The darkness smothered him like a heavy, suffocating blanket, filled with fragments of sounds and flashes of light—memories, or maybe just the scattered echoes of voices he couldn't place. He reached out, trying to latch onto them, but they slipped away like smoke. A whisper pierced through the chaos, soft but insistent, a melody just out of reach. Then, one voice broke through, clear and cold: "Subject 001: System Integration Complete—Viral Symbiosis Stable. Initiating."
"You are now Plagueborn. You've evolved into an Evolver of the Tireless Stalker class. You're destined to roam without end. Welcome, eternal pursuer. Karnak," the voice said.
The world jerked back into focus with a sharp shock, pulling him from the void. His eyes snapped open, but everything around him felt foreign. His gaze flicked nervously, moving too quickly to rest on anything. Everything seemed to buzz with unfamiliar energy.
His vision sharpened suddenly, and it was as if the world had come into hyper-focus. Data streamed across his eyes—disjointed, chaotic, impossible to grasp. He looked down at his hands, feeling a cold wave of panic when he saw how different they were—rougher skin, faint veins glowing under the surface, a strange, unnatural chill radiating from them. A growl stirred deep in his gut.
Then a voice, breaking the silence, mechanical yet strangely familiar, echoed inside his head. — "You are now Plagueborn—an instrument of evolution, born from the x-virus, both predator and prey. Tireless. Eternal. Adapt... or perish."
Karnak stumbled to his feet, barely managing to keep his balance. The floor beneath him felt different, alive in some way he couldn't explain. Every sound around him—every movement, every flicker of light—felt amplified, pressing against his senses like a tidal wave. His eyes locked onto a nearby computer screen, the data flashing so quickly that it seemed like chaos. But then, his focus snapped, and the stream of symbols cleared for a moment, revealing one simple line: coding error due to overwritten.
Programming activated. Subject codex reawakening completed. Plagueborn—Tireless Stalkers initiated.
Karnak's mind raced, trying to make sense of the data on the screen, but his eyes kept returning to something in the corner of the room—
And then, without warning, his body took another step forward. His mind screamed at him to stop, but his legs obeyed an instinct he couldn't fight. He moved, step by step, as if something deep within him had taken control, his purpose now not his own but carved into his very being. He was the Tireless Stalker, an eternal hunter, bound to chase things he didn't yet understand.
A voice crackled inside his skull, sharp and urgent.
Warning: Vital levels critically low. Brain matter required. Immediate feeding necessary.
Karnak's gaze dropped to his hand, confusion flooding his mind. He stared at the glowing veins, pulsing with a strange energy, and felt the ache deep inside. Then the voice returned, more insistent this time.
Critical condition. Brain reserves required. Begin feeding protocol.
His throat went dry, and a weight settled in his chest, as though something vital had shifted inside him. This wasn't just a command—it was a raw, primal need, clawing at his insides. He heard what some would clarify as a footstep, but right now. It was of no concern to his childish discovery self. His legs buckled beneath him, and he stumbled back, the cold floor beneath him grounding him. His senses were on fire—every detail sharp, intrusive: the texture of the floor, the hum of machinery, the faint metallic scent of blood in the air. And then, the sound—a rhythmic, labored breath.
When he heard it, his mouth began watering with the thought of Brian.
The word punched through his thoughts like a hammer. His stomach twisted with hunger, but not the kind he knew. It was darker, desperate, unfamiliar.
His eyes locked onto the corner of the room where a figure slumped motionless against the wall. His chest tightened, a battle waging inside him. There was a pull—undeniable, almost magnetic.
"No..." he muttered, the words feeling foreign in his mouth. But the pull was too strong, and it drowned out every protest. The voice whispered again, chilling in its simplicity:
Consume. Adapt. Survive.
His legs moved without his permission, drawing him closer to the body. His senses exploded—he could feel the warmth still radiating from it, hear the faintest heartbeat, and smell the blood that clung to the air. He wasn't dead yet. There was a crimson trail smeared across the floor, jagged and uneven; it was all coming from his legs.
"Stop…" Karnak growled, fighting the pull with everything he had. His fingers twitched, glowing faintly, as he reached out. His vision blurred. His will and the virus's control were slipping into one, indistinguishable.
When his fingers made contact, energy surged through him—sharp, violent—and his vision collapsed into red, and he gave in to a ghoulish hunger.
When it came, his hands—no longer his—moved with a horrible purpose. Tear, rip, consume. He tore the man apart, the screams desperate and high-pitched, but Karnak was worried about other things, filling the room. Blood and flesh mixed in the air, but the screams soon faded, silenced by the horrors that had overtaken him. "Stop! Stop!" the man had begged, but it was too late.
After consuming the man, the truth hit Karnak like a thunderclap—his mind was no longer alone. The man's memories flooded into him, vivid and undeniable. In an instant, Karnak understood the gravity of his situation. He was being hunted, and man was the trap.
Then, the voice returned, almost gleeful.
You have fully evolved; you are now an evolver.
A sharp image flashed before his eyes.
Karnak lvl 1 Evolver Tireless Stalker
Confusion hit him like a wave, and his mind reeled. What had just happened? He looked at the dead body. There was nobody; just his clothes were there. Having gained the man's memory, he grabbed his clothes, and the chain was unique with a chain into a cross; he looked at it. But before he could process, the lights flickered and went out, plunging the room into total darkness.