The Garden welcomed them with quiet, eerie potential.

  A rectangular room stretched distantly before them. It was perfectly symmetrical and less finely carved out than the others. Stone basins neatly lined the floors, filled with dark, ripe mulch. Circular glowstones sat organized on the ceiling in neat rows. They didn’t flicker, and cast steady, warm yellow light throughout the entire space.

  The air was damp, carrying the faint tang of freshly turned earth. This was a room waiting to grow. A place that could feed armies, bolster strength, and harbor life.

  At the far end, Mitch saw fenced pens waiting. The stone barriers looked sturdy, practical, and the large rock shack looked well formed.

  A place for small fowl perhaps?

  Mitch knew from his memories that the Abyss also had its own twisted version of game meat for eating.

  Shallow pools of still water glistened in the corners, refilled by unseen channels.

  Leonard was already moving, the energy from his stolen fruit still sparking his steps. With a snap of his fingers from his broken arm, he summoned rows of life. “I needed dirt for my growth Skills. My turn to be cool!” He yelled with glee.

  Vegetables sprouted–wheat, corn, squash, cabbage–all flourishing in vivid color. “Look at this!” he beamed, voice brimming with pride.

  Patty followed, brushing her hands on the edge of the stone basins. The rock melted and shifted under her hands, molding into better shapes.

  Hathgar crossed his arms, unimpressed on principle. “Aye,” he muttered. “Not bad. But we still need meat. Can’t right live forever on bugs and greens alone. Cellars nice, buh…some meat would be too.”

  Mitch’s mind was already racing ahead. It wasn’t enough to simply grow food. While impressive, if he wanted to take the Abyss head on, he would have to sustain an army.

  Rex’s tail extended out from his shirt form and wagged. In the blink of an eye, the Shadowshroud peeled away from Mitch’s body and shot across the Garden. The hound quickly found himself rolling in the basins of mud.

  The effect was immediate. As Rex rolled between the neat rows of vegetables, the plants nearest to him withered. Their vibrant greens dulled, stalks drooped, and life drained into the black mass of his form. Mitch suspected it was the result of Rex finally absorbing the Leeching Spine from the Mass Monster.

  Rex paused, sniffed at a rotting squash, and wagged his tail as if pleased with himself.

  Leonard threw his hands in the air. “What in the Stars is he doing! My crops! How am I supposed to make Patty a squash spaghetti?” Patty cackled in response.

  Hathgar pointed at Rex accusingly. “That’s it! No mer snuggling him.”

  “Relax,” Mitch laughed as he ran after Rex, who sniffed and withered another row of corn. As Mitch approached, he knew he wouldn’t be affected by his dog’s new ability. “It’s part of his nature. He doesn’t know any better.”

  Leonard sputtered while Patty laughed at the gnome. “Doesn't know better? He just…sucked in it’s life! WIth his aura thing!”

  Mitch knelt and patted Rex’s head as the hound looked up at him with a single innocent eye. “We’ll work on it,” Mitch said, more amused than serious. Rex’s tail wagged harder as he wilted yet another squash.

  As Leonard muttered about abyssal pests ruining his genius, Mitch’s attention shifted to the shack and fenced areas at the back of the Garden.

  The stone pens were sturdy and well-designed, though currently empty. The shack, simple and practical and large, seemed large enough to house hundreds of creatures.

  Livestock. Horses? Something Abyssal?

  He glanced back at his squad. “We’ll need more than crops,” Mitch said, half to himself. “Animals. Meat. Horses… “His thoughts trailed off as he considered the potential of the Abyssal creatures his memories had served him. He needed to figure out how to get all of the necessities a functioning force would have. People would only eat Bugs for so long.

  Mitch rose to his feet, brushing off stray dirty from his hands. Leonard was still muttering while Patty tried to calm him down. She was nudging him towards Mitch. With a sigh, the small gnome turned to Mitch in a much better mood.

  “You think that’s impressive? The food and the dog?” Leonard said while puffing out his chest. “Watch this.”

  He extended a hand, crooked forearm twisting as he focused. The air around him shimmered, and from the dirty sprouted clusters of dark, bulbous mushrooms.

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  Their caps were black and alive, veined with purple, and their stems twisted in unnatural, almost alive ways.

  Patty stepped closer to examine the new Abyssal growth. “Can’t really be mad at Rex now,” she teased. “You’ve got your own dark side.”

  Leonard smirked and gave an embarrassed laugh. “It’s all thanks to the big guy here.” He gestured at Mitch. “Without him, I would never have met you, my dear… And ever since I became your minion, Mitch, I’ve been able to summon…other things. Darker things.”

  Galadrith’s voice rumbled from his place on Mitch’s back. “Your influence grows, Mitchell. Guiding your followers toward potent abilities–this bodes well. The gnome can stay. We will need sustenance for our forces and appetites.”

  “This is amazing, Leonard. Truly, we’re going to need this.” Mitch said to the gnome with respect.

