Vein; a walled off city no one could enter or escape. Shrouded in a deep red cloud on all sides that would subject those who even touched a single speck of it to intense pain the likes of which would drive anyone insane. While a walled off city might not sound too bad, Vein itself was a crumbling collection of ruined buildings, toppled skyscrapers, shattered ground and dangerous terrain. Dotted with immense black thorns pulsing with a sinister yellow glow, protruding from beneath the ground like the heralds of something greater lurking beneath the Earth.

And as if all that wasn't enough, to be an inhabitant of Vein meant having to contend with a variety of threats outside of thirst and starvation, and if you were human? Then you might just be well out of luck to end up trapped in the accursed ruins many others called home.

Despite Vein's clearly human origins, the city was ruled by a breed of superhuman individuals bred for a purpose long lost to many in the current age. Revenants, they were called, looking much like any other human would with a few major differences. For one, they could only sustain themselves off of human blood, or its equivalent Blood Beads, produced by strange tree-like growths stemming from the ground fittingly labeled Bloodsprings for the essential lifeblood they offered to the Revenant population. Despite this alternative food source however, plenty of Revenant groups preferred to consume human blood, corralling what few remained like cattle, harvesting their blood and treating it like a delicacy. Long having forgotten that they too were human once, for while a Revenant was virtually unkillable if the heart remained undamaged, each return from death robbed them of their memories, with the initial transformation from Human to Revenant already doing a number on their original identities, stripping them off most of their old memories before they died and were inevitably revived by the implanting of a certain parasite into their hearts before being left to ferment like wine until they awoke, no longer human.

Until recently, there was no need to expand, no need to escape the blood red fog surrounding Vein colloquially called The Gaol of The Mists, but with the sudden death of the many Bloodsprings that supplied the Revenants with their precious food and the increasingly dwindling number of humans, the Lost would soon come into play once more as a major threat; immortal monsters ranging in size and ferocity from small shapeless blobs to monolithic giants that would reform themselves after any fatal blow. They were the fate that awaited every single Revenant if they didn't have their hunger satiated. Losing all sense of self and reason until only a mindless husk remained, fully consumed by the thirst for blood that ruled both the Lost and Revenants alike.

With this sudden and strange turn of events, the dead city of Vein would once more see a renewed spurt of activity by all active parties involved looking to save themselves, with one particular group involved in the city's shrouded past, working in secret to undo the work set by the city's forebears for unknowable goals only a disparate few were aware of, spurring them to act, moving to stop a plot that could lead to the total annihilation of every single soul left alive in Vein.

And while this unlikely group fought on bravely for the ensured survival of the city, a certain Revenant wandering far beneath the ground in a massive subterranean complex of endless tunnels was far more busy concerning herself with what she could find next instead of the trifling conflict burning above ground. With a pocketful of Blood Beads and a trusty longsword hanging on her back, starvation and the Lost could stand no chance against the lone lady whispering to herself as she prods her way through another pile of improbable treasure.

"There's gotta be something of worth down here…anything at all.."

Most Revenants fought for power, their own self absorbed goals for dominance or maybe even the noble one of aiding the community, but Ryyn was different. A refined and elegant girl whose skill with the blade had leant to her survival, the Revenant was one of the most long lived individuals in Vein, managing to keep her stock of knowledge gleaned from the moment of her rebirth to the hoarded books and relics of a world long gone over the years safe and sound, never once suffering a death that would be detrimental to her memories. Preferring stealth whenever possible over frontal assaults. And with her lithe form and slender physique with barely anything on her person that could make a sound short of a click, sneaking around in the shadows had saved her time and effort on more than one occasion.

Others would wonder why Ryyn would even make the effort to leave the comfort and safety of a rundown library she has converted into a functioning safe haven stocked with plentiful caches of Blood Beads and books with which to waste the time away, calling her a brash fool for it if they knew. But the Revenant had a longing to see the outside world that lay beyond the Gaol, even if the rumors about there being savage monsters just beyond being true, Ryyn wanted to see for herself what truly laid in wait. To explore the lands and not have to suffer one more second being trapped in the suffocating city of Vein whose dreary ruined landscapes had been firmly burned into her brain to the point where she felt like she could go insane at any moment. Scouring ruins and exploring was how she worked the stress off, hoping to find something, anything that could offer her a glimpse of the greater world beyond. Books, magazines, picture frames, all of it was like treasure to Ryyn.

And true to treasure's sake, the network of honeycomb tunnels stretching down deep under Vein held many perils not even Ryyn had managed to sneak by, glimpsing beasts that were unlike the Lost yet just as ferocious locked away in the underground labyrinth. Whatever they were, they were down there for a reason. But who imprisoned them? That was something Ryyn felt was best left alone.

