The stone gave way under Bullet’s weight, revealing a grotesque, sprawling chamber. Flesh coated the walls like some twisted, living organism, pulsating with a sickening rhythm. The air was thick with the stench of decay, and a low, constant squelching sound came from somewhere deep within. It was a place born of nightmares.
"This is absolutely fucking disgusting," Karlach muttered, her lip curled in revulsion as her eyes swept the chamber. The landshark moved aside, clearing a path for the others to emerge from the tunnel. Two openings loomed ahead, one to the left, the other to the right.
"Is this… bone?" Gale murmured, kneeling to inspect the platform on which they now stood. His fingers grazed the surface, revealing that it was not stone, but the ridged texture of massive, bone. An open pit yawned in the center of the platform, with giant, fang-like protrusions sprouting up around its edge. The largest of the fangs had a body tied to it, hanging upside down, its lifeless form swaying slightly.
“My blade thirsts for ghaik blood,” Lae'zel declared the moment her feet touched the ground outside the tunnel, her grip tightening on her sword, eyes already scanning for enemies.
Jaheira’s expression was more somber. "This place…" she said, her voice low, "It stirs memories long buried."
A shriek pierced the silence, and every head snapped to the left. A ghoul stood at the far end of the chamber , its hollow eyes fixed on the intruders. It opened its mouth to shriek again, but before it could, a flaming bolt whistled through the air, hitting it square in the forehead. The creature let out a final gurgle as flames consumed its head, and it crumpled to the fleshy ground, smoldering.
"Well, that was easy," Astarion remarked, casually patting his crossbow, a smirk tugging at his lips. But his moment of satisfaction was short-lived.
A deafening roar tore through the chamber, reverberating off the fleshy walls. The ground itself seemed to tremble, and from the direction where the ghoul had fallen, a massive shadow began to rise.
"Gods above, what is that?" Karlach growled, her fiery fists igniting, ready for battle.
“I think our little ghoul friend wasn’t alone,” Gale said, his hands already glowing with arcane energy.
"Holy shit . " Wyll said as he unsheathed his sword.
Lae’zel’s grip tightened on her blade, her eyes blazing with bloodlust. “A ghaik abomination."
"Well, this just got interesting," Astarion quipped, though his voice had lost its usual playful edge.
"Hopefully is not as strong as it looks . " Shadowheart said as the grip on her mace tighten .
________________
Alex landed firmly at the bottom of the fleshy chute, the grotesque sensation of pulsating muscle and bone beneath him sending a shiver through his body. The ground was alive—he could feel it shifting and breathing under his boots, like a living organism trapped beneath a thin veil of skin. The thick, warm air clung to him, laden with the scent of rot and decay.
'This place… it’s just like a hive,' Alex thought grimly, his mind drifting back to a memory—his world. He had seen something like this before, something just as unnatural. Back in New York, he had destroyed dozen of hives, a grotesque epicenter of infection where the virus had mutated and bred. He had to cleanse it, to stop the infection from consuming everything. Back then, the city had been crumbling under the weight of the outbreak—buildings collapsing, streets filled with the dead and dying. And the hive... the hive had been the heart of it all, a cancer growing in the city’s veins, just like this place.
His fists clenched instinctively at the memory. The relentless fight, the screams of the infected as they clawed for his flesh, the way the ground itself seemed to writhe and shift beneath his feet, as if the world was trying to consume him whole. That same oppressive feeling filled him now, only this time, the enemy wasn’t some virus.
Alex’s breath was steady, but inside, the cold dread of familiarity gnawed at him. It reminded him all too much of the darkness he had fought so hard to leave behind.
Aylin landed close by, her celestial glow muted by the grim surroundings. Her wings twitched in discomfort as her eyes adjusted to the revolting chamber around them.
“What the... fuck…” Aylin murmured, her voice thick with disgust as she took in the sight of where they had landed.
The chamber was a grotesque parody of life. Blood oozed down the walls like sweat from the skin of a living organism, while tendrils of flesh pulsed rhythmically, as if breathing. The faint orange-red glow from the walls cast unsettling shadows, revealing sinew and bone, interwoven into the ground beneath their feet. It wasn’t just damp—it was alive. Aylin grimaced, shifting her stance as she realized she was standing on living tissue. The ground beneath her boots squelched.
“Ugh,” she groaned, her voice laced with revulsion. “We’re walking on flesh.”
Her repulsion was interrupted by Alex’s voice, sharp and unyielding. "Something’s coming."
He gripped his sword, and Aylin’s hand instinctively moved to her weapon as well. The air in the chamber grew thick with anticipation.
