"Hunger wasn't a feeling anymore… it was a command."
Silence didn't last.
It never did.
Ryuzen tried to stand.
His body refused.
Not from weakness—
From mismatch.
His leg moved.
But not the way it should.
Click.
His knee bent—
Too far.
"…What…?"
He froze.
Slowly—
He pushed himself up again.
This time—
His weight shifted forward.
Onto the balls of his feet.
Like something ready to pounce.
"…No… that's not—"
Click. Click.
His joints answered him.
Not smoothly.
Sharply.
Like something assembling itself wrong.
"My body…"
His spine tightened.
No—
It coiled.
Like a spring pulled to its limit.
Every movement felt—
Delayed.
Then too fast.
Like his body was trying to catch up to something it couldn't fully understand.
A flicker returned.
[ ASSIMILATION STABILIZING… ]
[ MOTOR FUNCTIONS: 40% SYNCED ]
"…Stop…"
He pressed his head.
"…Get out of my—"
A sound cut through the darkness.
Skrrr… skrrr… skrrr…
Not one.
Many.
The darkness shifted.
But this time—
It didn't hide them.
It revealed them.
Shapes crawled across the walls.
Low.
Fast.
Too many legs.
Crawler Prowlers.
Blind.
Hungry.
Their heads twitched—
Sniffing.
They smelled it.
Blood.
The Stalker's blood.
On him.
"…Come then…"
The words slipped out.
Wrong.
Too calm.
Too empty.
They lunged.
All at once.
Ryuzen moved—
No.
He reacted.
"I wasn't thinking…"
His arm shot forward—
Then—
Twitched.
Changed.
A straight thrust.
Sharp.
Precise.
Like a blade.
His hand pierced through a Prowler's throat.
CRACK—
His shoulder dislocated instantly.
"…!"
Pain didn't stop him.
It didn't even register.
"I was… translating death."
He ripped his arm free.
Blood sprayed.
Another leapt—
Claws aimed for his face.
Time fractured.
Again.
Red.
Everything—
Red.
"…Why…"
His head tilted slightly.
"…are you so slow?"
The creature hung in the air.
Suspended.
Pathetic.
Ryuzen raised his hand—
And caught it.
By the jaw.
He didn't look at it.
Didn't need to.
His grip tightened.
CRUNCH.
Bone shattered.
The body dropped.
Lifeless.
"…Pathetic."
His voice—
Was different.
Lower.
Something vibrating beneath it.
More came.
He didn't stop.
Couldn't stop.
His broken shoulder hung loose—
But his other arm moved faster.
Wild.
Jagged.
Wrong.
Clawing.
Tearing.
Piercing.
Blood covered him.
Warm.
Thick.
"The copper taste…"
It hit his tongue.
"…is the only thing that feels real…"
The last Prowler tried to flee.
It didn't get far.
Ryuzen was already there.
Faster than he remembered moving.
Faster than he should move.
He tore it apart.
Piece.
By piece.
Silence returned.
But not peace.
Never peace.
He stood in the middle of it.
Bodies.
Everywhere.
Black.
Twisted.
Broken.
His breathing slowed.
Then—
Stopped.
A flicker.
[ NEW TRAIT ACQUIRED: ??? ]
[ STATUS: EVOLVING ]
"…What now…?"
Then—
It hit.
Not pain.
Overload.
The world changed.
He didn't see anymore.
He felt.
Vibrations.
Everywhere.
The cave—
Alive.
Heartbeats.
Dozens.
No—
Hundreds.
Within him.
Around him.
Behind the walls.
Each one—
Clear.
Loud.
Too loud.
"…Stop…"
He grabbed his head.
"…MAKE IT STOP—!"
It didn't.
It sharpened.
Focused.
Controlled.
Hunting.
"…I can feel them…"
His breathing turned shallow.
"…all of them…"
Then—
Silence again.
Inside him.
Empty.
No fear.
No hesitation.
Just—
Hunger.
Deep.
Endless.
Not in his stomach.
In his bones.
In his veins.
In something deeper.
"…I…"
He looked down.
At the bodies.
Torn.
Still warm.
Something inside him twisted.
Disgust.
"…This is wrong…"
His hand reached down.
Paused.
"…I shouldn't…"
It trembled.
Then—
Tightened.
"…but…"
His breathing grew heavier.
"…I'm still…"
He knelt.
Slowly.
The darkness welcomed him.
No hesitation now.
No thought.
No resistance.
He didn't use his hands.
He leaned down.
And—
Squelch.
Rip.
Crunch.
Time passed.
Or maybe it didn't.
When he rose—
Blood dripped from his chin.
His eyes—
Empty.
Then—
Faintly—
Something human flickered.
Just for a second.
"…I…"
Gone.
"…I'm still…"
Silence.
"…so hungry."
"This isn't power…"
His voice was quiet.
"…it's something else."
[ END OF CHAPTER 3 ]