The kitchen reeked of rot.
Colonists crowded around gutted storage units, their faces lit by flickering emergency lights. Shelves meant to hold decades of rations stood bare, picked clean. A single protein bar wrapper fluttered to the floor, its edges chewed by something with serrated teeth.
"They *ate* it all," Priya growled, kicking a dented can. It rolled, revealing claw marks gouged into the metal.
Maya crouched by a refrigeration unit, her pendant glinting as she pried it open. Mold bloomed inside, black and velvety. "Not just eaten. Spoiled. Like time accelerated here." She gagged, slamming the door shut.
The AI's voice warped through the speakers, glitching: *"Hydra Sector… kitchen protocols… enjoy your meal."*
"Shut it *off*!" someone shouted. A rifle butt smashed a holopanel.
Mark leaned against a counter, Lena's sunflower crumbling between his fingers. His stomach gnawed at itself, acid burning his throat. Around him, colonists swayed—eyes hollow, hands trembling. The creature's corpse lay where they'd dragged it, a heap of glistening crimson flesh.
"We're dead," the teenage boy muttered, hugging himself. "Starve or… or eat *that*?"
Jake nudged the corpse with his boot. It jiggled, unnervingly gelatinous. "Might be toxic. Or sentient. Hell, this shit look like a demon.
"We'll cook it," Priya said, jaw tight. "Burn out whatever's in it."
"And if it's still poison?" Maya whispered.
Silence.
Mark closed his eyes. *Lena's laugh, her hands cupping his face the morning he left. "You better not die out there, farmer boy."*
He stepped forward. "I'll try it."
Gasps. Jake grabbed his arm. "You saw what that thing did to the other—"
"And if we don't eat, we'll be too weak to fight the next one." Mark shook him off. His wedding ring felt heavy. *Survive. Plant the garden. Come home.*
The colonists watched, a mix of hope and revulsion, as he knelt beside the creature. Its flesh was warm, veins pulsing with faint bioluminescence. He sliced a strip with his knife—the meat shimmered, iridescent, like oil on water.
"Mark—" Maya reached for him, then stopped.
He bit.
The taste was wrong. Sweet and metallic, burning like liquor. His throat seized. He forced it down.
For three heartbeats, nothing.
Then fire.
Mark collapsed, clawing at his chest. His veins lit up, blue-black tendrils snaking under his skin. The room blurred—colonists' screams muffled, their faces smears of light. Something *moved* inside him, rewriting, *knitting*.
*[Mutagenic System Initialized.]*
The voice wasn't his. Cold, synthetic.
*[Host DNA recalibrating. Acquire traits detected: Blood Slash Level-1, Enhanced Regeneration Level-1.]*
Blood Slash Level-1 : A crimson arc of crystallized blood that slashes enemies. Cost 3 Health points.
Enhanced Regeneration Level-1: Healed 0.5 HP every minutes. Passive.
[STATS]
[Race: Human 98%/ Blood Demon 2%
Status Points: 0
Strength: 10
Agility: 9
Magic: 25
Health (HP): 15/ 15
Mana (MP): 30/ 30
Stamina: 8/ 10
Skill: Blood Slash Level-1, Enhanced Regeneration Level-1]