Chapter 37: Beneath New Skin

The factory was silent now—too silent. The oppressive weight of the whispers had lifted, yet the stillness that replaced them was unsettling in its own right. The walls no longer pulsed, the shadows no longer twisted with malicious intent, but something about the air felt... wrong.

Nathan was gone.

Or so it seemed.

But deep beneath the factory, where the echoes of torment still lingered, something stirred.

A sharp gasp echoed through the void. Nathan's consciousness clawed its way back to the surface, but everything felt... different. He felt weightless, suspended between darkness and light. There was no ground beneath him, no walls to confine him—only an endless void that seemed to stretch in all directions.

"Where am I?" Nathan's thoughts echoed, yet there was no response.

For a moment, he wondered if this was death. But death wasn't supposed to feel like this.

"No…" The whisper wasn't external this time. It was inside him.

Nathan's heart pounded as a faint light appeared in the distance, drawing closer with each beat. It wasn't warm or comforting. It was cold, sterile, and unnervingly familiar.

The factory…

But it wasn't the same.

As the light grew stronger, Nathan's vision sharpened, and he found himself standing in a reflection of the factory—only this version was pristine, unblemished by decay. The rusted walls were now smooth metal, the broken machinery gleamed like it had just been built, and the air was no longer thick with the stench of rot.

Yet, something felt off.

Nathan looked down at his hands—and froze.

The skin was smooth, flawless, and… wrong. His fingertips were slightly elongated, the veins beneath the surface glowing faintly with an eerie blue light. His reflection in a nearby metal surface confirmed his worst fear.

It wasn't his face staring back.

His features were distorted—familiar but subtly different. His eyes, once a deep hazel, now glowed with an unnatural light. His skin was pale, almost translucent, and his veins pulsed beneath the surface like something alive.

"What… am I?" Nathan's voice echoed through the space, but it felt… distant.

"You are the bridge."

Nathan spun around, but no one was there. The voice came from everywhere and nowhere at once.

"The price was paid, Nathan. But the factory does not let go so easily."

His pulse quickened as the realization hit him.

"I stopped it. I ended it!"

"You did." The voice was calm, almost… satisfied. "But endings bring new beginnings."

Nathan's mind raced, piecing together fragments of the truth. The factory had been silenced, but something had taken its place. And it had taken hold of him.

"What have you done to me?"

The walls around him shimmered, and suddenly, Nathan was no longer alone. Shadows began to coalesce, forming distorted figures—faceless, but familiar.

The workers…

Their outlines flickered like dying flames, echoes of those who had been consumed by the factory. But they didn't move. They only watched.

"You freed them," the voice whispered. "But the darkness had to go somewhere, didn't it?"

Nathan's heart clenched as he pieced it together.

"It's in me…"

A chill ran through him. His veins pulsed brighter, the glow intensifying as if responding to his thoughts.

"You are no longer just yourself, Nathan," the voice murmured. "You carry the remnants of what was. The factory's whispers may be gone, but its essence remains… beneath your skin."

Nathan stumbled back, his mind screaming in denial. "No… I didn't—"

"You became the vessel, Nathan."

His breathing grew ragged as he gripped the sides of his head, trying to drown out the voice. But it was no longer something he could escape.

It was part of him now.

Nathan didn't know how long he stood there, caught between denial and the chilling truth. But the silence was broken by a soft, familiar voice.

"Nathan…"

His eyes snapped up. The figure was barely a shadow, but he recognized her.

"Mom…?"

Her form was translucent, an echo more than a presence, but her eyes held the same warmth he remembered.

"You're stronger than this," she whispered, her voice carrying through the void.

Nathan's throat tightened. "Mom… what's happening to me?"

"You've taken the burden, but it doesn't have to control you." Her voice was gentle but firm. "The factory's darkness lives in you now, but that doesn't mean you are it."

Nathan felt the weight pressing down on him, the power surging beneath his skin like a predator waiting to be unleashed.

"How do I stop it?"

His mother's form flickered, her expression softening. "You can't stop it."

Nathan's heart sank.

"But you can control it."

Nathan's mind was a whirlwind of emotions as he stared at the glowing veins beneath his skin. The factory had marked him, but it hadn't taken him completely.

"Control…"

The word echoed in his mind.

He took a steady breath, his pulse slowing as he closed his eyes. He could feel the darkness, writhing beneath the surface, but instead of fighting it, he reached out.

The energy responded, not with violence, but with… understanding.

It wasn't malevolent.

It was… waiting.

Nathan's eyes snapped open, the blue light in his veins pulsing in rhythm with his heartbeat.

"If I can't destroy it…" he murmured, his voice steady now. "I'll use it."

The void began to shift, and Nathan felt himself being pulled back. The pristine version of the factory faded, and the real world bled back into view. The walls were cracked, the floor stained with rust and decay.

But Nathan was different now.

As he stood at the heart of the factory, he could feel it—the pulse of the darkness, the echoes of the whispers, all beneath his skin.

But they no longer controlled him.

He controlled them.

Nathan's gaze hardened as he turned toward the exit.

The factory's silence was no longer a threat.

It was a weapon.

And Nathan was ready to wield it.

"The price has been paid," he murmured, his voice echoing through the hollow corridors.

But this time…

The silence answered to him.