Ch 17 : The Bloodhound Pact

Renji's breathing was still uneven, his body tense from the confrontation.

The masked assassin was gone, but their words lingered.

"You're unstable."

They had matched his speed. Matched his hunger.

Renji clenched his fists. His instincts screamed that whoever they were, they weren't his enemy—at least, not yet. But if there were others like him, why had no one ever mentioned them before?

His thoughts churned.

Then, a sharp pain jolted through his chest.

A deep, searing ache.

He staggered back, gripping his ribs. It wasn't a wound—it was something else.

Something inside him.

"The hunger grows," the ancient entity whispered. "You have denied it for too long."

Renji grit his teeth. He had fought all night, pushing his body to its limits. The stolen abilities, the mutations—they needed fuel.

And his body was starving.

His vision blurred.

A scent drifted through the air—faint, but intoxicating. Dungeon energy.

Not far. A fresh remnant, as if someone had just used it.

Renji's feet moved before his mind could protest.

---

The scent led him to an abandoned district. Crumbling buildings. Streets swallowed by nature.

Then—he saw it.

A forgotten chapel, half-buried in vines.

It was wrong.

Renji could feel it.

This place wasn't just abandoned—it had been erased. As if someone wanted it forgotten.

The hunger in his chest flared.

There was dungeon energy inside.

Renji stepped forward, pushing open the rotting wooden doors.

The moment he entered, the scent hit him full force.

Blood.

His pulse pounded.

Candles flickered in the darkness, barely illuminating the chapel's ruined interior.

Then—

A voice.

"You came faster than I expected."

Renji snapped his gaze forward.

The masked assassin stood at the altar, waiting.

---

Renji's claws flexed instinctively.

"What the hell is this place?"

The assassin tilted their head. "A relic. Like you."

Renji scowled. He was in no mood for cryptic nonsense. "Who are you?"

A pause. Then—

They removed their mask.

Beneath it was a woman. Sharp, golden eyes. Short, silver hair. A single scar running across her left cheek.

"My name is Sayaka Kisaragi."

Renji's breath slowed. He had heard that name before.

"You were a hunter," he said.

"Once." Her lips curled slightly. "Before the organization decided I was better off erased."

His fists clenched. Another one. Someone infected.

Sayaka watched him carefully. "You already know what's happening to you."

Renji didn't respond.

Sayaka stepped forward. "The hunger is not a curse, Kuroya. It's an evolution."

His eyes darkened. "Evolution into what?"

Sayaka raised her hand.

Her shadow moved.

Not a trick of the light—it obeyed her.

It stretched unnaturally, shifting into tendrils that coiled around the chapel floor before retracting.

Renji's heart pounded.

He had seen hints of this power in himself. When he blurred through attacks. When the darkness clung to him like a second skin.

Sayaka let her hand drop. "You're standing at a crossroads. If you resist the hunger, it will consume you. But if you control it…" She smiled faintly. "You will become something greater."

Renji exhaled sharply. "And what are you offering?"

Sayaka held out her hand.

"A pact."

Renji stared at her. "A pact?"

Sayaka's expression turned serious. "You and I—we are not the first. There have been others. Some lost themselves. Some were hunted. But a few learned to control what we are."

Her golden eyes burned.

"If you want to survive, you need to understand your power. And that means learning from those who came before us."

Renji hesitated.

Something deep inside him—something old—resisted.

The ancient entity's voice slithered into his mind.

"You do not need her."

Renji forced the voice back.

He looked at Sayaka's outstretched hand.

Then, slowly—he took it.

The moment their hands touched—

A surge of energy erupted through his veins.

His vision blurred.

Then—

A flash of something else.

A memory not his own.

---

Darkness.

Figures stood in a circle, chanting in a language that scratched at the edges of reality.

A voice, deep and resonant, echoed in the void.

"We who walk between man and abyss—"

The figures bled into the shadows.

"We who have consumed the forbidden—"

A monstrous shape writhed within the darkness, barely contained.

"We are the Bloodbound."

Then—

Renji's vision snapped back.

His hand ripped away from Sayaka's grasp. He staggered back, gasping.

"What the hell was that?"

Sayaka exhaled, steadying herself. "A fragment of the past."

Renji's mind reeled. Those figures—those things—had once been like him?

Sayaka met his gaze. "You are not the first, Kuroya. And if you don't learn control, you won't be the last to fall."

Renji clenched his fists.

Control.

That was the key.

His hunger wasn't just a curse.

It was a weapon.

