A group of malformed arachnids had gathered defensively near a collapsed hallway, snarling as the cornered beasts they were. One was missing half its legs, and another dragged a shredded abdomen. Their eyes gleamed with manic hunger. Still, they lunged the moment they saw the intruders.
Such was the nature of mindless monsters.
Battle broke out instantly.
Jack was the first to take a hit, instantly making the man groan from exertion. These monsters were powerful.
Leon countered with a swing of his blade, cleaving through a skittering twin-headed spider that exploded into black mist.
Luna danced between legs and snapping jaws, though one beast managed to slam her into a wall with a luckily timed backward kick.
Aria unleashed a storm of crescent bolts, blasting another monster off the ceiling, only for it to retaliate midair with a glob of acid that scorched her shoulder. Or would’ve, had Nyx not erected a telekinetic barrier in the last second. Bastet’s radiant magic burned through their ranks, but even she had to shield herself from a sudden burst of bone spikes.
Kaiden was the anchor. Cycling through his stances, he tanked, carved, and healed, absorbing blows meant for the others. It was a fight of attrition, teeth and magic clashing in the dark. But after a brutal dozen minutes... the monsters lay dead.
And silence returned.
Everyone panted. Bruised. Bloodied. But victorious.
As after every skirmish, it was time to consume.
Kaiden stepped forward first, piercing a dying monster and letting the dark blood flow into his system. But as expected, it brought little relief. His stomach still ached. The Curse of Devouring Dominion still clawed at his insides. The way he extracted blood using [Ravenous Bite] was different from his girls’ slurping on his blood.
His process involved magic, turning monster blood into a magical property that granted him vitality and mana restoration, but he wasn’t filling his belly at the same time.
But when he turned to check on the others...
He paused.
Luna was leaning against a column, massaging her pained back while cursing under her breath, releasing truly unfiltered gamer girl curse phrases.
However, her eyes widened. She began stroking her belly with both hands, eyes closed in utter bliss. "Mmh~... I feel... full. Like... actually full." Finally, not feeling starved after every single encounter felt utterly liberating.
"What?" Nyx blinked, then blinked again. "Wait. Wait... Yeah! I’m not starving either."
Aria bounced in place as a giddy grin spread across her sweaty, blood-smeared face. "I feel fine! How is this possible?!"
Bastet squinted her eyes with a suspicious, feline hum. But even she couldn’t suppress the pleased smile that followed. "I feel deeply nourished..."
Kaiden didn’t know how to take this new development. "How can that be?"
He’d just chugged monster blood himself, and he still felt gnawed hollow from the inside out. He’d watched them fight, seen their flawless skin glisten with sweat, yet now, they looked less like starving soldiers and more like satisfied predators after a feast.
His mind turned, gears grinding fast.
There had to be a reason. A source. A...
Then it clicked.
Something materialized in the back of his mind. An instinct he didn’t quite understand.
His eyes slowly widened.
Oh.
Oh, hell.
He cleared his throat.
"Well then," Kaiden said, glancing at the stunned but satisfied faces of his beautiful Valkyries and tanned kitten. "I know this might sound... a little crazy, but..."
He reached up, brushing a streak of blood from Luna’s cheek. "How do you ladies feel about... taking a moment to get a little nasty?"
"..." Luna stared at him. Long and hard.
"Really, dude?"
...
Somewhere deeper.
Past twisted halls and ceilings.
Past mirrors that reflected things that didn’t quite exist.
A bloodstained chamber pulsed with a steady, starving rhythm.
There, slumped against a fleshy altar, was the one who had sent the nightmares crawling through the Hollow, warping the curse, sabotaging every step of the intruders.
Countess Veylin, The Glutton of Ruin.
But now, instead of being her haughty, regal self...
She wept.
Clawed hands clutched at her head. Her lips were ripped from her strong teeth’s biting. She stuttered, barely able to form words through her withering madness.
"He’s not... like the others! No one’s supposed to be able to resist!"
Violent spasms ran down her limbs, as if her insides were feeding on themselves.
"There’s a man among them," she croaked louder, blood spilling from her mouth. "A man whose blood is... It breaks the rhythm. It spoils the feast! He’s undoing me! All my previous plans, too! They always have a counter!"
She slammed her fists against the altar, cracking the membrane-like surface, and let out a scream full of agony and confusion.
"I DON’T UNDERSTAND!"
The walls around her beat with deafening might.
*BADUMP!!*
*BADUMP!!*
Once.
Twice.
A third time.
*BADUMP!!*
And the shadow moved.
It was shapeless at first, a suggestion more than a form. But it grew rapidly, spreading behind the fleshy walls. And then, that veil began to thin.
The membrane tore.
And from behind it, the Heart revealed itself.
It wasn’t just flesh.
It was power incarnate. A throne of gluttony. A prison of unrelenting need. A mind beyond reason.
Dozens of tendrils slithered from its underside. The very walls of the dungeon bowed inward, revering it.
Veins erupted from the ground, from the ceiling, from her own altar, all connecting back to the thing, as if this entire part of the Hollow was never a dungeon, but an organ, a chamber for it alone.
The Countess collapsed to her knees.
Then to her hands.
She crawled, panting, toward the altar. Her eyes flooded with tears.
"Please! Help me, my son! Save me from the introduers!"
The tendrils reached down. They treated her tenderly, wrapping around her broken frame, lifting her with a gentleness that defied their horror.
She sobbed as they cradled her. Her forehead pressed against the altar like a child at prayer.
"Thank you... Thank you! Thank you!!" She reached out to stroke one of its tendrils. "Mother loves you... My beautiful baby..."
The Heart pulsed again.
Louder.
Hungrier.
...
Back with the team, Kaided marched forward.
Ahead... they could feel it.
The center was near.
And with it, the final reckoning.