[Your hunger grows]
[Time remaining: 3 days 6:48:17]
"Ughhh..."
Vincent sprawled on the ground.
Pain assaulted him. Pain from insatiable hunger.
He curled up, shaking in pain.
As if a hole had opened in his stomach, gnawing at his insides.
'It hurts! It hurts!'
His mind screamed.
'I want to eat! I'm so hungry!'
Clack!
Suddenly, his head snapped forward, cracking from the sudden movement.
His eyes locked on the corpse.
Red flashed in his eyes.
And he took a deep breath.
A sweet scent washed over him.
"Aghhhhh..."
A groan of ecstasy escaped him, his eyes turning completely red.
His canines grew, and drool dripped down his mouth.
'Smells...so delicious,'
Vincent's mind grew cloudy.
Unknowingly, the pain vanished.
But with each breath he took, his body shuddered, and his face twitched in pure satisfaction.
Swooosh!
His body jolted forward.
"NOOO!"
Thud!
He slammed face-first onto the ground.
At the last second, Vincent snapped out of it.
'Get back!'
He roared in his mind, trying to back away.
But his body didn't move an inch.
'Damn it! Get back!!'
His body refused to listen.
Terror slowly shrouded Vincent, for he felt it.
His body kept trying to reach the food while he had to resist.
Evenly matched, his body remained still.
His body turned into a battlefield.
'This feeling...I've felt it before,'
Memories surfaced in his mind.
Memories of his darkest sin.
His time as the Progenitor.
'I...will not let it happen again!!!'
His will steeled, slowly overcoming his instincts.
He had sworn.
Never to become a spectator in his own body again.
'Eat him,'
Vincent's heart trembled.
'Eat him. You are hungry.'
"Get...out of my mind!!"
He groaned out loud.
'It will solve all problems.'
"It's human flesh. I can't eat it."
But the scent coming off the corpse was sweet.
Not repulsive, but like a 5-star gourmet.
If you served it on a plate, he wouldn't be able to tell it apart.
The only thing stopping him was his rationality.
'But he is dead…'
The thought flashed briefly.
But it took root in his mind.
'You didn't kill him.'
Vincent froze.
Slowly, realization dawned on him.
'He was going to kill me.'
Unknowingly, Vincent's resistance weakened.
His body slid towards the corpse.
'No, I can't'
But his body continued moving.
'Would you waste this corpse here? For the demons to eat it? To rot away?'
His mind drowned out his thoughts of resistance.
'If I eat this...'
Possibilities flashed in Vincent's mind.
He could survive. He could protect everyone.
'You wouldn't have to worry anymore. Your troubles would be resolved.'
The inner voice continued.
'In the end, you have to consume human flesh.'
Vincent's mind wandered off to the Progenitor.
'It's just a corpse before you. If you don't eat, you'll transform into that monster. By then...'
Vincent's red eyes flashed with realization.
"I will kill the entire group."
A murmur escaped him.
Swooosh!
His heart shifted.
And body leaped forward, free.
…
The three moons hung in the sky, shining brilliantly on the rotting city.
A figure stood above a corpse, eyes shining red, arm raised into the sky.
Blood dripped down his arm.
A lump of flesh rested in the palm, grasped by blood-stained black nails.
Shlck…
Teeth tore through the flesh.
Crunch! Crunch!
The sound echoed in the silence.
Yet his hunger only grew.
He crossed the line consciously.
But once he did, he could only close his eyes and surrender to his hunger, observing as he gnawed on the corpse.
And in the distance, a pair of green eyes shone in the darkness of a half-collapsed building, hidden and observing the choice Vincent made.
…
Time passed.
Yet the figure remained hunched over the corpse.
Gnawing and munching, feasting on the delicacy.
Swoosh!
Suddenly, Vincent froze.
A status window flashed before his eyes, and he finally regained control of his body.
[Hunger satisfied]
[Time remaining: 63 days 2:07:34]
Vincent rose, looking down.
His body reverted to normal, but he could still taste the blood in his mouth.
It was now a metallic taste.
He still felt the sensations.
With each thought, his face twisted, turning into a mask of fear.
For he looked at the corpse, yet felt nothing.
The guilt never came.
"What…have I done?"
He stepped back, stumbling.
Thud!
He fell, but quickly crawled up and ran away.
A bare skeleton remained on the ground, its face the only part intact.
…
Vincent ran, wiping the blood from his mouth with his sleeve.
His body trembled.
And tears already streamed down his face.
Without stopping, he quickly reached the hospital.
No guards stood on duty.
Peter had gotten rid of them.
Vincent quietly snuck inside, then into his room, and locked the door.
He collapsed to the floor, but managed to remove his blood-stained clothes before dragging himself to the corner of the room, sitting naked.
His gaze wandered around as he fearfully examined the room.
'What have I done? What have I done?'
Vincent's heart pounded, his breath growing shallow.
Cold sweat drenched his back—overwhelming fear overshadowed everything.
A terrifying realization slowly settled within him.
…
Time unhurriedly passed.
Dawn approached.
Throughout the night, Vincent's emotions fluctuated.
But he gradually calmed down.
Swoosh!
His eyes snapped open, a faint trace of fear still lingering.
He looked at his palms.
The blood had dried on them, yet his memory was fresh.
The sensation of holding the flesh, the blood trickling down.
Thud!
Vincent grasped his heart, a teardrop silently rolling down his cheek.
'I feel nothing.'
His eyes welled up.
But before fear consumed him once again, he got up and headed to the bathroom.
A simple hospital layout: a shower in the corner, a toilet, and a faucet with a mirror.
Vincent turned the water on.
The generators worked, and their water supply was intact so they could use water.
Vincent washed his hands, red water pouring into the sink.
The blood was coming off.
Splash!
He splashed cold water onto his face, staring in the mirror as he supported himself on the sink.
An overgrown beard, overgrown hair messily tied back into a ponytail, dark bags, scars all over his body.
Despite being in his mid-twenties, he looked decades older.
"What have I done?"
He muttered, staring at the barely familiar reflection in the mirror.
He bent and splashed more water on his face, pulling it up to his hair.
Thud!
His rubber band fell into the sink, his hair becoming undone, covering his vision.
Yet Vincent didn't care.
"What did I justify?"
He stared at the mirror, now his face barely visible, only his eyes.
"I justified eating another man!"
A mocking smile spread across his face.
CRASH!
His fist drove into the mirror.
Blood trickled down his fist.
"To what extent am I capable of going?!"
Yet no reply.
Only countless reflections stared back at him from the fragments of the shattered mirror.
But deep down, Vincent himself didn't know.
And that's what he feared.
He realized if the circumstances were grave enough, he could justify almost anything.
"I'm losing control of myself."
Vincent's eyes flashed with anger and determination.
He had to do something.
'I won't kill another human, only if they specifically endanger my life.'
Vincent set a mental rule.
"And I must not let myself fall into a situation where I'll be pushed into a corner."
He knew it was in those situations he could justify almost anything.
Swoosh!
A status window flashed before his eyes.
"I must deal with this then."
[Main Quest: Level-Up Apocalypse]
[Requirements:]
[100 corpses] - [0/100]
[10 awakened corpses] - [0/10]
[1000 iron ores] - [0/1000]
[Reward: (Zombie Virus Level Up)]
[Penalty for failure: Death]
[Time Limit: 16days 1:57:43]