The world was a haze of pain and exhaustion as I slowly clawed my way back to consciousness. My eyelids felt like they weighed a ton, and every breath came with a sharp twinge in my chest. My body was stiff, heavy, and I could feel the bruises forming beneath the layers of blood and grime caked onto my skin. Each nerve seemed to hum with pain, every part of me battered and screaming for rest.

  And then I felt warm, wet, and strangely comforted.

  Lick.

  A faint, raspy texture brushed against my cheek, followed by a soft vibration.

  Purr… purr…

  I cracked my eyes open, blinking against the faint light filtering through the treetops. My vision was blurry, but it didn’t take long to focus on the tiny, orange fur-covered creature perched near my face. The kitten I had saved.

  It was small, barely larger than my hand, with fluffy orange fur that was slightly matted but soft nonetheless. Its round face tilted curiously at me, amber eyes blinking with quiet concern as it let out a faint, trembling meow. Despite everything—the pain, the exhaustion, the nightmare I had survived—I found myself smiling.

  Or, at least, I thought I was smiling.

  The corners of my lips stretched back unnaturally far, the skin pulling in a way that immediately felt wrong. My smile faltered, and a frown tugged at my face as I raised a trembling hand to touch it.

  “Arrghhh—fuck!”

  The pain hit like a thunderclap, radiating through my jaw and down my neck. I froze, teeth gritted as I forced myself to breathe through the agony.

  “Fuu… fuu…”

  Once the initial wave subsided, I moved more cautiously, raising my right hand to my face again, not moving my left side. The tips of my fingers brushed against something sharp—my teeth.

  They weren’t normal anymore.

  “Shit…” I muttered, running my fingers across the jagged edges. My teeth were longer, sharper, pointed like an animal’s fangs. The sensation was unnerving; the texture was unfamiliar and wrong. Swallowing the lump of dread in my throat, I shifted my touch, tracing along my cheekbones and jaw. My skin felt stretched, tighter than it should be, and there was a strange roughness near the edges of my mouth where the flesh seemed… uneven.

  It wasn’t just my teeth. My entire face had changed. I let my hand fall back to my side, the weight of that realization sinking in.

  "Umm, I guess modeling is out of options,” I muttered bitterly, forcing a strained chuckle despite the ache in my jaw. “Not that it would do me any favors when I meet the elves.”

  The kitten let out another soft meow; its tiny head tilted as if it could understand my words. I shook my head, forcing the thoughts aside as I braced myself to sit up. My body protested immediately.

  “Argh!”

  The sudden movement sent a spike of pain through my chest and ribs, and I nearly collapsed back onto the ground. My breath hitched, sharp and uneven, as I clutched at my side.

  “Fuuu… fuuu…” I exhaled slowly, willing the pain to dull. After a few shallow breaths, I managed to steady myself enough to sit upright. The light filtering through the trees had grown stronger, casting faint rays of sunlight across the forest floor. I looked down at myself, taking stock of the damage.

  My armor was in bad shape.

  The once sleek and polished surface was now battered and cracked, caked with layers of dried blood—both mine and the monster’s. Some parts of it were barely holding together, the edges frayed and warped from the intense battle. But as I focused on it, I noticed something strange. The armor was slowly mending itself; I could feel it. It wasn’t fast, but I could feel the faint, subtle movements as the damaged sections began to shift and knit themselves back together. The process was slow, but it was there—like a living thing trying to heal itself.

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  “Guess I owe you one, El,” I murmured, a faint smile tugging at my lips. “Even though you're gone, your gift saved my ass again.”

  The quick-mending property of the armor had stopped my bleeding during the fight, buying me precious time. I owed my survival to it, even if it looked like hell now.

  Still, something felt… different.

  The monster’s blood—its dark, corrupted essence—had soaked into the armor during the fight, mingling with my own. I couldn’t shake the feeling that it had triggered something, altering the way the armor worked.

  I’d have to figure it out later. For now, I let out a heavy sigh, my head dipping forward as I tried to shake off the exhaustion weighing me down.

  “Purrr…”

  The kitten’s tiny vibration snapped me out of my thoughts. It pawed at my arm, its small, fluffy body trembling slightly as it let out another faint meow.

  “Yeah, yeah, I’m alive,” I said softly, my voice rough but not unkind. “Don’t get too attached, though. This world isn't exactly friendly.”

