The brand burned like molten iron against Aiden's chest.
Every heartbeat slammed like a blacksmith's hammer, pounding the jagged sigil deeper into his flesh. Veins crawled with black fire, shadow cracking under his skin like broken glass. And the whispers—oh, the whispers—stacked on top of each other like a demonic group chat.
"Feed. Take. Devour. All power can be yours."
Aiden stumbled forward, teeth clenched so hard he thought he'd shatter them. His lightning chains fizzled, unstable. For every spark he summoned, the brand slurped it up like boba tea.
Elias side-eyed him mid-battle, sword blazing like he owned the place.
"Not gonna lie, bro… you look like you're getting eaten alive by your own chest tattoo."
"Shut… the fuck up," Aiden wheezed.
The Judge raised its arms. Pages spun faster, a full-on hurricane of screaming manuscripts. The air reeked of burning ink and something that definitely wasn't OSHA approved.
"The Devourer's Brand will strip you bare," the Judge droned, faceless head rippling with unreadable words. "If you cannot tame it, you will not leave this bridge."
The bridge cracked violently beneath them. Rivers of ink gushed through fissures.
One page slapped itself against Aiden's arm like some cursed sticker. Words squirmed into his skin, wriggling like maggots. He screamed so loud Elias actually flinched.
"Damn it…" Elias muttered, fire sword spinning. "If you croak here, who the fuck am I supposed to compete against? The Judge? He doesn't even have a face."
Without another word, he yeeted himself into the cyclone, blade carving through pages. Each one screeched as it burned, but for every kill, three more spawned.
Aiden dragged himself upright. His lightning stuttered pathetically in his hand, like a dying phone at 2%. Every time he pulled, the brand ate twice as much.
The curse purred.
"Stop resisting. Let me eat. Let me burn them for you."
"No…" Aiden spat blood, the metallic taste sharp in his throat. His knees threatened mutiny. "Not… giving in… to some parasite."
The Judge tilted its faceless head, almost curious. Then it crooked a finger.
The cyclone birthed something worse: a humanoid figure stitched from pages, head split like an open book, every line screaming in a dozen languages.
It lurched toward him.
Elias yelled, "You can't even stand, dumbass! What are you waiting for, divine Uber Eats?!"
The monster swung a claw. Aiden barely blocked with a flicker of lightning. The blow launched him across the bridge, ribs cracking against jagged stone.
He gasped, agony ripping through his chest. The monster loomed, claw raised again.
Aiden's eyes dropped to the brand. The inked mouth widened, rows of teeth glistening. Hungry. Waiting.
"Fuck it…" he croaked. "…just this once."
He slapped his palm over the brand.
The mark screamed. Shadow and lightning exploded, colliding in a violent birth. Chains burst forth, but not golden. They were black, serrated, dripping with fangs.
They lashed out, sinking into the book monster. Pages ripped away, sucked screaming into the black lightning.
The monster shrieked as it was shredded apart, body devoured into nothing but drifting ash.
Power slammed into Aiden's veins. Hot. Violent. Addictive. He staggered upright, body trembling like he'd just mainlined pure chaos.
The whispers roared with triumph.
"YES. HUNGER. MORE."
Elias froze mid-slash, staring back. His usual smirk faltered.
"…The fuck did you just do?"
Aiden didn't answer. Couldn't. His veins glowed with writhing black lightning, storming around him like a predator. The brand pulsed on his chest, teeth sinking deeper.
The Judge's voice reverberated, approval laced with doom.
"The Devourment begins."
The bridge split further. More stitched horrors clawed free, shrieking like broken printers.
Aiden's chest heaved, equal parts ecstasy and torment. He could feel himself slipping.
Elias recovered his smirk, though his eyes were tight. "Well… at least you finally stopped being useless." He spun his flaming sword. "Try not to die before I win this trial."
Aiden's fists crackled with shadow-lightning. His glow was half divine, half abyssal.
The Third Trial wasn't just survival anymore.
It was a coin toss between salvation and self-destruction.
---
Author's Note:
⚡🔥 My boy Aiden finally snapped — gave in and let the brand eat. And holy shit, did it eat. But here's the question: did he take control… or did the curse just score its first W? 👀
What would YOU do with the Brand of Devourment? Fight it… or go full "fine, let's burn the world"?
💎 And yo — throw some fucking Power Stones at me. Every stone keeps the Judge from branding me next. Feed the Archive, fam.