"Stop squirming, you little freak. I can't even tell if you're a parasite or a piece of rotten gum."
A heavy boot pressed me into the cold, damp stone of the Abyss Tower. I wasn't a man anymore. I was a smear of black sludge, a 'Shadow Seed'—the lowest tier of trash in this hellhole. The boot belonged to a scavenger, a low-level grunt with a jagged rusted blade and a breath that smelled like old copper and desperation.
"Wait," I tried to scream, but it came out as a wet, bubbling hiss.
"What was that? You trying to talk?" The scavenger laughed, a grating sound that echoed off the cavern walls. He leaned down, his face twisted in a smirk. "I've never seen a seed this dark. Maybe you'll fetch a few credits from the alchemy shops if I keep you in a jar."
He reached down with a gloved hand to scoop me up. I didn't move. I couldn't. But inside this pathetic, gooey form, my mind was still Kael’s. The world's deadliest hunter. The man who had survived a hundred death-traps only to be fed to the Abyss by his own team.
*Squeeze me all you want, asshole,* I thought. *I've been dead once already. What's one more time?*
"You're surprisingly heavy," he muttered, pinching me between two fingers. The pressure was immense. My fragile membrane felt like it was about to pop.
"Let's see if you pop like a blister," he whispered. He brought the jagged blade down, slicing right through the center of my shadow-body.
Pain? No. It wasn't pain. It was a jolt of electricity that snapped through my entire existence.
[System Notification: Fatal Damage Sustained.] [Condition: Death.]
I felt myself unraveling. My consciousness fragmented, dissolving into the dark air. But then, something happened. Instead of the void, I felt a pull. A hunger. Not for food, but for *essence*.
As my form vanished, I felt a tiny, invisible thread snap onto the scavenger's skin. I didn't just die; I anchored.
[Evolution Triggered: Death Dividend.] [Absorbing essence from 'Low-Level Scavenger'...] [Progress: 1%... 5%... 12%...]
I reformed in a blink. I was back on the floor, a smear of black again, but I felt... different. Denser. There was a humming vibration in my core that hadn't been there before.
"What the hell?" The scavenger jumped back, staring at the spot where I'd just been sliced. "I cut you in half. Where'd you go?"
He looked around, his eyes darting. He was nervous now. He knew the Tower didn't let things just vanish.
"Come out!" he yelled, swinging his blade wildly. "You some kind of mimic? A shapeshifter?"
I didn't answer. I waited. I slid across the floor, a silent ink blot, moving toward the heel of his boot. He was so focused on the air that he didn't feel the cold slime creeping over his leather sole.
"Fine. Stay hidden," he spat. "I'll just burn this whole corner of the floor. Let's see how you like being toasted."
He reached into his pouch and pulled out a flint-striker. He was actually going to do it. He was going to incinerate me because he was too scared to keep looking.
*You want to play with fire?* I thought. *Let's see who burns first.*
I didn't retreat. I lunged.
I launched my entire mass—every single drop of my shadow-body—straight up his leg. I didn't aim for the skin; I aimed for the gap in his armor.
"Gah! Get off me!" he shrieked, slapping at his thigh.
But I wasn't just sitting there. I burrowed. I pushed myself into the pores of his skin, sliding into the bloodstream, riding the heat of his panic.
[Skill Acquired: Parasitic Infusion (Level 1)] [Target: Low-Level Scavenger. Compatibility: Low.]
*Low compatibility? I don't care. I just need a ride.*
Inside his veins, I could hear his heart hammering like a trapped bird. It was pathetic. This guy was a joke. But for a Shadow Seed, he was a feast. I started eating. Not his meat—his *mana*. I drained the meager reserves of energy he used to keep his muscles moving.
"What's... what's happening?" he gasped. His voice sounded distant, muffled. He dropped the flint-striker. His leg began to tremble, then collapse.
I pushed harder, surging toward his brain. I wanted to see if I could take control. I wanted to know if I could make this idiot walk himself right off a cliff.
*Just a little more...*
Suddenly, a searing heat flared in his chest. A golden light erupted from his heart, slamming into me like a physical wall.
"Get... OUT!" he roared.