The man regained consciousness. As he tried to move, he realized he was encapsulated in something. The place was dark and damp. He could hear liquid dripping from the ceiling, echoing faintly around him.

  He attempted to channel his Qi to free himself, but something was blocking his Qi pathways. Panic started to creep in. Then, faintly, he heard the sound of someone mining nearby.

  “Is anybody there? I need help!” He called out with hope.

  Someone answered. The sound of footsteps approached, irregular, uneven, dragging. Whoever it was, they seemed injured or exhausted.

  “Thank heavens, you heard me! Please, help me get out!”

  The figure stopped right in front of him and coughed a few times, spitting accidentally on his face before speaking.

  “I’m sorry for my behavior, but time hasn’t been kind to me.”

  “It's fine, old man, just help me get out, and I’ll reward you.” He said, trying to contain his irritation.

  “Oh, I’ll do it quickly. But it might sting a bit when I free you.”

  The old man moved faster than expected, tearing through whatever restrained him. The pain was sharp and burning, but freedom was worth it. The material that had held him was sticky and disturbingly strong.

  ‘Greedy old fool. I’ll get rid of him once I’m out of here.’

  As the bindings gave way, he fell to the ground but caught himself before hitting it too hard.

  “Let me give you a hand, young fella.” The old man said, offering his hand.

  He hesitated at first but took it. The touch was cold and slimy.

  “Sorry about that, I didn’t have time to clean up before running toward your cries for help. What’s your name, son?” The man said with a wheezy chuckle.

  “No problem. Without you, I’d still be trapped. You can call me Rok.”

  ‘Disgusting peasant. Couldn’t even clean his hands.’

  “Delighted to meet you, Rok. My name is… Nok. Yeah, Nok. Hard to remember my own name at my age.”

  The two began walking toward the exit. Nok led the way confidently through the dark, uneven ground. Rok struggled to keep up. The floor was slick and treacherous.

  “Old man, how can you move so easily in this darkness?” Rok asked.

  “O ho ho! I’ve worked in the dark my whole life. My eyes got used to it.”

  Suddenly, a drop of something thick and cold landed on Rok’s shoulder. He brushed it off quickly.

  “What was that?”

  “Probably some cave beast’s droppings.” Nok said casually.

  “Ugh! Disgusting. I’ll kill it if I find it.”

  He looked up, but the darkness swallowed his sight. To strike back at the stupid animal that dared soil him, he grabbed the first rock he found and flung it into the void. The rock struck something, and a loud echo resounded.

  “You shouldn’t have done that. You might’ve angered them. Hurry, before they come.”

  “I’m not afraid of some filthy cave animals.” Rok said, puffing his chest. “Let them come!”

  Nok fell silent after that, despite Rok’s attempts to pry information out of him.

  Finally, after what felt like hours, Rok saw a sliver of sunlight ahead. He sprinted for the exit, leaving the old man behind. The light blinded him as he emerged, forcing him to shield his eyes.

  When his vision cleared, he froze. He was at the workers’ camp, but everything looked… wrong.

  ‘How? This can’t be the same cave we were excavating. We didn’t dig this deep. How long was I unconscious?’

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  “Hey, old man! What did you say your name was again?”

  No answer.

  He turned toward the cave, but Nok was gone.

  “That’s not funny! Where are you?”

  Silence.

  Rok’s instincts screamed danger. He searched the camp for a weapon, but everything was ruined, the tents tattered, food rotted, supplies gone.

  “What the hell happened here?” He shouted, kicking a rock.

  It bounced off the ground and tore through a tent’s side, hitting something metallic.

  His heart leapt. He rushed in and found his old sword resting on a barrel, waiting for him like an old friend.

  “Lucky me.” He muttered.

  He examined the blade. It was still sharp, almost too well-preserved for the state of decay the camp was in.

  He sheathed it at his waist, though his Qi still wouldn’t flow.

  Then a voice startled him, ragged as though it had been running.

  “Rok, is that you?”

  “San?” His heart raced. “I can’t believe it! What happened to the camp? To the cave?”

  He ran outside but saw no one.

  “Some kind of creature attacked us. I escaped, but it captured you and the others.” The voice said, ragged and breathless.

  “Where are you? I can’t see you.”

  “Follow my voice! We can’t stay here; the forest is safer. It’s too big to move well among the trees.”

  Rok took one step toward the forest… then stopped.

  “What are you doing? We need to go before it returns!” The voice urged him.

