"None of us were special before the Outbreak; we were just existing, striving to reach the day in a world that didn't give a damn. Then the Void came, opening our eyes, and so as others around us died in millions, we rose up and took what the System offered, a ce.

  A ce to be better, a ce to carve a piece of this Multiverse for ourselves.

  We don't let our past hold us back. We don't let our bonds stop us fr and succeeding. We left our old lives behind and became what most only imagine. Because that's what Narzak is all about, to move forward, no matter what."

  ~Narzak's first leader, 6th Outbreak

  This is going to need some pnning, a bit of luck, and a hell lot of improvisation... Fuck, you just had to bait me with the possibility of disc my st evolution, hadn't you?

  If it wasn't for the possibility that Leo could really pull it off and see what the Apex evolution was hiding, he would have already been far away from here. Maybe not back with the others yet, but at least nowhere his hellhole.

  You see this, Nick? Leo snorted as he crept even closer to the roof's ledge. You were supposed to stop Lily and me from doing dumb shit. But here I'm doing just that because I don't want to go back, 't go baot yet... Whatever. If you aren't here to stop me, at least give me some luck, brother. Void knows I will .

  Just like Leo had already here were dozens of Voidlings down iown square. Previously he didn't pay that much attention to the weaker beasts, especially thht below him, but now that was no longer an option.

  With the task ahead, Leo couldn't allow for any gaps in his knowledge about this damainted Wastend. If there was something dangerous inside, he o know about it.

  There was no denying it; the Cursed Juggerount, cirg the ruins of the fountain, posed the greatest threat. Its sheer power was most likely unmatched. Close behind, the Apex variants trailed in terms of immediate danger. However, Leo uood all too well that if it could, the Void would throw even more shit his way. It was a lesson he learned well during the st few days.

  And I was right...

  Grumbling, he poked his head out, peering directly downward. The Wastend sprawled right up to the base of the building, but that detail held little signifio, that honor fell to the Voidling standing just o a closed door.

  Cursed Screamer (Tainted Voidling) | Rank: F+ | LVL: 7

  What an ugly motherfucker. Though, the others aren't much better…

  The new variant, or perhaps an evolution, bore some resembo the other Cursed Humans in the viity. However, uhe normies who g to tattered remnants of their former attire, this monstrous being had shed all sembnce of clothing. Its deformed and mangled bck skin was exposed, a grotesque dispy for all to witness.

  The Screamer had shed the distinctive traits that once marked it as a human male or female, redug its form to a mere humanoid husk. Its elongated limbs, far too long for an average humaipped with nails that could probably rend through steel, atuating its menag appearance.

  Yet, it was the creature's mouth that truly captured attention. Filled with an array of minuscule teeth, the Screamer's jaw was twice as wide as that of an average human. With every breath, the maw expanded, stretg the beast's cheeks akin to the way a frog's sac would distend when filled with air.

  It 't be that bad, right?

  Race: Voidling | Subspecies: Cursed ScreamerExpected Potential: F+ to E-on of choice: Sound bst, Jaeaknesses: Melee rangeCursed Screamers are widely known as one of the two most popur evolutions of Cursed Runners. Whereas the other focuses purely on improving what a Runner is, this one invites ge. Screamers are le fighters, preferring to incapacitate their prey with the power of sound and thehem alive. Usually, after one sound bst, a Screamer's mouth must rest for a bit. This is the time to ehem in close quarters ahem at their weakest.

  Apex variant: Uheir weaker kin, Apex Cursed Screamers fire at least three secutive bsts before needing to rest their mouth. This number go to as high as five (Current noted record).

  Thank fug god it's not an Apex. One sound bst I work with if I have to... All in all, not that bad.

  The cogs in Leo's head whirred and spun, w overtime to formute a pn that had a ce of success. Or, at the very least, a pn that wouldn't result in a catastrophic failure, which Leo still wasn't sure he could escape sidering what awaited on the field before him.

  I just o find out how loud it scream... Shit.

  Gulping, Leo snatched a tiny piece of brick that had fallen off a nearby ey. He hoisted himself up into a crouch just at the roof's edge and aimed at the creature below. He most likely had one shot at this. After all, who knew how the Voidlings would react.

  This is gonna suck.

  Leo pulled his arm back, and in one swift motion, the tiny brick left his hand, propelled like a homing missile aimed directly at the target's head.

  In a blink of ahe projectile stuck true, aaggered backward as a scream that pulled on his soul reverberated through the area. If he had ever sidered the Seekers to be loud, they paled in parison to the blood-curdling sounds of the Screamer.

  Fuck.

  Eyes snapping shut momentarily, Leo's hands flew right to his ears, feeling as a very familiar substance dribbled down his skin. The blood flowed slowly, just barely trig out, yet it didn't matter. Only the fact that the Screamer somehow damaged him did. And from such a dista that, without even hittiraight in the face.

  heless, Leo only gritted his teeth and took a few steps forward to gaze at the Wastend underh. He had to know how Voidlings reacted.

