Once again, Beauty failed to explain herself. Her voice cracked, her throat closed up, and the silence between them grew heavier than before. No truth was spoken. No pain was shared. Just another moment wasted, lost in everything that couldn't be said.
Eventually, they were all offered a place to sleep.
Beauty and Randa retreated to her room, where the walls were familiar but the air was heavy with regret. Cydal, on the other hand, refused the comfort. He said he preferred being outside and it wasn't a lie. He didn't want to be near anyone. Not here. Not now.
He sat alone on the old couch in the common area, hunched forward, arms resting on his knees but something kept pulling at him. A presence. No, multiple presences. Watching. Whispering.
Eventually, sleep won.
The moment his eyes closed, the dreams came rushing in and it wasn't a dream. It was a memory.
He was a baby again. No more than a year old. Couldn't even walk properly. His tiny feet struggled to move through the cold, red forest, his skin was green and rough like a reptile's rather than a human's. But it was shining softly and it was light green rather than dark green like Null's
The entire world around him looked wrong, it was glitching, twisting, as if reality itself was broken.
"B-Big Sis Beauty!!" he called out in his little voice, barely able to pronounce the words. "B-Big Sis Beauty! W-Where are you?!"
His cries echoed into the twisted trees. Shadows rippled between the branches. The air was dead and thick.
"I'm scared… I don't like this forest… I keep hearing scary voices… Please, help me!"
But no one came.
No matter how much he screamed, begged, or cried, no one came for him.
Sobbing, he stumbled through the forest, eventually finding a small, blackened lake. He knelt down to drink. The water rippled. But what he saw in the reflection made him freeze.
That wasn't him.
The boy in the reflection had darker green skin, reptilian eyes, and a smile full of knives.
"LET ME OUT," it shrieked from the surface, its face warping. "Let me OUT. I want to be FREE. I want to KILL!"
Cydal jolted back in fear, scrambling on all fours.
"No!" he cried. "I'll never let you go! You're mean! You wanna hurt Beauty!"
The face in the water twisted into a cruel grin. This was Null. His second soul. The shadow inside.
"I'll torture her," it whispered. "I'll rip her spine out and laugh while she begs for help. Let me go, or we both die here in this dungeon."
"No!" Cydal screamed, clenching his fists. "I want to save her! Beauty?!! BIG SIS BEAUTY!!!"
He ran. Deeper into the red woods.
It was too dark to see.
And then the voice came.
A cold, robotic voice echoing like a ghost in the wind.
[Augmented reality training: Activated.]
[Today's opponents: Wretchhounds.]
[Objective: Defeat as many Wretchhounds as possible before sunrise. Failure to do so will result in vessel No.8 being declared as another defective result. Subject will be purged. A new vessel will be created after system reboot.]
Cydal couldn't understand a word. He clutched his ears and whimpered.
"W-Who said that?! Ghost?! Where's Beauty?! I wanna go home!"
The voice didn't stop.
[Negative. No. 8 cannot exit the simulation until test conditions are met. This training is designed to unlock and strengthen your demon inheritance.]
"I'm not a demon!" he shouted back. "Beauty said I'm human! She believes in me! I'm not a monster!"
The system didn't respond.
Something moved behind the trees.
Slow. Heavy. Snarling.
He turned, eyes wide, heart pounding.
They were coming.
Null screamed inside his head, louder than ever.
"They're here! THEY'RE HERE! You're too soft! Let me out! If you don't, we'll BOTH die!!"
Cydal sobbed alone, scared and trembling, his tiny form barely able to stand upright.
From the woods came a sound, leaves cracking, branches snapping, something breathing heavily.
And then it emerged.
A Wretchhound.
It was five meters tall. Its limbs were like jagged scythes. Its fangs were longer than swords, dripping venom thick as oil, sizzling as it hit the ground.
Cydal screamed in terror, his tiny feet stumbling backward.
"Big Sis Beauty!!" he cried out, voice cracking. "Th-There's a big, mean doggy! I don't like it! Please help! Why aren't you coming to me?!"
But there was only silence.
No one was coming.
"No one's coming to help you, coward," Null laughed, voice shrieking from deep inside his skull. "You're not a human baby, so quit whining. Fight it. KILL it!"
"No!" Cydal sobbed. "No way—I can't! It's too scary!"
"Then let me handle your body!" Null hissed. "I'll save us both."
"R-Really?" Cydal asked, blinking with innocent hope.
But another Wretchhound leapt from behind.
Cydal's instincts screamed. He barely dodged and shrieked But more were coming. One. Two. Five. Ten.
