Infamous Shifter's Genesis

Chapter 40

With a snarl, Sasha's entire body erupted in tar, the substance growing and expanding until it formed a massive cocoon around her. Damian's tendrils were forced to retreat as the cocoon began to pulse with energy, dark cracks forming along its surface. Suddenly, the cocoon exploded, sending shards of tar flying in all directions.

Sasha emerged from the wreckage, her form grotesque and monstrous. Her arms had grown larger, her claws more menacing, and her entire body was covered in a thick layer of pulsating tar. Her eyes, now glowing with an unnatural light, locked onto Damian.

"You won't stop me!" she screamed, her voice layered with madness. "I'll kill you, and then I'll kill Trish!"

She slammed her fist into the ground, sending shockwaves through the tunnel as more tar tendrils shot toward Damian, each one tipped with sharp, deadly spikes. Damian dodged to the side, but the tendrils pursued him relentlessly, forcing him to stay on the move. Each time he severed one, two more would take its place, growing faster and more aggressive.

Then came the hallucinations again. This time, they were stronger. The faces from his past morphed into horrific creatures, their twisted bodies clawing at him, biting and tearing. The sensation of pain was real, even if the creatures weren't, and it slowed Damian's movements.

Sasha saw her opening. She teleported directly in front of him, her clawed hands swiping toward his chest. Damian barely managed to block, but the force of her blow sent him skidding back, crashing into one of the concrete pillars. The pillar cracked under the impact, and debris rained down around him.

A deep cut could be seen from Damian's lip as he pushed himself up, his regeneration already at work. But Sasha wasn't letting up. She teleported again, appearing above him this time, her fist raised to crush his skull.

Damian shifted, his body morphing into a spiked shield just as she came down. The impact sent a shockwave through the ground, but Damian's shield held, the spikes driving into Sasha's hand. She screeched in pain, stumbling back as black tar dripped from the wound.

Using the opening, Damian retaliated. He morphed his arm into a massive blade and swung it at her with all his strength. Sasha teleported again, but Damian was faster this time. He anticipated her move, slashing through the air where she reappeared.

The blade caught her across the chest, tearing through her tar-covered skin. Sasha screamed, her body convulsing as the black substance oozed from the wound. But even injured, she wasn't done.

"I'll kill you!" she roared, her voice cracking with fury.

She raised her arms, and the tar on the ground surged upward, forming a massive tidal wave of black sludge. It loomed over Damian, the dark mass filled with energy. She sent it crashing toward him with all her might.

Damian stood his ground, his body shifting into its most monstrous form. His biomass expanded, forming a spiked, armored exoskeleton. His tendrils lashed out, grabbing onto the walls of the tunnel as the tidal wave slammed into him. The force was immense, pushing him back, but he held firm, his claws digging into the ground to anchor himself.

For a moment, the world was nothing but black tar and chaos. The pressure was suffocating, but Damian's regeneration kept him going. His body absorbed the impact, his monstrous form allowing him to weather the storm.

When the wave finally receded, Sasha stood panting, her eyes wild with exhaustion and rage. Damian, still standing, stepped forward, his exoskeleton retracting as he returned to his normal form.

Sasha's face twisted in disbelief. "No... No, you can't!"

Damian didn't respond. He moved forward, his tendrils extending once more. Sasha, desperate, tried to summon more tar, but her body was weakening. The tar sputtered and failed, her powers fading with each step Damian took toward her.

In a last, desperate act, Sasha lunged at him, her claws aimed at his throat. But Damian was ready. He sidestepped her attack, and in one fluid motion, his tendrils wrapped around her, lifting her into the air.

"It's over," Damian said, his voice calm but cold.

Sasha struggled, but she was too weak. The tar that had once fueled her madness was now dripping uselessly from her body. Her eyes, wide with fear, met Damian's for the last time.

With a swift motion, Damian's tendrils produced the two of the syringes and stabbed them into Sasha releasing the compound. Once that was done and she began to shake the tendrils tightened around her, and Sasha let out a final, choked scream. The life drained from her eyes, and her body went limp, finally, she fell to the ground with a thud.

Damian stood over her lifeless form, the room was now silent except for the faint hum of the pumps still working in the background. He sighed, releasing his new exoskeletal form.

Now free of distraction, Damian kneeled beside Sasha's body and began to consume her, her essence merging with his being. As he touched her, he enveloped her entirely, slowly consuming her remains. Her essence, memories, and powers merged with his being, and with each passing second, Damian could feel her rage, her madness, her sanity that returned at the last moment flooding his consciousness. Sasha, in her final moments, had fought with every ounce of strength to kill him, but now, she was becoming a part of him, to be reshaped according to his will.

Damian was about to craft a superior minion, one that would embody Sasha's ferocity and cunning. His biomass stirred, the familiar sensation of division beginning as he instinctively split off a quarter of himself. The new mass formed into a small, shapeless blob next to him. Damian extended a tendril from his main form into the mass, initiating the transformation process.

His mind shifted, drawn into the mental landscape that always appeared when creating something greater than just a puppet. The passage before him was familiar, a long tunnel filled with branching veins—each representing fragments of memory, emotion, and soul. Among the many veins, Damian sought out the one representing Sasha's essence. It was dark and black like her tar, pulsing with energy.