And if there were others who had mastered it before—then he would learn.

No matter what it took.

---

Renji's mind was still reeling.

The vision had shaken him. Those shadowed figures, the monstrous presence—was that his future?

Sayaka watched him carefully. "You felt it, didn't you?"

Renji exhaled sharply. "What the hell was that?"

She crossed her arms. "A fragment of the past. A warning. And a path."

Renji clenched his fists.

A path? If that was the road ahead, it looked more like damnation.

Sayaka turned, striding deeper into the ruined chapel. "If you want answers, you need to prove you can handle them."

Renji's gaze darkened. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

She stopped at an old, rusted door at the back of the chapel.

Beyond it, something moved.

Renji stiffened. The scent of dungeon energy thickened.

Sayaka placed a hand on the door. "This place was once a sanctum for people like us. Those who tried to control the hunger. Not many succeeded."

The door creaked open.

A staircase spiraled down into darkness.

Sayaka glanced at him. "You're standing at the threshold, Kuroya. You can still walk away."

Renji stepped forward without hesitation.

He was done running.

---

The air grew heavier with each step.

The stone walls were lined with claw marks.

The further they descended, the more unnatural the space became. Dungeon energy clung to the air—but different.

It wasn't wild or chaotic.

It was concentrated. Controlled.

Finally, they stepped into a vast underground chamber.

Pillars of black stone rose from the floor. The walls were lined with faded inscriptions, written in a language Renji couldn't understand—but somehow recognized.

At the center of the room stood an obsidian monolith.

It pulsed faintly, like a heart.

Sayaka exhaled. "This is the Trial Stone."

Renji narrowed his eyes. "And what exactly is this trial?"

Sayaka turned to face him.

"You let the abyss in."

His body tensed. "Explain."

She gestured to the monolith. "This stone is a fragment of an ancient dungeon core. It was once used to test those who sought to master their hunger."

Renji's fingers twitched. The dungeon core?

No hunter had ever been able to control dungeon cores. They were the heart of every dungeon—raw, untamed power.

Sayaka's gaze sharpened. "If you want to control your evolution, you need to prove you can resist it first."

Renji's jaw tightened.

"Let me guess. If I fail, I turn into a monster."

Sayaka's expression remained neutral. "Something like that."

Renji scoffed. "Great."

Sayaka stepped back. "If you're not ready—"

Renji was already moving.

He placed his hand against the monolith.

The moment his skin made contact—

The world shattered.

---

Darkness.

Then—a voice.

"You seek control."

Renji flinched. The voice wasn't just speaking—it was inside him.

"You are unworthy."

A force slammed into his mind.

Pain. Raw, searing pain.

Renji gasped, staggering. He felt his own body breaking apart—his limbs warping, his bones twisting.

The hunger within him roared.

It wanted out.

"Submit."

Renji gritted his teeth.

No.

This wasn't him. This was the abyss trying to consume him.

Memories flashed before his eyes—visions of those who had failed.

He saw them losing themselves. Flesh melting. Minds unraveling.

Becoming beasts.

Renji's pulse pounded.

This wasn't just a trial.

It was a battle for his identity.

"You are nothing without me."

The abyss surged.

Renji's body burned.

His vision flickered—his arms were already changing, claws growing, his skin darkening.

The hunger was winning.

His consciousness faded.

---

"If you resist, you will die."

Renji sank deeper.

The darkness swallowed him.

The hunger was too strong.

It was—

Then—

A voice.

Not the abyss.

A memory.

"You're stronger than you think, Kuroya."

Renji's breath caught.

It was Hikaru Jinno's voice.

"There's always a way forward. You just have to find it."

A spark.

Renji's eyes snapped open.

He dug his claws into the abyss itself.

"You think I'm nothing?"

The abyss recoiled.

Renji bared his teeth. "Then watch me become something."

With a roar, he ripped his consciousness free.

The darkness screamed—but it was too late.

Renji devoured it.

---

Light.

The chamber returned.

Renji staggered back, gasping. His body ached, but he was whole.

Sayaka was watching him.

Slowly, a smirk crossed her lips. "Not bad."

Renji's breath steadied.

The hunger inside him was silent.

No—not silent.

It was listening.

For the first time, Renji didn't feel like he was fighting against himself.

He had taken a step forward.

He had proven he could control it.

Sayaka turned. "Rest while you can. This was only the first trial."

Renji exhaled.

If this was only the beginning…

Then he had a long road ahead.

But for the first time—

He wasn't afraid to walk it.