Nekeili took a deep breath, stretching his aching limbs. Despite the punishment his body had endured, performing even the simplest movement felt strangely euphoric.
His body felt different with every motion he made.
Stronger.
More responsive.
It reminded him of a machine being freshly oiled—every joint loosening, every movement smoother than the last.
With his unusually high perception, Nekeili could sense his body in ways he couldn't fully comprehend. When he tensed his muscles, numerous pops rang out across his frame.
He threw his head back in relief, rising onto the tips of his toes as sensation flooded his nerves. The feeling was overwhelming, almost intoxicating.
He inhaled deeply again—this time through his nose.
Instantly, another wave of sensation and information crashed into him. Scents he couldn't identify filled his mind, subtle changes in the wind brushing against his awareness.
He had never experienced anything like it.
Of that, he was certain.
Eventually, he forced himself to relax.
Taking a few steps away from the cliff's edge, Nekeili tried to rein in his heightened senses. It wasn't easy, but with every passing moment, his perception slowly helped him acclimate to his reborn body.
His gaze swept across the surroundings.
From the gaping pit below…
To the jagged mountain peaks above…
And finally to the massive, looming gate he had descended from.
Then a burning sensation flared in the back of his mind.
His head snapped down toward the pit again.
He stared.
And stared.
Something felt wrong.
He couldn't explain it. The feeling had no words—only instinct.
Something was off.
Something was watching him.
If he could sense things this clearly now, then what was stopping something else from sensing him?
His mind seized again.
His body tensed instinctively, like an animal sensing danger.
His teeth clenched and a low growl slipped from his throat.
His eyes focused so intensely they began to sting. Blood vessels strained as he stared into the abyss.
Slowly, almost unconsciously, he stepped closer to the cliff's edge.
His jaw tightened.
His teeth ground together.
Then he saw it.
A distorted creature climbing up the rocky wall of the pit.
Then another.
And another.
And another.
Within seconds, dozens appeared.
Then hundreds.
His mind nearly went blank from the shock.
They resembled insects—but grotesquely twisted ones. Their bodies were warped, limbs too long, shells cracked and malformed.
And yet something about them felt… familiar.
Corrupted.
Like him.
But different.
He had been changed by the full essence of the Void.
These creatures felt *infected* by it.
Almost incompatible with the power flowing through them, yet still brimming with unnatural strength.
Strangely, Nekeili understood this instinctively.
Even though he had never encountered such creatures before, his connection to the Void gave him an innate awareness of what they were.
Panic surged through him.
He looked around desperately, searching for any idea—any plan.
Nothing came.
When he looked down again, his heart dropped.
Their numbers had doubled.
What he had thought was a hundred now looked like the beginning of a swarm. The sea of monsters crawling across the cliff walls below him stretched endlessly into the darkness.
They were only getting started.
Nekeili turned and ran.
With all the strength he had, he leapt toward the cliff wall and grabbed onto the stone, beginning a frantic climb upward.
He didn't care how much energy it cost him.
He just climbed.
His mind narrowed to a single thought.
Not looking back.
Not looking down.
Just climbing.
"Keep going," he muttered under his breath.
"Keep climbing."
Like a mantra, he repeated the words again and again.
Then the screeching began.
Dozens of guttural cries echoed through the canyon, merging into one horrific chorus.
This time he had to look.
Even after climbing as fast as he could, they had already caught up.
Several of the corrupted insects had reached the broken cliff he had stood on only minutes earlier. They crawled over one another with frantic hunger, their bodies piling together as they fought to climb higher.
Many fell back into the abyss below.
But they didn't care.
Their desperation to reach him made them reckless.
Their countless eyes reflected an insatiable greed.
A hunger for his flesh.
Nekeili forced himself to look away and continued climbing feverishly.
Every rock he grabbed was a gamble.
Any one of them could break beneath his weight.
But he kept moving.
He had to.
Deciding he had no choice, Nekeili took a risk.
He would test how much his body had truly changed.
With all his strength, he leapt upward.
His hands caught a higher ledge, pulling himself several meters faster than before.
His skin began itching again—though far less violently than before.
Every scrape, every cut he received while climbing caused a strange resonance inside him.
The essence of the Void pulsed quietly through his body.
Each injury strengthened him.
Each strain forced his body to adapt.
Nekeili could feel it happening.
His muscles tightening.
His fingers gripping harder.
His balance improving with every movement.
His body was adapting—
Being molded to climb just like the insects beneath him.
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