Damien made it back to the Valcrest estate before the corruption turned him into something that would terrify even his own guards.
The cold efficiency was overwhelming now – every person he passed registered as threat assessment, resource evaluation, or irrelevant obstacle.
His father's servants were tactical assets with specific utility values. The guards were combat power measured in estimated kill difficulty. Even Margaret, who'd practically raised him, was briefly catalogued as "potential hostage leverage if father turns hostile."
The fact that he noticed these thoughts and found them disturbing was the only thing keeping him barely human.
[CORRUPTION: 7.8%]
[PERSONALITY ALTERATION: SEVERE]
[EMOTIONAL CAPACITY: CRITICAL - Only anchor connection maintaining humanity]
[WARNING: Approaching threshold where changes become permanent]
