The second they stepped into the next chamber, the smell hit harder. Not the sewage this time. Something metallic. Something alive.
A disfigured lump of flesh sat slumped against the wall—glimmering faintly in the dim light, twisted into unnatural shapes, folds of tissue stretched where limbs should've been. Skin peeled back. Its surface moved, like it was breathing.
Shalap, driven more by concern than caution, stepped toward it.
"Wait—" Gars began, but it was too late.
She bent low. And then she saw it.
Eyes.
Not one or two—too many. Human eyes, embedded in the flesh, blinking at irregular intervals.
Her mouth opened, but no words came.
The thing moved. Its jaw—or what remained of it—twitched, and a barely audible whisper slipped from it.
"Save… me…"
Shalap's legs gave out beneath her. She fell back, hand over her mouth. Her eyes widened, and bile rose before she could stop it. She vomited onto the floor.
Gars and Sinus stood still, watching.
Then came the gunshot.
Sinus didn't hesitate. His finger pulled the trigger like it was a reflex, and the twisted body collapsed into stillness.
"WHAT—WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!" Shalap screamed, her voice cracking. "WHAT WAS THAT?!"
It looked human. It sounded human. Part of her still hoped it wasn't.
But Gars confirmed what she feared.
"It's a human."
She froze. Her hands trembled.
Then… why kill it? Why not save him?
"…Then…why kill it?" she whispered, voice lost in despair.
Gars turned to her. His expression had none of the warmth from before. Just cold, flat honesty.
"That's what I said, kid. You aren't fit to join us."
His voice was sharper now. Measured. Cruel, but only because the truth was.
"That man's beyond saving. It's alchemy that turned him into that. You can't fix it. Don't think you can. I told you—stay outside. But since you're in here now..."
He stepped forward, eyes narrowing.
"You'll be killing the disfigured humans. And if you can't—forget joining Taskhand."
Then he turned and walked ahead, footsteps echoing off the stone.
Sinus lingered a moment. Said nothing. Just stared at Shalap, then followed Gars.
She remained alone.
Shalap hadn't been ready. Not for this.
Not for the reality of what corruption looked like when it fused with science. Not for the consequences of curiosity.
"That was too much," Sinus said, catching up to Gars.
"Oh yeah?" Gars didn't look at him. "Could care less."
"She wants to expose the temples. Thinks they're shady. She's stupid. You want to ruin something? Fine. But be ready to keep a straight face for it."
He paused. Looked ahead, but his words grew colder.
"Ruining a life's easy if you can ignore the consequences. You ruin a good man? He won't fight back. And if he does, he'll get crushed playing the victim. But a bad man? They won't go quietly. They'll twist the truth. Use your fear against you."
He gave a dry breath of laughter.
"Composure is key. That's how you know the difference between a good person and a bad one."
Sinus blinked. "…What the fuck are you even saying, Gars? That's totally unrelated."
"No idea," Gars said. "It's for her to figure out."
"You think she's still listening?"
"Of course, you dimwit. She has the Clarion of Hearing. The acoustics down here are echoing—she can hear us like we're standing right in front of her."
Up ahead, they reached a rusted, sealed basement door.
Gars didn't wait. A swift kick—metal cracked open. The two of them jumped in.
A lab. But not sterile, not scientific. This place looked like it had bled more than it had healed. The floor was cracked. Bottles lay shattered. Vats of fluid bubbled quietly in the corner.
Sinus exhaled. "Shouldn't there be some safety regulations here?"
A figure emerged from the shadows.
"Who are you?"
Gars didn't miss a beat. "A customer. Sent by noble Clovius—the one who hired you. He apologizes for calling you a madman. Wants to reward you personally."
The alchemist blinked. "He—he did? Oh, man, that's right. Of course he should. I helped him so much—it's only fair. Yeah. Yeah, let's go."
Sinus narrowed his eyes. The parchment they'd been given said nothing about this. But Gars gave him a glance.
That was all it took.
Sinus understood.
The noble was corrupt. He'd been the one backing this lab, these experiments. The alchemist had grown unstable, and their deal soured. Now Clovius needed someone to clean it up—quietly.
As the alchemist stepped forward, smiling, Gars grabbed his wrist.
Sinus raised his gun.
"Some smart alchemist you are, you dumb fuck," Gars said.
The man's face twisted. "Oh, am I?" he hissed.
A new voice rang out—deeper, amused.
A second man stepped out of the side room. Older. Greying streaks in his hair. Cane in hand.
"Certainly didn't expect that, did you?"
Sinus fired instantly.
The man lifted a hand. The bullet tore through it—and kept going.
It pierced his chest. Blood splattered. The man coughed, stumbling.
"Oh, I expected that alright," Sinus said.
"Is that so?" The man smiled weakly, raised a vial with trembling fingers, and drank.
The wound vanished. No blood. No mark. Nothing.
"This might be troublesome," the man said calmly. "But I suppose you do know Clovius is the evil here, yes?"
The alchemist between them began to convulse. Skin bubbled. His body swelled, mutated—until it burst in a spray of flesh and blood, blinding them both.
Gars flinched.
From the smoke and gore, the real alchemist emerged, blade drawn. He lunged at Gars's throat.
But Gars caught the blade with one hand.
"Thanks for the boost, you dumb fuck."
He grinned, blood dripping from his brow.
The alchemist darted back, slamming his hand on a panel. Screams erupted as cages opened—disfigured humans poured out like a wave of pain.
In the distance, Gars heard a scream.
Shalap.
"Sinus, go up!" he ordered.
Sinus didn't hesitate. He leapt up toward the sound, gun drawn.
Gars turned back to the alchemist.
They were alone now.
"Well, I'm late," the man said, raising his cane. "But the name is Phantom."
"I don't give a fuck if it's your real name," Gars said.
Phantom chuckled. "Maybe not. But tell me, Gars, why hunt me and not Clovius?"
"Oh, I'll deal with that bastard too," Gars replied, stepping forward. "Starting with you. You're creating disfigured humans. What kind of sick fuck are you?"
They collided in a storm of fists and alchemical bursts, light and blood dancing in the dark.
---
Shalap sat curled in a corner.
She couldn't stop shaking. Couldn't stop repeating the words.
"I can't… I can't… I can't…"
Around her, the disfigured humans closed in. Some larger than others. All hungry. All wrong.
One lunged.
A gunshot rang out. The creature dropped.
Sinus stepped in, smoke trailing from his pistol. "Are you alright?"
Shalap stared at him, eyes wide, trembling.
She'd seen it all. From the second they fell, to now. She'd seen the truth of the world—not in books, but here, in blood.
Sinus knelt beside her.
"Look… Shalap."
He took a breath, trying to choose the words that Gars never would.
"They aren't humans anymore. Don't pity them. Don't be scared of them. Gars… he's not cruel for no reason. He just wants you to understand that the world's cruel first. That if you join us… you'll experience things like this."
He looked around at the broken bodies.
"You thought the temple was shady. That was it. But this? This is horrific. What scares you more is what happened to the children that went missing. You're looking at these monsters… like they could've been your friends."
He placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Gars isn't a bad guy. But he wants you to understand. This world is darker than you think. That's why he said not to join."
He stood.
"If you still don't want to, that's fine. But if you do—then stand. Look at them. And if you still can't see them as monsters…"
He paused.
"Then see them as humans. And know that by killing them—you're saving them. From pain. That's the best thing you can do."
Sinus turned, gun ready.
"Think about it."