The blade sank into corrupted flesh with terrifying ease. No resistance, no impact, just a whisper-soft sensation as Sable Kiss plunged deep into the massive entity''s chest. Elias had expected to feel the jarring vibration of blade against bone, muscle against metal, but there was only a smooth, almost gentle passage.


    Black ichor oozed from the wound—not spurting as blood would, but flowing with deliberate slowness toward the blade itself. The edges of the wound glittered with tiny crystalline formations that caught the emergency lighting in eerie patterns.


    The creature froze mid-lunge, its elongated limbs suspended in attack position, tendrils halfway extended toward Elias''s throat. A sound like paper tearing filled the tunnel as Sable Kiss continued its path through corrupted matter.


    Then came the sensation.


    A foreign pleasure washed through Elias, distinctly separate from his own emotions—not physical satisfaction but something deeper, primal. The dagger was... enjoying this. Drinking. Feeding.


    Yes, came the familiar whisper, straight to the core of his mind, More.


    Maren, Etta, and Nira stood frozen behind him, their gasps echoing in the confined space. The look on their faces—a mixture of horror and awe—told Elias they were witnessing something unnatural even by the standards of this nightmare.


    The Corrupted one''s paralysis broke as the entity released an inhuman shriek that reverberated through the metal tunnel. Its massive form thrashed violently, denting the walls around them. Black tendrils whipped through the air, forcing the group to scatter.


    "Watch out!" Elias commanded, ducking beneath a sweeping limb.


    Maren''s Twilight Twins flashed as she created a defensive sigil. The purple rune materialized between her and the creature, buying precious seconds as the others positioned themselves around the junction.


    The confined space made evasion difficult—they were fighting in a metal coffin with a monster that seemed to grow larger with every movement. Etta had somehow acquired a broken pipe and was wielding it with surprising strength, while Nira used a maintenance tool to deflect smaller tendrils.


    Elias slashed at an approaching limb, meeting no resistance again. Sable Kiss severed it completely, the corrupted appendage dissolving into vapor rather than falling to the floor. The dagger felt increasingly familiar in his hand, its balance adjusting subtly to his grip.


    The emergency lights flickered with each impact against the walls, casting grotesque shadows that seemed to move independently of their sources. The clamor of breathing, metal impacts, and inhuman growls was deafening.


    "Elias! Help!" Nira''s terrified voice cut through the chaos.


    She was trapped against a dead end, the creature''s massive frame turning from Elias to focus on easier prey. Tendrils reached for her throat as she pressed herself against the wall, nowhere left to run.


    Elias lunged forward, but something was different—his body moved with precision he didn''t possess naturally. Sable Kiss seemed to guide his hand, adjusting the trajectory of his strike toward a pulsing mass beneath the corrupted flesh.


    The blade found its mark.


    For the first time, Elias felt resistance as Sable Kiss penetrated something in the monster''s core, the sound of glass shattering ringing like a gong. A connection formed in that instant—between him, the blade, and the dying entity. The creature went rigid; a high-pitched keening escaped its maw, which suddenly cut off as its structure collapsed.


    A visible current of dark energy flowed from the creature''s core into the blade. The gem in Sable Kiss''s pommel pulsed rapidly before settling into rhythm with Elias''s racing heartbeat. The blade''s color deepened, becoming more substantial, more real.


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    Then came the flash—a disorienting glimpse of ship corridors from another perspective. Hunger. Purpose. A human face reflected in polished metal—the person this entity once was. The images weren''t memories, not exactly, more like impressions, emotions, fragments of another''s existence now absorbed into the dagger.


    And through it all, satisfaction. Not his own.


    Silence fell over the junction as the creature''s remains settled into a heap of corrupted matter. The group gasped for breath, checking for injuries, processing what had just happened.


    "What... what was that?" Etta''s voice trembled as she lowered her makeshift weapon.


