"I... see." Lief solemnly understood the possible consequences of continuing to be the Saint. Lief paused for a moment, staring out at the endless desolation before him. No human in sight. Just apocalyptic wasteland. The possibility of becoming the Saint was truly both magnificent salvation and a horrible curse.
He thought of his parents--their brutal deaths, their screams echoing in his mind. He could still feel the way their blood had stained the ground, thick and red, just as their lives had been stolen so violently. Every time he closed his eyes, those images came rushing back--sharp and suffocating. But what choice did he have? What would have happened if he had been there to protect them? He would not let that happen again to his loved ones, no matter the cost. But the question gnawed at him, torturing his psyche--would he still be the same person when this was all over, or would power consume him, turn into something else? The thought that he might become a monster... No, he would never let that happen. He couldn't let that happen. Lief shook off the thoughts.
As he walked in a random direction, hoping to find signs of civilization, his stomach started to grumble and churn. Lief embarrassingly asked Rhysa, "How do I get food in this nexus?"
Rhysa was silent for a moment. "You won't like this but... The only food source available for you at the moment is the meat of Kyran beasts."
"Does it last taste good?" pleaded Lief to Rhysa. Rhysa was silent. Sighing and accepting his fate, Lief began the slow, grueling, trek back to the Kyran beast he had killed earlier. At this point, its body had begun rotting, a visceral stench that repulsed Lief and filled him with nausea. The ground as he walked back was pure agony to his bare, uncovered feet--jagged basalt shards mercilessly digging into his flesh.
Even after less than an hour after its death, the beast's body was in poor condition. The formerly chrome shell had begun breaking apart, revealing transparent, gelationous membrane beneath. Every time he stepped near the carcass, there was a loud squelch as the dissolved ground struggled to take his weight. The veins oozed putrid green liquid, the creature's blood. Lief prodded the corpse with his foot, resulting in some of the mushy flesh to attach itself to him.
"Why the fuck did I do that!" Lief slapped himself mentally. Shit, why is it burning. The meat that was on him began to rot incredibly fast, taking some of his outer skin along with it. Shit, shit, shit! Lief tried everything to get the substance off him. Eventually, he landed on using his Psyker powers to coat his foot, causing the semi liquid flesh to slide off. Disgusting.
"I swear, if you taste as bad as you smell," Lief muttered curses to himself. He cloaked his entire body with Psyker power, protecting him from the corpse but costing a huge toll on his energy reserves. He felt his vision blur. I fealt like blood was being wrung from his soul with every spark of power. Lief wanted to go to sleep right now, and hopefully never wake up. Maybe this was all a dream?
Lief mustered up all his remaining strength to keep awake amidst the fatigue. Yet, staring at the bones of the beast liquify and start emitting smells, he finally fell to the warm comfort of Sloth.
Several hours later, Lief had woken up, only to be immediately frightened by the blistering heat. The ruthless sun's torture beat down on his frail body. I better start eating the meat. He turned his head and could barely keep himself from retching at the sight.
By now, the entire carcass had been liquified, only a puddle of green, blacks, and whites left. "Rhysa, do I really have to drink this?"
"Of course, by now, after almost a day, the corpse's nutrients have been immensely concentrated. It's powers have been focused. Start drinking now!" Rhysa replied cheerfully. You're only saying that because you don't have to consume this... thing. Lief gathered up his courage and started collecting the puddle with a bucket of Psyker energy. Was the bucket cracking from the rot?
"Remember, Saint, this is the only way to transcend weakness, to gain more strength," Rhysa reminded him. The reminder furthered his resolve, allowing him to remember that strength was his greatest motivation. Clearing his throat, Lief drank it all up quickly. In the span of a few seconds, the effect registered.
The flesh of the beast was a raging fire, blazing through Lief's body. Lief's bones melted under the energy, their very atomic structure being altered. His flesh condensed, expanded, and contracted again, struggling to adapt to the new mass that was added. His inner organs changed shape and modified themselves, attempting to reach perfection. Lief's appendix simply vanished-- the flesh around it filling in the space it once occupied. Wisdom teeth? Fractured and absorbed into his skeleton.
Lief would've screamed in pain, but his vocal chords were currently being altered to fit a new range of sounds. He wanted to clutch his heart, but his muscles had been torn, their very sinews snapped. He couldn't even think, for his brain was being reconstructed to strengthen his new Psyker powers.
Each change--each alteration--modified him fundamentally. Memories, personality, they all began to fade, and blur, into the abyss. Lief struggled to retain some purpose of what he was, some of his identity. From the ashes of his broken mind, fragments of his personality barely managed pieced themselves back together.
His form was spasming constantly, limbs flailing and flesh warping. His skin started to melt off, then form again. Red and black lightning crackled around him, stinging him and only causing more pain.
Rhysa's voice was cold as ever, but there was something almost amused in her tone now. "You're still fighting it, I see. But you can't escape the path, Saint. You've made your choice. Strength, power, freedom from weakness--these are all things you desire, aren't they?" She paused, letting the silence weigh on him. "Don't be afraid of the change, Saint. Embrace it. Soon, you'll understand." She paused.
"Everything follows Master's will."
Lief couldn't respond to Rhysa, for his body was in too much agony, his nerves overloaded. Only his mind remained, a faint feeling of resentment contained within.
Far, far away, a black figure, coated in purple robes, sat on a gilded throne. It smiled, a grin of sadistic ivory fangs.
"Perfect."