Rex feasted. His small jaw cracked bones as he continued to tear into the fallen gorilla. Shadow and sinew merged around him in a display of endless hunger. The Shadowshroud happily continued its meal, sitting in the crimson pool beneath him. The black tether of a leash still connected Rex to Mitch’s liver, but interestingly, they had learned that things could pass through it.

  Mitch faced the Abyssal Wall erected by the Warden. It only enhanced his motivation. Withered bodies littered the space around him. He stood in the center of the pit, shirtless, chest heaving, arms raised. Daring the wave of creatures to continue their torment.

  And they did. A horde of small, snarling beasts closed in. Their eyes were locked on his bare, blood soaked torso. Eager to add new wounds to already savaged skin. Agony’s Embrace flared with every gash he took. Pulses of power forever compounding in his body.

  They think we’re trapped. This is only making us stronger.

  “Let’s go, you fuckers,” he groaned through clenched teeth, bracing himself. Mitch was more than accustomed to pain. He had endured a lifetime of hurt, he had even been murdered. It was still difficult not to flinch a bit. “I’m just getting warmed up.”

  Need to beat past that.

  The first small demon lunged, claws slashing across his shoulder. Mitch gritted against the sting, feeling skin split and blood leak out of him. Agony’s Embrace flared, soaking up the pain and feeding it back as raw strength.

  Another creature latched itself onto his leg. It was gnawing on his calf muscle and was about to reach bone. Mitch bore the pain as long as he could. Every strum of pained nerves strengthened him further. He could feel it, the torment settling in his bones. In his flesh. Soon they wouldn’t be able to break him at all.

  He felt stronger and faster with each cut.

  Time to heal a bit, getting a bit light headed here.

  Siphoning flesh from his reserves, Mitch felt his body mend itself. Torn fibers reconnected with a familiar warmth. His vision steadied as the blood loss slowed, the flesh pooling under the wounds in relentless surges. Each healed gash left behind another scar. Etched into his skin and added to his bodies already large collection

  Settlement Amount: 23 Souls, 6 Beast Souls, 0 Credits, 73(-6) Flesh

  He looked down, seeing the fresh scars interlaced with the older ones left behind from others who had inhabited his body. A messy map of pain and recovery.

  To Mitch, they were layers of armor–proof that pain would not hold him. He was rebuilding and painting himself anew over the loss of past trials.

  “You know,” Sable called out, her voice dripping with amusement. “I’d suggest dodging. Even once and a while. Just to keep things interesting?”

  She dangled by one of her wires wrapped around a stone, feet braced against the Pit wall. A smirk tugged at the corner of her mouth.

  “Appreciate the advice,” he replied, voice tight with concentration. “But this is called Farming Pain, not Avoiding Pain.”

  “Bit reckless. Even for you.” She flexed her wrist, and a thin line of wire shot out. It wrapped around a nearby demon’s throat before she scrunched her hand. The creature’s head snapped to the side in a crack. “You’re welcome by the way,” she added, “that one had actual needles instead of fingers.”

  “Much appreciated.” Mitch took the second to pull on his reserves, healing him completely. “Maybe a bit of warning next time? I don’t want to get Abyssal tetanus or something.”

  “Didn’t hear any complaints when I saved your hide against the small one that went for your…you know.” She waggled her eyebrows.

  He barked out a rough laugh, wincing as another demon’s claws raked down his arm. “And here I thought the First Follower was just an honorary title you received. A fancy nameplate.”

  Sable’s grin widened, “More than just a nameplate, actually,” she replied, raising her wrist in a new way. A jagged purple pattern appeared along the demon's arm where she aimed. Her new Skill, Fracture, was allegedly difficult to use, and Sable was getting practice in while Mitch was gaining strength by the second.

  “Turns out,” she added, her voice low and steady, “the Title lets me know just enough about you.” Her eyes flicked towards him, and for a moment, Mitch felt the weight of her awareness. A subtle sense that she could feel his presence, his proximity, and perhaps slightly more. “I can sense you in the Pit. Even if you’re pushing yourself a bit too far, or the opposite.” She shrugged as if it were nothing. “Basically, if you’re slacking off, I’ll know.”

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  She snapped her fingers, and the demon’s arm splintered, breaking apart in a flash of purple mid-swipe. The creature howled, black ichor spilling from its stump, and scrambled back from Mitch as Sable sent another Fracture toward its neck. Another snap. The demon's head split cleanly from its body onto the Pit floor. It’s body followed a moment later.

  She’s definitely getting better…

  “Oh, trust me,” she said. “I’ve already given myself a promotion.” She tapped her temple. “First Follower means I get the inside scoop.” Her smirk softened. “Don’t think I’ll be losing track of you anytime soon.”

