Hathgar’s screams were a sharp knife, each cry carving deeper into Mitch’s mind.

  They were worse than the cuts that lacerated his body. Invisible blades worked him, slicing through flesh and muscle with cruelty. However, each cycle of pain and healing pushed Mitch further in his compounding strength.

  I’m close. Mitch could feel it. A threshold was within reach. Agony’s Embrace flowed, something potent building within the Affliction Skill. Every spike of pain fed the strength of his body, sharpening it as it was torn apart.

  The pod’s iron pressure held him firm as he pulled more souls for consumption. Soul Sacrifice stacked, adding more power to his blazing body.

  This pod... it would be so useful in my hands.

  Through the haze of torment, Hathgar’s voice cut through again.

  Outside the pod, Sable’s movements were frantic. “Mitch!” she yelled, her voice cracking at witnessing his imprisonment. Another Fracture hurled at the glowing purple pod. Sparks erupted on impact, but the barrier didn’t give. She snarled, shooting out her wire and wrapping it tightly around the base. Her muscles flexed as she yanked with all her strength, trying to wrench even the smallest gap.

  Her efforts were futile, but Mitch felt the raw loyalty in every strike and pull.

  “Poetic, isn’t it? A creature, stitched together from scraps trying to save another lost cause. Tell me, Patchling, which parts of you will I keep when I’m done?” the Warden’s voice oozed out from somewhere.

  A sudden, blinding flash came from the far side of the room. Mitch’s instincts screamed a warning. Too late. A searing ball of purple fire shot out from behind one of the pods. Its speed seemed impossible to track.

  It struck Sable square in the side, the explosion throwing her across the room.

  Her scream was a short, sharp cry of pain as her arm ripped away in a violent burst. Scattering threads and shredded flesh across the floor.

  She hit the ground hard, sliding to a stop as smoke rose from the bleeding stump where her arm had been.

  “No!” Mitch's voice broke, rage boiling over. He tried to push healing through their Abyssal Bind toward her, to send some kind of healing, but the pod blocked him. His power bounced back.

  “You can’t even help her,” the Warden sneered, stepping out from behind a row of pods. His form was cloaked in Shadows, but Mitch could just make out the glint of his red ring. “But don’t worry–I’ll make her suffer in a way that 's entertaining for you.”

  Galadrith’s voice hissed in Mitch’s mind. “Enough, wielder. Save your strength for what matters. For her. Break free and end this.”

  I need to save them.

  Mitch poured countless souls into Soul Sacrifice, each one devoured in a blaze of raw power. The torrent raged within him, building into a relentless inferno. His body vibrated, a vessel barely containing the energy that seared through him.

  Settlement Amount: 394(-25) Souls, 339 Beast Souls, 0 Credits, 576 Flesh.

  The fury of Hathgar’s screams and Sable’s pain surged alongside the power, driving Mitch’s rage to its breaking point.

  “Enough!” he roared, swinging with everything he had.

  His fist slammed into the Abyssal pod. The impact detonated in a violent burst. The barrier shattered with a crack, shards of purple light spraying outward in a mist that dissolved into the air. The chamber rocked under the force of the explosion, silencing the Warden’s mocking laughter for just an instant.

  Pain lanced through Mitch’s arm as the blow pulverized his hand. Bone crunched, skin split, and tendons snapped under the sheer force of his strike. Blood poured freely from the mangled limb, dripping onto the cold, damp floor of the Farm.. Mitch barely noticed, concerned for Sable.

  Rex howled in his mind, and the Shadowshroud coiled around him tightly. The hound’s bloodlust seared into Mitch’s thoughts, raw and primal. The creature’s hunger for vengeance blended seamlessly with Mitch’s own fury.

  “No, no, no,” Mitch growled.

  Free of the pod, Mitch wasted no time. He rushed over to Sable and pressed healing towards her using his Abyssal Bind connection. Souls were required, as it was a loss of a limb.

  The zip of the tendril reached her instantly. The Pod no longer prevented him from using his healing with Abyssal Bind.

  The ragged edges of flesh and thread had been charred away from the Warden’s attack. Smoke curled from her bleeding stump.

  The connection tore through his reserves like wildfire, burning through countless souls. Mitch felt each soul consumed, a cost he didn’t hesitate to pay.

  Settlement Amount: 262(-132) Souls, 339 Beast Souls, 0 Credits, 576 Flesh.

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  Her wound began to glow faintly, a warm red light as the healing took hold. Flesh knit together rapidly, layers of tissue rebuilding as Mitch pushed all his strength into the bond.

  Then he noticed it—something was different.

  As the energy worked its way through her body, the threads that had once held her Patchling form together vanished. The stump of her arm reshaped itself, flawless and seamless. No stitches. No scars. Just whole, unbroken flesh. Human.

  The sight wasn’t just surprising. It was transformative.

  I can… rebuild Patchlings?

  “What the hell?” Mitch muttered, staring at her new arm in disbelief.

  Sable stirred. Her gaze met his, filled with gratitude and confusion. “Mitch…heal yourself damnit.” she said.

