Later that day, they were already running low on bread and drinking water. It was nearing evening when they came upon another river.
"We'll camp here," the master said.
Won scanned the area as the other two began unpacking their ragged bags.
"I'll hunt for prey," Won announced, drawing his sword. He looked at the third man and added, "You—handle the water."
"Why me?" the third man grumbled.
Before Won could reply, the master cut in, his gaze sharp and cold.
"You expect everyone to protect you, feed you, and do your share of the work. And yet you can't even fetch some water? You're well aware you're the weakest one here, aren't you? Then make yourself useful while you still can."
The third man stiffened, clearly humiliated.
Won added with a smirk, "You're not afraid of the river, are you? Should I hold your hand?"
"Fuck off, bastard! Just do your job. I'll do mine," the third man barked before storming off with two empty gallon jugs.
When Won returned, a freshly killed rabbit dangling from his hand, he saw the master standing a little ways off from the camp, gazing at something on the ground.
Something.
Something that looked human.
Sensing Won's approach, the master turned, then walked back toward the camp.
"That guy's dead too," he muttered before collapsing onto the ground, eyes fixed on the river.
Won tilted his head, first watching the master, then glancing back at the distant body. He tossed the rabbit to the master.
"You clean this up. I'll check the body."
"No need," the master replied. "He drowned. Wasn't a monster."
Won paused mid-step, brushing dust from his overcoat, then sat across from the master, watching him in silence.
***
Darkness had already settled over the river. The curved moon offered no beauty tonight.
Won leaned against a rock, fighting sleep. He wanted rest more than anything, but he couldn't risk closing his eyes—not with the master nearby.
He felt the weight of the master's stare.
Eventually, the silence cracked.
"You didn't sleep last night," the master said. "Aren't you tired?"
"I won't sleep with you around, master. You're not trustworthy at all."
The master chuckled dryly, mockingly.
"So you want me dead now?"
"Yes." Won didn't hesitate. Then he added:
"Don't you find it strange? Your whole team fell apart in a matter of hours."
The master straightened, one brow arching.
"Oh, come on, old man. You may be a cannibal and a fool, but you've got to be smarter than your dead comrades."
The master's expression twisted in horror.
"You… you killed them?"
Won laughed, waving a hand. "Nah, not all of them. I wish I had. Nature did most of the work—and I hated that, honestly."
"You killed the last two…" the master murmured, realization dawning. "How? What are you?"
Won's face went still, composed. Then, with a final unblinking glare, he shifted into his true form. The master stumbled back, legs trembling in the sand.
"Ah, you're right. Not just the last two—I killed the boy you planned to feast on. Thanks to him, I got this ability to hide myself."
Won stepped closer, crouching before the master.
"As for the last two—the crooked one was obsessed with food. Starving. I knew the thicket was filled with razorvine. So I sent a venom clone, disguised as a pig, right into the heart of it. That fool took the bait. The vines and venom did the rest."
The master's eyes widened. "And the other one… how did you—"
Won finished the sentence for him. "The last? That was easy. Full of pride. I didn't even have to do much—you helped me."
"How… how did I help?" the master asked, his breath unsteady.
"I used my sensari to detect the deep, fast-moving stretch of the river—jagged rocks hidden beneath the surface. The illusory ripples made the waters look unnaturally calm. Then, when that man approached, I sent my vulture clone to startle him. He slipped. Drowned."
"You're a monster. You can't be human!" the master roared.
"Oh, I know that already. No normal human can stay here with you all this long," Won said. "But what about you? How long do you plan to keep pretending? Think I haven't noticed? You're waiting for a higher rank to come to save you, aren't you?"
"What are you talking about?" the master rose to his feet, backing away.
Won followed, raising a brow.
"You knew from the start that something was off. Your real mission was to eliminate every human in your team. That's the path to becoming a higher-ranked entity—a full-fledged monster. You weren't relieved as they died. You were unraveling."
