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Chapter Text

Date: ________

About the Author:
Name: Felix Vanir
Age: 32
Ethnicity: Ka Buen
Pronouns: He/Him

I am undergoing research into the illegal branch of Craft, known as Body Craft, and during this research I hope to uncover methods to repair fatal injuries most would not survive using said Craft. However due to illegality of this study, my backers have requested that I do not credit them in this Journal. They are cowards. But I need the money so be it.

The following knowledge on body craft has been brought in from Vaugarde (However due to the recent events in Vaugarde involving a man going by The King, it seems unlikely we will be able to receive more of these books, for the foreseeable future.) whom, from what I understand have no hesitation about body Craft. During a process called Sculpting the subject will take a undisclosed material (Mostly likely a type of flesh substitute) and mold a type of mask of the face that they wish to use after the Sculpting, this process being a very intimate procedure requires absolute privacy, however this is not necessary as there are cases noted in this book in which close loved ones of the subject are allowed in to help, but this is rare. Overall the process of Sculpting can take anywhere between one to two months, most likely stemming from the fact that the Craft rituals needed for this are highly intricate, however the materials needed for this are easy to access as they are simply the parts of the subject that are being removed.

Experiment Plan:

Subject: Adult Male Pygmy Chimpanzee

Hypothesis: Body Craft can affect creatures other than humans

Procedure;

Step 1: Create a "Mask" out of skin substitute

Step 2: Inscribe the Rituals on inner side of "Mask"

Step 3: Remove Facial Features of Adult Male Pygmy Chimpanzee (Sedate & Situate above drain)

Step 4: Inscribe Ritual markings on remains of Subjects face

Step 5: Align both "Mask" & Facial markings

Step 6: Activate both Markings with Craft

Step 7: Tidy up

Experiment has been repeated ten times with slight adjustments following each one.

Experiment 1 Result: Failure, Subject Status: Died from trauma to face

Experiment 2 Result: Failure, Subject Status: Died due to blood loss

Experiment 3 Result: Failure, Subject Status: Heart Attack

Experiment 4 Result: Failure, Subject Status: Scarred but alive

Experiment 5 Result: Failure, Subject Status: Scarring decreased

Experiment 6 Result: Failure, Subject Status: Died due to improper dosage of sedative & assistant incompetence (If found by the authorities scapegoat Assistant Coal Peacock)

Experiment 7 Result: Success, Subject Status: Died due to immune system reacting poorly to new facial features.

Experiment 8 Result: Success, Subject Status: Brain Death due to countermeasures of immune system reaction

Experiment 9 Result: Failure, Subject Status: Dead

Experiment 10 Result: Failure, Subject Status: Unrelated Heart Attack

This experiment has been repeated twice more and overall, 25/30 ended in failure, all ended in death of subject. So, in conclusion it is impossible for an animal apart from humans to survive the Sculpting process, the reason for this will be left for another day as we must move onto the more "open to public" approach.

Thoughts of the author: This is not good, these chimps were hardly cheap and this took a one and a half months to do this, so the backers are not happy, but they luckily understand the scientific method, even if they probably assume it is much like the science they find in their library's. But that's not where my problems end as with this risky direction we need to take, the chance of a leak grows. Better start creating scapegoats.

Chapter Text

Date:_______

Human Experiment 1:

The following is a transcription of the Sculpting experiments done upon humans. While this may be an illegal series of experiments we will not be breaching ethical protocol, these people are fully informed into what we will be doing to them and are fine with the procedure. So now this experiment transcription starts.

"Hello, testing, testing. Brilliant it appears to be working. First things first, My name is Julius Richter, and I will be in charge of administering the Sculpting Procedure on?"

"Uh would it be possible for me to remain anonymous please."

"Of course, but if you wont inform us of your name how about, your background and reasoning for this procedure, you see if we wish to legalise this rather revolutionary craft, we will need people from many demographics to show their support for this!"

"Uuuumm okaay, well I work at the bank,"

"Which one?"

