Chapter -15: The Monster Emerges
Darkness.
Kim Han didn't know how many days had passed. Time had lost all meaning. His body was covered in dried blood—some his own, most belonging to the things he had killed. The pit had turned silent. The other prisoners, those who had become beasts, were now corpses at his feet.
The hunger was unbearable.
His stomach twisted in pain, a gnawing void that refused to be ignored. He had eaten the last scraps of rotten flesh from the dead bodies, but it wasn't enough. It was never enough.
Kenji had died two days ago.
Han had buried him as best as he could with his bare hands, digging through stone and dirt until his fingers bled. But even as he covered the old man's body, a darker thought had whispered in his mind.
Meat.
His fists clenched.
No. I won't.
He wasn't an animal.
He wasn't like the ones he had slaughtered.
But the pit wanted him to become one.
His vision blurred. His head ached. His body was eating itself from the inside.
He needed to get out.
Somewhere high above, the faintest sliver of moonlight cut through the darkness. The walls were jagged, sharp, impossible to climb in his state. He had tried before and fallen, reopening wounds that barely had time to heal.
But tonight was different.
Tonight, he wouldn't fall.
Han pressed his bloody fingers against the stone and began to climb.
---
Each movement was agony.
His nails split. His wounds reopened. Blood dripped down his arms. But he didn't stop. His breathing was ragged, his muscles burned, but the hunger, the rage, the sheer refusal to die pushed him higher.
Halfway up, a stone crumbled beneath his foot. He slipped—his heart lurched—but he didn't fall.
He dug his fingers in deeper, ignoring the pain. His skin peeled from his hands, but he didn't care.
He climbed.
Higher.
Higher.
The edge was close.
With one final pull, Han threw himself over the ledge, rolling onto cold dirt. The night sky stretched above him, vast and endless. He was out.
He gasped, sucking in the fresh air like a drowning man.
But there was no relief.
Because as he lay there, staring at the stars, something inside him had changed.
The boy who had fallen into the pit was dead.
The one who had crawled out was something else.
---
The first thing he did was kill.
Han moved like a shadow through the trees, his senses sharper than ever before. His body was weak, but his mind was something different—something primal.
The guards who had been watching the pit never saw him coming.
Han slit the first man's throat before he could scream.
The second reached for his sword—too slow.
Han drove his stolen blade into his stomach, twisting it deep. The man gurgled, blood spilling from his lips as he collapsed.
Han didn't feel guilt.
Didn't feel regret.
Only hunger.
He stripped their bodies, taking weapons, armor, anything useful. Then, without a sound, he vanished into the night.
He was free.
But his revenge had just begun.
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