  Ears still ringing, Leo watched as the creatures below shuffled like ants after someoepped on their home. However, what truly mattered to him was the fact that they all had their focus on the Screamer. Hell, some of the beasts near it were rolling on the ground, groaning like fools that had way too much to drink.

  Friendly fire, nice. Fucker definitely ears F+ rank... Leo noted as he retreated once more. Hopefully, his somewhat improved regeion could repair the worst damage in a few minutes. As for his hearing overall?

  Well, Leo would o suck it up and survive with the entire world tuo about twenty pert of its volume…

  Still, what the Screamer did was more than Leo ted on, ae the damage, this was something he could work with. Now he just o find a good way t the trap and activate the bloody siren again. Simple as that.

  Not.

  Leo grimaced, wiping his ears with a cloth he snatched from his backpack. There is always the Minor Takeover. er time to test it than in the field, where one screw-up could have the entire Wastend after my hide... No pressure.

  With the world's sounds subdued, Leo made his way to the er of the Wastend on his left. His eyes fell upon the familiar street he had previously observed, the very same ohat ran along the town square and tis path into the city on both sides.

  There were a few Voidlings down there, yet Leo shook his head. Low-level normies might suffice, but he didn't want to take the o, in this situation, Crawler or a Runner would be more suitable.

  Maybe oher side.

  Leo moved swiftly and silently as he made his way to the roof oher side of the street. Every muscle in his body tensed with each step, ensuring he remained hidden from the Wastend below. Being sloppy was the st thing he needed now…

  Time crawled by as Leo moved across the roofs of the buildings along the street, keeping low to avoid dete. He traveled from one edge to another, sing the area in search of the perfect target, only there were none.

  It wasn't until Leo reached the exit from the town square that he saw it. A single Cursed Runner, with only two normies close.

  The monsters stood in the midst of the usual Void jungle, unbothered by the Wastend that was slowly spreading just a er away, iilim and Corcera to fuel its growth.

  Not gonna lie, if I could travel above the Wastend, this mess would have been a lot easier to solve. Leo mused as he slid to the ground and straight into the lrass. The jungle really made it simple to get off the roof without a single soul notig.

  With practiced ease, Leo maneuvered around the small group, and the moment the Ruurned away, he struck.

  The two normies ood a ce as Leo rose from the grass. His human hand, assisted by the bowie knife, dug deep into the head of the first Voidling. In the meantime, his cws went straight into the other beast's throat, cutting halfway through its ne one go.

  All of this happened in a blink, and just as the Runner began to turn, a screech ready to escape its throat, Leo pounced once more. Bathed in the blood from the Runner's two kiended his hand, a sihought on Leo's mind.

  Minor Takeover.

  Leo's fiouched the Runner's arm, and Essence exploded from his soul and cursed arm, guided by an unknown phantom hand — the System. At the same time, his heart thrummed like never before, while the Touch of the Void moved to the ter of his being.

  They all worked together, flooding his Esseh an aspect darker and more potent than anything Leo had ever felt. Even the sed Cataclysm couldn't measure, a, back then, he could barely ha, staying afloat thanks to the adrenaline from the fight against Vetilim.

  But now?

  Now, the aspect felt inviting, bathing his body in warmth, not unlike a motherly embrace. It silently begged to be let in, and just like Leo was instructed by his first teique, he let it, the shadoect of his soul blending perfectly with the chaos of the Void.

  All of this took a sed, maybe two. And so, as fast as the surge came, it went away just as quickly. The aspect of the Void receded, Leo's Essence calming. Yet now he felt something more, a fn blip inside his mind.

  Leo gave the presence a nudge and watched as the Ruurned fully, one of its crimson eyes gone, repced by a vivid, dark violet iris and slitted pupil. He had never seen such a thing before. Not even Nikra in his dreams possessed such eyes, and definitely not any Voidling.

  Something so unique on a creature so ugly…

  With a shake of his head, Leo stepped away from the Ruhoughts about eye colors could be left for ter. He had a job to finish.

  Following the System's instrus, Leo focused on the blip in his mind and spoke. "Move a step to the left."

  And just like that, the Runner moved, exactly oop to its left. Well, I meant to my left, but that's probably my bad... Anyway, now for the most critical part... Please work.

  Getting a solid hold on the Runner's presenside his head, Leo gave it a strong nudge and closed his eyes. Go to the ree in the viity.

  A low groan along the shuffling of the grass around him answered Leo's call. After ting to five, he opened his eyes again.

  There, only a few meters away, the Ruood, and right o it was a tree.

  Leo grinned.

  Let's get to work.

  Chaos65