Veyne emerged into a world painted in red.
Not blood.
Not fire.
But a kind of red that bled through the walls, the ground, the air—like ink soaking through paper. The sky above him, if it could be called that, was a swirling canvas of maroon clouds moving too fast, casting warped shadows across the floor.
He had stepped into Floor Eight: The Gallery of Hunger.
Immediately, he felt the weight of the space. Unlike the previous floors that had sought to test his memory or soul, this one was alive. Breathing. Watching.
Devouring Insight activated.
Lines of glowing script unfurled in his mind, scrawled across the air:
"Here lies the record of appetites unfulfilled."
"Each mark, a wish unmet."
"Let the hungry feed, or be fed upon."
The floor beneath his feet groaned.
Veyne looked down. He was standing on a mouth.
Not one of flesh, but of stone and sigil—a circular disc filled with jagged runes forming a jagged grin. It didn't move, but it pulsed slightly beneath his weight.
He stepped off quickly.
Around him, the walls were covered in carvings. Thousands of names etched in vertical lines, each one slashed through with deep claw marks. At first, he thought they were random—until he saw his own.
"Veyne."
His name sat in the center of one column, not crossed out like the others.
Then the wall whispered.
"What do you hunger for, child of loss?"
Veyne froze.
He didn't answer. He couldn't.
Because he didn't know.
Strength? Survival? Revenge? They all seemed… inadequate.
He stepped deeper into the chamber, and the walls followed. They didn't move, but he could feel their gaze shifting. Each name around him vibrated softly, as though begging for attention.
That's when he saw them.
Hunger Marks.
Dozens of humanoid figures crouched in alcoves along the wall. Tall, thin, flesh stretched too tightly over long bones. Their faces were pale masks with mouths sewn shut, yet their stomachs were wide open—gnashing voids of teeth and smoke.
They sensed him.
The first one leapt.
Veyne ducked and rolled to the side as the creature crashed down where he had stood, screeching without voice. Another followed, then two more.
The Hunger Marks didn't move like monsters. They glided when they ran, arms trailing like banners, their mouths weeping black mist.
Veyne raised his hand.
Hunger of the Endless: Pulse Consumption.
A ripple burst from his palm, invisible but felt—like a heartbeat slamming through the air. It struck the closest Mark, and its chest imploded, threads of essence breaking free.
He devoured it before it could scream.
The others halted.
They recognized him.
Veyne straightened. "You know what I am, don't you?"
The Hunger Marks backed away, circling him like wolves unsure if he was prey or predator.
Then the chamber shifted.
The names on the wall began to glow. A great creaking groan filled the air as the center of the room opened—like a flower of teeth—and from it rose a figure tall and hollow.
The Hunger Master.
No face. No voice. Just a torso filled with devouring mouths, each whispering desires: "to be seen, to be strong, to be safe, to be loved."
Devouring Insight activated.
[Name: Hunger Master of the Eighth Floor]
[Type: Aberrant Keeper]
[Essence Core: Obsession Unfed]
[Weakness: Reflection of Desire]
It charged.
Veyne called the Hunger again—but this time, it fought back. The essence of this being was twisted inward. It didn't want to be consumed. It wanted to consume him.
He gritted his teeth and dodged to the side. The Hunger Master's arms whipped out like chains of bone, lashing the floor. One struck his shoulder, cutting deep. Pain flared—but it wasn't just physical.
A memory ripped through him—of crying alone in the rain, of no one coming.
The creature was feeding on his emptiness.
Veyne bared his teeth. "Then starve."
He drew power from his core.
Devouring Insight: Memory Extraction.
He turned the skill inward.
He showed the Hunger Master his pain—but not as weakness. As flame.
His essence flared like a torch. The mouths on the Hunger Master shrieked and recoiled. It stepped back, staggered.
Veyne advanced.
"Devour me?" he snarled. "You wouldn't survive it."
He thrust his hand forward.
Hunger of the Endless: Internal Collapse.
His palm met the creature's chest.
And he unmade it.
Not by tearing, not by breaking—but by turning its hunger inward. The creature imploded, consuming itself in desperation, until nothing remained but threads of black smoke.
Silence.
Then a whisper, warm and familiar.
"You fed the void with your scars. Good."
The floor sealed. The mouth beneath him closed.
New runes carved themselves into the wall:
[Floor Eight Complete]
[Essence Unlocked: Desire Render]
[New Trait Gained: Hunger Echo - Those you devour echo in your aura.]
Veyne stood in the stillness, shoulder bleeding, breath ragged.
But stronger.
More feared.
He stepped forward as the next door opened.
And behind him, every Hunger Mark bowed.