Piety

I barely had time to process what had just happened when the chaos began.

Adrian’s transformation was subtle at first—his skin paling, his eyes narrowing, his movements jerky and erratic. I thought it was just the pressure, the fear, maybe even the stress of the mission. But then, with a guttural roar that sent a chill down my spine, the change accelerated.

It was like watching a nightmare unfold in real-time. His skin rippled, scales sprouting across his face and neck, gleaming sickly green in the harsh light. His eyes were no longer human, narrowed into slits, pupils glowing an eerie yellow. His breathing quickened, and I could feel the tension in the air, the way it grew heavier with every ragged breath he took. His body seemed to be warping, his features twisting as if something inhuman was trying to claw its way out.

“Adrian…” I whispered, barely able to recognize the person standing in front of me. But it wasn’t Adrian anymore. It was something else—something driven by rage and hunger.

He turned to me, his lips curled into a snarl, sharp teeth glinting in the low light. The man I knew, the one who had been my ally, my friend, was gone. In his place stood a creature—a thing I could hardly recognize as human anymore.

He lunged, his movements fast and violent. I barely had time to react as he grabbed at me, his grip strong and unyielding. His breath came in ragged bursts, his voice a guttural growl that barely resembled the sound of words. “Lila… you… belong to him.”

My heart pounded, fear crawling under my skin. I struggled, trying to break free, but his hold was too strong. The force of his transformation had made him almost unrecognizable. The scales, the inhuman eyes, the way his body seemed to pulsate with an energy that wasn’t human—it all terrified me.

“Get off her!” Mira shouted, her voice frantic. She pulled at Adrian’s arm, but it was useless. He was too far gone. The creature in front of me had no regard for her, or for any of us.

I could hear the others shouting, panicking, trying to figure out what to do. I felt helpless, frozen in place, as Adrian’s eyes locked onto mine. There was nothing left of him, not even a trace of the man who had been my partner in all of this.

It was Light. His influence was too strong. I had failed to see it happening.

And now it was too late. Adrian was lost.

“Hold him down!” Mira screamed.

A few of the crew members rushed to help, using everything they had to subdue him. They managed to force him to the ground, his thrashing slowing as the adrenaline began to fade. Still, he growled, struggling against them with every ounce of strength. His transformation wasn’t complete yet, but it was clear he was no longer human.

They dragged him toward the decontamination room, and I stood there, frozen, unable to tear my eyes away. The light in his eyes—if you could still call them eyes—was fading. I had lost him. We had lost him.

“He’s gone,” Mira said softly, her voice thick with grief and terror. “We… we couldn’t stop it.”

I wanted to respond, wanted to tell her it wasn’t our fault, but the words felt like they were trapped in my throat. The room had grown silent, the tension hanging thick in the air. I felt numb, like everything was moving in slow motion, even though the reality of what had just happened hit me with the force of a freight train.

The door to the decontamination room slid shut with a heavy thud, locking Adrian inside. I couldn’t bring myself to look at him again. I couldn’t face the fact that the man I had once trusted was now a threat, contained behind glass.

I turned away, my stomach churning.

I didn’t know how long we stood there, but I could still hear Light’s presence in my mind, like a soft, insistent whisper. “It was inevitable, he said, his voice like a snake coiling around my thoughts. You know it, don’t you? Adrian was always going to fall. And many more will follow him. It’s only a matter of time.”

I shuddered at the sound of his voice, the way it seemed to wrap around me, tightening with each word. I knew it was him, the creature—the god, the entity that had wormed its way into our minds and hearts. And somehow, someway, I had let him.

“Why… why did this happen?” I muttered under my breath, barely hearing the words as they left my mouth. “What did we do to deserve this?”

“You did nothing,” Light responded, his voice a soothing, mocking lull. “You simply looked. You thought you could bring a god to your world, to control it, to contain it. But humans are foolish. You could never control a force like me.”

I felt the heaviness of his words settle into my chest, cold and suffocating. 

And then his tone shifted, the mockery turning into something darker, more possessive. “Didn’t you notice? Didn’t you realize? The moment I opened my eyes, everything began to change. The air became thick. The minds of your crew began to break. You’ve all been corrupted. Each and every one of you.”

I felt a cold sweat break out on the back of my neck, fear rising in my throat. “We didn’t bring a god here. We didn’t—” I cut myself off, because a part of me was starting to doubt the truth of my own words.

“Ah, but you did,” Light’s voice purred, filling my thoughts like a dark flood. “You’ve already crossed the threshold. The moment you looked at me, you broke the first rule. The first and most important rule of Piety: Thou shall not look at god.”

The horror of it sank deep into my bones. Were we all doomed? Was there no way to stop this madness?

“We… we can’t keep doing this,” I whispered, almost to myself. But it was clear now—there was no stopping this. Not now. Not after what we had done.

This was my fault. I brought him onboard, I brought Light onboard. I had brought a god on board, and now, like all gods, Light demanded his tribute. The souls of the crew. Our minds. Everything we were.

And I was already starting to feel it—starting to lose myself.

The worst part? I didn’t know if I could even fight it anymore.