“Meow!”

  The kitten’s sharp, high-pitched demand broke through the quiet hum of the kitchen. I glanced down at her, sitting by my feet, her tail twitching like she owned the place. Her wide eyes zeroed in on the skillet in my hand.

  “Hold your damn horses,” I muttered, stirring the pan.

  “Meow!”

  “Yes, master, I’m cooking lunch,” I said sarcastically.

  Luna blinked, unimpressed.

  Sometimes, I swear, this little furball is way too smart for her age. She watched every move I made like a hawk—or rather, a mini tiger. Her gaze flicked between the spatula and the sizzling meat as though mentally calculating the seconds it would take for me to finish.

  My thoughts drifted as I stirred the food. The test phase from earlier still weighed heavily on my mind. I’d managed use the skill I got from the essence and honestly they feel like pre-programmed settings of a usage of the Blood essence.

  I’m pretty sure I can replicate the skill usage without using or activating a skill—well, somewhat. It wasn’t perfect, but it was progress.

  So that’s I think is the next path in this power system…get all the skill no get used to the essence and then manipulate the essence directly.

  “But the essence has so many damn restrictions,” I muttered under my breath. “Guess those are there for a reason, though.”

  The skill had massive potential, especially in combat. On a battlefield, it could be devastating—a literal bloodbath. The only problem is the cost, I don’t think I can sustain using this skill if I haven’t already stockpiled on blood.

  And only one usage of default skill projectile at best.

  “Hmmm... ouch!”

  A sharp sting on my shin yanked me out of my thoughts.

  “Meow!”

  “Goddamn it, you little—” I looked down to see Luna’s claws still extended, her face a picture of feline indignation. She was clearly pissed that I wasn’t paying enough attention to the meat.

  “Alright, alright,” I grumbled, grabbing a small portion from the pan. I chopped the meat into tiny pieces—she wasn’t big enough to chew anything larger—and set it on a plate. “Here you go, your royal highness.”

  Luna leapt onto the counter with surprising agility and pounced on the food. She devoured it with gusto, making tiny growling noises as though it might escape her.

  I couldn’t help but grin. At least it was fun and watching her was pure entertainment and in this fucked up god forsaken world without internet she was the only thing holding my mental sanity.

  “You’re a menace, you know that?”

  She paused mid-bite to shoot me a glance, as if to say, You’re damn right I am.

  I turned my attention back to my own lunch. The meat wasn’t anything fancy—just some spiced chunks with a bit of bread on the side—but it was enough to keep me going.

  The food disappeared quickly, and I leaned back in my chair, letting out a satisfied sigh. The little furball had finished her portion too and was now sprawled on the table, licking her paws with the air of someone who’d conquered the world.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “Rest while you can, Luna I have a feeling this will be the last stretch of rest we get” I said, smirking.

  After an hour of lounging, I finally dragged myself off the chair.

  “Alright,” I said, cracking my neck.

  “Next task—need to fix my goddamn Noctics set. Its current state is beyond bad”

  “Meow!”

  Luna followed me as I moved to the workbench, her tiny paws padding softly against the floor.

  “Oh, don’t act like you care,” I said, chuckling as she hopped onto the table, knocking over my plate. “Hey, careful! You’re gonna—ah, shit.”

  The plate, rolling across the floor fortunately I had eaten.

  “Meow?” she chirped innocently, as if she wasn’t the cause of the chaos.

  I shook my head, scooping her up and setting her on a higher shelf. “Stay there. And don’t touch anything.”

  She immediately began swatting at a hanging tool.

  “God help me,” I muttered, gathering the screws.

  Noctics armor was laid out in pieces across the workbench, a patchwork of dark metal and synthetic fibers. Honestly if I didn’t receive this for El I would’ve long gone and right now—it was hanging on by a thread. Literally.

  “Damn, this shit’s in a sorry state,” I muttered, running a hand over the cracked and warped plating.

  Luna meowed, curling into a ball and watching me with half-lidded eyes.

  “Must be nice,” I said, shaking my head. “No responsibilities, no life-threatening battles... Just eat, sleep, and cause trouble.”

  I picked up the chest piece, frowning at the cracked plating. “Okay how do I get started on this” I muttered.

  The chest piece looked like it had been through hell—because it had. The left shoulder and arm pieces weren’t faring much better, jagged edges and dents telling stories of hits I barely blocked in time. The stomach guard? Practically shredded.

  But that wasn’t the worst of it. As I leaned in, inspecting the damage more closely, something else caught my eye.

  “Okay, What the hell is that?”

  Violet streaks ran along the surface of several pieces, forming vein-like patterns. They weren’t just discolorations from wear and tear; they pulsed faintly, almost like they were alive.

  I frowned, my stomach twisting as I traced the lines with a finger. These were the areas where that damn outer monster’s blood had soaked into the armor. I remembered it clearly—the dark, viscous liquid splattering across me during the fight, steaming where it hit.

  “Ahh shit!, its blood from the chaos monster…God damn it …wait can’t I do this then…” I muttered, leaning back.

  I had an idea, though. Reaching into my spatial ring, I retrieved a chunk of the outer monster’s face flesh I’d salvaged after the fight. The grotesque piece was shriveled but still oozed a faintly glowing substance.

  As soon as I brought it near the armor, the vein-like patterns flared to life, glowing brighter and pulsing in sync with the proximity of the flesh.

  “Fuuu…so there’s something…I guess I can take the upgrade in this route” I said, staring at the reaction.

  Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes and entered a meditative state. Exira flowed through me, steady and reliable, as I reached out to connect with the armor. The familiar tug of energy pulled me deeper, guiding me toward a pseudo-attunement state.

  The strings of connection became clear as I delved further. Threads of corrupted energy reached out, intertwining with my essence, like tendrils trying to anchor themselves to something familiar.

  And they were familiar.

  “Holy…This would either ruin the armor of make it something greater” I muttered under my breath, realizing the truth.

  The armor wasn’t just corrupted. It had mutated—transformed by exposure to both the monster’s blood and my own essence during the battle. Specifically, the Mutation Essence I’d been channeling like a lunatic in the heat of the fight, I’m pretty sure due to how well Noctics armor was made and it being a set effect my essence considered it as a part of my being.

  I exited the state with a gasp, cracking my knuckles as I processed what I’d seen.

  I’m still now sure what to feel about this essence it saved my life time and time again however its a dual edged sword, one wrong move and I could very well mutate permanently.

  I glanced at the armor again, the vein-like patterns still glowing faintly. “The Chaos monster’s blood,” I muttered, “ It was corruptive—devouring everything it came into contact with. And the armor and I were soaked in it...Since this survived I can maybe get its devouring trait….”

  A sharp claw poked my arm, breaking my train of thought.

  “Meow!”

  I looked down to see the Luna, her head tilted as if to ask, What’s got you so worked up now?

  “Oh, nothing,” I said dryly. “Just figuring out how many time I have fucked myself and the situations”

  If the armor had mutated to handle the tainted blood, then it stood to reason that I had too, maybe. I hadn’t just been exposed—I’d been drenched in the stuff. Hell, I’d even eaten part of the damn monster’s face in a desperate bid to end the fight.

  Probably some mutation essence shenanigans which I have to understand fully, why can’t there be a status screen or something…haaa

  My hand went to my face instinctively, brushing over the rough, uneven skin of the scar running from my cheek to my jaw.

  “Is that why this hasn’t healed?” I murmured.

  The scarring had been bothering me for weeks, refusing to fade no matter how much I channeled healing energy. Now I had a sinking feeling that it wasn’t just a battle wound.

  HOUSE OF END DISCORD

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