The storm of scrap metal was a symphony of screeching iron. Rusted bolts, jagged plates, and copper wiring pelted Paladin Valerius's holy shield like hail against a windowpane. To the Paladin, it was a nuisance. To Silas Vance, it was a smokescreen.
Silas lunged through the debris, his left arm a massive, grinding engine of obsidian and violet smoke. He didn't aim for the shield this time. He aimed for the ground at the Paladin's feet.
[Skill Activated: Heavy Impact.]
The stone floor exploded. Dust and shards of granite filled the air, momentarily obscuring Valerius's vision. In that heartbeat of chaos, Silas didn't strike—he grabbed.
His armored claws clamped onto the shaft of the Paladin's humming spear.
The "Holy" energy of the weapon was agonizing. It felt like grabbing a live wire made of liquid fire. Silas's shadow-armor hissed and began to evaporate, the violet mist turning into grey steam.
"You would touch a consecrated relic with those filthy hands?" Valerius's voice was cold, vibrating with disgust. "Let the light burn the corruption from your soul."
The spear flared. A surge of blinding white energy traveled down the shaft, intended to incinerate Silas's arm.
But then, the Hollow Throne System shivered.
[Warning: Critical Holy Damage Detected.] [Analyzing Resonance...] [Sub-Routine 'Hunger of the Fallen' Triggered.] [New Ability Unlocked: Parasitic Leach (Rank E).]
Silas felt a new sensation. The searing pain didn't stop, but it changed. The violet crown on his forearm began to spin, the gears grinding so fast they became a blur. Instead of being burned by the light, Silas felt a cold, vacuum-like suction begin in his marrow.
The white fire entering his arm stopped burning. It began to flow.
"What... what are you doing?" Valerius's voice lost its calm. He tried to pull the spear back, but Silas was anchored to the floor, his feet buried in the shattered stone.
[Essence Siphoned: +10 Holy Units.] [Essence Siphoned: +20 Holy Units...] [Warning: Holy Essence is incompatible with Void Biology. Initiating Corruption Protocol.]
Silas threw his head back and roared. It wasn't a human sound. The violet smoke pouring from his eyes began to streak with veins of brilliant, liquid gold. The two energies fought for dominance inside his chest, tearing at his lungs, but the System forced them to merge.
[Evolution Progress: 15%...]
"Release it!" Valerius shouted. He abandoned his shield and drove a gauntleted fist into Silas's face.
The blow shattered Silas's breathing mask. His hood fell back, revealing his face to the Paladin for the first time—the jagged, gear-like pupils glowing with a terrifying mix of violet and gold.
The force of the punch cracked Valerius's own sunburst visor.
Silas didn't let go. He leaned in, his face inches from the Paladin's cracked helmet. Through the spiderweb of fractures in the ivory glass, Silas saw a pair of eyes that were cold, blue, and eerily familiar. They were the eyes of the Arch-Engineer from his memory.
"You..." Silas wheezed, the Truth-Lock pressing against his heart like a mountain. "You're his... blood."
[System Error: Truth Detected.] [Penalty: Heart Stoppage (30 Seconds).]
Silas's heart seized. The world went grey. But in that moment of deathly silence, the "Corrupted Holy Essence" reached critical mass.
A shockwave of dark-gold energy erupted from Silas, throwing Paladin Valerius across the cavern. The Paladin hit the far wall with enough force to dent the reinforced iron, his ivory armor charred and smoking.
Silas collapsed to his knees, his heart finally kicking back into a frantic, agonized rhythm.
[Paladin Valerius has been 'Tainted'.] [Essence Stored: 45/100.] [Sanity: 58%.] [Warning: You are entering a 'Fugue State'. Escape immediately.]
"Silas!"
Lyra appeared from the shadows of the vent, her face a mask of horror. She grabbed his indigo-stained arm—now covered in glowing gold veins—and hauled him toward the darkness.
"I thought... I thought you were dead," she sobbed, dragging his semi-conscious body into the service tunnel.
Behind them, in the ruins of the Bolt-Hole, Valerius struggled to his feet. His white cape was shredded, and his spear lay dull and grey on the floor, its light stolen. He reached up, pulling the shattered fragments of his helmet away.
His face was beautiful, aristocratic, and now marred by a jagged purple burn that traced the line of his jaw. He looked at the tunnel where Silas had vanished, his blue eyes burning with a hatred that could level cities.
"A Thief," Valerius whispered, his voice trembling with rage. "He didn't just fight me. He stole the Sun."