Threads of the Soul

[He is experiencing Gene Collapse.]

'Gene Collapse, huh? That doesn't sound very pleasant.'

Five figures could be seen standing within the confines of the castle's dungeon, all of them gathered at a single cell door, gazing through the bars at the poor wretch contained within.

These five figures in question were Astra, Alexandra, Cynthia (who had finally reformed herself), Seth and Corvus. Although, Corvus had changed since the others had last seen him, since he had been torn apart by the Heart-Eater, although they were unaware of that detail.

It seems Seth's little stalker had omitted the details of the fight between Heart-Eater and Corvus from her little videos, keeping the secrets that had unfolded and been revealed to herself. He was still unsure as to whether that was a good thing, or something that was going to bite him in the ass later. Only time would tell.

Seth had managed to sneak his alter ego somewhere private before the others arrived in the castle, since his body was half obliterated and his identity obvious. The Heart-Eater incident just further proved the necessity of a scapegoat like Corvus, although perhaps some upgrades were needed.

Nevertheless, Corvus was now in the form of a puppeteered suit of amour, the best conditioned one he could find, with his cloak formed over the top of it. Curiously, his abilities allowed him to remove the helmet of the armour and simply use the hood and bird mask as the puppets head.

As for the figure confined within the dungeon cell, the one which they were all staring at, Seth had seen this poor soul the last time he had snuck into this dungeon, although that had been with little Geets.

This figure was, at some point, just a normal every day man. Yet now he seemed to be caught half way through a dreadful mutation. His face was half melted, like a wax figure that had been attacked by a flamethrower, and his arm was grown so that it was nearly as big as his entire body. The arm was covered in the most extreme cancerous growths and seemed like it was also in the process of melting, extra fingers grew out of places fingers didn't belong.

It was as if his body was constantly generating new flesh, trying to form it into something new and wonderful, but had no design in place. It was just growing like mad, failing to hold any logical form.

[Gene Collapse is certainly not pleasant. As the name suggests, the entire biological make up of his being is caving in on itself. His body has lost part of the blueprint and is trying to use the power within the correct the mistake, but it is only making things worse.

Eventually, if left to suffer, he will loose all semblance of sanity and humanity.]

'Is it curable?'

[Not at this point. The collapse is too far gone.]

'Could this happen to us as well? Are my people in danger of this happening to them?'

[It is always possible, but unlikely. Gene Collapse can only occur through a few methods. Exposure to certain substances can destabilise your Genetic structure and in high enough doses cause rapid Gene Collapse, but such substances do not currently exist on earth.

The second method is self made Gene Collapse. Exposure to the previously named 'Mana' has caused species to mutate on earth and tread upon the natural path of evolution, but there are some who are able to influence their mutations and invoke further ones.

Performing these methods poorly, or without the proper nutrition, will invoke Gene Collapse in the subject.

The final method is suspected to be the cause of this individual's affliction. Recurring consumption of similar genetic material.]

'Similar genentic material? What does that - Oh, you mean to say...'

[Yes. Cannibalism. Not every species suffers from this method, but all sapient species do. Humans included.]

'Damn... I don't expect people will be doing that any time soon, but that means that the likes of the Heart-Eaters corpse is off-limits. The souls are alright though, right?'

[Yes, they are fine to consume. This phenomena is purely meat based, so it is advised to avoid eating the meat of the same sapient species as yourself. Aberrations, however, are not counted under this despite their origins. The reasons for this are as of yet unknown, but they can be safely consumed if you so choose.]

Seth had yet to actually partake in the flesh of Aberrations, it was good to note for individuals like Cynthia. She had taken many Aberrations into her gelatinous embrace and dissolved them in her acid insides, which was her disturbing way of eating.

Glancing to his side, Seth could see the flash of panic spreading across Cynthia's face before she let out a silent sigh of relief. It seemed she had the same realisation about her dietary habits.