"Bank of Ka Bue. Now, I specialise in customer service, and you know what the public is right, all crabbing idiots but hey what can ya do," Subject is tapping the surgery table. "but yeah the reason in fact for this mostly stems from my work, as I read in a psychology journal or something that, being attractive was 54% more likely to ease some pissed person into a more reasonable mind set."

That is false, that psychology journal was made by one of Dr Felix's contemporaries. Apparently, upon discovering it he was seen cackling at it, before proceeding to rant at us all about 'proper peer review practices'.

"Well thank you for the information, now we must get on with the procedure. Lie down please." Subject follows instructions. "Now we will be administering you some sedative as the procedure is....unpleasant, but do not worry after we're done our resident heal crafters will be here to deal with anything worrisome."

The patient nods as a mask connecting to a cylinder is placed upon their mouth, soon their eyes droop as they enter a quiet sleep. "Ok procedure begins, scalpel." Richter accepts a scalpel handed to him, and takes it to the edges of the mans face, slicing away at dotted lines pre-drawn on the subjects face, all the while muttering an incantation under his breath. "Release the old, prepare for the new. Release the old, prepare for the new. May what was before make way for the after." This he repeats while removing the subjects facial feature during which, with his other hand, makes piercing and protecting craft. This lasts a minute until the entire face is removed, dripping with viscera, the subject still lay undisturbed.

"Get me the new face." Following this demand, in the hand that once held a scalpel, laid a mask that was a near replica of the previous one except for slight changes, the nose was a bit smaller, the cheeks less rounded & the chin, sharp as a knife. Chanting once more Richter intoned, "Let revisions become the truth, may the old truth be a new lie!" Upon the final chant, he made a creation craft symbol upon the new face and forced it upon the face of the subject, within the squelching of blood and flesh was the sound of the inverse of ripping fabric. Upon a head drenched in blood, was the new face of the subject.

"Bring in the healer crafters please, the subject has lost somewhere around 1L of blood and will be feeling quite woozy once they wake up, but until then someone monitor their condition for possible side effects. I'm off for a quick drink." Richter leaves the surgery room, while a healer comes in.

Due to the rather traumatic effects of the procedure Subject was asleep for around twelve hours, and the following is what occurred upon their awakening.

"Good morning sir, how was your rest?"

"Pardon?" "Sorry, sir but due to the procedures rather damaging methods, you went into a recovering sleep for around, twelve hours and a bit." "What the.. really?!" "Don't worry Sir we have been looking after you during your convalescence so, you are in tip top shape." "Oh...ok, may I have a mirror please, I would like to see the results." "Of course I will be right back."

"Here you go sir I hope it will be sufficient, now I have some work that needs doing so if you require assistance just call." "Ok......well then lets see shall we

Ok, my face looks great overall, my cheeks much thinner, my chin has sharpened a bit, although my eyes are a bit bloodshot. What the, is that bloo ARRRRRRRGGGGGHHHH

"Sir are you oka, MY EXPRESSION YOUR EYES ARE BLEEDING, hold still sir please!

Transcript ends. What occurred at the end of the transcript was the brain haemorrhage that soon took the subjects life, after the subjects inconvenient death, we examined them and discovered that the location of the haemorrhage occurred right behind the optic chiasm, it appears that once the subject started to perceive the world around them the haemorrhage began. We are not sure about the cause of this, as the subject had no previous signs of ill health, but me and my assistants have decided upon two hypotheses;

Hypothesis 1: The Subject forged the health documentation assuming we won't check. (We wouldn't, to easy to be traced.)

Hypothesis 2: The craft ritual was improperly done leading to the new face reacting violently to the old body.

Due to the lack of reason we don't precisely know what killed the subject, my assistants wish it was the former, but I know it was the latter. However just like them I have no proof. Either way the subject is dead now and we need to deal with the body, so until further ideas of disposal are found we are keeping it in a locked back room surrounded by several preservation crafts to keep the rot away. I have the key, mostly because my assistants are too cowardly to face the reality.

