Chapter 8: Seeds in the Shadows
The forest around Hollow Fang Den had begun to rot in unnatural ways. Once-green leaves had turned greyish-black, oozing thick sap that glowed faintly at night. Twisted brambles now covered once-passable animal trails, pulsating softly with infernal corruption. The flora bent not toward the sun—but toward the cave. Toward Kael.
Domain Corruption Level: 4%
Local Wildlife Status: 3 corrupted; 1 mutation detected
Influence Spread: 300 meters outward
Passive Resource Gain: +2/hour
Kael stood on a newly raised outcrop of stone near the heart of the cave. The glyph beneath his feet hummed with a steady, hungry rhythm. Each breath he took inside his domain felt more alive. The air was thick, charged, resonating with something he couldn't quite name.
He extended his hand. The System responded instantly.
Available Action: Corrupt Wildlife | Cost: 3 Soul Energy
Available Action: Expand Domain Influence | Cost: 5 Resources
Kael focused on a dying crow perched on a gnarled root. Its wings trembled, feathers molting in clumps. It wasn't quite dead—not yet.
"Feed," he whispered.
Dark tendrils of energy wrapped around the bird. It screeched once. Then silence. Its eyes reopened, red and glowing. The feathers fused into jagged shapes. Its body elongated, legs stretching with twisted elegance.
New Minion: Shadow Crow (Scout Type)
Traits: Silent Flight, Night Vision, Long-Range Reconnaissance
Kael smiled grimly.
"Go. Find me prey."
The crow took to the air, vanishing beyond the canopy. He turned and addressed the glyph again.
Influence Extension Option: Activate Root Pulse (Temporary Growth in Surrounding Radius)
Resource Cost: 8
"Do it."
The floor rumbled as black vines exploded from the soil, racing outward in thin tendrils. The map flickered in Kael's mind, showing the roots pushing corruption further—500 meters now. More ambient energy. More soil steeped in his essence.
He watched the map with fascination until the crow returned.
Alert: Minor Settlement Detected – 2.1 km South
Population: Estimated 14
Defensive Level: None
Resource Potential: Medium
Risk: Low
Kael frowned. A small farming cluster. Isolated.
"A test bed," he muttered. "A chance to spread corruption beyond these woods."
He opened his command menu.
Available Units: 2 Lesser Goblins, 1 Shadow Crow, 1 Imp (Newly Summoned)
Resources: 14
Soul Energy: 6
"Send the goblins and crow. I want no survivors."
The System hesitated—just for a moment.
Confirmed.
The goblins ran on all fours into the brush. The crow flitted above them, guiding. Silent death approached.
Kael watched through the crow's senses.
The target was a hamlet of six wooden shacks. Dim lanterns swayed gently in the breeze. Three men stood outside a barn, laughing over something. A child played with a wooden toy near a rain barrel.
Kael felt a twinge. But he buried it beneath the memory of pain.
They never pitied me.
The crow dove. One man crumpled with a talon to the throat. The others barely had time to scream. Then the goblins came. Chaos. Screams. Blood.
Raid Success
Survivors: 1 (Infant)
Resource Yield: +18
Soul Energy Gained: +9
Trauma Feedback: 6%
Kael staggered.
He saw flashes of blood. The child's toy, cracked in half. A crib set ablaze. His hands shook.
New Trait Gained: "Remorse (Dormant)"
"Dormant?" he spat. "Leave it that way."
Back at Hollowrest, Inquisitor Vale stared into a brass basin filled with blackened water. An echo of the slaughter played within.
"He moves faster than expected," he said quietly.
Behind him, a new figure entered the chapel—robes white and gold, face masked by silk. They bowed.
"The Order of Blinding Dawn answers."
Vale turned.
"Then the hunt truly begins."
Domain Level Up: Level 1 Reached
New Options Unlocked:
– Fleshforge (Cost: 30 Resources)
– Demon Gate (Cost: 35 Resources)
– Minor Ward Array (Cost: 20 Resources)
Command Limit Increased: 6 Minions
Domain Title Progress: 11%
Kael collapsed onto his stone throne, breath ragged, power thrumming.
But even as he rested, the cave grew. Walls shifted subtly. Patterns etched themselves into rock. Something in the Den had awakened with him.
Unlock: Den Spirit (Slumbering)
Bonding Level: 1%
Effect: Unknown
Kael opened his eyes slowly, noticing the glyph now pulsing with both shadow and faint crimson threads. The System whispered:
Fleshforge unlocked for construction
Demon Gate unlocked for future summoning
New Minion Type Available: Dreadborn Acolyte (Caster-class)
He stood, hands trembling with power.
"I am no longer prey."
Outside, the forest bowed.