He really couldn't imagine some people would be so insane as to eat actual people, but it was worthwhile telling the rest of their group to make sure to only eat the monsters and not people.

'Is there any way to help him?'

[A swift death.]

Seth let out a sigh at that answer. He had been expecting it, but part of him was hoping that his guardian angel would have some mystical solution up their metaphorical sleeve. The world was not so kind, it seemed.

Having Corvus turn his head to face Astra, the pair of them shared a silent conversation through that singular look, before Astra nodded softly and turned towards the other cages. This man was not alone in his suffering, there were other humans just like him locked up here, being fed mystery meat by the Hemogoblins.

Perhaps the Heart-Eater was trying to turn them into new powers for him to consume, or perhaps he was simply cruel and wanted to see what happened. Or maybe he just didn't care about them at all.

Whatever the reason, it didn't matter. The wretch was dead and rotting, his soul now fuel for Seth's growth.

Using his blood blade to cut open the cell door, Corvus stepped in and slowly approached the poor soul. He had expected resistance, perhaps a scuffle. That probably would have made it easier on his consciousness if it was just another monster for him to slay.

But it wasn't. It was a man who looked at his puppet with intelligence in his eyes, and a grateful smile on his face. The gene collapsing prisoners did not resist their fate, they welcomed it with open arms and tears streaming down their cheeks.

There was no fight, no scuffle. There were no Requitals or stat points gained. There were only mercy killings and blood stains on their hands.

The animals were spared, kept in their cages as someone suggested figuring out methods to tame them, just like Seth had done with Omelette and Astra with her two-headed pup. It would be good, if possible.

Once everything was taken care of, the group departed the dungeon, carrying out the bodies of the Gene Collapsed humans and treating them with the utmost care.

Seth had inspected the room that had previously held the dragon, but aside from a melted door and a room that was far too small to contain the creature he had previously witnessed, there was nothing of note.

It was completely empty, bar for the scattered plates from its sedated food and the discarded bones of the rooms previous occupants. It was just a shame that, no matter how thorough Seth's investigation was, he was simply unable to see the minuscule crack hanging in the air. No bigger than a single human hair, it stuck in the air like a fracture on the surface of a window.

***

Standing at the bottom of the castle's hill, Seth looked over the field of crosses, swords and other standing markers. Each one indicated the presence of a grave beneath it, a grave for the warriors they had lost, as well as the people who had fallen before they arrived.

They didn't just bury those who were suffering from the Gene Collapse, they had also taken down every strung up corpse and finally laid them to rest like they deserved.

Even though their souls had no doubt moved on, or even fought against their slaughterer and became a part of Seth himself, it still felt right to give them a proper burial.

With the world collapsing around them and society having fallen to the monsters, they needed to work hard to keep civility. To make sure that even though society had fallen, that they didn't fall with it nor did it stay gone.

The cleaning crews were already hard at work, cleaning the castle courtyard of all the stains left behind by their previous inhabitants, as well as teams fixing up the walls through a combination of might and magic.

They had fought hard for this place, so this would be their new home. This would be the centre of their new civilisation and they had already decided who was going to lead them. Seth just hoped that he, or should he say Corvus, was ready to take on that responsibility full time.

Letting out a soft sigh, as if that was going to relieve all the stress that was mounting on his shoulders, Seth took the crystalline Icosahedron that was left behind after Bob's death from within his armour.

He gazed down at him, a whirlwind of thoughts flowing within his mind as he rolled the small, glittering object within his hand, before sighing again.

"I might not have shown it properly. But I was proud of you, more so now. I'll miss you, son."

Crouching down, Seth placed the Icosahedron into the small hole he had dug at his feet, before covering it with dirt. As for the marker, he stabbed what was left of Bob's sword into the ground, the sword he had left in the Heart-Eaters chest.

Seth patted the ground a few times, before standing and walking away, ready to lead these people into a new life, leaving the mound of dirt behind him. Yet as he walked away, at the very base of the sword where it met the ground, the dirt began to shift.