Shadows Within

The silence in the chamber was deafening, save for Zami's ragged breaths. His body trembled as he sheathed his cracked katana, the remnants of the battle still clinging to his bloodied figure. His gaze shifted to the shattered remains of his dagger, scattered across the ground.

"It was already on the verge of breaking," Zami murmured, his voice low, almost contemplative. "But now... it's gone."

He crouched, picking up a fragment of the toxic blade. The jagged piece felt cold in his hand, its sharp edge a bitter reminder of its once-lethal purpose. Tossing it aside, he stood and turned toward the spot where Silent Agony had fallen.

But something was wrong.

The ground was barren, devoid of the crystalline shard he had come to expect from a Vessel's defeat. Zami's silver eyes narrowed. First, the Silent Agony no shard, and now its true form was the same.

His thoughts were interrupted by a sudden, chilling sensation. A tendril, slick and pulsating with dark energy, shot up from the ground and coiled around his leg.

Zami's hand shot to his katana, but before he could unsheathe it, a voice echoed in the chamber. It wasn't loud, but it resonated deeply, filling the space with a sinister weight.

"I don't care about my kin inside you," the voice hissed, cold and venomous. "I will torment you... from within!"

The tendril tightened its grip, pulling Zami downward with an unnatural force. He stumbled, struggling against the unrelenting strength. Then, before his very eyes, the tendril split, forming grotesque mouths that dripped with malice.

It lunged toward him, aiming for his chest.

Zami gritted his teeth, unsheathing his katana in a single, fluid motion. He swung with precision, severing the tendril in a flash of steel. But instead of falling lifeless to the ground, the severed piece dissolved into black mist and reformed, clawing its way toward him again.

He leapt back, narrowly avoiding the attack. The voice continued, this time from everywhere and nowhere all at once.

"You carry the essence of my kin... but you are no Vessel. You are a prison, a mere shell I will inhabit. Your agony will sustain me!"

The tendrils multiplied, emerging from cracks in the ground and walls. Zami's eyes darted around the chamber, his mind racing. He tightened his grip on his katana, his body tensing.

"Karesh," he muttered under his breath, "what is this thing?"

From his side, Karesh's voice trembled. "Zami, it's trying to bind itself to your soul! You mustn't let it inside!"

Silent Agony's true body, though defeated, had left a fragment of its will behind. This wasn't an attack of flesh and tendrils—it was an invasion of the mind.

The tendrils converged, forming a writhing mass that lunged for Zami's chest. He slashed, parried, and dodged with all his skill, his movements a blur. But for every tendril he severed, two more took its place.

Finally, one struck true, piercing his shoulder and rooting itself inside. Pain exploded through his body as the dark energy began to spread.

Images flooded his mind—visions of despair, torment, and endless suffering. The screams of the countless souls Silent Agony had consumed echoed within him, their agony pressing against the edges of his consciousness.

"No," Zami growled, his voice firm despite the pain. "You won't control me."

He dropped to one knee, his free hand gripping the shard of the Bone Monarch. Its icy presence seemed to ground him, anchoring him to reality.

Zami's silver eyes burned with resolve. Channeling his remaining strength, he plunged the Bone Monarch shard into his own shoulder, directly where the tendril had embedded itself.

A burst of energy erupted from the shard, freezing the dark tendril in place. Silent Agony's voice howled in rage, the chamber trembling under its fury.

Zami seized the opportunity, unleashing a flurry of strikes with his katana. Each swing was precise, aimed at severing the tendrils that sought to consume him.

With a final, powerful strike, he cut through the core of the tendril mass. The chamber fell silent once more, the oppressive weight lifting.

Zami staggered, blood dripping from his wounds. The shard of the Bone Monarch had turned cold in his grasp, its energy depleted.

"Karesh," he said, his voice barely above a whisper, "what just happened?"

"That... was a fragment of Silent Agony's soul, left behind to ensure its torment continued. You were nearly consumed."

Zami nodded, sheathing his katana. "It seems these Vessels are more dangerous than I thought."

He turned toward the chamber's exit, his mind already piecing together the events. Silent Agony's final words echoed in his thoughts. A prison... a shell... What did it mean?

For now, the answers would have to wait. His body screamed for rest, and the journey back to the Forsaken Hollow promised no solace.