The space inside the cave was unexpectedly vast, with a smooth floor.
Crystals emitting a pale green glow were embedded in the walls, providing dim but sufficient illumination.
The air was filled with a peculiar aroma, a blend of herbs and the scent of decaying organisms, making one feel both calm and slightly nauseated.
"Look who’s here?"
A hoarse voice emanated from deep within the cave: "Another poor soul abandoned by the School?"
Oliver moved forward cautiously, finally seeing the speaker—a twisted figure sitting on a stone platform.
The figure was humanoid but covered entirely in dark purple scales.
Its head had completely transformed into some kind of reptilian shape, with a maw that extended outward, forming a snout filled with sharp teeth.
"Welcome to the Land of Freedom, Oliver West."
The reptilian humanoid laughed hoarsely:
"Looks like your ’Awakening’ isn’t going too well? Half your face has mutated into that grotesque shape, must be pretty painful, right?"
With its words, more figures gradually emerged from the shadows within the cave.
Some resembled normal humans, while others had mutated beyond recognition.
But they all shared one common trait: their eyes glowed with an eerie red light, like burning brands.
"Where is Cynthia?"
Oliver asked bluntly, trying to ignore the other’s mockery.
The reptilian humanoid let out a piercing laugh:
"In a hurry to find your old flame? She’s not a good girl, seducing our brothers and causing chaos among us..."
"I asked you where she is!"
Oliver’s voice became more piercing with anger, and the black liquid on his body began to pulse violently.
"Look at this irritable little guy, already starting to issue orders as soon as he arrives?"
Another voice sounded, this time from a young woman who appeared almost normal.
Except her eyes had fractured like an insect’s, forming a compound structure that shimmered with an eerie sheen in the dim light.
"You bunch of chaotic malformed monsters, where do you get off mocking me?"
Oliver sneered:
"I’ve just begun my Awakening, and will soon control this state, unlike you who’ve become slaves to desires and instincts!"
The cave fell into a brief silence, then erupted in various piercing laughter.
"Listen to what this new fool is saying!" The reptilian humanoid almost laughed himself to the ground:
"He thinks he can ’control’ his Awakening! Hahaha! Where did this poor soul come from?"
"Poor guy doesn’t realize he’s already doomed."
The compound-eyed woman mocked:
"Every one of us here thought the same way once."
"Awakening isn’t something you control, fool, it controls you."
The reptilian humanoid wiped tears of laughter from his eyes:
"Your little self-control is as fragile as paper against a full Awakening."
Oliver looked around, seeing at least a dozen Awakened with various forms, all laughing at him.
Anger burned like fire in his chest, but he forced himself to stay calm.
"Looks like you all need a lesson..."
His gaze locked onto the reptilian humanoid that had mocked him the harshest. In the next second, Oliver’s body flickered like a ghost in front of it.
The reptilian humanoid didn’t even have time to react before Oliver’s tentacle-like eye pierced into its forehead.
"You... you dare..."
The reptilian humanoid let out a cry of pain, convulsing violently, with its scales rapidly losing color.
All laughter abruptly ceased, and the other Awakened in the cave retreated, their faces showing shock and fear.
Oliver could feel the other’s power being absorbed into himself, a new energy flowing into his body, bringing waves of intoxicating pleasure.
When he withdrew the tentacle, the reptilian humanoid had already become a withered corpse.
All its life energy had been completely drained, the purple scales turned to a lifeless gray.
"Why aren’t you laughing now?"
Oliver scanned the surroundings, his voice filled with coldness, his eyes glowing even brighter red from the recent absorption.
No one spoke, all the Awakened remained in a cautious stance, not daring to make a move.
"Clap, clap, clap..."
A round of applause came from deep within the cave, followed by a familiar female voice:
"Quite the performance, Oliver."
With the voice, a completely naked female figure emerged from the shadows.
It was Cynthia, but the woman’s appearance had completely changed.
Her skin had an unnatural sheen, and numerous tentacle-like appendages extended from various parts of her body, some even writhing in the air as if they had a mind of their own.
The most unsettling was her lower body.
It had completely transformed into some kind of mollusk form, with mucus-dripping tentacles replacing her legs, leaving a wet trail on the ground.
"Seems my little Oliver is still so bold."
Cynthia’s voice became sickeningly sweet, filled with a twisted desire:
"Just arrived and already killed one of our brothers, quite sexy."
"Cynthia..."
Oliver stared at this completely mutated woman before him, emotions surging in his heart.
They were once allies, exploring forbidden powers together, but now she had become completely unrecognizable.
"What, startled by my new look?"
Cynthia chuckled, the tendrils around her body writhing restlessly:
"Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it soon enough. In fact, this form has far too many advantages compared to before..."
