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Eldritch Horror? No, I'm A Doctor
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The bloody mist hung in the air for a moment, suspended in defiance of gravity.
Then it began to move.
Not drifting. Not dispersing. Moving with purpose, with intent, as if each droplet of blood and fragment of flesh remembered what it had been and refused to accept destruction.
The mist condensed, pulling inward, gathering mass. It swirled faster and faster, creating a vortex in the center of the grafting room. The Eternal Flame flickered beneath it, its strange colors reflecting off the coalescing blood.
Something was forming.
The process was grotesque. Muscle fibers wove themselves from nothing. Bones materialized out of vapor. Organs assembled piece by piece, connecting to each other with wet, organic sounds that echoed off the concrete walls.
But this wasn't Ren's original body being rebuilt.
This was something new.
The figure that emerged from the bloody mist stood tall, naked, its form both familiar and alien. The body was humanoid, lean and muscular, with proportions that were just slightly off in ways that suggested something other than human.
But the most striking feature was the face.
Or rather, the lack of one.
Where a face should have been, there was instead a smooth white mask. Not worn over the face, but embedded beneath the skin itself, visible through translucent flesh. The mask was featureless except for two eye holes and a vertical line down the center, like a mouth that had been sewn shut.
The skin covering the body was black. Not dark brown, not tanned, but pure black, the color of midnight, the color of void. It seemed to absorb light rather than reflect it.
And from the back, ten tentacles erupted. Each one was bright blood-red, thick as a person's arm, writhing and coiling in the air. They were covered in what looked like exposed muscle tissue, veins visible along their length, pulsing with each beat of the figure's heart.
The figure stood there for a moment, perfectly still.
Then its eyes snapped open behind the mask.
Ren took a breath. His first breath in this new form. The air tasted different. Cleaner. Sharper. Every sensation was amplified, hyperreal, as if his nervous system had been rebuilt with additional sensory inputs.
He looked down at his hands. Black skin. White mask visible beneath the translucent flesh of his palms. Red tentacles writhing behind him.
He looked like the cover of a novel like look exactly the same. Like something that crawled out of cosmic nightmares.
He looked perfect.
A laugh bubbled up from his chest, growing louder and louder until it filled the entire room.
"SIT THE FUCK DOWN, SKIN GOD!" Ren's voice was different now, deeper, with harmonics that shouldn't be possible with human vocal cords.
"SIT DOWN! YOUR POWER IS MINE!"
He looked down at the Tome of the Skin God lying on the floor, its pages now blank, all knowledge extracted and consumed.
And then, because he was still Ren Hector at his core, he squatted over the book and began T-bagging it repeatedly.
"How you like that?! Huh?! Cosmic entity my ass! I just survived your bullshit ritual! I just stole your power! Who's pathetic now?!"
Congratulations on surviving the Ritual of the Skin Apostle. You are now officially the most annoying person to ever walk this path.
Ren stopped mid-squat and grinned.
"Aww, System. Did you miss me while I was busy exploding into a blood mist?"
I was preparing your obituary. It was going to be very touching.
"What would it have said?"
'Here lies Ren Hector. He died as he lived: making terrible decisions and screaming about it.'
"That's beautiful. I'm tearing up."
You don't have tear ducts anymore. Your biology is completely different now.
"Then I'm metaphorically tearing up."
That's not how metaphors work.
"It is now. I'm a Skin Apostle. I decide how metaphors work."
That's not how being a Skin Apostle works either.
Ren laughed and stood up, his red tentacles coiling around him like a living cloak.
"So. What did I get? What's my new power?"
Are you sure you want to know? It might be too complicated for your current mental state.
"My current mental state is 'just survived being burned alive for twelve hours and achieved cosmic enlightenment.' I think I can handle some skill descriptions."
Fine. Displaying Skin Apostle abilities.
A notification appeared in Ren's vision.
Skin Apostle
Core Skill 1: Dual White Mask Existence
Type: Passive | Category: Existence Transformation
The user no longer has a biological true body.
The user exists as two White Masks:
Primary MaskSecondary Mask
Both masks are:
SentientSelf-movingParasitic entities
Both masks share:
One soulOne consciousness
Destruction rules apply to the masks, not to the bodies they use.
Life, Death, and Second Life Rule
If at least one mask exists, the user remains aliveIf both masks are destroyed, the user dies permanentlyNo revival or resurrection is possible after total destruction
Second Life Effect If one mask is destroyed while the other still exists:
The user's consciousness and soul immediately transferTransfer destination:The body currently hosting the remaining maskOr the remaining mask itself if it is unhostedControl resumes instantlyNo memory lossNo downtime
This transfer functions as a second life, not a resurrection.