Thankfully however, it seemed the expedition today would be a relatively safe one, encountering not one single Lost in the hours she had spent navigating this unexplored section of the underground. But as if an invisible scale was balancing things out, Ryyn hadn't yet found a single thing she could take back to add to her collection, fussing under her breath as she pressed onward, unwilling to give up this deep into a run.

That was when her eyes instantly picked up on something that stood out in the dark. A glowing blue light just up ahead beyond the bend in the corridor, not like the monotonous red she had grown used to seeing almost everywhere in Vein. And it was moving slowly, bouncing off the damp walls of the rocky passageway she was in as she slipped to her knees quickly, shimmying along the slick floor, keeping distance with the source of the light just in case it ended up being another of those awful creatures she had seen before.

But with the cramped tunnel soon opening up into a spacious chamber and the lightbearer far ahead, Ryyn exhales before daring to wander close to the edge of the rocky cliff face leading down below, offering her a glimpse of what she had been tracking down.

"Unbelievable…is that…a Lost?"

Any assumption of the being being human or Revenant had been dropped the moment Ryyn had taken notice of the blue woman's shimmering body, with the cosmos reflected upon her crystal like skin, illuminating the darkness of the underground with the brilliant light beaming forth from within her own body. Moving forward slowly on slender legs threading the rocky terrain on bare feet.

In her excitement however, a stone comes loose beneath her, hitting the floor far below with an earth shattering crash, alerting the figure to her presence as a blindingly fast blur extends in her direction, shattering the rest of the cliff Ryyn had been lying on and sending the startled Revenant tumbling to the lower floor, shaken but alive after just barely having dodged the stranger's attack.

And judging by the unnatural way her hair had extended into a rock hard blade along with the pupiless eyes now locked on her burning with the same cyan blue fire the rest of her body seemed engulfed in, it was most definitely Lost. Kicking off the ground and landing on her feet, Ryyn had wasted no time drawing her weapon and entering into a combat stance, gritting her teeth as she stared down her opponent, daring her to make another move despite her heart pounding away in her chest, trying to anticipate where her hair tendrils could come from at any moment. That inhuman speed and flexibility was something she stood no chance against, if she wasn't careful, this could end up being the first death in her long lived life as a Revenant.

Or worse if she decided to aim for her heart on a whim; it would be the death of her.

'Shit, that was way too close! I almost lost my head back there!'

Muling over the decision to stand her ground and fight or book it and run despite the odds she faced on both fronts, the inhuman lady cocks her head to the side before giggling mischievously, speaking in a nonchalant manner as if she hadn't just tried to kill Ryyn.

"It's nice to see this place isn't chock full of mindless animals…and to think you actually managed to dodge my hair! You're a pretty girl aren't you?"

The way she said that last part and how fast she had switched tones from an awestruck fighter offering genuine praise to her opponent to the sinister words of a creepy old man struck Ryyn with an odd sense of  surrealism as she returned the blue women's serene smile with a keen eye. Lowering her weapon slightly with a frown on her face, daring to ask a question to her formidable opponent now that it was clear communication was possible.

"Y-You're not so bad yourself….who…what are you anyway? Are you some kind of…Lost? A Revenant maybe?"

"Lost? Revenant? Dear me, I'm neither girl…I just decided to take a little leap of faith for some R&R…and the moment I set foot in this horrid place, these ugly things just came on to me! I was just about ready to return till you bumped into me, apologies for that little scuffle there! Anyone less your equal would've been lying where you stand right now with their heads lopped clean off~"

Something about the way this thing seemed to laugh off the fact that she had almost killed her alongside the calmness at which she spoke about heads rolling sent a chill down Ryyn's spine, swallowing the innate fear she felt in her throat; the base instinct every animal felt when faced with an adversary they stood no chance at defeating. Despite the fact that she had apologized along with her sharpened tendrils returning into a harmless solid bob reminiscent of a ponytail atop her head, Ryyn's nerves did not allow her to feel at rest.

Whoever or whatever she was, Ryyn wanted her out of her sight as soon as possible. And it seemed that she too had taken notice of the shivering Revenant's discomfort, clicking her tongue playfully while taking a few inquisitive steps forward like a playful child.

"My my, whatever seems to be the problem? Does my mere presence disturb you?"

"As much as I hate to admit it; yeah, you are, so do me a favor and get back into the stinking hole you crawled out from!"