As she spoke, a tendril suggestively coiled around Oliver’s arm, making him shiver involuntarily.
The surface of the tendril secreted a kind of mucus, causing a slight numbing sensation and peculiar sensory stimulation upon contact with skin.
"Have you fully awakened?" Oliver asked bluntly, striving to shift his focus away from the strange sensation.
"Of course." Cynthia answered softly, her voice tinged with a certain satisfaction:
"A complete and thorough awakening. I no longer need to rely on gathering those slaves’ emotions to sustain my power... Now, I can directly derive nourishment from pleasure."
Her tendrils tightened their grip, beginning to spread up Oliver’s upper arm:
"And you? It seems like you’re stuck halfway..."
"I need more precise control."
Oliver shook off the tendrils, stepping back:
"Cynthia, we agreed, the Sin Domain Black Crystal is just the first step. True awakening needs to occur in the right place and under the right conditions."
"Oh?" Cynthia raised an eyebrow:
"You’re still insisting on that foolish plan? Waiting for the Bloodline Altar to open?"
"It’s the best option." Oliver said firmly:
"The spatial rift of the Bloodline Altar can amplify the awakening effect, allowing us to gain purer power, rather than becoming..."
He gestured at Cynthia’s distorted body: "a slave to desire."
Cynthia wasn’t angry; instead, she laughed even more wantonly:
"Look at you, still so serious, so perfectionist. Just like at the School, always wanting to control everything, master everything."
Her tendrils suddenly accelerated, instantly wrapping Oliver completely, dragging him in front of her:
"But do you know? After fully awakening, desire is no longer a shackle, but a liberation. When you’re no longer bound by so-called morals and reason, you’ll find an unprecedented freedom..."
Oliver tried to struggle, but Cynthia’s strength far exceeded his imagination.
His transformed body was powerful, yet in the face of fully awakened Cynthia, it still seemed somewhat fragile, especially since they were on the same advanced apprentice level before awakening.
"Let me go..."
He gritted his teeth in resistance, but his body involuntarily responded to the tendrils’ contact.
"Don’t resist."
Cynthia’s voice became even more charming, a tendril gently caressing his distorted cheek:
"Let me help you experience what true happiness is."
As the tendrils wrapped around him, her body began to secrete a viscous liquid.
The liquid emitted a strange scent, reminiscent of a blend of musk, rotting fruit, and some exotic flower’s aroma.
This scent made Oliver’s consciousness start to blur, an unprecedented desire rising within him.
"Damn... no, I can’t..."
Oliver felt his willpower rapidly disintegrating, and the black energy within him began to surge uncontrollably in response to Cynthia’s seductive aura.
"That’s right, let desire and instinct take over everything."
Cynthia watched Oliver’s struggle with satisfaction:
"Once you’ve tasted this, you’ll never want to go back to those old restrictions."
The other Awakened in the cave formed a circle, greedily watching the scene.
Some even began to entwine with each other, as if driven by an invisible force.
Their distorted bodies intertwined in the shadows, producing indescribable sounds.
"Now, let’s have a party."
Cynthia’s voice whispered in Oliver’s ear, each syllable like a hypnotic spell:
"Forget those complex plans, forget the Bloodline Altar, forget everything..."
Under the dual influence of drugs and pheromones, Oliver’s consciousness gradually sank.
The image of him, flawless and ever composed, shattered, replaced by a primal and pure desire.
He no longer resisted, letting Cynthia’s tendrils roam over his body, feeling an unprecedented pleasure.
Each touch was like a current coursing through him, making him shiver uncontrollably.
The voice of reason grew weaker and weaker, ultimately drowned out entirely by the instinctual revelry.
In this frenzy, Oliver still tried to grasp onto the last thread of reason, recalling the goal he fought for—true power, surpassing that of an Official Wizard.
"Blood... Bloodline Altar..."
Amidst blurred consciousness, Oliver still strived to maintain the last bit of clarity:
"I will complete a true awakening there..."
"Whatever you say, my little Oliver."
Cynthia chuckled lightly, pressing her body completely onto him, her various tendrils of differing shapes and functions began to writhe:
"But for now, enjoy the moment."
The cave light remained dim, the groans and eerie laughter of the Awakened intertwining, forming a chaotic and depraved chorus.
.........
Meanwhile, in the central region of the School, flames soared to the sky.
Marcus’ twisted body was enveloped in raging flames, yet he still struggled to crawl forward.
Most of his body had been carbonized, only the head and chest still retaining some terrible vitality.
The black veins beneath his skin were clearly visible, like ghostly runes etched onto coal, squirming with his struggle.
"Ro...n..."
His mouth opened and closed, uttering indistinct words, black viscous liquid spilling from his lips, leaving a pungent scorched trail on the ground.