  “I’m not the sharpest tool in the shed, but I know when someone’s trying to lead me. Stop this charade! I know, San, I know he wouldn’t try this hard to save me. I don’t know how you copied his voice, but you’re not him.”

  He leveled his sword at the shadow where the voice came from. A silhouette stepped forward and clapped. It was a walking corpse with a missing hand.

  Rok recoiled from its appearance. The thing’s voice came out ragged and warped.

  “What gave me away?” It rasped.

  Rok gritted his teeth.

  “What are you?”

  The creature twisted its head unnaturally, showing its decayed face.

  “Would you believe me if I said… I don’t remember?”

  “Are you making fun of me?” Rok barked, preparing to strike.

  “I’ve lived so long, eaten so much, I can’t tell my own memories from my prey.” For a moment, its voice softened, almost sorrowful. Then it sneered. “But that doesn’t matter. This is my job after all.”

  “I don’t give a damn about your story.”

  The creature smirked.

  “I knew you wouldn’t. I can see into San’s memories.”

  Rok’s grip tightened over his sword.

  “You vile creature! What did you do to him? Did you kill him?” Rok demanded.

  “Oh, I didn’t kill him. I let him join my growing family.”

  Rok’s stomach turned.

  “Are you going to kill me?”

  “I wouldn’t do that to you, my child.” The voice shifted then, like a knife, it became the voice of Rok’s late mother.

  The sword slipped from Rok’s fingers and clattered to the ground. He fell to his knees.

  “How… how do you know her voice?”

  The creature’s grin widened; its face was a ruin, jaw barely hanging by rotten flesh.

  “Did you really think I left you alone in that cave?”

  Rok could no longer move; his limbs obeyed him no more.

  “What did you do to me?” he gasped.

  “Nothing much.” The thing stroked his cheek. “I let you become part of something bigger than you can imagine.”

  It ripped open its shirt to reveal a wound in its abdomen where black tendrils writhed, tendrils that reached toward Rok’s core.

  “What’s happening to me?”

  “It took time to take control of your core. After a while, I began to like you and wanted to preserve your body. I spent some time in your memories. Your assassin group might be worth investing time into.”

  It turned away, hands clasped behind its back, then looked back over its shoulder.

  “But I must find my quarry first. My master will be furious if I fail. You’ll have the same fate as I. Neither of us will want that.”

  “Kill me already.” Rok spat.

  “Oh no. I’m not killing you. I’ll take everything from you and take your place.”

  All Rok could do was cry and wait for his life to end.

  “Oh, don’t cry. You’ll become part of a big family, be happy.”

  At those words, the tears stopped; his body could no longer weep. The tendrils spread, and he felt his senses slip as the thing’s presence flooded his mind.

  “Let’s go and meet your new family.”

  Rok’s body moved on its own and followed the creature into the cave. His eyes adjusted to the dark as the tendrils crept over him. He was terrified by what he saw.

  The cave walls were slick with the same black slime that oozed from the monster. Where he had flung the rock, dozens of black pods hung from the ceiling, horrendous forms sleeping inside.

  “Those are your other brothers. It takes time for them to be born; the older ones are further inside, working to get my new toy.”

  Rok felt foreign sensations flood his mind, thoughts, and urges that were not his. Time was running out. The creature grew excited at the thought of what they would unearth.

  Next, they reached a vast chamber where abominations mined tirelessly at the stone.

  “Here are your elder brothers. Come here!” The creature ordered one of its minions. “This one is your old partner. Say ‘hi’ to your new family member, San.”

  The warped figure raised its mangled hand in greeting.

  Rok would have screamed if he still could.

  “I see you don’t like your new family. Don’t worry, you’ll learn to love them.”

  They moved deeper into the chamber.

  “Here is the prize we’ve all been waiting for.”

  Between the cracks of the rocks, Rok could see a flash of white.

  “She will be your future sister.”

  Rok couldn’t understand what the monster planned to unleash. The time ran out as his thoughts faded and his consciousness slipped away.

  “Finally! A better suit.” The creature said, its voice now coming from Rok’s lips.

  Its old shell dropped like a puppet with its strings cut.

  “Take this trash and recycle it.”

  Two spawns stopped working, seized the corpse, and hauled it away.

  The creature wearing Rok’s face turned toward the glowing scales.

  “You’ll be so beautiful when I’m done with you.”

  Then it left, sending more of its spawn out into the world looking for its target.

  The unlucky Chris was still training peacefully in his dreams and had no idea what was coming for him.

  It wouldn’t be long before he would have to face it, either in its new form or in the face of a dear friend.