Chapter 17: The Nameless Corpse[1]

Xior opened the first door and an intense rotting smell came out of the room. He went inside, his fireball still active, the room led down to a big cavern.

On the wall he saw a huge, grotesque corpse nailed into the wall with chains wrapping around it. The corpse had multiple tentacles coming out of its massive body.

On each of its tentacles it had gaping maws with numerous jagged teeth. It was long dead but the tentacles still twitched from time to time. Huge scars went down many of the tentacles.

Some were cut off cleanly, the smell of blood and the rot spreading on its main body made the atmosphere toxic and it smelled so bad that most people would throw up.

But Xior was different, surviving in the Abyss for five years showed him all kinds of things. He saw aftermaths of wars, bloodied plains and demons impaled on stakes.

His eyes for the first time were full of astonishment. ’What could have possibly killed this thing?’ He thought.

He walked towards it and extended his arm as he touched it. His eyes closed shut as he was forcibly taken inside a memory fragment still lingering.

*****

The starry sky came into his view but it was different, it felt as if he was closer to the stars he always looked at from the alley and the park around the shelter.

He found himself floating in void but full of stars, his surroundings warped and he was transported to a forest full of giant trees.

Massive shadow-like entities walked out of the forest and made their way to the long table with chair on both its sides.

On the far end of the table, at the head position sat a figure shrouded in a purple mist, its two eyes felt like stars.

The others, some tentacled, some with multiple head and some with numerous arms came up one by one and sat on the chairs.

The last one felt familiar to Xior, it had the most tentacles full of gaping maws which felt as if they could swallow planets whole.

gniraen si dne eht

srehto eht dnif

meht edausrep

sekat ti revetahw

ti od

sey

He heard them talk in a weird language he couldn’t understand clearly, some words felt familiar but it was not enough for him to understand.

He moved around them and looked closely at their appearances, all of them had one common thing, and that was their eyes.

As he approached the leader as he sat at the head position he froze, he looked up to see the towering entity shrouded in the purple mist and it was looking at him.

No. Its gaze was akin to millions upon millions of eyes gazing at him. Making him feel vulnerable and as if it knew all of his deepest darkest secrets and desires.

Xior was not there physically yet his eyes, nose and ears were bleeding profusely. Unimaginable pressure gnawed at him, as if it would devourer him and nothing would be left behind.

Somehow even through a memory fragment this entity was able to sense and perceive him, and only a gaze from it reduced Xior to this state.

He gasped and jumped back as he returned to the real world. Something wet went down his mouth and when he touched his nose, it was bleeding.

Just then something shone from the light coming from his fireball, under the tentacle he touched he saw a rune laying on the floor.

It was bigger than his hand but he picked it up, he was lacking skill and this looked like a skill rune so he channeled his mana.

His other runes glowed and the one in his hand did too before dissolving and getting absorbed into his body.

[Skill Rune]

[Devour The Fading]

Type – Active

Allows the user to absorb the essence, abilities, or even fragments of *concepts* from defeated enemies or decaying remnants.

[Skill level too high, it will be adjusted to the users current level.]

He looked at the new skill he had just gotten, he put his hand on the tentacle once again. It twitched before the flesh started ripping off and jumping at his hand and getting absorbed by Xior.

The smell on top of the absorption feeling like Xior’s body is being restructured from the inside made it hard for him to breathe.

As he absorbed it, his nose started bleeding again. Drops of blood dripped down from his chin and landed on the ground.

One tentacle, two tentacles…he lost count. He had almost absorbed half of it but then he saw something underneath the corpse, two smaller versions of the corpse.

Both were alive but unmoving, he continued. Multiple system messages popped up in front of him but he didn’t stop.

[Hunter level too low. Exp applicable for now will be given. The rest will be stored for later.]

He finished absorbing the corpse and then threw up on the side, he was sweating all over. He took off the fur tunic and his body glistened with the sweat. He approached the smaller ones.

But before he was near them one of it lunged towards him, as it swung its tentacles. Xior dodged and grabbed its tentacles and slammed it onto the ground.

A crunching sound was heard on the impact but the offspring of the nameless didn’t give up. It opened its closed maws on the tentacles and bit Xior’s arm.

He seethed in pain but endured and kicked it away. Both of his arms were torn off, his white hair was sprayed red with his blood same with his clothes.

The offspring screeched and Xior felt like his brain would explode. It’s ate Xior’s arms as he regenerated.

It convulsed as its main body started transforming, the tentacles wrapped around it and then he saw a human head pop out. The tentacles formed into arms and legs as it transformed into a woman.

Pale skin, red eyes…but tentacles coming out of her back. Any man would fall for her beauty but not Xior. With only his two arms it was able to adapt and change.

The other one had backed away into the corner upon seeing this, a smirk formed on her face as it looked at Xior.

?owt dnuor rof ydaer

It said and transformed its arms into tentacles and opened her mouth which split into four different directions.

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