Luke could feel it clearly now.
The living color was analyzing his psionic energy, trying to twist it and launch a counterattack.
Two completely different forces clashed violently inside the small lead box, annihilating each other in flashes of raw power.
The floor beneath his feet cracked and splintered under the corruption. His psionic reserves were draining at an alarming rate. His vision was already starting to tunnel.
He knew if this stalemate continued, he would be the first to break.
"Raaagh!"
Luke let out a strangled roar and forced every last drop of psionic energy out of his body, dumping it all into the chainsaw.
Ding!
A clear, sharp chi rang out from the point of collision.
In that instant, the balance shattered.
The impossible color exploded outward from the lead box.
What had once been a thick, liquid-like substance now vaporized, swirling madly through the air.
Its physical form had been destroyed, but Luke's psionic energy had left a trace. The color sensed sothing familiar and surged straight into his body.
The overwhelming psychic corruption flooded him all at once.
Luke grunted and dropped to one knee. The chainsaw slipped from his fingers.
It felt like his soul had been thrown into a blender. Chaotic, alien sensations slamd into his mind.
But the agony didn't last long.
The mont the foreign energy touched him, the voodoo doll at his waist glowed softly. A warm barrier wrapped around his soul, cutting off the worst of the corruption.
Unable to reach his mind, the energy turned its fury on his physical body instead.
Luke's skin began rotting in visible patches.
Not good.
He reacted instantly. With trembling hands he pulled out his best bottle of holy water—the advanced batch he'd been saving for sothing truly dangerous.
He unscrewed the cap and poured it over his own head.
The holy water didn't destroy the energy like he expected. Instead, it acted as a catalyst, slowly fusing with it.
The good news was that the fusion diluted the power. While it still made his body feel like it was swelling to the point of bursting, it stopped actively rotting his flesh.
Gradually the energy cald, settling peacefully into his body.
[Detected: Host has dispersed a fragnt of the Color from the Stars]
[Detected: Host has absorbed the remaining energy]
[Physique 0.5]
[Physique: 3.6 (3.1 0.5)]
[Psionic 0.5]
[Psionic: 2.3 (1.8 0.5)]
[Specialty: Color of the Stars has been activated]
[Color of the Stars LV1 (50/1000): Psionic Bonus 0.1]
[Color of the Stars: Your body has fused with the mysterious color. You can channel it through psionic energy. Physical contact allows you to absorb organic life force. (Absorption rate scales with Psionic)]
[Psionic: 2.4 (2.3 0.1)]
The flood of notifications blurred across Luke's vision before everything went black. He collapsed face-first onto the floor.
The nauseating psychic pressure vanished at the sa mont.
The world returned to normal colors. The air beca breathable again.
"Cough… cough-cough!"
A violent coughing fit shattered the silence.
Lionel lay on the ground, gasping for air. He spat out a mouthful of black blood and weakly lifted his head.
"Feels like… soone shoved through a juicer… on the slowest grind setting."
Brando ca to more slowly. He shook his head, wiped the blood from his face, and actually looked excited rather than terrified.
He crawled over to Luke, checked his condition, and nearly jumped when he saw blood seeping from Luke's pores.
"Luke, brother, what happened to you?"
Luke could barely move, but he managed to blink to show he was still alive.
"Still breathing. That's what matters."
Brando let out a relieved breath.
Then he turned toward the now-empty lead box, eyes shining with barely contained excitent.
"What the hell was that thing? My brain feels like it got stuffed with an entire library. This feeling… it's incredible. I think I just took another huge step toward finishing my invention."
As he spoke, his nose suddenly started bleeding again.
He touched his forehead and found it burning hot.
Lionel, still on the floor, yelled at him.
"Stop thinking so hard! Your head is literally steaming!"
Brando finally noticed and forced himself to calm down. He dug through his pack for the dical kit and pulled out a bottle of pills.
"Painkillers. I don't understand your injuries, but these should take the edge off."
Ignoring their protests, he forced the entire bottle down both their throats.
Whether it was the dicine or sheer exhaustion, Luke felt the burning pain ease a little.
Rumble.
The entire base suddenly shook violently. Dust and small rocks rained from the ceiling.
Brando's face went pale. He rushed to the wrecked computer, confird the hard drive was still safely packed, then shouted.
"The energy surge damaged the structure! This place is coming down! We need to move—now!"
He hauled Luke up, draping one of his arms over his shoulder.
Lionel grabbed the machine gun and the fallen chainsaw, cursing under his breath as he followed.
"Goddamn ss. Luke, next ti you volunteer for a suicide mission, I'm charging extra."
Luke, half-dragged along, managed to crack one eye open and rasp out a few words.
"Fine… but I get a cut."
The three of them stumbled out of the underground base and back into the crater. The midday sun hit them like a spotlight.
The surviving deford tribesn had all vanished. With their leader dead, their faith had shattered and they'd scattered like frightened animals.
Lionel leaned on his knees and let out a long breath.
"Finally over. I'm gonna go ho and soak in a hot bath for three days straight."
At that exact mont, the sound of massive wings cutting through the air ca from above.
All three looked up.
A huge black shadow blotted out the sun.
It was the winged monster Luke had beheaded in mid-air.
It was still alive.
Its limbs were whole again. Fully healed.
It dove straight toward them, eyes locked on one target.
"Watch out!"
Brando and Lionel raised their weapons, but the monster wasn't coming for them.
Its empty gaze was fixed on the barely conscious Luke in Brando's arms—like it had found its mortal enemy.
One clawed hand snatched Luke clean out of Brando's grip. The massive wings beat once, ignoring the bullets peppering its body, and shot back into the sky.
In seconds, it was just a black speck vanishing into the clouds.
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