Human Experiment 1 Result: Success, however subject died after procedure

Human Experiment 30:

Subject Details:

Age:42

Preferred pronouns: he/him

Sex: F

Name: Undecided

Transcript of Experiment Thirty: This is a series of multiple transcripts as this was the first multi month long Sculpting process preformed. Only the first and more notable transcripts are in this journal.

"Good day, ma'a."

"Sorry for interrupting you but I would prefer it if you would refer to me as sir and use he/him pronouns, thank you." "Of course, my apologies sir I must have skipped over that part of the file."

"Now, you have had everything explained to you correct?" "Yes, well not all of it apparently." "Excuse me?" "What is that?." "Hm, oh for those reading this transcript she, I mean he, is pointing at craft ritual we are using to record a transcript of the following events." "Huh, isn't craft like that rather expensive to preform?" "Sir, but you are here to undergo body craft not investigate our funding, or must I remind you of the clause in the document you sig,"

"Yes, yes I get the point, now how long do I have to be here for this?" "Well, due to the total body change you are intending on, it will take far longer than say a simple face change, at our lowest estimates this will take maybe a month, at our highest around three. Why do you ask? Did the document not inform you well enough?" "No it did, just needed verbal confirmation you know." "Well, let us beginisbfghuyrfhguisdfvasfuifbvahuibvdfhuivbvbisbWSIFBIBFIBSBDHJFBBRIRBEYIIUBSIVSDFIONAOLsbfgibfobnj29034y8gaerfb8

The rest of the transcript is incoherent as you look upon lines of lines of jumbled words, looking up from the book you notice a craft ritual, that might've been the one in the transcript. This one is coated in blood. You find yourself wondering if its fresh, but you drag your head back to the words in the journal and read the only other transcript in the book that wasn't tainted with incoherent lettering.

Transcript of Experiment 95 Results: Failure, all but five of the human experimentation resulted in death of subject and failure of ritual to take hold.

I. Have. Nothing.

My backers are furious that I have no significant results, and while I did manage to acquire some good news in their eyes it means NOTHING to their revolutionary demands. There is only one upside to all this. That being that the Defenders somehow haven't heard anything about all this. Good thing too, if they found us and went into the back room.........Well, I can easily say that I don't think the sentence would be light.

I'm going to get a drink. If one of my assistant's read through this journal, don't look for me. I will be back to continue the final five experiments. However, we might want to start prepping a new room to place the bodies, the back room's nearly full.

Chapter Text

Date:_______

Pardon the lack of procedure but, I am quite hungover. I just woke up from my alcoholic crusade last night and while it was cathartic, but it didn't create any solutions to my imminent defunding & arrest. At least for a majority of it, you see at some point in the alcoholic marathon, I met someone, a elderly woman. From what I can parse she was of Vaugardian descent, but there was something else in her face but I couldn't identify it.

She was staring at me, hardly unusual as I was bringing a lot of attention to myself, but she didn't stare with disgust or mockery, it was as if she was analysing me, critiquing me, almost evaluating. Soon after our impromptu staring contest she came over and sat next to me, I think she introduced herself but honestly I can't for the life of me remember her name, though I remember her buying me a drink, several drinks I should say although she got plenty of her own. It was unsettling. She threw back so much drink and at her age she might've died from it, after at least two hours of us drinking together I got quite loose-lipped, which mind you even in my drunken stupor I refused to do, she was just so disarming of a person that I felt utterly fine with telling her about my project, and I held NOTHING back. The failures, my hatred of my cowardly backers, my disgust at my assistants incompetence and the inconvenient deaths. I complained about how every single death's source was completely unknowable.

All the while of my tired proclamations, she just looked at me and nodded, it was as if I had met someone who had finally see the truth of my misery. But she couldn't help me, is what I thought, but long after my tirade was over she reached into her bag, which apparently was on her other side, and she handed me a book. This book, and I cannot stress this enough, was the singular most beautiful book I have ever seen.

The cover was a smooth leather, with fine embroidery tracing all around the edges, the spine held a design that was a true work of art as it was painted to look like that of a human spine, but each rib went off to form new and various types of limbs, each of them with their own markings demarking various cultures found around the world. At the time I thought it looked like a book.