  Blood from the cuts of the Pod still dripped onto the floor, and his hand remained shattered. Pulling, Mitch healed himself using flesh.

  Settlement Amount: 262 Souls, 339 Beast Souls, 0 Credits, 556(-21) Flesh.

  He reached through his bond with Abyssal Bind. The mental tether stretched outward, sharp and commanding. Mitch wanted to break the entire farm. But he would need help.

  Come to me. Now.

  From the prison, Varak’s mind stirred. The response came immediately–a surge of feral loyalty.

  Her twisted voice came back immediately.

  We come.

  Mitch felt the skittering of limbs, the rush of movement as Varak and the other minions converged on his location.

  Mitch’s grip tightened around Sable’s newly healed hand. He hoisted her up. Her eyes met his, wide with disbelief at her own transformation. She flexed her fingers, staring at the seamless, unmarred flesh where stitches had once held together.

  “No more threads, spooky, right?” Mitch said, then continued. “We’re not done. Stand tall.”

  She nodded, squaring her shoulders. “Let’s kill this bastard,”

  “You think breaking out of your little playpen changes anything, doggy?” Warden sneered from behind them.

  Mitch growled, and turned to face the Warden. The shadows in the corridor shifted as the figure stepped forward, his form barely discernible within the darkness. The faint glint of his red ring cut through the gloom.

  The pull began almost immediately.

  A searing, invisible force clawed at Mitch’s core. Tearing through him. The souls within his screamed, their cries blending in his mind with the raw agony of Hathgar’s wails.

  Mitch staggered as the Collection started. It made his knees buckle as the memories of their lives began to invade his mind.

  “Answer him with strength!” Galadrith roared.

  Mitch gritted his teeth, planting his feet on the blood-slicked floor.

  He activated Deathhowl, unleashing a thunderous scream that tore through the chamber. The ball of a soul crackling with green ripped towards the Warden’s shadowed form. Instantly, the tug on his core from the Collection stopped as the Deathhowl flew towards the man.

  A wall of purple erected in front of the man a split second before the Deathhowl collided with it.

  The Deathhowl slammed into the purple wall, shaking the chamber. Green energy exploded outwards, sending viscous energy skittering in all directions.

  The Warden stood behind the barrier, his form barely illuminated.

  “Did you really think that would work?” His voice was slick with disdain. “You’re a dog barking at a storm.”

  Mitch snarled. The Warden was fast–too fast–and the buried had appeared as if summoned by thought. But the brief stop in the Collection gave Mitch precious seconds to think. He readied Galadrith, the sword’s crimson aura pulsing with anticipation. Rex mimicked the swords viscous energy.

  The Warden didn’t wait for a reply. He raised his ringed hand and another orb of Abyssal fire coalesced. The fireball streaked toward Mitch, faster than the last.

  Rex roared in his mind and tightened across Mitch. The fireball struck dead-on, detonating with a blast of heat on Mitch’s chest that sent him skidding back several feet. The floor groaned from the impact.

  Rex growled, but remained unmarred. Just singed.

  “I know, boy,” Mitch muttered, his voice rough but steady. “He’s dead. Just wait.”

  The Warden chuckled, his voice echoing through the wall. “Still standing? Impressive. But let’s see how many tricks you have before crumbling.”

  Mitch’s eyes darted to the pods around the Warden. The purple walls shimmered around him, and siphoned into the Warden’s body. When his body began to glow, the man cackled from behind the wall that stood between them.

  The faint shimmer of energy siphoning into the Warden’s body wasn’t just for defense or torment. It was his lifeline. Their agony fed his strength.

  Not for long.

  “Distract him, Sable,” Mitch ordered, his voice cutting through the chaos. “Wires, Fractures, anything. Keep him busy.”

  Sable nodded sharply, her expression grim. She unleashed a flurry of wires that snapped and coiled toward the Warden. The gleaming threads struck the glowing wall, smacking against its surface. She followed up with a rapid Fracture. The sharp beam of energy slammed into the barrier and splintered sparks across the chamber.

  The Warden’s mocking laughter rose above the noise. “Is that the best you can do, Patchling? All your scraps, all your struggle—it’s meaningless.”

  Mitch’s eyes locked onto the pods glowing behind the Warden. Each shimmer of siphoned energy poured into the man, fueling his grotesque power.

  “I’ll handle the rest,” Mitch said, his voice low but edged with determination.

  The Warden sneered. “You’ll handle nothing, doggy. This is my domain. Every soul, every scream belongs to me.”

  Hathgar’s screams echoed in the background.

  I have to make it in time.

  The man was preparing a violent Skill. Mitch could feel the energy building in the air. The pressure building in the air was reflected in the glow that funneled into the man.

  Mitch launched into a sprint, his boots slamming against the blood-slicked floor. His target wasn’t the Warden. Not yet.

  Rex howled in his mind, a guttural snarl of approval. Together, Mitch, Galadrith, and Rex charged into the darkness. Sable backed them up, splitting the Warden’s attention.

  They ran towards the trapped. Towards the source of the Warden’s power. Towards the closest pod that fed the Warden’s glow.

  Hunts on.