The processing corridor greeted them with a stench so familiar it felt like part of the air itself. The smell of dried blood, rotting flesh, and monster sweat blended into a thick haze hanging in the air. But this morning, the scent was even stronger than usual. As if this entire corridor had absorbed so much death that the air itself had aged and spoiled, heavy and sticky like a fog that could be touched.
Clive walked at the front. His sword was already drawn, its tip reflecting the faint, grim light coming from behind them. Ted, Zorilla, and Dorde followed closely in a tight formation. On the other side, Glenn led his group with steps that were now steadier, yet stiffer. Behind him, Dilos watched every movement carefully, weighing the changes that were becoming increasingly visible in Glenn's body.
The first corridor looked just like they remembered. Monster corpses were scattered across the stone floor, dried blood seeping into tiny cracks, and other monsters busy tearing apart the carcasses of their fallen kin. But this time, the battle felt different. Faster. More one-sided.
Glenn stepped forward before Clive could give any order. A faint blue energy seeped from his skin, enveloping his arms and sword. He swung his weapon with a speed the average human eye could never follow. One monster was split from shoulder to waist before it even made a sound. Glenn spun, his blade sweeping across another, severing its neck cleanly and coldly.
Clive observed closely. Glenn's speed had increased drastically. But his movements were different from before. There was no elegance anymore. None of the combat artistry he usually showed. Everything had been replaced by brutal efficiency. Movements meant solely to kill in the fastest possible way.
Like a machine.
Meanwhile, Zorilla displayed his own evolution. Three monsters lunged from the right with claws and fangs ready to tear. Zorilla didn't dodge. He let the attack strike his shoulder. The monsters' claws left only pale streaks on skin that had become as hard as stone. Zorilla responded with a single punch. The first monster flew backward and slammed into the wall so hard its ribcage shattered. The second and third fell with equally merciless blows.
Ted whistled softly, trying and failing to hide his shock."You two have changed a lot."
Dorde squinted, analyzing more closely than usual."Glenn is faster, but his movements are unstable. Zorilla is slower, but every strike of his has turned into a killing blow."
Clive nodded, assessing the situation."They're adapting to their physical strengths. Glenn already had great balance and control. Even slight changes give huge results. Zorilla was different from the start. His physiology isn't like ours. Now his defense and strikes are devastating."
With their newfound abilities, the first corridor was cleared in half the time it took the previous day. No one was injured. Even Dorde, who usually ended up with at least one minor cut, didn't get anything besides splashes of blood.
They entered the second corridor. It was darker, narrower, and quieter. The monsters here seemed… hesitant. Their eyes blinked rapidly, and their bodies retreated when Glenn approached. The blue energy around him was more than just strength. The monsters reacted to it like prey sensing a natural predator.
"Interesting," Dilos muttered, rubbing his chin. "It seems they can sense the core flowing inside us."
Glenn didn't care. He stepped forward, killing each monster with short movements that resembled slaughter far more than combat. Occasionally that blue energy burst from his body, amplifying his strikes until hard monster bones split like brittle wood.
The third corridor presented the monsters that had nearly killed them before. But this time everything felt different. Extremely different.
Glenn faced two large monsters at once. Before, it would have been a life-and-death struggle. Now Glenn simply stood still, waiting. When the first monster leapt, Glenn stabbed its eye with a single thrust. It died before its body hit the ground. The second monster attacked from behind, but Glenn drove his sword backward without looking, piercing its heart with perfect accuracy.
"Too easy," he whispered. But there was no satisfaction in his voice. Only disappointment. As if his newfound strength made this world no longer challenging.
Zorilla, on the other hand, fought against five monsters. They clawed, bit, and attacked from every direction. Not one of them managed to injure him. His punches crushed their small bodies one by one, breaking their bones. Not fast, but inevitable, like an unstoppable boulder.
Ted and Dorde moved with greater efficiency thanks to their growing experience and the security provided by their two newly evolved companions. Clive only stepped in occasionally to finish off stragglers, but mostly he stood guard and observed.
Soon, the third corridor was clean. No dual-core monster this time. Only ordinary monsters that stood no chance against their group.
Clive exhaled and turned his gaze toward the dark door at the end of the corridor."The fourth corridor."
This door was different from the others. Made of something resembling bone fused with stone. Strange carvings were etched across its surface. Faces of humans morphing into monsters. All pulled toward the center of the door as if dragged by an unseen force.
Glenn pushed the door open without waiting for a command. It opened slowly, creaking like the jaws of some immense creature.
They entered.
The fourth corridor felt immediately different.
First, the smell.Not the fresh blood or rotting flesh they were used to.This was an old rot.The smell of something long-dead but still decaying, never finishing, never drying. A scent of despair that clung to the air.
Second, the sound.No roaring.No scraping claws.Just breathing.Many breaths.Uneven, irregular.Like hundreds of dying people still trying to breathe even though their bodies were ready to give up.
Third, the light.The stones in the walls emitted a faint purple glow.A glow that wasn't comforting.A glow that felt like the color of a wound that refused to heal, festering endlessly.
And in the middle of the corridor, someone stood.
Not a monster.Or not entirely.