"I have only listened to these types of stories from some women back in squalor. But you are the real deal here. You want power, disguising yourself as some lowly cannibal."
"You're a coward, even if you're a monster. Not the higher rank I'm after. Still… you were the boss of this Veyne."
Something snapped in the master. Power surged through him, distorting his form. Won stepped back, sensing the shift.
Crap. Did I push him too far? Did I awaken him?
"Smart, aren't you?" the master growled. "But I'm not like the others. I've been chosen."
Won forced a grin. "I can't die here either."
"The Veyne bends to me, boy." The master hissed.
Won gritted his teeth, steadying his breath.
"Then let's see how far it bends… when I kill you and take your boss."
The master snapped his fingers. The ground quaked. Rocks levitated. The river churned, its waves twisting into clawed foam.
Four illusory duplicates formed around the master, each wielding a bone-like blade. Their movements were perfectly synchronized—indistinguishable from the original.
Too much power for a coward like you. Where were you hiding all this?
Won focused, listening for the heartbeat of the real one.
There you are.
I can lose. That's fine. But I won't go down without a fight.
The duplicates lunged, blades singing.
Won's agility let him dodge, but not forever—not against five opponents. He lacked formal combat skill.
A blade grazed his shoulder, blood spilling. He rolled behind a floating rock, cursing.
Time.
Won activated the thrip venom core.
Three uses left.
Two duplicates rushed toward a clone of Won near the river. As they attacked, it burst into venom.
Won triggered cognidominance, whispering a seed of doubt into the master's mind.
"Your illusions are slipping. Someone else killed your men. You're not as strong as you think."
The master's jaw clenched. The duplicates flickered.
Perfect.
Won morphed into his drull form, charging two of the glitched figures.
The master countered, leaping onto a floating rock and hurling a blade.
Pain exploded in Won's shoulder again, forcing him back to his original form. The master summoned two more clones.
Curses.
"A mere human like you thinks this is a game," the master's voice echoed. "Pathetic."
Won's left arm hung limp. His vision blurred. His vitality was waning fast.
Anything. Anything. Think.
He closed his eyes.
One final focus.
His breath ragged from the pain.
"What now? You're dying, boy," the master spat.
Won wasn't listening to him anymore. He was listening only to himself. A command only for himself. As the Cognarch.
You're not done. Not yet.
In an instant, his clone replaced him, bloodied. The master's blade slashed through it—releasing a venom cloud. Coughing blood, the master staggered.
With his final ounce of strength, Won's true body transformed into the master's form. The duplicates froze, unable to tell the difference.
Won moved first. He cut them down in a single motion, then turned toward the real one.
"What…?" the master croaked, eyes wide as he watched himself raise a blade.
Without a word, Won slashed deep across his chest. Driving the blade in.
Won whispered as the master collapsed.
"All your fear, your power games—it ends here. You'll never face the one you feared again. I'll make sure of it. I'll avenge us both."
***
The Codex Map flickered as Won lay beside the corpse.
[Ashen Won, you have slain the Veyne's Boss.]
Boons: Sense 8
Bearings: Sensari, Disguise, Cognidominance
Bearing Rate: 12
Skills Used: Cognidominance Command, Mirage Projection, Disguise Mimicry
Vitality: 35
Vault: Item 3
No message appeared about receiving the boss's magic heart.
Won narrowed his eyes and asked Woco, "Wasn't I supposed to get a core or something?"
Woco answered, "As you know, a Veyne vanishes once its boss is dead. But in this case, the higher-ranked entity is still alive. The one you killed—his soul was bound under a pact. You must find and destroy the true master."
"Where do you find him?"
"Trust your senses and follow the scent of death."
"If you don't know either then you can just say so. Don't confuse me by giving a vague answer."
"My apologies."
Won sighed and forced himself upright, every part of his body protesting.
Just one more monster.
He wrapped his right hand around his limp left.
Bear with me.