Before them, a section of the fleshy wall began to tear, the membrane splitting open with a wet, slurping sound. From within emerged a horror—a creature unlike anything they’d seen before. Its body was a nightmare amalgamation of crustacean, insect, and serpent, 2.4 meters long, with massed tentacles writhing in front of its maw. Two enormous claws clacked menacingly, and its fanned tail lashed out, leaving a trail of mucous in its wake. Its carapace, was translucent and coated in a slick film, making it seem all the more repulsive.
And behind it, more abominations emerged. Their twisted forms resembled illithids, but with dark, shadowy tentacles and skin that shimmered with an oily blackness. They moved like gnarled gnomes, hunched and disfigured, their twisted bodies blending with the shadows.
The air grew colder, heavier. The last of the creatures stepped forward—intellect devourers, far larger than the ones Alex had encountered before, their brains pulsating visibly.
Alex's instincts kicked in. He pushed Aylin to the ground just as a ray of sickly green energy shot past them, disintegrating a section of the wall behind them. The beam had come from a creature behind the group.
Looming in the shadows was another abomination. It's bulbous body nearly 2 meters in diameter, its central eye glaring with malevolent intelligence. Ten eyestalks writhed from its head, each one glowing with deadly arcane energy. As it shifted its position, it revealed a lamprey-like mouth, ringed with razor-sharp teeth, drooling a thick, viscous fluid.
Alex's mind raced as he quickly identified the danger. 'That ray… That thing must have been a beholder.' Alex thought as his eyes darted to the creature, his hands tightening around his sword.
Without warning, Alex and Aylin phased out of existence, reappearing several meters to the side, just as another devastating ray turned the fleshy ground they’d been standing on into rotten muck.
Alex didn’t hesitate—he phased again, and reappearing right beside the illithid-beholder. His blade gleamed with lethal intent, poised to cleave the abomination in half. Its massive central eye fixed on him, the sclera a sickly white, marred by a single black spot that pulsed like a malevolent heart. The moment its gaze locked onto Alex, he felt it—the magic coursing through him flickered, its flow suddenly stifled, made inept by the anti-magic cone emanating from the creature’s gaze.
The hybrid’s eyes gleamed with malicious glee as it fired off a barrage of rays—paralyzing, disintegrating, wounding, slow ,charm and many more. In an instant, the air was filled with death. Alex barely dodged to the side, the disintegration ray missing him by inches, turning the fleshy ground beside him into blackened sludge.
The illithid-beholder raised all its eyestalks at once, preparing to unleash a concentrated volley, when Alex surged forward. With inhuman speed, he dodged the oncoming rays, his body weaving between the deadly beams. He didn't need magic to finish this monster off. Finally, he closed the gap, his fist exploding forward in a devastating punch that connected directly with the creature’s massive central eye.
The impact was sickening. The eye ruptured like an overripe fruit, black and purple ichor splattering across the chamber. The abomination let out a wet, choking scream before its body went limp, collapsing into the ground.
Alex’s body shifted, tendrils of flesh growing from him, enveloping the dying creature. He absorbed the mindwitness, and with it, its memories. As the knowledge flowed into his mind, a cold realization struck him.
'Tav is here.'
He turned to Aylin. She stood victorious, covered in gore but otherwise unscathed. Around her, a dozen abominations lay dead, their twisted bodies broken and scattered across the chamber floor. Uchuulons, mozbrikens, intellect devourers—all were slain by her righteous fury.
"These things are absolutely disgusting," she muttered, giving a half-dead uchuulon a swift, disgusted kick, its carapace crunching under her boot. Despite the carnage around her, Aylin's face remained calm, though a flicker of frustration was visible in her eyes.
Stolen story; please report.
Alex nodded, his gaze shifting back to the darkened tunnel ahead. He could feel it—the pulse of something far more sinister waiting .
A pair of tentacles sprouted from Alex’s back, reaching out like serpents to snatch the lifeless abominations from the ground. He absorbed their biomass, their tissues merging into him, while fragments of their DNA added to his vast, ever-evolving collection.
Together, Alex and Aylin pressed forward through the macabre corridor of the illithid colony, the air thick with the stench of decay. Aylin cast occasional glances at Alex, her silver eyes flickering with both curiosity and wariness. His shifting form—both human and something far beyond it—was unsettling, even to her. But there was no time for questions; they had a mission, and they had to move.
Everything in the colony was crafted from living, organic matter. Ribs of bone arched overhead like a grotesque cathedral, while the ground beneath their feet squelched with every step, a carpet of flesh and interwoven bone that seemed to pulse with a life of its own. As they moved deeper, they passed remains—skulls and half-formed bodies fused with the living walls, their outlines barely visible, as the very colony had consumed them.
More abominations emerged from the shadows—grotesque hybrids of illithid nightmares—but Alex and Aylin cut through them with ruthless efficiency. Alex’s blade carved through the twisted flesh, while Aylin’s radiant strikes burned through their dark, corrupted forms. Their path was lined with carnage as they fought their way deeper.
