CHAPTER 64 – INTO THE DEPTHS
The corridor was darkness itself. No light, no hum of power, only the faint echo of distant footsteps far ahead. Leylin moved with deliberate ease, each step measured, silent, unhurried. Shadows, angles, and the faint reflection of polished metal walls passed under his gaze. Nothing escaped him.
The Gluttony Core pulsed faintly in his chest. A low, hungry rumble vibrated through him.
Growl.
Leylin's lips curved slightly. "Steady now," he murmured, as if speaking to a child, placing his hand on the first corpse he passed. Green tendrils of energy licked outward, swallowing flesh and bone silently. The energy settled.
Ahead, the corridor narrowed. A guard's boots clicked against metal flooring. Leylin pressed back into shadow, letting the patrol pass, eyes unblinking.
Another rumble.
"You hunger," he said softly, almost tenderly, voice calm. "Be patient." The core stilled.
The corridor twisted like a maze. Domain-Expansion drones hovered silently, red eyes sweeping arcs through the darkness. One drifted near. Leylin crouched, moving with sudden, fluid precision. The drone's body collapsed into the floor, absorbed by the green tendrils. He straightened, calm, observing the core as it fed.
Past a junction, staff moved with quiet purpose..doctors in crisp uniforms, murmuring among themselves, hands full of instruments. They glanced at him, cautious, respectful. Leylin nodded once, subtly, and passed. No one suspected a predator walked among them.
A faint alarm snapped. Leylin's hand drew a hidden dagger; a doctor dropped silently. He retrieved the uniform, adjusting it over his clothes, blending seamlessly into the corridor. The core growled. Leylin's eyes gleamed with faint amusement. "All in good time," he said quietly, and the growl faded.
The corridor opened into a larger chamber. Pipes crisscrossed the ceiling, lights flickering. Staff moved with precision, talking quietly about specimens and energy flow. Leylin passed among them, silent, composed, his calm presence unnoticed.
The core growled again, low and insistent. Leylin crouched beside a discarded body. Hands hovering, he let the energy lick outward, drawing the matter into the core. "Not all at once," he murmured. "Patience."
At the far end, a double door loomed, reinforced, heavily guarded. Leylin's gaze sharpened. Something powerful thrummed beyond those doors. A subtle tug at his senses, a shadow beneath shadows.
Footsteps approached. Two scientists moved toward the doors. Leylin slipped behind crates, silent. The core growled, sensing the energy beyond the corridor.
A guard stepped closer. In one fluid motion, Leylin struck. The man crumpled, neck snapped. Energy flowed into the core. "Steady," Leylin murmured, voice calm, almost amused.
He approached the double doors. Cold metal vibrated faintly beneath his hand. A pulse ran through the handles, into his palm, up his arm, into Gluttony.
Leylin inhaled.
Something shifted within him, subtle, almost imperceptible. The air thickened, energy rippling through his chest. His eyes grew colder, sharper, narrowing slightly as he gazed at the doors.
For the first time in this infiltration, he felt anticipation. A thrill, quiet and deep, like observing a child teetering on the edge of learning something terrifying.
He pushed.
The doors creaked.
Beyond, the room was still. Silent. Yet it radiated a presence that drew his gaze. Leylin stepped forward, hand brushing against the threshold. The growl within him pulsed, curious, obedient.
He did not speak to it aloud.
And as his eyes adjusted, the sight before him made the calm predator pause, just for a heartbeat.
As what lay Infront of him made even his calm smile fade..