His body still stood on two legs. Two arms still attached, though the fingers were elongated with black claws. Human clothing still covered parts of his body, though torn in several places. His face still had a human shape mouth, nose, eyes. But his eyes were empty. No light, no consciousness. Only a bottomless void.
A purple glow pulsed in his chest.A core.
A core unlike anything they had ever seen.
The creature looked at them. Not attacking. Not running. Just staring, with an emptiness that made the air colder.
His mouth opened. A voice emerged, rough and broken, like someone learning to speak for the first time.
"Help…"
The word hung in the air. Everyone froze.
"Kill… me…"
Clive stiffened. Ted inhaled sharply. Dorde took half a step back. Zorilla clenched his fist. Glenn only stared, his face expressionless.
The creature walked. Not attacking.Pacing, limping.As if he didn't understand his own body.As if he was fighting himself for control.
Suddenly he stopped. His head lifted. A cry burst from his mouth.Not a monster's cry.A human's.Distorted, chaotic, like a voice damaged by something unseen.
Then his form changed again.Red eyes glowing.Teeth elongating.Body arching, ready to strike.Like a monster.
But moments later, the face collapsed again.Human once more.
"Help… I… don't… want… to… be… like… this…"
The clash of two consciousnesses made his body tremble uncontrollably.One wanted to die.One wanted to live as a monster.
Glenn stepped forward."This…"
"These are the ones who failed," Clive cut in, his voice low.
The corridor continued revealing its truth. Cells made of stone that had grown like natural cages lined both sides. And inside each cell was a creature like the one before. Some were almost fully monsters. Some still retained fragments of their human form. Some simply sat rocking back and forth like broken dolls.
Ted counted with a trembling voice."One cell… two… three… there are twenty here."
"No," Dorde replied, pointing toward the darkness stretching farther down the hall. "There are more beyond that. Could be hundreds."
Clive stepped toward the wall. Among the carvings of human faces twisted into monstrous shapes, there was an inscription etched deep, the depth showing the desperation of the one who carved it.
Clive read it quietly."A place for those who tried to become more, and became less than human."
Glenn clenched his fists. The blue energy inside his body moved faster, unstable."So this… this is what I'll become? If I fail?"
"This is the price of failure," Dilos said, trying to suppress the fear in his own voice. "But you did not fail. You succeeded at the first tier."
"I can still fail!" Glenn snapped, his voice rising, panic leaking through the anger he tried to use as a shield. "The first tier of Coreforge is only the beginning. What about tier two? Three? What if I end up like this? Like them? Crying, begging to be killed?"
Dilos placed a hand on his shoulder, but Glenn shoved it off violently."Don't touch me. Look closely, Dilos. This could be us. This could be me."
Clive left the inscription and approached one of the cells. Inside was a man or a creature that had once been a man, sitting cross-legged. His body was scaled, his hands clawed, but his face remained human enough to show suffering.
"Can you speak?" Clive asked softly.
The creature lifted its head. Its eyes were yellow with slit pupils, but fragments of awareness still flickered there.
"A little," he rasped. "I was human once. Tried Coreforge. Failed."
"How long has it been?"
"Don't know. Time is different here." He gestured to the purple light in his chest. "This core keeps me alive. But it destroys me. Slowly."
"Is there a way to return to normal?"
The creature let out a dry laugh, halfway between a chuckle and a cough."There is no going back. Only forward. Or death." His eyes locked onto Clive's, suddenly sharp with clarity. "You're new. They sent you here to see. To fear."
"To understand," Clive answered.
"The same thing," he replied. "Fear is a tool of control. They want you terrified of failure. So you'll do anything to succeed. Even if you lose your humanity."
The purple glow pulsed harder. His clarity dissolved again. He swayed, mumbling nonsense.
Clive stepped back, swallowing the discomfort rising in his chest. Coreforge wasn't merely a system of power. It was a brutal filtration system. Those who succeeded became weapons. Those who failed became eternal warnings.
Zorilla stood in the middle of the hall, his face hard but his eyes full of doubt.They were once human.Did they deserve to be left alive in this suffering?
Or put out of their misery?
Ted approached."What do we do? The guards said we can retreat anytime. But if we retreat…"
"They'll know we're afraid," Dorde finished. "And that might be worse."
Suddenly the purple light at the far end of the corridor pulsed brighter. The pulse was heavy and rhythmic, like the awakening heartbeat of something enormous.
The creatures in the cells reacted. Those who had been silent screamed. Those who could no longer speak wailed. Those with fragments of awareness begged to die.
Their cries filled the corridor, slamming into the mind like hammers.
And then, from the end of the hallway, someone emerged.
A young woman.
Still fully human in appearance. Long black hair, smooth pale skin, light blue eyes that seemed painfully alive. She wore simple clothes worn thin with age. Unlike the others, the purple core in her chest pulsed steadily. Calm. Controlled.
She walked closer. Her steps were light and graceful, as though she was dancing upon the sorrow saturating the corridor. A gentle smile bloomed on her face. A smile far too sweet for a place like this.
When she spoke, her voice was clear and beautiful."Welcome to our home," she said softly. "I am Mola. And I am delighted to accept you as part of us."
Her smile widened, delicate but deeply threatening.
"Forever."