  The kitten blinked up at me, its wide eyes unblinking. It didn’t seem to care about my words, curling itself against my arm and purring softly. I let out a small, defeated chuckle, shaking my head.

  “Great,” I muttered, my fingers brushing against the soft fur as I leaned back against a nearby tree. “I saved your life, and now you’re going to make me soft.”

  The kitten’s tiny body shivered and trembled as it let out another faint meow, its small frame trying to climb up my chest. Its tiny claws scrambled against the battered remnants of my armor, slipping and failing with every attempt.

  And yet, it didn’t give up.

  It tried again, its fluffy orange paws pressing and clawing against me, only to slide back down in defeat.

  I couldn’t help it—I laughed.

  “Hahaaa!” The sound bubbled up from my chest, light and unrestrained, cutting through the weight of exhaustion and pain that clung to me like a second skin. It was such a small, ridiculous thing—a tiny ball of fluff so determined to scale the broken mess of a man I’d become.

  “Aw, how cute!” I said, grinning despite the aches and sharp pangs lancing through my body.

  Moving slowly—painfully slowly—I presented my hand to the kitten, palm up, careful not to startle it.

  “Here, little buddy,” I said softly, my voice low and soothing.

  The kitten paused, its amber eyes wide as it looked at my hand. For a moment, it didn’t move, just sniffed the air cautiously. Then, with a tentative meow, it crept forward and sniffed my hand, its tiny nose twitching.

  “Good kitty,” I murmured, keeping still as it climbed onto my palm.

  I could feel the weight of it—so small, so fragile—and the softness of its orange fur against my calloused skin. It was warm, a comforting contrast to the cold numbness still lingering in my chest. A faint smile tugged at the corners of my lips as I brought the kitten closer to my chest.

  “Come on, let’s get you comfortable,” I said.

  The kitten stumbled as it jumped onto my chest, its small paws pressing against me as it tried to find its footing. Its gray eyes blinked up at me, curious and bright, and then it tilted its head to the side, letting out another soft meow.

  Despite everything—despite the nightmarish battle, the pain coursing through my body, the monstrous features that had twisted my face—the kitten was undeterred. It walked closer to my face, leaning in and giving me a soft lick on the cheek before letting out a quiet purr.

  “You’re not scared, huh?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

  The kitten didn’t answer, of course. Instead, it nuzzled against me before diving into the space just below my neck, its small body pressing against my chest. It settled there, its head poking out from my armor, the rest of its tiny frame hidden and snug. The soft vibration of its purring filled the silence, and for the first time in what felt like an eternity, the tension in my chest eased.

  “Haha,” I chuckled, leaning back against a nearby rock. My body ached with every movement, but for once, it didn’t feel unbearable. I reached up and petted the kitten gently, my fingers brushing against its soft fur. “Man, you’re the best, little one.”

  The kitten responded with another soft purr, its eyes half-closed as it nuzzled against me.

  The forest was a mess of shattered trees, blood-soaked ground, and the lingering traces of corrupted energy. The faint smell of iron and decay still clung to the air, and the spot where the outer monster had bitten me throbbed faintly, a reminder of just how close I had come to dying. The memory of the monster fleeing into the woods flashed through my mind; its ruined face and desperate movements burned into my thoughts.

  “Phew,” I muttered, exhaling slowly. “We survived, huh?”

  My gaze shifted downward to the kitten still nestled against my chest, its tiny head poking out from my armor. The kitten tilted its head at me, its amber eyes blinking slowly.

  “Well, kitty," I continued, gesturing faintly to the scene around us, “all that sweet, sweet loot scattered around here? It’s up for grabs.”

  The kitten let out a faint meow, as if in agreement, and I chuckled again, shaking my head.

  But then something else caught my attention. A faint pull at the edge of my senses—subtle but insistent. It was a tingling, almost magnetic sensation, drawing my focus toward a specific spot amid the chaos. The place where the goblin shaman had fallen. My body tensed instinctively; my muscles coiled as my gaze locked onto the spot.

  “Yup,” I said, my voice flat but certain. “We’ve got ourselves an essence, buddy.”

  The kitten purred softly, seemingly unfazed by the shift in my tone, and I adjusted it carefully, making sure it was secure against my chest.

  “Let’s see if the essence was worth the trouble,” I muttered, a faint smirk tugging at my lips as I pushed myself off the rock.

  My body groaned in protest, but I ignored it. There was still work to do.

  HOUSE OF END DISCORD

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