Free Web NovelChapter 36: The Chained Creature
The chained man’s smile sent a deep shiver down Gabriel’s spine. Like a cold and fierce wind.
It was a distorted, wide curve, carrying something that was neither joy nor madness. Only an inability to feel.
A void so deep it seemed to absorb the room’s illumination.
He prepared his stance, raised his axe, and his free hand slid to his dagger, ready for any sudden attack — desperate or premeditated.
But none came.
Only a worn, monotonous laugh echoed in the dark hall.
It resonated through the stench, as if rising from the depths of the soul.
"Skillful... Men are always skillful." The voice was barely a whisper, a dying exhalation.
Gabriel neither advanced nor retreated. He remained still, analyzing every detail the man offered.
The darkness of the room seemed to swirl around that chained figure.
Then he felt it — the hunger awakened inside him. Leviathan Gluttony roared greedily, filling every pore of his body with madness.
It was different from hunger, like a compulsive need.
A sensation so intense that for an instant his teeth trembled without him wanting them to.
The monster inside him demanded.
The mysterious creature held an attraction he could not hide from his instincts. Its scent mixed with degradation and death, but there was also a factor that clouded his reason.
He desired it with all his strength.
Gabriel frowned.
He immediately felt disgusted with the instincts awakening within him. To gain power, he needed control.
The figure slowly raised its head.
The torchlight revealed an old man. Only similar, because he was very different from an ordinary old man.
His skin was covered in black scabs. With open sores running across his neck and head.
The rusted chains pierced directly through his flesh in several places. They didn’t wrap around his body — they perforated it in a slow torture. Like metallic roots embedded as punishment.
His chest rose and fell with difficulty. Every breath sounded wet, painful, and artificial.
There was something wrong with his anatomy.
His arms were too long. With joints placed in wrong positions.
His spine was arched in an unnatural way. Like a failed experiment, the blood of error.
He repeated with biting humor:
"Skillful... You are skillful, boy. You shouldn’t fear what you see, for I will not eat you. But you must be more careful with what you keep inside you."
His gaze remained lowered. He pronounced every word with evident weariness, as if speaking cost him the little life he had left.
Gabriel’s gaze hardened.
"What stops me from advancing and killing you right now, creature?" The question was cold and direct.
But the answer took him by surprise.
"Nothing."
A weak smile appeared on the old man’s face.
"I think... nothing."
His laughter returned, lower and sadder.
"In fact... it would be a relief."
The chains rattled as he moved his shoulders slightly.
"Death is the only lady who still remembers my name."
His voice trembled.
"The only one who dares to visit me."
Gabriel didn’t lower his weapon.
"What are you?"
The old man raised his head. For the first time he showed interest, an interest that was born dead.
His black eyes seemed to steal the light. They reflected nothing, not even the flame of the torch.
"What am I? Have all those damned bastards died? Have they forgotten their fucking experiment?" His voice broke into a dry cackle. "Now... end this suffering. Or I will take your life and spread my excrement over you, I swear!"
Gabriel ignored the threats. He slowly circled the chained figure, observing every detail of the room. The nauseating stench came from here.
"Is this your lair?"
The old man looked around. As if seeing the room for the first time in centuries.
Organic remains covered the floor — bones, pieces of mummified flesh, piles of dried excrement, and some unrecognizable corpses.
"Lair?" He laughed again. "This is a tomb."
Gabriel took a few steps forward.
The stench became unbearable. His nose almost went numb.
The old man lowered his head again.
"Just kill me..."
The plea was sincere, deeply sincere.
That was more unsettling than any threat.
His posture was completely defeated. Sunk in uncertainties that torment the soul and attract eternal pain.
Gabriel moved closer to the grotesque creature. He pressed the tip of his dagger against the wrinkled neck, and the monster showed no signs of rebellion; not even tensing up.
"Do you really want to die?"
The silence stretched for several seconds. Finally, he answered:
"I have been dead for a long time."
That answer hung in the air. Gabriel decided to seize the opportunity.
