purrrr~

  The kitten on my chest purred softly in its sleep, its rhythmic vibrations oddly grounding, but I knew I couldn’t stay here forever. I took a deep breath and slowly—very carefully—tried to move my left arm.

  “Arghh!”

  The spike of pain was immediate and brutal, shooting through my shoulder like someone had shoved a molten dagger into it. My teeth clenched hard, barely able to breathe through the searing agony.

  “Haa…” I exhaled sharply, trying to ride out the pain as my body trembled. “That hurts. That fucking chaos monster messed my shoulder up really badly."

  “Never thought I would be facing beyonders or an outer monster in a dungeon of all places… fuck… I need to find some way to get rid of the corruption…”

  The words came out as a strained growl, more to myself than to anyone else.

  I slumped back against the rock, letting my arm hang limply at my side. The dull ache that followed was relentless, but at least it wasn’t as sharp as before.

  Purr.

  The kitten stirred slightly, its tiny body curling tighter against me as it let out a soft, sleepy meow. The sound and its warmth eased some of the tension in my chest, if only a little. I looked down at the tiny creature, its fur a soft orange glow in the faint light. It slept so peacefully, completely unaware of the chaos and bloodshed that had surrounded us just hours ago. Something about that made my chest tighten, a strange mix of emotions bubbling up—relief, maybe, or something softer that I couldn’t quite name.

  Have I ever had a pet before?

  I couldn’t remember.

  Most of my memories were a blur of combat, survival, and blood. If there was anything else—anything softer, anything normal—it was locked behind a door I hadn’t opened yet.

  haa….

  I sighed, forcing the thoughts aside as I shifted slightly, careful not to disturb the kitten.

  “Let’s see what kind of damage we’re dealing with,” I muttered, reaching into my ring for the spyglass and the polished metal card I kept stashed there. The makeshift mirror reflected faint light as I angled it toward my face, my hands trembling slightly as I prepared myself for the worst.

  When I finally saw my reflection, my breath hitched. What stared back at me wasn’t very human-like.

  The lower part of my face was grotesquely elongated, stretching unnaturally down my jawline like it had been ripped apart and then stitched together by some sadistic hand. Sharp, uneven teeth jutted out in jagged rows, too large to fit properly. Some of them were cracked, others gnarled, their edges glistening with a faint, viscous fluid that smelled faintly of iron and rot. The gums were exposed and blackened, raw like charred flesh, and the surrounding tissue was worse—scaled in patches, with sinewy muscle replacing what should have been skin. It wasn’t a face made for speaking or smiling. It was a face made for ripping and devouring.

  “Fuck…” I breathed, the word barely a whisper.

  My hand trembled as I ran my fingers along the edges of the deformity. The texture was horrifying—jagged and uneven, with the flesh feeling rough and scaly in some places and raw and sensitive in others. My teeth grazed against my tongue as I closed my mouth experimentally, and the sensation sent a shiver down my spine. I closed my eyes, forcing myself to take a deep breath.

  fuu…fuu…

  “You changed it once before, Lexi,” I muttered under my breath, my voice shaking but resolute. “You can do it again.”

  The memory was faint, buried under layers of pain and exhaustion, but it was there—a similar sensation, a similar shift. I had controlled it once, pulled it back before it consumed me.

  I just had to do it again. I let my head fall back against the rock, closing my eyes as I turned my focus inward. My body felt heavy, my thoughts sluggish, but I pushed past the haze, reaching into the depths of my mind.

  There it was.

  I’m now damn sure that the essence is probably related to mutation or something similar…

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  I reached for it, my mental grip trembling as I wrapped myself around the threads of energy. The moment I touched it, I felt resistance—an instinctive pushback, like it didn’t want to let go.

  Haa…fuu…fuuu

  Taking a deep breath, I focused my mind. Bit by bit, I began severing the connections, each one snapping like a taut wire under my grip. The process was slow, excruciatingly so, but I could feel the mutation essence receding, its hold on my body loosening.

  “ARGHHH!”

  The sound tore from my throat as the transformation began to reverse itself. I could feel the flesh of my face shifting, twisting back into place with sickening crunches and pops.

  Argh… goddamn it hurts… ha.. HA… fuck…

  My jaw retracted, the elongated muscles snapping back to their original size. My teeth shrank, the sharp, uneven points grinding against one another as they reshaped themselves. It felt like my skull was being crushed and rebuilt piece by piece.

  “Fuuu… fuuu…” I gasped, my breaths ragged as I fought to stay conscious. The pain was blinding; my vision swam as tears streamed down my face.

  It took nearly half an hour of painstaking effort, but when the final thread snapped, the connection was severed completely.

  The pain lingered, a dull throb that pulsed through my jaw and neck, but the weight of the mutation essence was gone. I slumped back against the rock, my body trembling with exhaustion as I raised the metal card to my face again. The reflection staring back at me was somewhat human. I let out a shaky laugh, my lips curling into a faint, relieved smile.