Upon handing me the book, she spoke the few words I can remember from our conversation, "May the bodies be crafted anew, So that your goal is met." After that I passed out with book in hand, and awoke in the lab. Maybe I, during my blackout drunkenness, wandered here for rest, but I doubt it as I awoke with my hand on the door to the backroom. And now here I am putting off reading a crackpots, probably fake, but beautiful book. Nothing to it I suppose.

The title of the book is "Guide to The Body and Its Secrets"

It as it says it is, a guide on a type of Craft that is more invasive than Body craft but it demands something that the other rituals seem to lack, but it seems to be dancing around the actual substance used in the ritual. It, seems to require.....human flesh. It is QUITE explicit in that human flesh is the only ingredient actually required in the rituals held in this book and that no other substitute will do. Well, at least I have an abundance of the mea- material. Now, the first ritual described in the book, referred to as "Eucharists Defilement" requires that the Crafter eats a......(A small portion of dried multi shaded liquid is splayed across the page)........... you can assume what is required here.

And while I do possess what is needed under all ethical scriptures as well as common decency, this book does not hold the answer to my problem, at least one I am nowhere near desperate enough to go through with. Damn that old hag, however there may be more nuggets of wisdom in this somewhere.Page End

Guide to The Body and Its Secrets...... The name sounds familiar to you, and if you recall correctly the name was related to a series of disappearances that occurred forty years ago, well before your recent rise to the position you hold today, from what you know a copy of the book was found at the site of each disappearance along side a section of skin taken from something , although from context the source was rather obvious to you. Although the copy acquired by your current psychopath was unique as it was the only one to contain a listing of rituals that involved far more gruesome Craft than the other copies, starting with the first ritual, "Eucharists Defilement", which involved the consumption of an entire fresh corpse, this would be achieved as the ritual would somehow cause you to consume the entirety of the carcass, how?, it doesn't mention. Upon the completion of this ritual, the book claimed that "Flesh, Bone, Blood and Nerve, all four are yours to wield." Creepy.

Chapter Text

Date:_________

Subjects 96-99 are dead. Tomorrow, my benefactors have arranged a meeting with a reporter. To discuss our findings in regards to Body Craft. I have no idea who was feeding them such LIES and when I find out who did that I will flay them from mouth to anus and wear thEM LIKE A COAT!!!!

SO NOW I HAVE TO SUPPLY A REPORTER WITH FINDINGS THAT ARE ONLY GOOD FOR PROVING WHY BODY CRAFT IS BETTER OFF ILLEGAL DUE TO THE 99 CORPSES IN OUR BACKROOM! (The handwriting is almost ripping through the page.) Expressions, why did I get cursed with this damned project, what did I do to incur Wraths anger.

I only have one option now. While this will only delay the inevitable, it will give me the time to burn this lab down and go into hiding. I think Vaugarde is best from what I hear they are simply so accepting, the idiots, maybe there I will see how Body Craft actually works.

I don't know why I'm writing in this journal anyway, it won't ever be published and it is an easy source of a confession. I think this is just a form of denial 'If I'm writing this in my scientific journal than this is just discoveries not murders.' Well, can't delay this anymore can I. At least I have an abundance of material

The following is a word for word copy of the steps needed to preform "The Eucharists Defilement"

Step 1:Prepare the corpse by decorating the outside flesh with sigils pertaining to Body Craft, mainly those that aid the changing of the flesh.

Step 2:Remove the brain from the corpse, as if the brain remains the consciousness of the former user of corpse will attempt to steal your flesh.

Step 3:Adorn the area around your abdomen with sigils of Create Craft, as well as sigils of Pierce Craft carved into your teeth, both of these will prepare your body for the Defilement of the Eucharist.

Step 4:Upon completing these steps repeat a chant declaring your abdication of the limits of the human body, for you Felix Vanir it should go, "Oh, Expression of Flesh, in my time of desperation grant me the form needed to reject the shackles placed upon me by those who think themselves higher than their flesh!"-How does it know my name-Once the chant is done the ritual will begin.

