The dim glow of overhead lights flickered across the bloodstained steel walls of Kruger's command chamber. He stood motionless, staring at his reflection in a cracked mirror. Deep scars ran down his face, the remnants of countless battles, but something was different now.
His eyes burned with a cold, unnatural glow.
The latest bio-serum injection had changed him—more than before. He could feel his muscles coiling tighter, his reflexes sharper, his mind teetering on the edge of something… monstrous. The whispers were no longer just whispers; they were voices now—demanding, urging him to embrace the abyss.
A metallic hiss echoed through the chamber as the steel doors slid open.
Dr. Sylvia "Plague Mistress" Voss entered, her blood-red coat flowing behind her like a specter. The scent of chemicals and decay followed her as she approached Kruger, a twisted smirk playing at her lips.
"You're changing faster than I expected, General," she purred, studying him with predatory curiosity. "Do you feel it? The hunger?"
Kruger didn't answer. He flexed his fingers, feeling the raw power coursing through him.
"I gave you the serum to make you unstoppable," Voss continued, circling him like a vulture. "But even I didn't anticipate… this."
A sudden, sharp pain spiked through Kruger's skull. He gritted his teeth, gripping the edges of the steel table beside him as his vision blurred. His veins pulsed black for a moment, his heartbeat an ominous drumbeat.
Then, in a flash, he wasn't in the chamber anymore.
He saw fire. Blood. A battlefield of the dead.
The undead armies clashed, their rotting bodies tearing into each other, but at the center of the carnage stood a figure—a twisted reflection of himself.
It was him. But not him.
This version of Kruger had fully succumbed to the serum. His skin was pale, his eyes voids of darkness, and in his grip was a massive, serrated blade, cutting down everything in his path—friend or foe.
Kruger gasped, snapping back into reality. His breathing was ragged. His hands were trembling.
Voss tilted her head. "You saw something, didn't you?"
Kruger exhaled slowly, composing himself. His jaw clenched. "Nothing I can't handle."
Voss grinned. "Of course not, General. But we both know… you're at war with yourself now."
Kruger turned away, his reflection now a stranger.
Somewhere deep inside him, the beast was waking up.
And when it did… there would be no stopping it.