Mutation Abyss-Chapter 52: Meteorborn Husk

Theo let out a slow breath, steadying his thoughts. He was too close. Too close to saving those survivors to back down now and time was ticking.

Every second counted.

He surged forward, moving through the dim hallway with swift, quiet steps. His boots barely made a sound as he slipped past broken lockers and shattered glass.

Theo burst through the double doors. Blood smeared the walls. Desks were overturned. The air reeked of rot and mold. Screams echoed down the hallway, real, panicked, and close.

He moved fast, clearing the first room. Two BM Infectees were hunched over a torn body in the corner, growling low as they fed. Theo didn’t hesitate. With a swift step forward, he raised his double-edged axe and brought it down with brutal force.

CRACK!

The first infectee’s skull split open, spraying blackened blood. The second hissed and turned to attack, but Theo spun and cleaved through its neck in one clean arc. The body dropped with a heavy thud. Clean. Silent.

He didn’t stop moving. He advanced deeper into the hallway. And that’s when he saw them.

Five survivors huddled in the corridor. Two teens crouched behind a row of lockers. A woman was helping a limping man toward a corner, while a small child screamed behind them. All wide-eyed. All terrified.

And standing between them-

A girl.

At first glance, she looked human. School uniform. Pale skin. Long, messy black hair. She just stood there.

Theo narrowed his eyes as his system pinged, the familiar chime echoing in his mind.

[Main Quest Available: "Unmask the Husk"

Target Confirmed: Meteorborn Husk (MHusk)

Description: Low to moderate threat. Decayed former survivors showing flickers of human behavior. May speak or mimic emotions briefly before turning violent. Some Husks retain faint memories and may use basic tools.

[Rewards: +500 EXP, +50 Gold Coins, +Empathy Resistance Trait, +Rare Shard]

[Warning: A system penalty will be issued if at least one MHusk is not eliminated within twelve hours.]

[Do you wish to accept Main Quest: Unmask the Husk? YES / NO]

Now facing the MHusk, Theo made his decision.

[Main Quest Accepted: "Unmask the Husk"]

The girl stood in the hallway, barely breathing. She looked... almost normal.

"You’re... not like the others," she whispered, voice soft and broken.

Theo tightened his grip on his double-edged axe.

Then, with a sharp, sickening crack, her jaw unhinged. Her face split open down the middle, revealing rows of needle-like fangs and a twisting mass of tendrils where her throat should be.

WHIP!

She lunged.

Theo activated his Stoneborn powers and met her head-on. He ducked under the swipe of her vine-laced claws and slammed his fist into the ground.

CRACK!

A shockwave burst through the floor - Seismic Counter - sending her flying into a row of rusted lockers. The metal crumpled from the impact. Dust exploded into the air.

She shrieked. Got back up. Charged again.

This time, Theo caught her mid-air and slammed her into the ground, pinning her with his granite-coated arm. Her limbs thrashed, roots snapping and spores bursting around them, but he dodged most of it.

Up close, he could see her true face, split jaw, glowing eyes, black veins crawling under the skin. He raised his axe to finish it.

Then-

She changed.

In an instant, the tendrils pulled back. Her face snapped back into place. She was a girl again. Crying. Pale. Human.

"Please... don’t," she begged in a whisper. "I... I don’t want to die..."

Theo froze.

His axe hovered above her.

But then he noticed it, a twitch at the corner of her mouth, the faint pulse of black veins still writhing under her neck.

It was a trick. He knew it. And yet... he hesitated.

Theo hesitated for half a second too long.

The girl - no, the MHusk struck like lightning.

WHIP!

Her claws tore across his shoulder, dragging him down hard. They crashed to the floor. Theo grunted, rolling just as her jaws snapped where his neck had been. Fangs slammed into the tiles instead.

She lunged again.

Theo summoned a swirl of flame in his palm. Fire Lure

A glowing, fiery copy of himself burst to life and darted down the hallway, drawing the MHusk’s attention. She screeched, hesitated, then chased after the decoy with rabid speed.

Theo took the chance to breathe and stagger up. Blood dripped from his arm, but he could still move. From behind a broken classroom door, he heard muffled cries. Survivors.

"Stay down and don’t move!" he shouted without turning.

The MHusk suddenly twisted back toward him, eyes burning, mouth splitting open again.

Too smart for the trick. She bounded over the fire illusion and launched at him.

BOOM!

Theo activated pyre burst. A wave of explosive fire erupted from his body just as she reached him. The blast threw her backward into a wall, flames licking her limbs, setting parts of her bark-flesh ablaze. The corridor lit up in flickering orange and red.

Smoke filled the air. Theo coughed, chest heaving, but he pressed on.

She rose again, burning, screeching, even faster now. He brought up his axe and blocked a downward slash, sparks flying as metal met bone-hardened claws. She struck again, again, a flurry of blows forcing him back toward the survivors’ hiding spot.

Theo gritted his teeth. He couldn’t let her through. She leapt. He sidestepped and slammed the axe into her ribs.

CRACK! - sending her skidding across the floor.

But she didn’t stay down. She dragged herself up, bleeding black, limbs twitching, head tilting unnaturally.

"You... smell like fire..." she hissed, voice guttural and distorted.

Theo didn’t answer. His arms trembled, wounds burning, system flashing warnings in his mind. But he steadied his stance. The air shimmered around him as his granite skin pulsed faintly, then flickered off. He was running low on power.

She charged one last time, screeching.

Theo roared and raised his axe-

Then-

SLAM!

A wave of invisible force struck him from the side, hurling him across the hallway and into the lockers with a deafening crash.

Pain exploded in his ribs. He hit the ground, coughing hard.

Footsteps.

"Stand down," A woman’s familiar and authoritative voice rang in his ears.