It has been a few hours since I wrote that down but, the ritual is done. Mind you I have no recollection of what happened afterwards but I am quite fine with that. I have another test subject four hours before the interview so I should probably test what this ritual did to me on them.

Date:_______

Well, well, well, what do you know. The day my end comes is the very same that the King plaquing Vaugarde met his own end, if I was superstitious this would be a great sign but I doubt that. Either way I have a test subject to attend to, and due to the reporters unfortunate arrival in four hours I have removed all other lab techs from the lab, don't want them spoiling the results before I soften the "guest" up.

I will have to preform the experiment myself and while I would write down all the details for this subject I won't bother this work has long since fell from scientific to more delaying my fate.

The following is observations in regards to the effects of the abilities gained from "Eucharists Defilement";

1. The subjects appearance, gender and eye colour have changed to exactly what subject was after.

2. Subject has become highly passive after procedure to the point of utter silence until spoken to.

3. After doing a medical examination I have found an unnerving curiosity from subject, they appear to have exact same heart bpm, blood pressure & blood type (O-) as me, which is interesting.

4. Subjects body is now extremely malleable as is proven by their arm being made into a bow and not a single creak was heard from subjects skeleton.(Which is there)

5. The inner biology of the subject has changed dramatically as almost all organs, apart from the stomach, intestines and heart, have been removed completely, resulting each of the mentioned organs to grow to fill the rest of the body.

Observations over. This is a rather interesting result it seems that ritual was worthwhile after all, all those changes were birthed from a single hand to body contact with me and the process it self only took an hour to work. I think I will treat myself to a meal before the interview and the subject will prove mighty useful in it.

Chapter Text

The day started like any other, you were alone, in your one room apartment. But you weren't. Your love was lying right next to you, he had done so much for you. He pulled you away from a family which both of you knew would kill you eventually, either by their hands or your own. The feeling of utter loneliness you had finally escaped from with him, your bumblebee, even as he slept, splayed across his side of the bed like a comically large starfish he was beautiful. Tearing your gaze from his sleeping form you look around your plain apartment.

To so many it would look depressing and lifeless, but that was born from how recently you and your bumblebee bought it. The wallpaper were grey and peeling, the wooden floor was so elderly that every step threatened collapse and the bed was barely something to love one another in. However, both of you know that soon it will be covered in various trinkets, beautiful memories and repairs to the overall stability, and as your eyes drift back to him you lean down to place a kiss on his forehead. A sleepy grin spread upon his adorable sleeping face.

Getting up from the bed you stumble to the kitchen, sleep slow to release you, opening the fridge you pull out some raw bacon and sausages which are soon to be flung onto a frying pan.

After feeding yourself you set up a plate decked with sunny side eggs, crispy bacon and a roasted tomatoe, your loves favourite breakfast. Once you place another plate on top it to keep the heat in, you leave to work.

Arriving there, a note saying "meeting in the briefing room go there immediately ." You head to the meeting room, its a room with a complete lack of decorations but unlike your home, it is the purpose of the room to be free of distraction but rife with information on whatever the meeting is about.

"Why did you call me here," You groaned, "I haven't got my uniform on yet."

"Simple." Stated your boss, "Your excellent tracking Craft is needed and the outfit you will be using must be one to survive a possible fight so the basic uniform is useless here." At this your eyebrow rose. "The perpetrator will be a more violent one than normal." You assessed.

A picture is thrown onto the table in front of you. "This is the man you will be hunting," the picture is of a man in his mid thirties, he has rather pale skin even for being from Kua Bue, his hair is an almost white grey and his eyes are a deep black, like the bottom of the ocean. He is sipping at cup with one hand while reading a paper, the expression on his face is one of cold, calculating interest, the paper is dated the day The King started his campaign to freeze Vaugarde in time. "This is Dr. Felix Vanir. He is a rather well known researcher, mostly known for his work in expanding Kua Bue's understanding of other countries like Vaugarde. However," the boss sighed, "It appears he has moved to a career path of something more grim then what he is known for, apparently kidnapping and attempting Body Craft on people."

