Ashen pulled his hood up and stepped toward the silent garden on the academy's north side. The first light of dawn hadn't fully spread yet—there was a thin fog over the ground, and every tree, every shadow, seemed to be hiding some secret.
The system softly chimed.
> [Entering Zone: Whispering Veins – Outer Layer]
[Environmental Effect: Pulse of Madness – Willpower Drain begins in 10 minutes. Suggestion: Complete objective swiftly.]
There was a glint of caution in Ashen's eyes. "So this isn't just a dungeon… it's a mindfuck too."
As he moved along the path, he kept his focus sharp. Maybe it was called Whispering Veins because actual whispers were drifting out from the garden's undergrowth—soft, teasing, sometimes bone-chilling. Like someone was breathing into his ears:
"Are you really in control?"
"One more tiny pleasure… and you'll shatter."
"Incubus… or just a pawn?"
Ashen controlled his breathing, kept his heart rate steady. "Nice try."
Behind a twisted vine, he spotted an old stone archway—made of black marble, covered in red veins. Like something alive. Ancient Elven script was carved into the top:
"Only the hungry may enter. Only the consumed may return."
Ashen reached out and touched the gate.
> [Gate Recognizes Lust Core. Access Granted.]
From within the archway, darkness began to spiral, and a blood-red portal formed.
He stepped through.
---
Instantly, the temperature dropped. He was inside a fleshy corridor—the walls were breathing slowly, with a heartbeat-like rhythm, and the floor was slippery with a red-pink hue. It felt like he'd stepped inside some living creature.
> [Zone: Vein Spine Corridor]
[Warning: Lust Drain Begins. Resist or Succumb.]
Ashen pressed forward. Every few steps, strange moaning echoes rang out. Shadows twisted. Sometimes a familiar face appeared—Elira, Nyari, even Priestess Kaelira—in seductive forms, whispering.
"Come back… touch me…"
Ashen closed his eyes. "System, filter hallucinations."
> [Minor Filter Applied. Warning: Full immunity not possible.]
Suddenly, after a turn, a creature stood before him—Vein Stalker. Seven feet tall, stitched flesh for skin, mouth unnaturally wide, tentacles writhing from its chest.
> [Enemy Detected: Vein Stalker (Rank C+)]
[Weakness: Light-based Elemental Force. Resistances: Physical, Shadow, and Lust.]
Ashen muttered under his breath, "It resists lust? My whole existence just got resisted."
The Vein Stalker shrieked and charged.
Ashen immediately fired a Heat Pulse—a blazing red orb—but the creature dodged easily. Tentacles lunged at him, but Ashen sidestepped, leaping behind a narrow column.
"If brute force doesn't work… time to be clever."
> [Suggestion: Overload Aura of Submission to trigger mental paralysis.]
Ashen expanded his aura—dark, lust-filled pressure flooded the corridor. The creature paused—trembling, growling—as if some internal conflict had begun.
Ashen didn't waste the chance. "Dual Climax Drive. Inject."
He dashed in, placing a glowing palm on the creature's core. "Sleep, bitch."
A surge of energy made the creature twitch—and then collapse.
> [Enemy Defeated. Lust Core Fragments absorbed. Remaining Path: 2 Chambers ahead.]
Ashen was breathing heavily. The corridor fell silent… for a moment.
Then the ground shook. Red ichor started dripping from the ceiling.
> [Environmental Shift: Stage 2 Begins. Entities Awakening.]
Ashen: "Of course. Dungeons are never easy."
---
The next chamber was wider. In the center was a giant heart-like structure, surrounded by chained figures—all female—groaning, moaning, and wrapped in a corrupted aura. Twisted sigils covered their bodies—dark imitations of the Moon Queen's divine marks.
Ashen's fists clenched.
"Someone's using cult magic here."
The system confirmed:
> [Mini-Boss Detected: Mistress of Hunger – Altered Priestess]
[Rank: B-]
[Status: Mind Controlled, Incomplete Transformation. Optional Objective: Free or Kill.]
The Mistress lifted her face. Beautiful, pale, silver-haired—but her eyes held only lust and rage.
"You're not my master… so why do you pity me?"
Ashen: "Because I'm not the one who turned you into this."
The battle began. The Mistress summoned blood whips, and the floor turned into a fleshy mire. Ashen dodged, but one strike grazed his leg—burning pain surged.
> [Injury Registered: Vein Corruption. Cure within 10 minutes or suffer Willpower Drain.]
Ashen growled. "System, any bypass?"
> [Option: Inject Lust Purification. Cost: 40 Lust Energy.]
"Do it."
A warm surge rose inside him, black mist expelled from the wound and evaporated.
The Mistress struck again—but Ashen caught her attack. "You're not a weapon. You were a priestess."
She struggled, but his aura now overwhelmed her—not just lust, but command.
Ashen held her chin. "Listen to my voice."