  “I look like an edgelord... holy…" I muttered, my voice hoarse.

  The kitten stirred against my chest, letting out a soft purr, and I reached up to scratch behind its ears.

  “Let’s not do that again,” I said quietly, my fingers brushing against its soft fur. “Once was more than enough.”

  I sat there for a long moment, letting the tension bleed out of my body. My hand drifted to my jaw, fingers tracing the faint ache that lingered there as I worked the muscles of my mouth. Slowly, cautiously, I ran my tongue along the inside of my teeth, bracing for anything that felt… off.

  To my surprise, everything felt normal. Better than normal, actually. My gums were firm, and my teeth felt impossibly strong, sharper, like they had been reforged. As my tongue explored further, I found something strange—my canines were longer, slightly pointed, but they didn’t feel wrong. They didn’t cut the insides of my mouth or poke into my gums.

  “Fucking weird,” I muttered under my breath. Curious, I retrieved the makeshift mirror again, angling it to see my reflection.

  "Yeah, an edgelord indeed…” I grumbled the moment I caught sight of myself."

  The lower half of my face had reverted to its normal shape, but the transformation had left its mark. Dark scars ran along the corners of my mouth, jagged streaks that reached upward toward my eyes like twisted veins. They weren’t fresh—no blood, no raw edges—but the texture was strange. I reached up, my fingers brushing lightly against the scars. The skin was smooth but cold to the touch, colder than the rest of my face.

  “Sigh,” I muttered, shaking my head. “Guess I’m not getting rid of these any time soon.”

  I flexed the muscles in my jaw, working them slowly as I moved my lips, testing for stiffness or pain. To my relief, there wasn’t any. My face moved normally, and my speech didn’t feel restricted.

  “Well, at least it works,” I said, half-joking. “Small victories, Lexi. Small victories.”

  The kitten stirred against my chest, letting out a faint meow before settling back into its peaceful slumber. I glanced down at it, careful not to disturb it as I adjusted my position.

  But my reprieve didn’t last long.

  My eyes drifted to my left arm, hanging limply at my side. A sharp, aching throb pulsed through my shoulder as I tried to move it, but it refused to respond.

  “Great,” I muttered bitterly, gritting my teeth as I forced myself to stand. The process was slow, agonizingly so. My legs trembled beneath me, and every movement sent fresh spikes of pain lancing through my body. It took a few minutes—and several failed attempts—but I finally managed to get upright. The kitten let out a soft grumble but didn’t wake, its small body nestled snugly against my chest.

  “Look at you… no care in the world," I muttered, limping awkwardly toward the shaman’s corpse.

  There was something there. A weird, instinctual pull tugged at my senses, drawing me toward the shaman’s lifeless body. It wasn’t a visible thing—I couldn’t see it, but I could feel it, like a low hum vibrating in the back of my skull.

  “Essence,” I murmured, the word slipping out unbidden.

  It was unmistakable, so that’s why El was so sure I'd find them soon enough…

  When I reached the shaman’s body, I froze; the pull intensified. It was… strange. I couldn’t see the essence, but I knew exactly where it was—inside the shaman’s head. The sensation was bizarre, like a sixth sense I didn’t know I had suddenly been switched on.

  “Well, that’s new,” I muttered, glancing down at the corpse. “Sorry, buddy. Guess I’m gonna have to dig around in there.”

  I crouched awkwardly, my left arm still useless as I used my good hand to tear into the shaman’s head. The process was messy, the squelching sound of flesh and bone making my stomach churn, but I pushed through.

  “Gotcha,” I said finally, my fingers brushing against something solid. I pulled it free, holding it up to the faint light. The essence was blood-red, glowing faintly with an inner light that seemed to pulse in time with my own heartbeat. It was warm in my hand, thrumming with raw, untapped power, or so I hoped; my encounters in this fucking cursed world were getting more dangerous. The kitten stirred again, letting out a faint purr, and I glanced down at it with a small smile.

  “Looks like we hit the jackpot, little buddy,” I said softly. But then another sensation prickled at the edge of my awareness.

  Damn, another essence… you little kitty cat, you're my lucky charm.

  I turned my head, my senses locking onto a second pull, fainter but unmistakable. It came from the spot where the berserk goblin had fallen, the place where I’d torn its body apart in the heat of battle.

  “Well, isn’t this a pleasant surprise?” I muttered, a grin tugging at the corners of my scarred lips.

  The shaman’s essence still pulsed warmly in my hand, but my focus shifted to the new source of power waiting for me.

  “Guess we’re not done yet,” I said, pushing myself back to my feet.

  The kitten let out another sleepy meow, and I chuckled softly.

  “Don’t worry,” I murmured, glancing down at it. “We’ll rest soon. Just one more stop.”

  I limped toward the berserk goblin’s corpse, the pull of its essence guiding me like a compass. The pain in my body was still relentless, my left arm hanging uselessly at my side, but the promise of power was enough to keep me moving.

  For now, the pain could wait. There was work to be done.

  HOUSE OF END DISCORD

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