You have heard of Dr Vanir, and that is quite out of left field for him. "What are your sources?" You inquire. "Don't know, from what we understand one of his co-conspirators gained a set of morals, and told us that this was the case along with ten corpses that when examined, were subjected to a failed Body Craft experiment leading to their death." For a few moments you think about motive means, the whole MOA. "What do you need me to do?" You can't really deny this job but you can at least judge the situation for yourself. Thinking back, this thought is the most ridiculous thing you remember thinking especially with what horrors you saw in that interview room.

That interview room was by itself quite beautiful, a fine carpet, a shoe rack to avoid dirtying the carpet,(HA), a pair of high quality leather chairs, a recording Craft Construct on the coffee table between them and on the wall a fantastic painting depicting the Expressions of Kua Bue. On the other side of the painting is a small compartment in which people could look in on the room through eyeholes in the painting. As I was doing when both Interviewer and interviewee stepped in. The Interviewer was short, she was a young woman who's name I never learned, her hair was short cropped and kept in a pixie cut, her face round with a youth many her age, of forty, would be jealous of. The man being interviewed was in complete opposition to both the beauty of the Interviewer and his own past appearances.

Felix Vanir publicly exuded a sort of cold charisma that many found to be an almost gravitational force, he was one of few that were divinely gifted by the Expression of Beauty when they were especially generous three or so decades ago. But now, all that was simply gone. His clothes were a wrinkled and stained mess, covered with various shades of liquid on them and a few that were still wet, his hair an absolute mop that contrasted his usual clean cut dramatically, and his eyes, the usual sharp look was replaced with that of a cornered animal, constantly searching for a way out, which could've been due to sleep deprivation and hallucinations, I say this because the eye bags he had were so big you could be mistaken for thinking they were tattoos.

(At least your love won't have to worry about you fawning over his pictures for much longer.)

Felix was then followed into the interview room by someone who wasn't supposed to be there, at least according to the itinerary. They....were..weird. Even by the standard set by Dr Vanir, they were weird. They never spoke. They never blinked. They didn't move right. Their movement was that of a machine. Consistent strides and no bobbing of the body as they moved. Their eyes screamed asleep, but their body was quite awake like mind and body were at a disconnect somehow.

The interview was supposedly interesting but you forgot most of it afterwards, all apart from when Dr Vanir demonstrated what his discoveries could do. After asking if the interviewer wanted a demonstration, Dr Vanir didn't wait for an answer, raising his hand to the other persons face. Upon contact their face rippled as if the Doctor just poked a lump of coagulated blood, as their face flashed a dark red before revealing a spitting image of the Interviewer. Everyone watching the display had their mouth hanging open, including me. The potential of such an ability was obvious to us all. I leaned over to my colleague to discuss it. Upon returning to my eyeholes, my heart stopped.

Dr Felix Vanir was staring back at me.

Chapter Text

"Dr Vanir," The Interviewer asked, "Has that painting struck your interest?"

Dr Vanir turned to face the Interviewer, allowing a small sigh to escape your mouth "Why yes it has." He declared, "Are the subjects the Expressions of Knowledge, Hunt, Peace and Deceit?". "Indeed!" The Interviewer responded hastily. "Hm. Well I have other business to attend to so I must call this meeting short," Dr Vanir stated making his way to the door, "Oh and you," he gestured at the other person, "Kill this fine lady here and distract the people behind that painting please." Saying this he swung the door open and dashed down the hall.

Upon the flippant execution order, the other person began making a crunching sound. The Not-Human suddenly started to snap as their arms went limp like that of an octopus limb. Then the face of the Not-Human erupted with blood as the face tore apart to reveal not a skull but a grinder of thousands of chipped bone shards, what could have once been limbs split apart, and the Not-Human threw themselves at the Interviewer. As you rush to the button that would open the hidey holes door, you here two screams, one is from the Interviewer, it is muffled like that of a scream under a pillow, and the other is that of a predator victoriously leaping upon its prey.

