Selene Nocturna sat upon a throne of bone and rot, her blackened lips curled into a grin. The candlelight flickered in the ruined cathedral, casting jagged shadows against the walls. Before her knelt a wretch—a dying man, barely clinging to life, his breath ragged, his flesh already touched by decay.
She raised her gloved hand, inspecting her nails. A sickly green vial dangled from the silver chains woven into her necklace, glowing with an unnatural pulse.
"You came to kill me," Selene purred, her voice smooth as venom. "How predictable."
The man coughed, blood dribbling from his lips. His body convulsed, veins bulging as the poison took hold.
Selene leaned forward, the eerie glow of her alchemical toxin reflecting in her hollow eyes. She had not simply poisoned him—she had rewritten him. His flesh, his soul, his will... all dissolving under her cruel hand.
"Does it burn?" she asked sweetly.
He tried to speak, but only a wet gurgle escaped.
Selene exhaled, almost bored. Her fingers traced the vial at her throat before flicking a drop of the thick, green substance onto his skin. The result was immediate.
The man screamed as the liquid seeped into his pores, his flesh bubbling, shifting, contorting. His bones cracked, bending in unnatural ways, and his fingers lengthened into hooked claws. His eyes darkened, glowing faintly with an eerie light.
Selene tilted her head, admiring her work.
The creature that had once been a man trembled, then raised its head to meet her gaze.
No defiance remained. Only hunger.
Selene smirked and gestured toward the great doors of the Rotting Cathedral.
"Go. Find more. Bring them to me."
The twisted wretch obeyed, skittering away into the night, its movements jerky and wrong.
Selene sighed, leaning back into her throne. She ran a hand through her ashen hair, strands still damp with something dark and unholy.
The Venom in her veins was getting stronger. She could feel it, twisting inside her, whispering to her.
Soon, even death itself would not be enough to stop her.