> [Passive Skill Triggered: Aura of Submission (Rank 1)]
[Subjugation Roll Successful – Resistance Bypassed via Emotional Pulse]
Her eyes blinked—and then… clarity. She collapsed, crying.
"Save them… b-before I forget myself again…"
Ashen kissed her forehead. "Rest. I'll take care of it."
> [Optional Objective Completed. Reward: Fragment – Incubus Core Key (1/3)]
[Dungeon Exit Unlocked. Bonus Path Available.]
---
Ashen glanced back—the chamber was calm now. The chained women were unconscious, breathing steadily.
But his work wasn't done.
> [Do you wish to explore Bonus Path? Danger: High. Reward: Unknown + Emotional Trait Bonus.]
Ashen gave a dark chuckle.
"Let's go deeper."
He traced old markings on the blood-streaked floor. The bonus path's gate was a twisted spiral flesh-door, its surface pulsing like a giant heart's membrane. As he touched it, a cold surge jolted through his system.
> [Warning: Bonus Path – Depth Level 2 Initiated. Estimated Survival Chance: 22%]
[Recommended: Proceed only with intent to evolve.]
Ashen's lips curved. "I've always been more into high-risk, high-reward."
The gate opened with a sickening squelch, revealing a narrow spiral staircase—made entirely of bone and tendrils, with a faint, twisted lullaby humming from below.
He descended.
—
The chamber below… was something else.
An open space. A black obelisk at the center. Around it—corpse-like bodies, all male, all naked, drained. Some still had open eyes, frozen in horror. Their flesh was shriveled, as if their essence had been sucked dry.
The system whispered.
> [Zone: Heart of Hunger]
[Entity Detected: Devourer's Echo – Manifestation of Rejected Lust]
[Rank: ??? – Intelligence Form Unknown]
[Special: Psychological Assault Imminent. Prepare mental defenses.]
Ashen's body suddenly felt heavy. "System... anchor emotion?"
> [Attempting… Failed. Echo Disruption Overrides Core Emotion.]
Then she appeared.
Not a creature, not a woman—but something in between. A humanoid figure made of pure shadow and dripping black ichor, constantly shifting—at one moment Elira, then Nyari, then Kaelira… then Ashen himself.
"So you're afraid of your own shadow?" the echo said, voice layered with seduction, mockery, and void.
"I'm not afraid of myself," Ashen growled.
"But you are. You know what you're becoming… A creature who only understands love through conquest. A demon who turns partners into toys… and closes his eyes to their pain."
Ashen closed his eyes, took a breath.
He heard Elira's laughter. Nyari's moans. Kaelira's stern disapproval. All blending into a cacophony—a guilt-driven symphony.
> [Warning: Willpower Threshold Crossing. Sanity Damage Incoming.]
"ENOUGH!"
Ashen's eyes blazed. "I might be a monster… but I'm my monster. My choice. I control my hunger."
> [Incubus Core Resonance Detected. Triggering Evolution Seed.]
[Lust System Unlocking Hidden Trait: Dominus Path – Fragment 1/5]
[New Skill: Shadow Bind (Rank D) – Bind illusions, fears, and corrupted minds using Incubus authority.]
The entity recoiled, momentarily retreating.
Ashen raised his hand. "Shadow Bind."
Dark tendrils burst forth—real, not illusions—and grabbed the echo. It screamed, its form distorting, until it shrank into a writhing ball of darkness.
> [Devourer's Echo Contained.]
[Processing Absorption…]
[Reward: Shadow Trait – Hunger's Reflection]
[Special Skill Unlocked: Soul Glimpse – See a target's deepest suppressed desire once per day.]
Silence fell. The corpses crumbled, their burden released.
—
Ashen kneeled—exhausted but victorious. A burning sensation awakened inside him—but it wasn't lust.
It was hunger. For power.
But now, with control.
The system whispered.
> [Warning: Path ahead leads to forbidden gate – Optional Challenge Mode.]
[Reward: ???]
[Risk: Death.]
[Emotional Cost: High.]
Ashen laughed—low and dangerous.
"Am I insane? Maybe."
He stood. "But I won't stop."
In front of the gate, the ground bore an inscription:
"Only he who conquers his own desires… may tame the world's madness."
Ashen looked back one last time—at the chamber where so many had fallen, without control, without self-awareness.
And he pushed the gate.
—
Ashen looked back one last time—at the chamber where so many had fallen, stripped of control and awareness.
Then he pressed both palms to the forbidden gate.
It pulsed once under his touch — slow, almost like it was breathing with him.
The system's tone deepened, almost like a growl.
> [Final Layer Breach Detected.]
[Status: Entering Zone – Desire's End.]
[Survival Estimate: Undefined.]
From beyond the gate came a sound that wasn't quite a scream… and wasn't quite a moan.
Ashen smiled without warmth.
"Now we see what madness really looks like."
The gate yawned open. Darkness poured out.
TO BE CONTINUED…