"I’m looking for someone — the son of an alchemist. He wanted to explore these ruins and eventually disappeared."
"Have you seen him?"
The chains creaked softly.
The old man seemed to think or try to remember.
The answer was bad news.
"Men? Men of flesh and blood? Whoever has entered here has never seen another sunrise. They... were vile, very vile. They never forgave anyone."
"Who are they?" Gabriel pressed.
The old man smiled mockingly.
"Don’t you know? You smell like them."
That provoked an unpleasant expression on Gabriel’s face. Gluttony pulsed harder.
He continued interrogating.
"Blood Crystals. I read about their existence. What are they?"
Only then did he fully capture the old man’s attention. His black eyes shone for an instant.
"Blood Crystals... Blood Crystals... They are rare minerals. Very rare. They cause madness in their bearer. Never consume one; because they will consume you first."
"First the dreams, then the memories, and then the flesh." He finished with a macabre laugh that echoed among the chains.
Gabriel observed his deformed body carefully.
An idea began to form.
"Did they make you consume them?"
The old man’s smile disappeared.
And that silence was more revealing than any answer. Several seconds passed.
Finally, he whispered:
"Go north. There you will find the dungeons."
"What is in them?" Gabriel asked.
"No one explores a ruin asking for a name." That was the only answer he got, as his smile faded.
The chains creaked.
"Now let me depart with spring and winter... I read that verse when I was still an ignorant child." He said with sadness.
Gabriel tried to ask more questions. About the experiments, the ruins, and the monolith, but the old man no longer responded, his eyes closed.
Finally, Gabriel pierced the chained man’s heart with his dagger. A clean, deep strike.
The creature shuddered. Dark blood spread slowly across the floor.
The chains creaked one last time. Their sound ceasing completely.
But at that moment, the old man opened his eyes one final time. With limited strength, he leaned his head toward Gabriel and whispered directly into his ear:
"In the brain too..."
His breath was foul. Gabriel felt immediate revulsion and instinctively stepped back.
The creature was still smiling, dark blood running down its lips. An unsettling scene that turned his stomach.
He raised his axe and destroyed its brain with a heavy downward strike that impacted the old man’s head. It only took a second for it to go still.
His grip on the axe was tense. For an instant, he thought the creature would rise again.
He cursed under his breath. It had been a deathly scare that broke the tension in the air.
A notification glowed in his interface.
[Congratulations! You have killed a Tyrant (defective)]
[You have leveled up!]
It was a pleasant surprise.
Gabriel had never thought that such a casual act would bring such a great harvest. For the first time, he understood that the old man’s threats had not been empty.
He had the power to make them real and let his head roll, becoming just another decoration.
He finally discovered a clue about the creature’s identity. Which only sowed even more doubts.
But his attention was captured by the chains that came from the walls, which had kept such a powerful being captive. And even in death, they remained taut.
It was a profoundly abominable end.
But, against convention, it had been a just act. Even if it was a game, giving a deserved end was a right.
He was still reflecting on the old man’s words. How did his scent differ from others? His confusion only became more tangible. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
His thoughts were quickly replaced when a strange sound caught his attention. The dark blood had begun to bubble, spreading in clumps and exploding.
He extended a long, pale finger to take a small sample. He immediately cleaned it with slight desperation.
The blood was moving.
Contrary to natural laws, its movement was not based on spreading... It was a natural and real movement, like the instinct of an animal.
He remembered the hunger he had controlled. His desire probably came from the secrets behind the being’s anatomy.
He knew he shouldn’t hesitate.
He placed his hands on the corpse’s shoulders and activated his skill, beginning to absorb.
It was prolonged and tortuous. There was an extraordinarily chaotic energy inside the essence, but his body could still digest it.
His body trembled as sweat slid down. The chains shook for a few seconds, but finally gave way.
Gabriel took three steps back. His head hurt — an uncommon pain.
Strange memories assaulted his mind, distorted scenes with illusions. It lasted only a few seconds.
He had seen his own death.