Unhosted Mask State When not attached to a body, each mask:
Moves independently in an insect-like mannerCan crawl, cling, leap short distances, and hideHas basic environmental perceptionIs physically weakCombat capability is below low-rank monstersCannot use skills or abilities
The masks rely on stealth, timing, and positioning.
Core Skill 2: Face Assimilation
Type: Active | Target: Living creature
Attach either White Mask to the target's face.
Assimilation Condition The mask must remain attached for 10 uninterrupted seconds.
During this time:
The target remains aliveThe target is fully awareThe mask can be forcibly removedNo control is granted before completion
Completion Effect After 10 seconds:
The target dies instantlyThe soul is expelled or erasedThe body becomes an empty huskThe mask embeds beneath the facial skin permanentlyControl of the body becomes absolute
Husk Function When using a husk body:
Full motor controlNo pain responseNo emotional resistanceBody is recognized as alive by external systemsCommands are executed instantly
Ability Retention While using any husk or avatar body:
The user keeps all personal abilitiesThe body keeps all physical, learned, and system-based abilitiesNo conflict, rejection, or degradation occursAll abilities can be used simultaneously
Core Skill 3: Avatar Authority Type: Passive/Active | Category: Avatar Creation and Control
The Secondary Mask functions as the user's avatar core.
Avatar Creation
The Secondary Mask must complete Face AssimilationThe resulting body becomes a sentient avatarThe avatar:Has willRetains personality traitsRetains memories of the original bodyThe original soul is removed; remaining traits are residual cognitive data
Only one sentient avatar may exist at a time.
Avatar Control Modes
Direct ControlUser transfers full consciousness into the avatarAvatar becomes the main bodyAny other body becomes inert or automatedShared ControlConsciousness is partially sharedUser and avatar perceive togetherAvatar acts semi-independently under guidanceCommand ModeAvatar acts autonomouslyUser issues direct or high-level ordersAvatar uses its personality and memories to execute ordersAvatar cannot disobey or betray the user
Avatar Capabilities Can speak, plan, and react independently.
Can use:
All abilities of the original bodyAll abilities of the user
Counts as a full body for:
CombatSocial interactionRitual executionLife anchoring
Ren stared at the display, his eyes moving over each section.
"System," he said quietly. "This is actually insane."
I know. You're welcome.
"So I'm not actually in this body right now. I'm in a mask. And this body is just a vessel."
Correct. Your current body is a husk animated by the Primary Mask. Your true existence is the mask itself.
"And I have a second mask in my inventory."
The Secondary Mask. You can deploy it at any time.
"And if someone destroys this body, I don't die. I just lose the body."
Correct. As long as one mask exists, you survive.
"And I can steal bodies and gain their abilities on top of my own."
Correct.
"And I can create a sentient avatar using the Secondary Mask that acts independently but can't betray me."
Correct.
Ren stood there, processing everything. Then he looked down at the Tome of the Skin God again.
"This is the most broken power set I've ever seen."
You survived a ritual with a 3% survival rate. You burned alive for twelve hours and achieved enlightenment about the nature of identity. You earned it.
Ren looked down at his new body. Black skin. White mask. Red tentacles. Completely naked.
"I need clothes."
Your Umbral Gentleman attire is in your inventory. Though it might not fit your new proportions.
Ren pulled the coat from his inventory. It materialized in his hands, and to his surprise, it immediately began to shift and reshape itself. The fabric flowed like liquid, adjusting to his new body, wrapping around him perfectly.
The plague doctor mask appeared as well, but when he tried to put it on, it simply merged with the white mask already embedded in his face. The plague doctor aesthetic overlaid the featureless white surface, giving him the familiar beaked appearance.
"Huh. That's convenient."
The Umbral Gentleman attire is a soul-bound item. It adapts to your true form, whatever that form may be.
Ren looked at himself in the reflection of a metal surgical tray. A figure in black clothing with a plague doctor mask, ten red tentacles writhing behind him, black skin visible at his wrists and neck where the coat didn't cover.
"I look like a final boss."
You look like a walking HR violation.
"Same thing."
"Wait shit, Do I still have a dick"
Ren hurriedly look at his jewel
Phew it still there
So childish system chime in
Ren walked toward the door of the grafting room. His new body moved differently. Smoother. More precise. Every movement was exactly as efficient as it needed to be, no wasted energy.
He opened the door and stepped into the hallway.
The clinic was too quiet. There should have been ambient sound. The hum of fluorescent lights. The distant sound of traffic from outside.
But there was nothing. Just silence.
And in that silence, Ren heard voices coming from the operating room where he'd left Adrian.