They jumped out of the woods, eyes glowing, teeth gnashing—snapping jaws that tried to crush his tiny body in one bite.
He ran screaming as he barely dodged another strike.
"You fool, if you get hit even a little bit by one of their claws, their poison licked claws will mean instant death for us!"
This scared him more and he tripped and fell from a steep cliff. He rolled all the way down.
Pain shot through every inch of his body. Scrapes. Cuts. Thick and black blood was oozing out of his skin. He didn't understand.
Why? Why was this happening?
He didn't do anything wrong. Beauty had told him only bad children are punished by monsters
All he wanted to be loved.
But the nightmare didn't give him time to ask.
Two Wretchhounds growled from above him. They clicked their fangs and circled closer. Cydal tried to crawl, but his limbs wouldn't move. He was frozen.
And then—
One of them lunged straight at him.
CRUNCH.
A flash of pain exploded through his body. His tiny arm was ripped clean off. Black blood sprayed across the stones.
He screamed.
So did Null.
The pain was unbearable, shared by both souls. But the monsters weren't done.
Null kept screaming at him to let him free or they would surely die.
Another one jumped and bit deep into his neck, shaking him violently, trying to tear out his throat.
Cydal's vision blurred.
In his eyes, his short, one-year life flashed by. All he saw was the cold wooden walls. Tight spaces. Loneliness. Pain.
And then—her.
Beauty.
Her warmth. Her words. Her love.
He remembered the way she held him and whispered:
"If you left me, I'd be so sad."
His eyes opened, glowing with rage.
His tiny teeth clenched.
"Null… EXCHANGE!!"
His body convulsed and started shifting. His light green skin darkened to a rough, cracked forest green. His pupils vanished, replaced by reptilian voids. Black hair burst out, long and wild, whipping with power.
He rose like a nightmare.
One Wretchhound lunged at him again.
His snapped arm sprouted again and snapped forward, stretching unnaturally long. He punched straight through the beast's chest and ripped out its heart.
It wasn't just a beast's heart.
It was human.
A twisted, corrupted organ from someone long lost to the game.
And Null ate it.
He bit into the raw heart like it was candy, chewing with glee, blood pouring down his chin.
The other Wretchhounds backed away, suddenly cautious.
Null grinned with blood-soaked teeth. "Yes… Run, little puppies, let's see who can run the fastest, the losers will be chopped meat."
And then he hunted.
By sunrise, the forest had changed. The trees were split in half. The ground was soaked in red and black. Corpses lay mangled and torn apart, some still twitching.
Null sat proudly on a broken tree trunk, gnawing on a severed Wretchhound leg. The rest of the body was in pieces before him and it was alive, he wanted to let him see it as he ate his own leg, then he killed it too.
[Congratulations.]
[You have defeated 34,569 Wretchhounds within 6 hours.]
[Massive Record Break! Check your inventory for rewards and experience.]
[You have completed your augmented reality training.]
[Subject No.8 is a confirmed success.]
[Initiating Phase Two: The Vessel Project.]
[Welcome to the Game, Player No.1.]
The green digital screen flickered above his head. A cold robotic voice kept talking—but Cydal wasn't listening.
He was inside again.
Fighting.
Null laughed, clawing for control. "Let me STAY! I'm your real power! I'm the only reason we're alive!"
But Cydal gritted his teeth and screamed, he was pushing back. It was like two souls argued intensely
And then… the light returned.
He regained control.
His body shifted back to its childlike form. His long black hair shifted to his short and smooth green hair..
But his eyes weren't the same.
Not anymore.
Now they were colder.
He made his way back. He had to return to Beauty. She would be worried. He didn't like Null. Null was mean.
But even as he walked, limping and bruised, something about him had changed forever.
Null was trapped again, but not gone.
Cydal's eyes told the truth.
He wasn't scared anymore.
Cydal jolted upright, drenched in sweat. His chest heaved as he gasped for air, and his limbs wouldn't stop shaking. His left arm twitched violently, the muscles spasming as if Null still clawed for control from within.
He closed his eyes. Breathed deep. In… and out.
It was just a dream.
He rose from his makeshift bed and walked quietly to the other room.
Beauty and Randa were fast asleep.
Beauty lay calmly, her long hair framing her peaceful face. Randa, on the other hand, was sprawled in every direction, half off the bed and snoring like a wild animal. Her arms flailed now and then, like she was fighting in a dream.
Cydal stared at her and closed the door.
But then…
Click.
