Screams echoed through the laboratory.
Eight men were strapped to tables, their bodies tightly restrained. The room was sterile white, giving off an eerie atmosphere under the sterile lighting that flickered above, making the setting even more unsettling.
Standing in front of the tables was a young man — barefoot, dressed in nothing but shorts, a white lab coat, and sunglasses pushed up over his long hair.
It wasn't just humans strapped down. On the far side of the room, immobilized Abominations were restrained just as harshly. Their limbs had been torn off, leaving them grotesque, twitching husks.
Klaus frowned slightly, adjusting his sunglasses while scanning the data flickering across the holographic screens.
His gaze shifted toward a middle-aged man missing all four limbs. Klaus smiled pleasantly and patted his head like one would an obedient pet.
"To truly understand another being, you must understand the conditions that made them what they are... I wonder what made you a rapist. Hm. Doesn't really matter.
I don't like experimenting on innocent people — but, well, what the hell? I'm far worse than you. The road to power is paved with hypocrisy, after all."
He chuckled, ignoring the man's silent tears as he returned his attention to the data. He was finally beginning to understand how his Ascended ability, Is & Is Not, actually worked. It wasn't nearly as simple as it seemed — and it had far more potential than he originally thought.
Unfortunately, he hadn't had much time to develop new skills with it. That was a pity. But after researching the cranial and spinal nervous systems, he'd realized something important: his ability was rooted in distorting and deceiving a target's senses.
He glanced at the man again. This was his second experiment — the first had already died and been disposed of.
"Dilated pupils... rapid heartbeat... profuse sweating... skin turning pale...
Not to mention you've got an Awakened's physiology, which gives you enhanced physical and mental resilience.
Not bad... Still, I lack proper control. It's not as efficient as I'd hoped. Tsk. There go my expectations of breaking your mind."
He moved on to the next subject — a woman.
Many believed women were less capable of cruelty. Klaus knew better. Cruelty had no gender. This one, for example, had encouraged her boyfriend to assault her eleven-year-old sister. Repeatedly. For over two months.
Klaus was always bemused by people like her. They would commit the most vile, unimaginable acts, and then expect to be treated like angels once the roles were reversed.
"No, not angels... Angels are terrifying beings. Let's say Saints," he mused aloud.
In truth, it didn't matter. He already knew the truth. Everyone was capable of cruelty — even children. Children might grow out of it. Adults, though? Once their personality calcified, there was usually no going back.
Thanks to the Law of Original Sin, Klaus understood why people did terrible things. He didn't want to understand it — but he couldn't stop himself from doing so. It was just how his Aspect worked.
The man? He committed his crimes because it thrilled him — gave him excitement and a sense of purpose.
The woman? She didn't even think she did anything wrong. In her mind, it was just "a bit of fun.
And Klaus? His own cruelty — his ruthlessness and madness — had been born of those very realizations. His twisted logic, his understanding, his childhood, his environment, his aspect... all of it had shaped him.
But he didn't dwell on that.
Instead, he ripped out the woman's heart, watching it pulse in his bloodied palm as it slowly stopped beating. then he casually took a bite. After chewing, he tossed the rest aside like trash.
He had more important things to focus on.
Like extracting spirit essence.
This was a skill he'd been working to perfect for over a year — and now, finally, it worked.
He observed the ethereal glow rising from the corpse, blocked by a shimmering amethyst barrier he'd summoned. The essence floated above his hand like a ghost caught mid-fade.
If I killed her without preparation, her spirit essence would just return to the world...
Every being had a spirit essence — an energy tied to the Seed of Existence, the foundation of their being.
Klaus had long theorized what might happen if he could not only touch that Seed… but destroy it.
But that was a long way off. He hadn't made real progress on that front yet. The Seed was simply too overwhelming to witness directly. Just trying gave him the sense that he lacked the qualifications to even see it, let alone interact with it.
Maybe, someday — if he became a Transcendent… or even a Supreme.
But not yet.
After absorbing the spirit essence, Klaus moved to the next test subject. He was a young man—handsome, dashing, around eighteen or nineteen years old.
Klaus smirked as he disabled the vocal restraints, allowing the subject to speak.
