Chapter 45: Contact and Rooting
Yu Sheng’s mind was submerged in a vast, indescribable tide of darkness. The shadow cast by the ravenous entity was even more immense than he had imagined. This colossal presence was exactly how “Hunger” should appear—the greatest, most primal terror hanging over every living being, buried deep within their hearts.
Then, deep within the shadow, he sensed something slowly floating and writhing… an “entity.”
He could hardly describe it. It seemed to have countless tentacles and bloated masses of flesh. Every part of it was constantly changing shape as if new structures or gaps were forming in real time under his gaze. Its surface was pitch-black, yet deep within the intertwined tentacles, ever-changing colors seemed to hide—a chaotic swirl that could gradually consume one’s mind.
At the moment Yu Sheng perceived it, the thing became aware of his existence too.
Before he could react, countless new tentacles and branching structures spread from within it in the blink of an eye. The malicious tendrils reached him instantly, suddenly entwining around his mind.
Yu Sheng felt as if ten thousand voices exploded in his head. He couldn’t resist or evade; his mind had already established an irreversible connection with something even greater. The entity roared deep within his consciousness, conveying chaotic and terrifying thoughts. But in the next moment, he realized it didn’t truly possess reason or thought.
It was merely a vast, wild “instinct,” and the chaotic thoughts and temptations he felt were just tools this immense instinct used to “hunt.”
They came from the beings it had devoured—their madness and despair at the brink of starvation, the lingering echoes of their dying wails. All these had gathered into the monster’s malice, causing this entity, originally just an aggregate of instincts, to grow into what it was today—even becoming a powerful “being” that actively sought prey, actively tempting and coercing its victims.