His ears twitched. He heard a sound, it was small, wet, and unnatural, it came from behind the window.
He turned.
There it was again.
A clicking sound…but later came a howl. It was not like a triumphant beast.
But like something like wounded wolf mourning alone in the forest.
It echoed from just beyond the wall, it was so close he could feel it in his bones.
Cydal crept toward the window. His bare feet made the old wooden floor creak. Every step felt like it echoed in the silent house.
He reached the curtain and pulled it back slowly.
But he saw nothing but only the black sky.
And the shadows of broken houses and mud-covered fences.
He exhaled.
Then something SCREECHED.
Fangs sank into his neck with lightning speed. The shock made his body freeze. But instinct took over.
Cydal grabbed the creature's head and yanked.
His nails extended long, they were sharp and black. They glowed faintly with Null's energy, and he plunged them deep into the creature's skull.
It howled in pain and leapt back. Null's unstable energy acted worst than a poison.
Cydal's neck healed immediately, the skin stitching shut with a soft hiss of black steam.
He saw it now. All the sound came from a wretchhound. It was Skinny. Mangled. Its bones bent wrong. It had somehow climbed the walls and forced itself through the window.
Cydal stepped back, preparing to fight, arms raised, nails glinting.
But then… the beast didn't attack him.
Its ears twitched, he started sniffing in the air.
"It's not here for me…?"
And in a sudden burst of speed, it bolted.
Straight down the hallway.
Toward Beauty's room.
Cydal's eyes widened as the door creaked open.
Beauty stood there in a long tunic, holding a lantern. Behind her, Randa peeked out, yawning and rubbing her eyes.
They had heard the noise.
And now they were in the path of the monster.
The Wretchhound lunged—
Cydal dashed, grabbed the beast's tail mid-air, and with a surge of strength, swung it in a brutal circle before hurling it against the wall. The whole house shook.
Randa shrieked in terror, falling backward.
"W-What… what is that thing?!" she cried, trembling.
Beauty stood in front of her protectively, arms out like wings. Her breath hitched, but her voice was steady:
"Stay inside! Don't move."
She turned to Cydal, eyes wide with fear but also fierce.
"I'm helping you."
Despite Cydal's brutal counterattack, the Wretchhound didn't respond like a creature driven by instinct—it ignored him entirely, its jagged body started twitching as it zeroed in on Beauty and Randa.
Like it was programmed to only attack them.
With a guttural snarl, it lunged again, straight for Beauty.
But she didn't flinch.
She closed her fist and punched it mid-air.
Her fist collided with the side of its face, snapping its head sideways with a loud crack. It stumbled, but barely staggered.
Its jaw opened unnaturally wide, its mouth stretched into a grotesque maw, ready to devour her whole.
But Cydal was already moving.
He whistled sharply. "Over here, untamed mutt!"
The Wretchhound's head snapped toward him, its ears twitching.
It shifted focus now. Him too, then. If he was going to stand between it and its targets… it would kill him first.
It charged.
But it didn't even make it halfway before Cydal slammed his fist forward like a hammer, straight into its skull. The sound was sickening, he crushed his bone, flesh, and brain in an instant. Its momentum died on impact, and its body collapsed limply at his feet.
As its malformed body twitched and bled out, it gasped a voice broken and distorted:
"F-Forgive… me… Batis. Forgive… Dong…"
Then it went still.
The room fell into a stunned silence.
Beauty's eyes widened. "Batis…? Dong?"
Randa stepped back, shivering. "T-Those are students from our school. How… how did it know their names? What's really going on?!"
Then came the sound that made everyone freeze.
It was a very loud howl and soon it wasn't just one or two. But a whole chorus.
And they were scratching, against wood, against glass, from the roof, beneath the floorboards. Surrounding them. Enclosing them.
Like the house was a heartbeat and they were the blood trapped inside.
Randa's legs gave out and she dropped to her knees, trembling. "No… no way. More are coming. We're surrounded…"
Her voice cracked. "What are we gonna do? Why are they attacking us? I don't get it, I don't understand anything!"
Fear choked her words. She was panicking.
But Beauty knelt beside her and gently held her shoulders. Her voice was calm, strong, even as the walls trembled with approaching terror.
"Hey, hey… look at me, okay?"
Randa's tear-filled eyes met hers.
"We'll get through this. Together. You stay behind me. I'll keep you safe." Randa nodded slowly to beauty
Cydal turned toward them, eyes glowing faintly.