They came to a crossroads. A butchered brain encased in a transparent orb, pulsing faintly with an eerie light was embedded in to the wall . A standard bearing the grim symbol of Myrkul, god of death, was planted nearby, casting long shadows across the fleshy floor. A few steps ahead, to their left , an altar dedicated to Myrkul stood ominously, a sickly green flame burning at its base. Alex paused, closing his eyes as he reached out with his mind, sensing the familiar presences of Glut, Lump, and Bullet somewhere to his right. ‘They are in distress,’ he thought.
The ground beneath them shook violently, a deafening roar reverberating through the colony like thunder.
"Follow me," Alex said sharply as he turned to the right, knowing all too well what had caused the sound.
He slashed through a fleshy door with a single stroke of his blade, revealing a chamber that could only be described as a grotesque slaughterhouse. Bodies—human, elf, goblin, half orc , gnome and many more—hung from ropes and chains like discarded meat, swaying gently as if left to dry. Others were sprawled haphazardly on the ground, their organs and intestines strewn in piles. The sight was enough to churn even the strongest of stomachs.
A bugbear male, eyes vacant , stood over a chopping block. Alex could sense the faintest flicker of a mind left in the creature’s head, a mere shadow of sentience. Without hesitation, he cut the bugbear down with a swift strike, his mind already focused on the greater threat ahead.
They dashed through another flesh-wrought door, the psychic pressure in the air growing stronger with every step. And then, in the center of the next chamber, they saw it.
A Brainstealer Dragon.
It was a grotesque mockery of its draconic kin. Instead of a majestic maw, four long, writhing tentacles sprouted from where its jaws should have been, flailing grotesquely in the air. Two swollen, lidless orbs in place of eyes glistened, devoid of soul, but pulsing with the same sinister intelligence that inhabited all illithids. The dragon’s pale purple scales were sickly and translucent, stretched tight over its distorted frame, its wings nothing more than fleshy flaps of skin.
Though the creature had once been a red dragon wyrmling, it had been twisted beyond recognition by illithid experiments, and the result was just as deadly—if not more so. Balthazar had left it as the guardian of his lab, and now it stood between them and their goal, an embodiment of both psionic and draconic terror.
The chamber was already a battlefield. Wyll , Astarion , Shadowheart and the harpers were fighting fiercely, struggling against the relentless onslaught of undead minions—ghouls, zombies, and skeletons. Death Shepherds, , unleashed waves of necrotic energy as they commanded the battlefield. Karlach was at the heart of the chaos, locked in a brutal contest of strength with the Brainstealer Dragon itself. Her body, larger and powerful, had wrapped around the dragon’s neck. She rode it like a beast in the midst of a wild rodeo, her muscles straining as she held on, the dragon thrashing violently to throw her off.
As Alex surveyed the chaos of battle, his eyes landed on a small group near the back of the chamber, where the thick of the fight had not yet reached. There, Alfira stood, her lute in hand, with Ellyka and Lakrissa flanking her. Alfira's face was a mask of concentration, sweat beading on her brow as her fingers danced across the strings of her lute. The soft notes that filled the air were a stark contrast to the violence erupting around them, but the melody carried a quiet strength, a thread of hope woven into the very fabric of the sound.
Alfira's song was more than just music; it was magic. With each note, a subtle wave of energy rippled outward, wrapping around Alex and the others in the room. He could feel it—a gentle warmth spreading through his chest, easing the weariness that had begun to settle into his bones from the relentless fight. The melody seemed to seep into his muscles, strengthening him, clearing the fog from his mind, and sharpening his focus. It was as though Alfira’s song was a beacon, reminding them all that even in the heart of this grotesque, pulsating nightmare, there was still beauty, still resilience.
Ellyka and Lakrissa, though standing guard beside her, could not hide the awe in their eyes as they watched Alfira play. The music seemed to lift their spirits as well, their postures more relaxed yet vigilant, knowing they were protecting something important.
Alfira’s eyes flicked toward Alex for a brief moment, and in that glance, there was no fear—only determination and a deep, quiet courage. She was no warrior, but in her own way, she was fighting as fiercely as the rest of them. Her song swirled around the chamber, intertwining with the clash of steel and the roar of battle, a melody of defiance against the encroaching darkness.
Lae'zel stood at the dragon side , a whirlwind of lethal precision. Her flaming sword gleamed in the fiery light as she hacked at the Brainstealer Dragon’s side, each strike fueled by years of battle-hardened rage and relentless training. With every blow, she drove her blade deep into the abomination’s flesh, tearing through its pale, translucent scales. Her face twisted into a grimace of fury and concentration as she unleashed a flurry of cuts, each movement sharp, efficient, and brutal. The dragon’s tentacles lashed out toward her, but Lae’zel was too quick, sidestepping with gith-like grace, her movements as fluid as they were deadly.
