Chapter 89. Shin with a horn!
"Called out for my help, did you?"
The voice purred through the void, smooth yet thunderous. In front of Shin loomed a monstrous red creature—colossal, almost as wide as the void was dark. The thing was bound by massive crimson chains coiling around its body, suspending it in space like a beast locked away by gods. It couldn’t move. It didn’t need to.
Shin hovered in front of it, unnaturally calm, his eyes sharp despite the sheer horror he was staring at. Anyone else would’ve screamed. He only narrowed his gaze.
"...Who are you?" he asked. Then corrected himself. "No—what are you?"
The creature’s grin widened.
"Who am I? I’m the Filthbound."
Its voice dropped several octaves, a guttural boom that made the void tremble.
"Filthbound?" Shin echoed. "You mean... you’re the Filthbound?"
"I meant what I said," the creature answered, unbothered. "I’m the one resting deep within the core of your system. The one responsible for your power—your skills, your evolutions... You can thank me for that."
Shin’s brows furrowed. He studied the thing more carefully now, a spark of curiosity rising in his chest.
"You?" he said, voice colder now. "What even are you? Who created something like you? Who even created the systems?"