Where am I?
Heaven… or perhaps hell?
The thought drifted sluggishly through Finn's mind as he forced his eyes open.
Bright sunlight poured mercilessly over his face, stabbing into his pupils like sharp needles. He squinted instinctively, his lashes fluttering as he tried to adjust. It was painfully difficult to keep them open, but after a few strained attempts, he managed.
Everything around him was blurry.
Shapes. Shadows. Movement.
None of it made sense.
His head throbbed heavily, as though someone had cracked it open and stitched it back together without anesthesia.
His entire body ached...deep, bone-crushing soreness that radiated from every limb. It felt as if he had been thrown into a washing machine and violently spun for hours.
But… that was expected, wasn't it?
Slowly, memory returned.
The rooftop.
The rain.
The fall.
That terrifying plunge from a fifty-six-storey building.
Just recalling it made his heart stutter violently in his chest.
And I'm still alive? Finn thought incredulously, letting out a faint, breathless scoff.
"Of course I'd be alive," he muttered weakly to himself. "If this is heaven… or hell… I wouldn't expect to arrive in pieces."
He tried to laugh, but the sound came out strained and dry.
Then...
Orion.
The memory hit him like another fall.
Orion.
Finn's breathing hitched.
"What the hell happened back there?" he whispered hoarsely. "Why did I have to die now of all times?"
Images flashed in his mind....the blood, the attack, Orion convulsing on the ground.
"Is he okay?" Finn muttered desperately. "Did someone help him? Did an ambulance come? Did anyone rush him to the hospital?"
His thoughts spiraled uncontrollably.
"Or maybe…" he exhaled shakily, trying to grasp at logic, "maybe I was just seeing things."
He swallowed.
"I was smoking weed earlier… and I drank a little with my salary. Maybe I hallucinated it. I was worried about him and my brain formed everything."
He wanted that to be true.
He needed that to be true.
"Fuck…" he cursed under his breath as he attempted to sit up.
The movement sent a wave of agony crashing through his body.
His vision wavered again, still partially blurred but gradually sharpening at the edges. He could now make out cracked concrete beneath him… debris… something dark smeared across the ground.
A burning sensation flared in his abdomen.
Instinctively, he pressed his hand against his stomach.
His fingers sank into something wet.
Sticky.
Warm.
Confused, he slowly lifted his hand toward his still-clearing vision.
Blood.
His blood.
Finn stared at it in stunned silence.
"Ouch…" he murmured faintly, his voice trembling now. "It… it hurts…"
The pain intensified as though acknowledging his awareness of it.
He looked down at his stomach.
And his breath stopped.
A deep, horrifying gash tore across his abdomen. Flesh was split open, skin peeled back unnaturally.
And then he saw it.
Something pale and glistening spilling out from the wound.
His intestines.
They were partially exposed, coated in dark red blood, glimmering under the sun in a way that made his vision swim.
For a moment, his brain refused to process it.
Then it did.
His stomach lurched violently.
A wave of nausea hit him so hard he nearly blacked out again.
He turned his head to the side and vomited.
And then...
He noticed it.
The smell.
It hit him all at once.
Rotten meat.
Decaying flesh.
It filled his nostrils aggressively, far stronger than anything he had ever smelled before.
Finn froze.
He hadn't noticed it earlier.
How could something so overpowering have escaped him?
"My intestines are hanging out…" he whispered in disbelief, staring down at himself. "And I'm still alive?"
His voice cracked.
"That's insane… that's not possible…"
His breathing became shallow and uneven.
"And this smell… why is it so strong now?" He sniffed again instinctively and immediately regretted it. The odor of rot was overwhelming, nauseating beyond words.
"My vision… what's wrong with it?" he muttered, blinking rapidly. The world still looked slightly off....too sharp in some places, too dull in others.
His ears twitched faintly at distant sounds he couldn't quite identify.
"Is this what hell feels like?" he whispered weakly.
He forced a shaky laugh that quickly died in his throat.
"Oh yeah… this has to be hell," he muttered darkly. "Why else would there be such a terrible smell everywhere?"
SNARL~
A sharp, piercing sound erupted dangerously close to Finn's ear.
Finn flinched violently.
The sound scraped against his senses. It was a noise he had never heard before in his entire life… and yet, somehow, it felt familiar.
Only then did he realize something horrifying.
He had been awake for a while.
But his hearing had only just returned.
"So here we go again…" Finn muttered weakly under his breath.
His vision had finally cleared completely.
With trembling effort, he raised his gaze to take in his surroundings....
And what he saw nearly shattered his sanity.
Standing before him were humans.
Or at least… they used to be.
These were not the humans he knew.
