"Called out for my help, did you?"

The voice purred through the void, smooth yet thunderous. In front of Shin loomed a monstrous red creature—colossal, almost as wide as the void was dark. The thing was bound by massive crimson chains coiling around its body, suspending it in space like a beast locked away by gods. It couldn't move. It didn't need to.

Shin hovered in front of it, unnaturally calm, his eyes sharp despite the sheer horror he was staring at. Anyone else would've screamed. He only narrowed his gaze.

"...Who are you?" he asked. Then corrected himself. "No—what are you?"

The creature's grin widened.

"Who am I? I'm the Filthbound."

Its voice dropped several octaves, a guttural boom that made the void tremble.

"Filthbound?" Shin echoed. "You mean... you're the Filthbound?"

"I meant what I said," the creature answered, unbothered. "I'm the one resting deep within the core of your system. The one responsible for your power—your skills, your evolutions... You can thank me for that."

Shin's brows furrowed. He studied the thing more carefully now, a spark of curiosity rising in his chest.

"You?" he said, voice colder now. "What even are you? Who created something like you? Who even created the systems?"

"I'm the Filthbound," it repeated with a lazy smirk—clearly dodging the question.

Shin growled. "You know what? Forget it. I don't have time to waste. My servants are under attack, and you're here trying to act all cryptic. Are you the reason I've been drained lately? My MP's been constantly low. I can't even move anymore!"

The creature laughed—a deep, almost mocking sound.

"What? Me? No. That's someone else's doing. You actually know her."

Shin's eyes narrowed. "Her...?"

But then, before getting an answer, he felt—

PAIN.

A white-hot spike stabbed through his skull. He cried out, clutching his head as if it had been cracked open by a sledgehammer. His vision glitched, flickering in and out like broken code. He looked up, barely able to focus on the creature's smiling face.

"Your mental state," it said calmly, "is still too weak to hold a conversation with me for too long."

It cocked its head, grinning wider. "So... shall I send out a fraction of myself? A quarter, maybe? Just enough to keep you alive. I'd hate to see you die too soon—I really don't want to end up as a Tsukuma before you level up enough to finally break these chains..."

From its massive, chained body, a glob of molten-red flesh peeled away like living slime. It floated upward, shifting and reshaping into a smaller figure—roughly Shin's size with the same features as him. The creature raised its hands in a godlike gesture, and a searing red glow ignited around it.

Shin groaned, teeth clenched as the entire void erupted in crimson light. His body started to fade—bit by bit—as though being sucked into the glowing red figure.

Then—

everything vanished.

**

Back in the real world...

Shin lay on the bed, motionless. His mind swirled with fog, as if waking from a dream he couldn't hold onto. Something had happened. Something important. But it was already slipping from him, like a memory lost in mist.

Then—his system screen blinked to life beside him.

But something was wrong.

It wasn't the usual blue interface.

It was red.

Blood red.

His MP bar suddenly surged—skyrocketing by the second:

100... 200... 1,000... 25,000... 100,000,000 MP.

His breath hitched. That much MP? Was that even real?

But still—his body wouldn't respond. He remained still. Trapped. Conscious—but caged.

Then—

Sylvia's voice.

Screaming.

She was fighting off Lan, who struggled to keep her pinned, trying to force her down.

No… no no no...

And that's when Shin felt it.

Movement.

But not his own.

His body began rising—on its own. As if strings had been threaded through his limbs, and someone else was yanking them from above. He was moving like a puppet—his consciousness stuffed into the back seat.

The real Shin—trapped.

The outer Shin... awoke.

And what stood up from that bed...

Was no longer just Shin.

It was something terrifying.

He sat up straight on the bed.

The old frame groaned beneath him, the sound sharp and metallic, like the bed itself was buckling under a sudden, unnatural weight.

Every eye in the room snapped to him.

The aura radiating from Shin was suffocating and dense like a god had just stirred awake.

Lilian, still locked in hand-to-hand combat with Tan, froze mid-motion. Her eyes widened, her breath caught in her throat. The moment that divine energy spilled out of him, her weak, starved body surged with strength, her hunger evaporating in an instant—as if the presence of her master alone could fill her.

Tan and Lan weren't so lucky.

The power crashing through the room seized their joints, their knees buckling instinctively. The pressure in the air was brutal, pressing down on them like the will of a higher being demanding submission. It told them one thing:

You are beneath this.

But that wasn't even the worst of it.

From the left side of Shin's forehead, a red light began to glow—at first faint, like a flicker of fire trapped beneath the skin. Then—

SHRRRK!

Two jagged horns burst out, tearing through his flesh. They pulsed with a red aura that shimmered like corrupted flame—not smooth, not noble, but raw and vicious, like a shard of shattered crystal forced into his skull. The horns radiated danger with every throb.

His right eye erupted in glowing red, the sclera turning pitch black while the iris spun with cryptic glyphs, symbols of something ancient, and forbidden. The other eye glitched—flickering between his human self and something void-red and hollow, as if reality was trying to decide who was in control.

And then his jaw… split.

Widened unnaturally. Cracked.

Rows of jagged, interlocking teeth emerged behind a mask-like layer of fused flesh and bone—black, cracked, and stitched across his lower face like a cursed relic. The teeth didn't move when he spoke.

But he spoke.

"Get... off her."

The voice wasn't Shin's.

It was colder, layered, and inhuman.

The words echoed like an unbreakable command.

Lan's hands began to tremble. His grip on Sylvia faltered as panic overtook him. Without another word, he released her and staggered back.

But Tan, ever the reckless fool, grinned. Stupidity burning bright behind his eyes.

"Hah!!" he barked, throwing his arms wide. "Let's see how you stand against this!"

He slammed his fists together.

"Titanium Body—Activate!!"

His skin rippled as the transformation began.

Flesh turned to silver. His muscles hardened, glowing briefly as metal plated over every inch of his body from head to toe. When it was done, he looked like a living statue of war.

"Kehehe… Let's see how you feel about this..."

With a roar, Tan charged, fists raised.

But what came next...

He never saw coming.

TBC