Once both you and your colleague have rushed out of the painting the Not-Human has its what was once its head forced down upon the Interviewer's own head, her screams mixed in the sound of flesh being torn from bone, and a sound one might hear from a puppy at a puddle drinking its fill.

Your colleague implores you to hunt down Dr Vanir, you don't remember the exact words but that is why you are here, so you follow him. You know you ran after him but the memory warps into more horrifying things, like there being thousands of him along the streets you chased him down, each one with that all devouring stare boring right down upon you. Then you remember the warehouse. The Warehouse, probably, was almost four stories tall, five cottages wide and a few of those long. But in your fearful mind it seemed to grow and shrink like a...

Heart pounding you stand before the building as you question the contents. The Horrors. But soon your determination has firmed and you send out a call for reinforcements before smashing a window on the side of the towering lair. However, the sight before you is more concerning then you first assumed. Everything, is...spotless.

The floor was utterly clean, the walls reflect your sweat soaked face and as you brush your hand across a nearby counter top you see upon it, nothing! Not even a layer of dust. And yet the air holds a smell that only slaughterhouses can imitate. The dead plaque this place but are hidden away, like a graveyard. You advance, your dagger in your hands. As you walk through the silent warehouse it settles from what it was like outside and now as your heart beat calms you can hear something.

Its a soft sound, like that of tearing wet paper, but as you advance you can start to tell whatev.., whoever is making that noise is enjoying something, as following each little tear is a soft moan of ecstasy. As you turn into a room, you stop, just like the moans. When you look into this room there is a single surgery table that is, unlike the entire building, in that it is coated in a dried layer of blood. The light grey surgery table being turned almost pitch black by the fluid.

Atop the surgery table, is a book. Upon its smooth leather is the title; Journal of A Pioneer of Body Craft. Your attention only lingers on it for mere moments as from a pair of doors comes the sounds of a feast but one in which that the chatter of a feast is utterly silent. Tearing, crunching, lapping, and slurping. That last sound is a violation upon your hearing.

Those doors. They were the definition of simplicity. They were simple grey. But around their edges were mounds of multishaded meat, that when I moved to open the door they retreated. But not out of fear, but of invitation as they smoothly pulled back with a single tendril beckoning you, that whoever was past those doors wanted me to come in.

Beyond those doors was Dr. Vanir, he was in a simple doctors coat, with a far more business oriented attire underneath it.

"Ah, a Defender!" he observed, "Here to arrest me I see." I demanded his peaceful surrender. "Well, yes it would limit people getting hurt but that's not really a goal of mine." I listed off his rights upon being arrested. "Do you, not see what's around you?" He inquired "Genuinely do you not see, what's in this room?" Upon this I realised I wasn't checking my surroundings, why?, I was the best at scouting in my Defender Corps? As I looked I saw something that loosened my grip on my dagger. It clattered to the floor.

An avaricious grin split the face of Dr Vanir, "There we go," he sung, "You see where you are now." The Walls. Oh Expressions the Wa..a..llls, They were coated in layers upon layers of writhing arms, legs, heads and muscle. Every head crying in silent pain, their tears a constant pitter patter against the floor. The muscle that encompassed the entire room was in a permanent state of ripping and regrowth. "Now, " Dr Vanir begun spreading his arms towards the meat, "This is what body craft when pushed to its LIMITS," His mouth growled like that of a lion spotting a gazelle. "can do. Isn't it beautiful." He spoke with the pride of a father towards his child.

"Beautiful?" You whispered. Dr Vani, no, the Monster looked at You, with fury. "This is not beauty, this is debauchery and you're sick." The Monster sticks you with a flat look, "You have a way with words." his head flicked up at a sudden thump. "And they have a way with weapons that I have yet to match." The maws stop their profane feast and with sudden alacrity fly up into the roof, on limbs unseen under the overwhelming mass of flesh.

"However," the monster cooed, "A hunter must hone his craft. Prepare Them."