As Cadet 17 tried to steady himself, the darkness inside him felt less like an addition and more like a force threatening to consume him entirely. The vest, now firmly secured around him, pulsed with an ominous energy. The shadows that had integrated into his being were not content with mere existence; they were alive, surging, and seeking to overwhelm him.

The black gem embedded in the center of the vest began to resonate with a power far beyond anything Cadet 17 had ever encountered. The faint light it once emitted now intensified into an echoing, illogical blackness that defied all reason. It wasn’t just a darkness of absence—it was a void that threatened to swallow his very essence.

A shriek, low and eerie, began to rise from deep within the stone. It started as a faint whine but rapidly grew, escalating into a sound that made the air itself vibrate. The pressure in Cadet 17’s core built to an unbearable level, the shadows within him roiling violently, as though trying to tear him apart from the inside. The vest was no longer just a piece of ancient armor; it was a conduit for a power that was breaking him down, reshaping him into something else.

Through the haze of pain and power, Cadet 17’s eyes caught movement. His focus sharpened just enough to see Subject 16, partially hidden behind one of the containment units. At first, it seemed as if 16 was simply watching—but then Cadet 17 saw it: the twisted smile on 16’s face, the gleam of malevolence in his eyes.

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Realization struck like a cold blade—Subject 16 had planned this. The betrayal was complete.

Before Cadet 17 could react, the black gem at the heart of the vest shattered. The sound was a sharp, explosive crack that tore through the air, and in an instant, an impenetrable wall of pure shadow exploded outward, enveloping the entire lab in a void so deep that it seemed to erase all existence.

For a moment, Cadet 17 was lost in that darkness. It was as if the world had ceased to be, replaced by an endless, formless blackness that smothered everything in its path. But then, as abruptly as it had appeared, the shadow was pulled back. The darkness retracted violently, forcing its way into his mouth and eyes, flooding back into him with relentless force.

The shadows surged through his body, overwhelming him with a power that was both terrifying and exhilarating. But this time, it was different. The pain that had once gripped him transformed into a cold flush that coursed through his veins, a chilling sensation that numbed his senses and threatened to freeze his soul. The vest’s power surged, and as Cadet 17 felt himself slipping into unconsciousness, he knew he was being drawn into something far darker and more profound than he had ever imagined.

As the last of the shadows were absorbed, Cadet 17 collapsed to the floor, his consciousness fading. The lab fell silent, the whispers of the shadows lingering in the air like echoes of a distant storm. A small wisp of shadow seeped from his mouth, the only sign of the terrible force that had taken hold of him.