Chapter 66: The First Follower

Chapter 66: Chapter 66: The First Follower "H-He’s a zombie!?" Voss exclaimed, rushing to find a hiding place. The one he thought was his savior turned out to be a monster worse than the one he faced before. He got up and ran. He couldn’t stay there anymore. Unfortunately, it was too late. BAM! He slammed into something and fell back. His spectacles flew off his face and landed somewhere out of reach. "Damn it!" Voss cursed as without his specs, he was virtually blind. Thanks to working twenty-two hours a day. He crawled on all fours, looking for them, hoping they didn’t break. "Oh, come on!" Voss was getting frustrated when something landed in his hand. "My spectacles! Thank you so much—" Voss froze mid-sentence. Someone helped him with the specs... but he was alone in the research facility. He looked up and saw a faceless-face staring back at him. The one he was looking for behind was standing in front of him. Voss tried to scream, but before even a syllable left his mouth, a fleshy tendril was wrapped around his mouth. Slowly, he was lifted off the ground to meet the zombie’s eye level. His eyes went wide as he tried to fight back, kicking and squirming to the best of his ability. Yet, the tendrils didn’t budge. He didn’t know what the creature wanted from him, but he knew it couldn’t be anything good for him. With no way to defend himself, Voss closed his eyes and began praying. However, the gods had long abandoned the accursed world. The only one who could hear his prayer was Blaze, and he had no intention of stopping. As Voss closed his eyes in defiance, Blaze slammed him against the wall. Another tendril emerged from his back, forcing his head upwards as the third tendril forced his eyes open. That was all it needed for Voss to tremble in terror. He was stripped of the last layer of defense as Blaze exposed him to the horror of his face. Or so Voss thought when Blaze lifted his mask. Instead, what he saw was an immaculate face, frozen in time. Even Blaze was taken aback by his appearance as seen in the mask’s reflection. No one could deny that he was a zombie, but he still had a human appearance. If not for a skin as white as fresh snow, the black veins all over his body, and the slight rotting smell, any human would think that he was one of them. Strange. It seems the evolution made me more humanlike than the other way around. Ignoring Voss for a moment, Blaze checked his class. What he saw confirmed his thoughts. Class revenant. I’m not a ghoul anymore. I can check the rest later. I have to turn him first. While Voss remained pinned to the wall, Blaze lifted to check his ID. Dr. Elliot Voss, researcher and mycologist. Is it my lucky day or what? He evolved, got a new mutation, and now he has found just the person he was looking for. Someone who understood cordyceps better than anyone else on the planet. That’s true, assuming most of them are dead by now. [Activating: Mind Plague.] [Target: Human.] [Mentality: Weak.] [Success Rate: 99.98%] [Proceed with mental infection?] Yes. Suddenly, Blaze’s eyes went black, completely black. Voss could feel something was about to happen and closed his eyes, but the tendrils ensured that didn’t happen. Voss was forced to look into the void. His squirming ceased, and Blaze let go of his tendrils. The human saw unimaginable things in Blaze’s eyes. Galaxies rotting away, all under the control of the dead. People were screaming, but within the screams and pain, Voss... felt joy? Something was inviting him to be part of something big. Something... great. Something... unified. I want this. Voss thought, and the surroundings changed. He found himself in a wasteland full of mirrors. In one reflection, he saw himself decaying. Just like the undead he had seen. In another, he had rotted away. His skin was bubbling, and maggots infested his body. The more he looked around, the worse it got until he found a mirror. No, it was a gateway, one where Blaze was standing. His hand was stretched towards Voss as if he were inviting him. Voss was about to take a step when he heard someone’s voice. His mother’s. "Go ahead and prove what a failure you are," she scoffed. "This fool can’t even stay human." That’s not true! Voss yelled back, but no voice came out of his mouth. Instead, more voices appeared, replacing his mother. This time it was his senior, the same one who stole his research. "Good riddance. At least now we can hire someone who understands their place." As more voices appeared, Voss clutched his head and collapsed. Every failure, every pain, and every injustice he suffered kept ringing in his ears. The toll was unbearable until he heard something swish past his ears. Slowly, Voss looked up and saw that the severed heads of everyone he knew were piled before him. Everyone who tormented him was dead. He was free! And his savior was right beside him. Thank you... Master. Voss mumbled, not realizing his eyes had turned black like Blaze’s. [Mind Plague successful.] [Subject: Infected.] [Status: Submissive.] [Mental Override: Complete.] [Horde: 8/15] Meanwhile, in the real world, Voss slumped forward, only to get caught by Blaze. His breathing was shallow, but steady, and so was his pulse. For all intents and purposes, Voss was alive, yet he was a member of Blaze’s horde. A human loyal to the rot. The first of his kind. Voss regained consciousness and immediately smiled upon seeing Blaze. It almost felt like he was greeting a long-lost friend. Even so, there was a hint of reverence in his eyes for Blaze. "What will you have me do, master?" Voss asked with a smile. Blaze smiled back before wearing his mask. What do you know about cordyceps? Voss’s face lit up at the question. "I have spent most of my life researching and taming it, master!" Good. Can you show me the results? There’s something specific I would like you to do with it.