Their eyes were swollen, bulging outward as if ready to pop from their sockets. Veins crawled violently beneath grayish skin. Their teeth were jagged, razor-sharp, stained dark red with blood that still dripped lazily from their mouths.
Some had their intestines hanging out, dragging against the concrete in wet trails.
Some were missing hands.
Some had no legs.
One had half its face torn off, exposing muscle and bone.
And the smell, that unbearable, rotten stench.
It was coming from them.
"Fuck…" Finn whispered, pure terror spreading across his face.
His breathing grew erratic.
"I wasn't hallucinating after all…" he thought in horror. "These monsters are real!"
Cold sweat drenched him despite the sunlight.
His survival instinct screamed at him to run.
Run. Run. Run.
He tried to push himself up but his body trembled too violently.
"Did they bite me?" he thought frantically, his palm still pressed against his abdomen.
Ding!
The sound did not come from the creatures.
It did not echo in the air.
It came from inside his head.
Finn froze completely.
A splitting headache tore through his skull. He clutched his head with one shaking hand, eyes widening.
{Critical damage detected.}
{Host body integrity: 12%.}
{Organs exposed. Massive blood loss.}
{Estimated time to death: 47 seconds.}
"…What?" Finn whispered, his breath trembling.
The monsters shuffled closer.
{Survival protocol available.}
{Would you like to live?}
Finn's heart slammed violently against his ribs.
"What kind of hallucination is this?!" he rasped, pressing harder against his torn stomach as warm blood slipped between his fingers.
{Estimated time to death: 39 seconds.}
{Please confirm.}
One of the creatures lurched forward, its jaw snapping open wide enough to dislocate.
"Y-Yes!" Finn gasped desperately. "I want to live!"
{Binding confirmed.}
A violent heat exploded inside his chest.
"AAAAH!"
Finn screamed.
His exposed intestines twitched violently.
Something pulled them. Not hands, the monsters or his own body.
The slick organs began sliding back into his abdomen as though invisible fingers were pushing them into place. Flesh wriggled and stitched itself together.
Crack.
His ribs shifted unnaturally.
His vision sharpened instantly....far sharper than before.
His hearing amplified.
The rotten stench intensified so violently that he vomitted again, his face pale.
{Host regeneration initiated.}
{Infection detected.}
{Corruption level: 63%.}
{Purification incomplete.}
{To completely heal… host must acquire required nutrients.}
{Compatible mate required.}
"Huh?!" Finn's mind reeled. "What the hell are you talking about?!"
Even though his wound had closed and his intestines were no longer spilling out, pain still throbbed deeply inside him.
For the first time in his life...
He had never feared death more than now.
He wanted to live.
Desperately.
Even if he had no idea what was happening.
{A compatible mate detected.}
{Location: On the bridge.}
"What do you mean?" Finn whispered hoarsely. "I don't care what you are right now but if you're in my head, then you understand what's going on, right?!"
{If host desires survival…}
{If host desires revenge against those who destroyed his life…}
{Proceed to compatible mate.}
Finn's eyes darkened.
"Those who made my life miserable…?" he murmured, anger igniting in his chest.
{This world is entering a new order.}
{All humans equal… except host, if offer accepted.}
{Host will surpass former oppressors.}
{Warning: Host condition deteriorating.}
{60 seconds until final death.}
"Fuck!" Finn hissed.
He forced himself onto his feet.
The monsters were still there.
But the moment he stood upright, they stepped back.
Some even growled lowly but did not approach.
Shock rippled through him.
"They're… afraid?" he whispered.
{Proceed. They will not attack host.}
"Oh sure, I should just trust the mysterious voice in my head," Finn muttered sarcastically, though he swallowed hard and began moving.
Each step felt heavy.
He followed the system's direction toward the bridge.
There....
A man lay alone on the cold concrete.
Blood pooled around him.
A deep bite mark marred his neck.
Finn's breath hitched.
"The monsters did this to him too?" he whispered, panting, his hand still subconsciously pressed against his stomach.
He stepped closer.
The man had black curly hair, slightly damp and sticking to his forehead. His body was well-built....broad shoulders, defined chest, strong thighs.
And he was completely naked.
Finn's eyes widened before he quickly looked away only for his gaze to drift back unintentionally.
His throat went dry.
"Is he… dead?" Finn asked weakly, kneeling beside him.
The man was unconscious, chest rising faintly.
"Alright," Finn muttered nervously. "So how exactly do I get these so-called nutrients from him?"
The system responded instantly.
{Physical contact required.}
{Stroke his dick to make him hard}
{Full copulation unnecessary in this case.}
Finn blinked.
"…Excuse me?"
{Manual stimulation sufficient.}
"Huh?!" Finn nearly choked.
His brain short-circuited.
"You want me to what?!"