"Feisty~ I do love my girls rough…mmff~"

So not only was the blue lady an immensely strong individual but a massive creep as well…eccentric but not something Ryyn hadn't seen before in other Revenant's she had encountered.

"Unfortunately I do indeed have to get back to my humble little 'hole', I've left you a little present as an apology of sorts for my earlier transgression so do find it in you to forgive me! That is, if you live past the next few minutes~ Ciao!"

"W-Wait! What…W-What the hell?"

Just as sudden as her rushed apology had been, the blue lady leaps backward before vanishing into an ethereal gash in the space behind her, offering Ryyn a glimpse into a posh looking manor interior that closes off just as fast as it had opened, leaving the Revenant alone once more to ponder the events of her strange encounter with a dangerous, albeit curious being, sinking her blade into the ground with a sigh of relief.

'If she's been here long enough to get harassed by the Lost…no wonder there wasn't anything down here to deal with!'

But this discovery only served to reassure Ryyn's belief that there was indeed something else out there beyond the red mists of the Gaol, for unless her eyes were playing tricks on her, that tiny glimpse of the interiors of a Victorian manor definitely wasn't run down, post apocalyptic scenery. She had slipped in and out of Vein, and that meant there was indeed a way out.

"Present…what did she mean…by…oh…"

As soon as the excitement had faded however, a sudden wave of fatigue sends Ryyn crashing to the floor in a heap, barely able to stick her hands out in an effort to cushion her fall as her back hunches over lifelessly, groaning in pain as a brilliant streak of fire begins to spread outward from a gash in her neck, a gash she hadn't noticed until now, pulsing with a sickly pale vein lined with dark purple splotches and boils, looking like a diseased wound in the early stages of necrotising as it's influence begins to spread, consuming and replacing Ryyn's pink, healthy skin with a deathly pallor reminiscent of the deathly hide most of the Lost sported . The gift the blue lady had spoken of earlier.

"W-whaggh! Ishh fhissaggh! Fhat lying bishhh!"

Her words were coming out as incoherent gurgles, interrupted every so often by pained cries and shrieks as Ryyn's struggling body finally gives in, toppling over onto her side as she begins to writhe and curl in agony as sweat begins to leak from every pore on her body, leaving her restless, in pain, frustrated, annoyed. Every single negative emotion imaginable was now plaguing the Revenant's mind and body, roaring in pain and anger as her back raises itself a few feet off the floor before slamming back down on the cave floor with a wet slap, grinding her rear into the stone while shredding the suffocating clothes off herself in an animalistic urge to satiate her overheating body, not caring one bit even when her previous supply of Blood Beads clatter to the floor alongside her breasts beginning to flop and jiggle freely, dripping with sweat as her modest assets are consumed by the spreading illness, taking on the same pale coloration as her hardened pink nipples begin to prickle with change, leaking the sweet nectar of a mother before they darken further into black nubs before becoming coated in a hardened outer layer, acting like flexible, organic pasties that hid them from view.

With the virulent wound on her neck only getting worse as it begins to leak an inky black substance similar to tar with her entire body nearly covered in the snow white skin that shone brilliantly in the dark, Ryyn's mind was in full blown panic, raging at her enemy for tricking her and cursing her fate, dreading the mindless Lost she could already feel herself becoming as the flesh over her face begins to crack and shift, muddling her voice as her vocal chords melt and regrow into new formations to produce a sonorous melody unlike her previous one, letting out a shriek that sounded more like a siren song as her eyes and brow coalesce into a singular mass, leaving Ryyn without eyes to see from for a moment before a slit widens over the fleshy bulge that had grown on her face, splitting open to reveal a massive yellow globe of an eyeball dotted with a singular crimson iris, fingering her face in panic at the sensation of her new organ blinking rapidly in time to her neatly tied back hair snapping free of the band that held her ponytail together, blooming outwards as it too loses its original coloration, dyed straight from the roots into reflective strands of raven black similar to the streaks that dotted her nubile body and the goo now leaking uncontrollably from Ryyn's mouth, gagging her protests and forcing her to the ground, choking erotically in an organic pool of her own making that dissolves the remnants of her attire left behind with her hands now twitching lifelessly by her sides tipped with immaculate dark nails, long slender legs spread open in defeat as her twitching snatch begins to sputter, putting the Revenant through an unwilling orgasm that releases not cum, but more of the same black goop from between her puffy white labia as a tear streaks down Ryyn's pale cheek with her gigsntic eye rolling up into the back of her head.