    Elias examined Sable Kiss. The blade seemed sharper now, more defined. The carvings on the hilt had shifted slightly, and its weight felt better balanced in his hand. The gem continued to pulse, warm against his palm.


    "I don''t know," he answered honestly, reluctant to share the strange sensations he''d experienced.


    Maren stepped closer, her analytical gaze moving between her own daggers and Sable Kiss.


    Nira stared intently, scientific curiosity battling with obvious fear.


    "Did that thing... eat the corrupt—?!" Etta began.


    "We should keep moving," Elias interrupted her, uncomfortable with the amount of attention being placed on Sable Kiss. The less they knew about his connection with the beautiful stiletto, the better. Information was survival, and some knowledge was best kept private.


    As they continued toward the ventilation control, Elias noticed changes in himself. His vision seemed sharper in the dim emergency lighting. Sounds registered with greater clarity—the soft footfalls of his companions, the distant groaning of the ship''s hull, the subtle hiss of corruption spreading through distant sections.


    More disturbing was the brief flash of a security briefing room he''d never seen, recognition of Captain Markov from someone else''s perspective. The unsettling realization that these weren''t his memories made him grip Sable Kiss tighter.


    There was something else too—a presence alongside his consciousness. Not invasive, but watchful. And hungry. Always hungry.


    More. I need more, the thought whispered, not quite words but clear in intent.


    Maren took point again, her Twilight Twins casting purple light ahead. Elias deliberately took rear position, creating distance between himself and the others. He needed space to process what was happening to him.


    The tunnel narrowed as they proceeded, pipes and conduits forcing them to duck and weave. Signs of corruption were apparent but not immediate—black crystalline formations growing in corners, tiny tendrils emerging from vents only to retreat when the light hit them.


    "Wait," Elias said suddenly, stopping the group. "Do you hear that?"


    A faint scraping sound came from ahead—methodical, deliberate. Not the random movements of corruption but something with purpose.


    "Could be another survivor," Etta suggested hopefully.


    "Or another corrupted entity," Maren countered, raising her daggers.


    Elias felt Sable Kiss grow warm in his hand, the gem pulsing faster. The hunger surged, disproportionate to the threat they might face.


    Feed me, the thought pressed against his mind, not quite demanding but insistent.


    His arm twitched, eager to strike, to satisfy the blade''s craving. Elias forced his hand to remain steady, recognizing with sudden clarity that the relationship between him and Sable Kiss was more complex than he''d realized.


    The dagger would give him power, protection, capabilities beyond normal human limits—but at a price. It would shape him as much as he wielded it.


    "I''ll take point," he said, moving ahead of Maren.


    As he advanced toward the sound, Sable Kiss seemed to pull slightly toward the right passage at the next junction—not the direction they needed to go for ventilation control.


    There... Down there, the impression came, clearer than before. Something waits.


    "We need to split up," Elias announced, surprising himself as much as the others. "Maren, take Etta and Nira to ventilation control. I need to check something."


    "Split up? Are you insane?" Etta protested. "After what we just saw?"


    "I can handle myself," Elias replied, raising Sable Kiss slightly. "And there''s something down that passage calling to me. Might be another artifact."


    Maren studied him with narrowed eyes. "The artifacts are supposed to come in pairs. A weapon and a tool. You already have your weapon."


    "Then maybe it''s my tool," Elias countered. "Or another chosen one''s artifact. Either way, I need to check."


    A silent communication passed between him and Maren—the recognition that arguing would waste precious time. She nodded reluctantly.


    "I''ll meet you at ventilation control in fifteen minutes. If not, go on without me."


    Maren nodded in response, her eyes failing to hide her unease. Still, she turned and began to move forward.


    The others continued onward while Elias turned down the right passage, following the insistent pull of Sable Kiss. The hunger in the blade was building again, anticipating whatever waited ahead.


    As the sounds of his companions faded behind him, Elias heard it—wet, dragging movement accompanied by labored breathing. Something wounded. Something dying.


    Something that Sable Kiss very much wanted to meet.