"Well, hey there, handsome. How's your day going? You're my newest puppy, but no worries — I always take care of my pets. Now, care to explain why the government sentenced you to death? You see, I spent quite a bit of money bribing some government agents to get my hands on you."
The young man grinned. His limbs were still intact for now. His expression was unsettling, bordering on manic—but Klaus's own smile, calm and vaguely amused, was even more terrifying.
The man licked his cracked lips and replied smoothly.
"Well, sir... I lost my virginity with my mom. Hehe…"
Klaus raised an eyebrow, a short laugh escaping his lips. The young man clearly thought Klaus was entertained — maybe even approving — and took that as encouragement, continuing to speak with disturbing enthusiasm. He either didn't notice or didn't care about the mutilated bodies beside him.
"Well, not sure if it counts but…"
Klaus gestured lazily for him to continue, floating slightly in the air with one leg half-crossed, genuinely curious about the boy's story.
"Go on. I'm quite curious about your diabolical adventures. Everyone has a story—that's what I believe."
The young man laughed with grotesque glee, saliva dripping from the corner of his mouth. His eyes were wide and glassy with madness. There was no depth, no remorse—only sick pleasure. He wore the kind of smile that didn't come from power, but from being irreparably broken.
"Well… she was still kind of warm..."
Klaus frowned, a little dumbfounded. Then he smirked.
Now wasn't that curious?
He shook his head in amused disbelief.
"Wait… so you killed your mom and then fucked her? Now that's peak insanity. Hah."
His voice was calm, but in the next moment, the young man's smile vanished as his body began to convulse violently.
Klaus had activated his Ascended ability—targeting the man's nociceptors, the pain receptors in his nervous system. He amplified their sensitivity beyond normal limits, making the subject feel as if he were being eaten alive, cell by cell.
Klaus didn't hold back this time. The screams didn't last long. Within seconds, he was dead. Most likely from cardiac arrest or stress-induced heart failure. The heart had simply given out.
Klaus glanced at the data, cross-checking it with the man's confession.
It lined up.
He had first tried to strangle his mother, then smashed her face in with a hammer until all that remained was a bloody mass of flesh and shattered bone. After that, he raped her corpse.
Klaus stared at the screen. A photo of the woman flickered there — a middle-aged woman, not beautiful by any means. In fact, below average by most standards. But she had a warm, gentle smile — the kind of expression you'd expect from the sweet neighborhood aunt who always handed out cookies and told you to stay safe.
According to the neighbors, she really had been like that — calm, warm, and impossibly kind.
Klaus sighed, watching the screen for a few more moments.
"I'm too emotional…" he murmured, shaking his head and suppressing the flicker of pity rising in him.
Cold-Blooded helped a lot in his line of work. Being a scientist wasn't just about mixing chemicals or experimenting on monkeys, after all.
Even after numbing his emotions with Cold-Blooded, after killing thousands and ruining so many lives — even if they deserved it — Klaus couldn't help but pity the victims.
Maybe Ki Song was right… I still have a weak mindset. I sympathize too much.
It wasn't necessarily a flaw in a human being.
But for Klaus?
It was inefficient.
He took a deep breath, collected himself, and resumed his work with a cold, eerie smile.
"This batch of death-row inmates is mostly rapists…"
His eyes scanned the remaining prisoners—shivering, broken, missing limbs. His expression turned tired and disappointed.
"I miss the killers. Meh… at least they're a little more like me."
***
Hey guys! How are you all doing? I hope everything's going well for you.
This chapter dives a bit more into Klaus's ascended ability and his role at Chaos Ascendancy. Even though he's technically the director, Klaus is still very much a scientist at heart.
As for the people mentioned in this chapter—believe it or not, I didn't make them up. They were all real, and honestly, each one was incredibly disturbing in their own way. The first targeted children, both boys and girls. The second didn't ruin as many lives, but was just as awful—and sadly didn't get the punishment she deserved. The third was sentenced to life in prison. To be honest, I think all of them deserved far worse.
Again, these people actually existed.
The world of Shadow Slave doesn't always show the darkest parts of reality, but I wanted to touch on what can happen when people gain power—some will lose their minds, and others will do horrifying things. This chapter was meant to reflect that.
Thank you so much for all your support. I truly appreciate it, and I hope you enjoy the chapter.
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