. She twitched violently, then collapsed to her knees. Her face cracked and mouth still open in a silent scream.
Gray struggled to stay upright and the pain was jus too exquisite.
A smile broke through his pain. A proud smile.
Gray fell to the ground beside her. His breath ragged. And he opened his mouth
"See that? I'm not talentless. I'm not weak!" His voice was rough the taste of blood ruined the moment. But still, he felt like he had to make a point to those above him.
And as if his voice was heard. To congratulate him the purple-gray sky cleared up for but a fleeting moment.
But for someone like Gray it was enough, more than enough.
Lyleens body slowly crumbled, fading into ash and flying away. And then his vision faded to black.