Cydal understood now crystal clear. They weren't here for him; they were here because of him. The Wretchhounds weren't ordinary beasts. They were once human—men and women twisted, contorted, and reshaped into monstrous hounds by the creator. They were stripped of their identity and free will. Their transformation wasn't a punishment; it was a purpose. They were the Creator's personal silent army. They were his spies in the shadows and assassins without mercy. Whenever something or someone threatened the delicate balance of his grand design, he would unleash them. No questions, no delays. Elimination was their command.
And now they stood at Beauty's doorstep.
That could mean only one thing: the Creator had deemed even the idea of human connection too dangerous for him. Friends, allies, affection, none of it was allowed. Cydal wasn't just being watched or trained by the system to be the creator's perfect balance. He was being cut off.
They came all at once.
Dozens of Wretchhounds poured in, crashing through the windows, leaping over walls, snarling like rabid missiles fired from every direction.
Glass shattered.
Wood splintered.
The house groaned like it was screaming.
Beauty grabbed Randa by the arm, dragging her down the narrow corridor.
"Run!"
Randa stumbled, barely keeping up as the hallway lit up with the flash of eyes and claws. The monsters didn't just chase, they screamed, their howls mixing with twisted voices and human names.
Every time one lunged too close—
Crack!
Cydal's arms swung like hammers, breaking bones, crushing skulls.
But they just. Kept. Coming.
He fought like a storm, one hand slamming a Wretchhound through the floorboards, the other tossing another beast into the walls.
Blood sprayed the corridors, it was black, thick, and steaming.
But no matter how many he killed, more replaced them.
They were just too many. And it was difficult to fight because he had to choose: fight or protect.
Every second he stopped to shield them, another Wretchhound closed in from behind.
And Null? He was completely uninterested because the Wretchhounds weren't attacking Cydal.
They were only after the humans and Null didn't care about them.
He only stirred when Cydal was in danger, he didn't do it out of loyalty, but for his own survival.
He was a parasite, not a partner. A second soul leeching existence.
And as long as Cydal wasn't dying, Null saw no reason to waste energy.
Cydal gritted his teeth, fury bubbling under his skin.
"Coward."
He dodged a Wretchhound that narrowly grazed his cheek, then caught it mid-air and snapped its spine over his knee.
More came.
He turned toward Beauty and Randa.
They were cornered now.
Randa sobbed behind Beauty's arm. Beauty's fists were bloody, knuckles raw.
The hallway was burning with movement—packed with monsters.
Cydal's breath hitched.
Cydal slammed a Wretchhound into the floor, its skull popping like overripe fruit. Another lunged, he kicked it mid-air, bones snapping on impact. But they were endless. Every second, he had to choose: crush one or lose sight of the girls.
He couldn't protect them both.
Backed into the far corner, Beauty shielded Randa with her own body.
But then—
It was like a flicker of electricity.
Randa gasped. "B-Beauty… you're glowing!"
Beauty's body shimmered faintly, like embers danced beneath her skin.
And quickly it vanished like a mirage.
Before Randa could speak again, everything went silent.
A low, sickening crunch came from outside as if a much bigger monster had crushed a dog-sized skull underfoot.
Wet, slapping sounds echoed next, like someone was beating flesh with raw fists and loving it. The voice of laughter rose every time a Wretchhound was crushed.
The Wretchhounds froze.
Even they were scared.
Then… BOOM!
The wall exploded inward, bricks scattering like toothpicks. Splinters rained across the corridor.
And in stepped a man.
He was a massive beast. A towering wall of muscle, he was nearly scraping the ceiling. His skin was dark, laced with writhing serpent tattoos that seemed to move when you blinked. Blond hair flowed like a lion's mane down to his shoulders.
His hands… they weren't just hands. They were claws. Human-shaped but too long, too sharp, and dripping with dark Wretchhound blood.
Cydal paused, panting, his fists still clenched mid-combat.
The Wretchhounds began to back away.
But not Beauty.
She went pale.
Paler than she had been all night.
Her lips parted but no words came. Her knuckles trembled.
Because this wasn't just another monster.
This man terrified her.
And he smiled.
"My Beauty," he purred, voice deep and sweet like poison. "My beautiful, gorgeous bride… Oh, how I've missed you."
Cydal froze.
Randa gasped. "W-what… did he say…?"
The man stepped forward, barefoot, blood trailing behind every step. He spread his arms wide like a twisted lover returning from war.
"Fear not," he grinned, "I have returned to you… my wife."
Cydal's eyes widened in disbelief.
His pulse quickened.
Null stirred.
"Oho… now this just got interesting."
To be continued.