Mitch was lost in thought, walking back to the club when the sound of cackles snapped him out of it. Looking over his shoulder, he spotted a handful of mutilated Grimmer forms quickly gaining. A pit grew in his stomach.
I know that type of laugh. They’re coming for me.
“Where’d you go, pretty boy? Did she take your brain before or after your balls?” The same broken voice that had accosted him before Mathilda’s had returned. Sighing, Mitch turned to face the group.
He stood a head taller than the leader. Emaciated bodies huddled behind the gangly man, faces twisted in self-satisfied grimaces. Despite wearing ragged, filthy clothing, Mitch could smell the stench of Grimlace over the man’s body odor.
“What do you want? I don’t have any money for you,” Mitch grumbled.
“Hehe, we don’t want just any old stinking Credits,” the leader smiled widely, revealing rotten, blackened teeth. His cronies giggled. Mitch’s stomach fell deeper as he felt a tension build in his chest. The thin man pointed and the pressure increased sharply. Sweat beaded on his forehead. “We only want the good stuff, even if the market is down.”
Another Skill. What’s that pressure against my chest?
“Dew it bawth,” one Grimmer slurred, his missing lip twisting his words. The group shuffled ahead in excitement. “They’th madesth you a Collector now. Dew it!”
Oh, fuck me.
The lead Grimmer, no–a Collector–curled his finger and unfathomable pain exploded in Mitch’s chest. He felt something rip out of him. White glowing tendrils flowed out from his chest and into the man’s palm. The Soul cried out faintly as it left his core, its wails rising above Mitch’s own scream.
Burden Updated
Burden: Pay the Abyssal Debt
Status: IncompleteActive Debt: -1,000,666 -> -1,000,166Currency: Souls, Flesh, Credits
Thank you for your payment. Visit a Collector to make another.
Do you give up?
Unimaginable pain overcame him, and he collapsed in a heap onto the street, tears streaking down his face. The howling laughter of the Grimmers filled his ears as the internal pain continued to climb.
Dirty feet began to stomp him. He felt a rib crack, his grunt only increasing his attackers ferocity.
Worse still, his mind began to betray him. It began to show him the life of someone else. Trying to shove the emotions that began to flood him into his Devoid Skill proved impossible.
The happy memories of someone else's life overtook his mind as he was forced to watch a life that wasn’t his as he was kicked at and stomped by the gang.
A father throwing his young daughter up in the air, giggles filling the small apartment they shared together. A fresh start. Flipping and handing her a crispy grilled cheese. Bigger now, a rainy view from the bleachers, watching her crush a lobbed baseball, the crowd cheering. The joy at her coming home after reading over unpaid bills. Clapping when she won her grade 8 Art award, and English to boot.
Endless happy memories filled him with joy as the Grimmers continued their attack. The memories turned darker and came faster.
Doctor’s office, she was almost a woman now. Her ready smile trying to hide her fear. Watching her favorite childhood movie and eating pizza. The call. Tears, so many tears. Her defiant face at her first treatment. Bills unpaid, forgotten. Endless nights in the hospital. Holding her hand for the last time. Tears. Bottles everywhere. The rope in the bathroom. Begging that he’d do anything to No One. Nothing. Unfurling a tattered note in a trash filled alley. Stumbling into Club Mythos.
No. No, this isn’t mine.
A final, brutal kick to his temple knocked him back to the present. Even Grimlace fueled addicts grew tired eventually. They backed up, giggling and smacking eachother in victory, leaving him bloodied and raw on the ground.
Mitch stared up at the starry sky. All he felt was rage. He took one deep breath, rib tweaking, and hoisted himself up to face the Grimmers.
Fuck these people.
Affliction Skill Upgraded
Agony’s Embrace
Level 2(+1)
Pain is power. Harness every drop of suffering, turning agony into unrelenting strength. Your torment permanently fortifies your body and amplifies your strength.
Strength surged through him, feeding on his pain.
“Five hunnit credits for a Soul, phewie, the market really has turned.” the leader mocked him, panting from the beating he’d just delivered. Rage continued to climb as Mitch measured the group.
Rather than try to hide the emotion with his Skill, he decided to bring the fight to his opponents. For the first time in his existence.
One must always go forward, she said. You want me to embrace the Abyss?
Mitch leapt, his powerful body exploding forward towards the group. The lead Grimmer’s reaction was far too slow to stop what was coming. Throwing a wild haymaker, Mitch’s fist connected with blackened teeth. Instantly the addict Collector dropped at his feet. Knocked out. Mitch and the surrounding enemies stood in shock.
Raising his fist, Mitch pulled out a tooth that had lodged itself in his knuckle. Another scar to add to his collection.
Ah, that’s how I got those.
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The remaining Grimmers bolted. Mitch grinned and took off after them, muscular legs propelling him forward far faster than he thought possible. The power surged through him, making his body feel lighter, quicker–like a predator closing in on its prey. He grabbed a lagging one roughly by the shoulder, digging fingers deep into his flesh.
I can get used to this strength.
He howled in agony as Mitch yanked him back, his grip effortlessly tearing into his thin skin and muscle. Blood squirted as he spun him around. With newfound power flooding into his veins, he grabbed him by the waist and hoisted his entire body above his head in one fluid motion. His muscles flexed as he hurled the Grimmer with all his might toward the fleeing backs of the others.
The impact sent the group scattering to the ground.
Nice.
One Grimmer escaped the chaos and bolted down an alley. Mitch walked slowly towards the fallen group, who were slowly picking themselves up. The largest two looked at him with panicked eyes as he delivered a full kick to the face of the thrown addict.
