Leo quickly jammed his foot between the trapdoor and floor to make sure it would not be closed before yanking it open.
The man climbing the ladder looked up in confusion before seeing Leo.
Leo didn't give him a moment to think and jumped down the hatch knocking the man down with him.
When the man landed he was unconscious instantly.
However, Leo also quickly dropped down to the ground.
"What the hell is happening!" thought Leo.
The moment he went down the tunnel his headache intensified by a tenfold.
An uncontrollable rage was the last thing Leo felt before passing out.
"A new path has been found!"
"Path: The Rising of Grand Karcist Leo"
"Description: The powers granted by the unknown entity are of unimaginable strength, as of now you are unable to control it. By choosing this path you will learn how to control this strength and raise up to your rightful title, the grand karcist known to the world as Leo."
"Do you accept? Y/N."
Leo was deep in thought before answering.
"I accept."
"WARNING: Accepting this path will result in you having to drop your currently existing path, do you still wish to continue? Y/N"
Leo hesitated for a second before asking a question.
"If I drop my current path will I still be affiliated with MC&D?"
"Yes, affiliation will not be a problem, however, you will not be getting any benefits regarding that path anymore."
"Do you accept?"
This time it was a quick decision.
"I accept the path."
"Confirmation has been received."
"Integrating path..."
"Path integrated successfully!"
"A startup mission has been handed out."
"Mission: Regain control over your body and become the sovereign of this sarkic colony"
"Reward: 1/8th of Nadox's seal"
"Wait, regain control? I just passed out right?"
No answer followed.
After a while the area around Leo started to shift into a whitish color.
The void around him disappeared and turned into a familiar white room.
However, something was different.
The white void was slowly being consumed by a crimson-like matter.
There was a figure sitting on a chair with his hands covering his face.
After closer inspection, it appeared to be Noah, but Leo knew better.
"Sogrith, what is happening? Why did I lose control over my body?"
"Well, you are in quite the predicament you see, but it might help you a bit."
"Just tell me what is happening!"
Leo was panicking slightly.
"So, Leo. You know how I feed on your emotions and of those around you right?"
"Yes, what about it?"
"To put it simply this proxy form of mine lives in your psyche, that is also how I am able to alter the way you view me here. Then there is the other creature you bonded with, he also has a proxy in your mindspace but he influences your emotions."
"What do you mean by that?"
"You felt that terrible rage before right?"
"Yeah, I did."
"The creature you met brought it upon you, but in a controlled state. He made sure to only fully release it once you were in the sarkic outpost. Let me show you."
Sogrith waved his hand and a mirror popped up.
The mirror displayed the embassy.
"As you can see the outside is calm, nothing to be heard. But let's move in."
The view started heading inside before coming to a stop in the tunnel.
"What the..."
What was supposed to be the hallway beneath the embassy was completely covered in tumorous flesh growth.
It spread over the entire hallway, even spreading into rooms.
The walls, ceiling, floor, pretty much everything was covered.
Human features could be seen in the flesh, eyes and mouths littered the walls.
The eyes were looking for any active movement, but none could be seen.
The mirror zoomed in to a specific room.
The room appeared to contain something along the lines of a cocoon, it was suspended to the ceiling and connected to the floor and walls.
The cocoon itself was made out of flesh and a cartilage like substance.
"What is that Sogrith?" questioned Leo.
A smile appeared on Sogriths face.
"Oh, do you really not know? That is you in the cocoon."
What kind of reference art would you like to see next?