  “See how useful your Skills are? I told you plants will be helpful.” Patty squeezed the gnome’s shoulder.

  Leonard, emboldened by the compliment, raised both hands over one of the pools or waiting water.

  The surface ripple before bubbling, and moments later, slimy, tiny leeches emerged, clinging to the edges of the basin.

  “We don’t want to eat these, of course!” Leonard said with mischief in his eye. “But imagine the uses! Leeches are used for healing, and poisons, traps, and other fun…substances. At least according to her.” He jammed a thumb in Patty’s direction.

  Mitch met her eyes, and Patty gave a small smile and nod before answering. “I might have had some training in Alchemy. I’ll see what I can do with them. Long as I’m sticking around.”

  He measured her and nodded. She had just gotten her confidence back, found something in Leonard, and brought potential Skills and knowledge into his fold. He wouldn’t begrudge the fact that she outright refused to become a minion like Leonard. Hathgar hadn’t either.

  “Useful for something, I’m sure,” Mitch said said, his tone light but thoughtful. His mind was already spinning with the potential applications of Leonard’s new skills and Patty’s revelation.

  Hathgar groaned. “Keep those slimy bastards away from me. Got enough weird stuff to eat! Meat. I need meat.”

  Mitch surveyed the Garden and felt a bubbling sense of pride. This wasn’t just another room in the Estate—it was the beginning of something vital. If he was to bring people into his fold, sustain them, and perhaps finally eat something beyond bugs and scraps, the Garden would be essential. Not just for survival, but for strength.

  The vegetables, leeches, and mushrooms were a start, but they weren’t enough. Meat. Real sustenance. Warriors and his future minions needed more than rations and the fleeting boosts from his Flesh storage.

  Before he could dwell further, a pulse pushed through his Abyssal Bind. Varak’s strange presence buzzed in his mind.

  “Prisoner cell Leader…want challenge,” she rasped, her excitement crackling through the connection. “Is custom…of his people.”

  The souls within Mitch’s core stirred instantly, their anticipation bleeding into his own thoughts. A challenge. At last. The monotony of planning and waiting had worn thin. Ever since donning the Mask, inhabiting the body of the Masked Lord, the urge to push forward had been relentless. To carve his path and take a stand against the Abyss.

  The Mother is watching.

  “Finally,” he muttered.

  He glanced back at Leonard and Patty. “Keep working on the Garden. Experiment. Hathgar, you’re with me.”

  Rex barked sharply and streaked back to Mitch’s side, his shadowy form enveloping him like armor, crackling with eagerness for the coming fight.

  Even Galadrith rumbled with approval. Mitch could practically feel the bloodlust leaking from the soul sword. “A challenge will do us good, Mitchell. Let them see who their true leader shall be.”

  Mitch didn’t pause to dwell. With Hathgar trailing behind, grumbling as always, Mitch strode toward the threshold of the Garden, his steps steady, his purpose clear.

  The Lobby greeted him with stark transformation. The black marble floors were polished clean by Varak and the minions who had taken to tidying the Estate slowly. The floating chandelier, now filled with salvaged candles, glowed softly.

  It no longer felt like a cold, abandoned shell. His boots, the same one’s he’d inherited from his body’s last inhabitant, clicked on the floor.

  Hathgar followed in his usual tromp. “Well, this place looks right nice now. Varak really spruced er’ right up, didn’t she?”

  Mitch approached the massive front door. where the metal dial was turned to locked. The dial rested firmly in the locked position. They had already discovered that only he, Varak, and Sable could manipulate it. Mitch suspected it was tied to their unique connections to him—Sable as his First Follower and Varak as a Guardian of Wills.

  Intricate carvings round the dial represented entrances to other places, or so they thought. They had not experimented on turning the dial to any other position besides locked.

  As he pushed the door open, a realization struck him. He wanted this. The challenge. The opportunity to face an opponent, to prove himself, to show the full scope of his power. It stirred something deep within him.

  A faint smile played on his lips as he stepped forward, his thoughts drifting to the boy he once was.

  Mischa. The scared, awkward kid who was laughed at, ignored, beaten down. A boy he had been ashamed to be for years.

  But Mischa was gone. That pain, those scars—they had forged something new. Something sharper. Mischa had become Mitch, and Mitch had become the Masked Lord.

  If someone dared to call him out, a creature of the Abyss, or anyone else, they would learn just how far he had come, and where he would go.

  They didn’t know his past. And they would regret every lesson he delivered.

  Lost in thought, Mitch strode with purpose down the shadowed path leading to the Farm, where Butcher’s and the Warden’s oppressive rule had once reigned.

  “Let’s see what this challenge is all about,” Mitch said to his friend. Hathgar extended his Abyssal Wrought iron arm into a heavy headed hammer, grunting his agreement.

  Without another word, he pushed open the door to the prison. The heat and smell hit him first, followed by the roars of Abyssal creatures kept under lock.