Ryyn was clearly no longer a Revenant, and she wasn't human either. Although her body had more or less remained the same, her signature ponytail with a crimson streak at its tips had been subverted by a long messy mane of black hair long enough to tickle her inflated derriere alongside her face becoming completely unrecognizable with her innocent eyes merged into one monstrous eyeball complete with golden sclera and a crimson iris. But despite the color of her hide and the razor sharp fangs that had replaced her molars, Ryyn was no Lost either, in fact her sense of self had been perfectly preserved alongside her memories.

But the worst had come to pass, with the initial blast of excruciating pain and exhaustion, the (un)fortunate Ryyn was beginning to feel good, really good. Flicking the air in front of her with a long serpentine tongue that held no trace of her former humanity in its long pale blue form, feeling a strange sense of fulfillment, as if she'd been blessed with a revelation of sorts as a warm blue blush appears on her rosy cheeks, giggling in that new voice of hers that felt totally amazing to hear as she pulls herself up from the floor into a kneeling position, hefting her dripping pussy off the floor as it trails its inky black leakage all over the cave that, much like her nipples, served as a natural coating to clad her privates in when not in use. Not to be outdone, Ryyn watches mesmerized as her excretions form into a mimicry of skin tight stockings across her smooth legs, massaging her aching calves while admiring her long slender arms as they too, are clothed in that shiny black material, admiring the way it catches the dim red glow of the cavern reflecting off of it.

"Incredible…this feels…utterly incredible!"

Ryyn should've felt dismayed, horrified even at her apparent 'disfigurement', but all she could feel right now was intense pleasure and adoration for her new self, running her hands all across her sensitive skin as the black puddle that had formed around her begins to bubble, heralding the emergence of an array of tentacles tipped with what looked like flower buds that hadn't yet bloomed. But that wouldn't be the case for long as Ryyn's body suddenly jerks in response to the fledgling growths beginning to twitch, yelping in surprise before another guttural moan filtered into an erotic cry of need from a woman in heat fills the air, collapsing for a moment back onto her pudgy bum with a healthy jiggle to her tits before arching her back in ecstasy to the first tentacle blooming open to reveal an eye similar to the one taking up the entirety of Ryyn's face.

"Oh god! I…I can see! I can-ahn! Oh shit!"

With the rest of her new appendages blooming in unison, the former Revenant completes her transformation into a fully fledged Gazer, spraying the walls around her with a combined splurge of orgasmic bliss from her tendrils and orifices alike before cackling wickedly, a complete 180 from the gentle curiosity her previous persona was known for. She felt good, confident, strong, and for the first time in her life; free from the overwhelming hunger she should've felt right about now after having gone hours without having drank from a Blood Bead. Instead, she was feeling hungry for something else, something her many eyes were reminding her of as images of men fill her mind. All the hunky Revenants she had never once felt anything for now looked like tasty morsels dancing around her, finding herself drooling at the sight of their chiseled abs and the hard bulges they held between their legs, full of the sweet, sweet nectar she knew she needed to satiate her hunger.

Sure, she felt the strange urge to be a vindictive bitch a bit too much, but that was secondary when compared to her newfound ability, cooing in joy as images of the skyline above Vein materialize in the mirror like surface of one of her tendrils eyes, realizing it's full extent upon the accidental activation earlier that had rocked her hard, willing the image of the distant bridge she always glimpsed when traversing tall vantage points across the city with a simple thought and cheering at her success. With this, anything she wished to see could simply be conjured forth in one of her all seeing eyes. And despite the similar scenes of devastation spread across all the places she had begun to think of, the signs of existing human settlements built upon the ruins only served to reassure Ryyn that her convictions had been correct, rising to her feet with the aid of her helpful tentacles before scaling the walls with a single leap from her powerful hind legs. Landing with a light step over the shattered cliff face, brushing aside her hair while running a hand over her neck to feel nothing but smooth skin, no trace left of the wound that had given her this blessed body.

"Sucks that I'm stuck in here though…not sure what to think of that blue bitch and her gift…ugh, my mouth really has gotten fu-i mean…smelly…this'll take some getting used to."

Moving on with a wet gurgle trailing her every move, Ryyn proceeds to retrace her steps back to the surface while running a hand over her exposed navel as it rumbles, a reminder of her new preferences for food, licking her plump lips with a slick tongue as her single eye narrows into a leer of anticipation along with her innards tightening at the thought of feeding.

'Maybe I'll even get to test out the rest of my new abilities~ Mind control would be friggin awesome!'

Unbeknownst to Ryyn however, the last stages of the ongoing conflict above was coming to a close, and her wish to explore the lands beyond Vein would soon become a reality by the time she emerged back into the rising sun of a new day…

THE END