Chapter nine: Alone 

[Your hunger remains unsatiated.]

The voice flowed smoothly into William's thoughts, cold and absolute. He barely had the strength to react as something unseen pulled itself from Max's lifeless body—an eerie, shimmering light, drifting like mist before sinking into William's chest.

[You have received soul essence.]

The weight of it settled deep inside him, cold and heavy.

[2/1000]

He barely understood what that meant. His head felt too light, his body too heavy. His stomach twisted violently, but there was nothing left inside him to purge.

Max was gone.

The realization came slow, dragging itself through the haze of exhaustion and hunger. William's fingers twitched, reaching out toward the body as if he could somehow pull him back—undo whatever had happened. But there was nothing left. The energy had left Max.

And now he was alone.

The silence of the cave pressed in around him, thicker than before. More oppressive. He could still hear the faint trickle of water, but even that sounded distant, as if the cavern itself was swallowing the sound.

His arms shook as he forced himself to sit up. His eyes drifted to the Wendigo's corpse, the pulsing core buried deep in its ruined chest. The escape he had refused to take.

Would he still refuse it now?

No he wouldn't after all the catalyst only said the body was contagious the core however…

The last thing William thought of before he died was of max he had consumed more than the core and met his end.

refeeding syndrome what an unfortunate end.