  The words hung in the air. Mitch felt a swell of respect and trust build between them.

  Another beast lunged, but Sable’s wires snapped it back against the floor. Mitch stomped it in one heavy boot, testing his newly gained strength.

  “I know I'm smart, but…” he panted through the cuts lacerating him. “This might be the most genius plan I’ve ever had.”

  “It’s insane.” She chuckled, sending another Fracture and cutting the leg off a small demon. “But it suits you.”

  They continued. Falling into a rhythm–Mitch endured the cuts and bites, siphoning souls and flesh and healing his body as he gained strength in a loop. Sable practiced her new skill with precision, sending small Fractures across the pit to rip the demons apart. They formed a deadly duo, each cycle of pain and power bringing them closer. As friends, and through their permanent bond through Abyssal Bind.

  Affliction Skill Upgraded

  Agony’s Embrace

  Level 6(+1)

  Pain is power. Harness every drop of suffering, turning agony into unrelenting strength. Your torment permanently fortifies your body and amplifies your strength.

  Your acceptance of pain strengthens your resolve.

  Consume Souls or Flesh to heal your Body

  Power over life. Power over death. Souls may fuel what flesh alone cannot. Sacrifice the willing and rebuild what was lost.

  Finally. No new additions though…

  The pain dulled from the level up. The cuts and claw marks that raked across him no longer broke skin. The sensation was strange, as if he had been tempered in fire, his nerves blunted to the sharpness of their talons, his flesh thickened like armor with each strike.

  A savage grin spread across his face as he stood his ground, daring the horde to break themselves upon him. He barely flinched, absorbing the blows, his strength mounting with each hit. Beside him, Sable moved with precision. Wires flashed through the air as she cut down demon after demon, honing her new ability with each snap.

  Then, as the blood-soaked chaos settled, Sable looked up, a glint in her eye. She tilted her head towards Butcher’s perch above them. “Mitch,” she said slowly, “can’t we just…do we just go up there?”

  Mitch blinked. They’ve been so consumed with fighting that the obvious had somehow evaded them both. He glanced back at her, a disbelieving grin spreading across his face.

  “We’re such idiots.”

  The two of them shared a brief look, but just as Sable climbed down to the Pit’s floor, a new sound filled the air. Heavy, lumbering steps echoed from above.

  Each footfall reverberated through the pit. A wave of dread washed over them. This one felt different.

  A monster with a Skill?

  Thundering growls scraped air. Telling them it was something far larger than anything they had faced. The sound reverberated through the pit, making the very ground tremble beneath their feet.

  Mitch unfurled his soul sword from his back. The familiar weight settled into his hands as he braced for the oncoming threat. He turned to the remaining small creatures still clawing at him, and with swift, lethal precision, cut through them. His blade was a blur of merciless intent. Each swing of the sword felt sharper, his movements more deadly, as though his body was finally unlocking the raw potential that Agony’s Embrace had been cultivating within him.

  He marveled at the ease with which he dispatched the last of the demons.

  He felt unstoppable. The small horde quickly lay at his feet in cut up bunches.

  Whatever was coming, Mitch had a bad feeling about it. He quickly siphoned the souls and flesh from the fallen demons around him, feeling each soul tendril zip toward his core like threads of dark energy. Their bodies withered as he drew out their remaining vitality, storing their healing essence deep within.

  Settlement Amount: 64 (+41) Souls, 28(+22) Beast Souls, 0 Credits, 141(+68) Flesh

  He’d missed a few souls, the delay leaving some bodies too long untouched. The souls he captured thrashed within his core, pulsing with raw, chaotic energy as they settled. They, too, added to his strength in unknown ways.

  “Yuck. You know that’s still gross, right? Even if it did save my ass,” Sable said, eyeing the perch where their new enemy was quickly approaching. Mitch ignored the joke.

  “Rex. Come back, boy,” he commanded his Shadowshroud.

  Rex looked back from the nearly picked-clean remains of the gorilla, giving a final, bone-crunching chomp before he zipped over, leaping back onto Mitch’s chest. His dog-like form, compact, muscular, and with that single eye, looked up at him. He was well-fed and satisfied. Like a hound after a successful hunt.

  Rex’s shadowy form rippled as he settled back over Mitch, a familiar weight that now held a surprising density. Like armor forged from darkness itself. Mitch felt the added protection. Rex was much more substantial than before.

  They faced the perch together, the three of them. Each thunderous step above casting a deeper shadow over the dimly lit pit.

  You ready?

  Rex growled in his mind in response.

  Mitch looked down at his Shadowshroud.

  Holy shit. You are ready.