He yelped as he was flipped onto his back. Mitch let the rage wash over him as he stood above the man and lifted his boot. He paused, the other addicts watching him in terrified silence. The man beneath him whimpered, hands outreached, trying to shield his face.
This is it. Am I going all in?
The Abyss pulsed through his heart, mingling with the rage roaring within him.
Yes.
His boot slammed down with a sickening crunch. The skull caved, blood and brain matter splattering the cobblestones.
Mitch froze, guilt and triumph warring within him. Something had prodded him before the decision to stomp, pushing him over the edge.
Did I just kill him because I wanted to? Or was it the Abyss pushing me?
Before he could decide, pain lanced through his back as the fallen leader he had previously knocked out drove a knife into him. Mitch stumbled, blood leaking into his shirt.
He whipped around, fury blazing. The remaining Grimlace addicts scattered, leaving their boss behind. Anger flowed into Mitch as he slowly walked towards the Collector.
The gaunt man’s face was still locked in a permanent grimace. His eyes bulged as if he were a trapped animal, waving a blood soaked blade at Mitch while backing up.
“Who made you a Collector?” Mitch’s voice was ice.
“Not telling. They’ll do worse than just kill me.” The Grimmer Collector sneered, backing up further.
“Then why work for them? Just for more Grimlace?” Mitch shifted, positioning himself so the addict’s escape route ended at the brick wall.
“Heh, Grimlace digs in deep, pulls you down while making it feel damn good,” the addict chuckled as his back hit the wall. Instead of fear, his grimace stretched into a grotesque smile. “Get deep enough, you’re rewarded. Like me,” he tapped the blade against his chest.
“Made me a Collector. I can feel em’ in here,” he rasped through his laughter. “Screaming, for where they’re going.”
The man’s laugh started soft but quickly grew unhinged. Mitch stepped forward, disgusted. He slammed a fist into the Grimmer’s face. Once. Hard. The addict barely flinched, his laughter swelling.
“Who do you Collect for? Where are you taking that Soul?” Mitch growled , striking again, harder.
The Grimmer’s laugh only deepened, bloody spit spraying from his broken mouth. Rage boiled in Mitch as he delivered yet another punch–crack–the man’s cheekbone shattered as he toppled to the ground. The laughter grew louder.
Mitch climbed on top of the writhing man, his fist crashing full force into his nose.The addict’s head bounced off the cobblestones.
“They’re coming with me, you fucking idiot.” The Grimmer wheezed, laughter choking into a bloody howl as Mitch continued to pummel his face.
Rage boiled over, a burning need to stop this madness, to pull the souls back from whatever torment they were fated for. They were trapped within the body of the Collector.
Trapped, just like me. But maybe not lost.
He reached for his Abyssal Vault and his mind surged as he tried to pull them back. The Skill felt his call and answered, feeding off his desperation.
Affliction Skill Upgraded
Abyssal Vault
Level 2
Collect, Siphon, and store Souls, Flesh, and Credits within. A living account for your Abyssal Debt.Meet a Collector to transfer the sum
Settlement Amount: 0 Souls, 0 Credits, 0 Flesh
It wasn’t enough. He felt the souls trapped within the gurgling and giggling Grimmer beneath him as his fists continue to reign terror into the bloody mess of a face.
He paused his beating, and pulled harder, muscles straining. But the souls stayed bound, clutched within the Grimmer’s twisted body.
Gurgling, the addict laughed weakly through his shattered teeth. “You want ‘em? Gonna have to pry ‘em from my corpse.”
Mitch’s blood ran cold.
“If you say so.” His deep voice sounded hollow, even to his own ears.
His body moved before his mind could catch up, bloodied fists tightening. With a roar, he delivered a massive punch. His knuckles met the Grimmer’s face with a sickening crack.
The laughter finally stopped.
For a moment, everything was still. Then, Mitch felt it. The rush of cool energy surging towards his Abyssal Vault, drinking in what it craved.
The addict’s body began to wither, flesh twisting and shrinking, as his Skill swallowed not only his flesh, but the many souls the Collector had trapped inside him. Tendrils, white and black, surged from the crumpled body into Mitch’s chest.
Abyssal Vault
Settlement Amount: 13(+13) Souls, 0 Credits, 1(+1) Flesh
A flood of raw, dark energy hit Mitch like a rising wave. Each soul fed into his Abyssal Vault, not overwhelming, but strong enough to feel.
Instead of the full chaos he expected, he felt most of them settle, thankful captives under his control. Some scratched and pounded, desperate for escape, but most felt almost relieved.
A hole still remained on his back, and his knuckles were split. Yet, as the Souls and Flesh merged into his core, a subtle strength coursed through him. Muscles tightened, veins thrummed with new power. His flexed and a sense of renewed vigor radiated through him.
They’re not just currency…Why am I stronger from them?
Mitch looked down at the husk that had been the Grimmer. His gaze flicked to the other he’d killed earlier, lying a few feet away.
Might as well, he thought grimly. No sense in letting it go to waste.
His Abyssal Debt updated.
Active Debt: -1,000,166 -> -1,000,666
Do you give up?
Fat fucking chance.
He walked over and siphoned the small body of the brainless Grimmer.
Settlement Amount: 13 Souls, 0 Credits, 2(+1) Flesh
As his Abyssal Vault absorbed the flesh, he felt the increase, but noticed only a singular flesh had been added.
His brow furrowed in confusion. That soul should have been there.
Where do the Souls go if they’re not collected?