As her sword cleaved through the dragon's flesh, she summoned forth a swarm of flying ethereal daggers . The shimmering blades, like a storm of razors, darted through the air, sinking into the beast’s hide from every angle. Each dagger pierced deep, and the dragon let out a blood-curdling roar, thrashing in pain as the steel bit into its writhing body.
Next to her, Gale stood his ground, eyes glowing with arcane power. His hands moved swiftly as he cast spell after spell, threads of raw magic weaving between his fingers. His mind raced, calculating every move, every cast, making sure none of his spells struck Karlach, who was still clinging to the dragon’s neck in a desperate battle of strength.
He summoned blasts of fire, bursts of arcane force, and intricate shields of energy. With a flick of his wrist, he conjured a barrage of magical missiles, each bolt of energy slamming into the dragon’s side with pinpoint precision. The beast roared in fury, but Gale didn’t let up. He had to control his power—any misstep, and Karlach would be caught in the crossfire.
“Hold it steady, Karlach!” Gale shouted, his voice strained as he funneled his energy into the next spell.
Lae'zel’s blade flickered, her eyes narrowing as she saw an opening. She leapt, her powerful legs propelling her upward, and she slashed downward with a savage cry, embedding her sword deep into the creature’s flank. The dragon’s blood, thick and black, splattered across her face, but she didn’t flinch.
“KARLACH! NOW!” Lae'zel bellowed, her voice ringing out over the roar of the battle.
Karlach, still locked in her brutal grip on the dragon’s neck, tightened her hold. With a primal roar of her own, she pulled with all her might, twisting the dragon’s neck as Lae’zel’s sword bit even deeper into its side. The beast thrashed violently, its tentacles lashing out in every direction, but it was no use.
Every roar of the dragon sent tremors through the room, its tentacles whipping through the air in a frenzy. Karlach growled, tightening her grip as the dragon slammed her into the walls, trying to shake her loose. But she wouldn’t relent. Flames flickered across her body, igniting her rage, and the room lit up as she poured her fury into the creature. Blood dripped from where her grip dug into its scaly neck, and still she held on.
Gale’s spells rained down, arcane energy swirling around the dragon as it struggled to break free. But Karlach’s grip was unyielding, Lae’zel’s strikes relentless, and Gale’s magic overwhelming.
The Brainstealer Dragon was faltering. Its roars turned to ragged gasps, its body heaving with the effort to stay upright. Blood poured from its wounds, pooling at its feet. The once terrifying monstrosity was now on the brink, its strength waning under the relentless assault from all sides.
Lae’zel, her face a mask of determination, prepared for the final strike. She raised her sword high, its edge gleaming with blood and light, and with a swift, brutal motion, she brought it crashing down into the beast’s side once more.
The dragon let out one final, deafening roar before it collapsed, its massive body crumbling to the ground in a heap of twisted flesh and scales.
Karlach stood atop its lifeless form, her breath ragged, her body drenched in sweat and blood, but her fiery eyes were still burning with unrelenting fury. Lae’zel and Gale, exchanged brief nods before turning to the undead that were swarming around.
The Harpers fought valiantly in the background, their swords and magic clashing with the undead. A owlbear and a fire myrmidon worked together, fending off more Death Shepherds and some cadaver golems, their strikes perfectly coordinated as they slashed and burned through the horde.
Mercury-like liquid seeping from Alex body and coalescing into a sphere above his head. It hovered there, silent and foreboding, until it began to pulse—slowly at first, then faster, brighter, like a newborn star awakening in the darkness. The air around him shimmered with the raw power emanating from the ball of liquid gold, its glow intensifying as it floated toward the center of the room.
As it reached its destination, the sphere exploded into radiant light—a brilliance so intense that for a moment, it was as if a second sun had ignited within the chamber. The harsh glow flooded every corner, burning away the shadows, the decay, the vile corruption that stained the very walls. It was no ordinary light; it was pure, radiant, and unforgiving to anything tainted by undeath.
The undead barely had time to screech, their rotting bodies disintegrating under the searing glow. They turned to ash in an instant, their cries of agony cut short as the light consumed them. Skeletons crumbled to dust, ghouls melted into pools of ichor, and the grotesque abominations shrieked as they were incinerated in the merciless brilliance. The very ground beneath them quaked, as though the light was purging the entire chamber of its festering evil.
The battlefield fell silent for a heartbeat, the sudden absence of the undead's presence palpable, like a heavy weight lifted from the air. Every gaze turned toward Alex and Aylin, standing at the epicenter of the light's eruption. Alex’s armor gleamed, the golden glow reflecting off his now-pristine form. He stood tall, his eyes locked on his allies and friends. Beside him, Aylin stood bathed in the light, her wings spread wide, the silvery glow around her intensifying as if in response to Alex's radiant power. She looked every bit the divine warrior she was, her sword gleaming with celestial fire.