The site of such a shock causes you to pass out, falling back into a slumber a little while longer...
The first glimmers of morning light seep through your blinds, painting faint streaks of gold across your room. You yawn, having briefly forgotten last nights ordeal, stretching as you swing your legs off the bed, feeling the morning stiffness in your muscles. Another day, you think. Another ordinary day.
With a groggy shuffle, you make your way to the bathroom, scratching the back of your head. You flick on the light, squinting at your reflection in the mirror—a slightly weary face, short-cropped dark hair, faint stubble on your jaw. Just you, nothing special. The same old routine.
As you relieve yourself, a strange sensation starts to build. At first, it feels like a mild pressure, but quickly, a tingling warmth spreads through you. Your gaze drops, and your breath catches. Instead of the usual, a dark, glossy substance is trickling out. It’s thick, almost like liquid midnight, and glistens under the harsh bathroom lights. You stare, frozen by the shock—and, oddly enough, by a growing sense of intrigue as the events of last night come drifting back to you...
The substance keeps coming, pooling and swirling, thickening until it begins to crawl up your legs like a living shadow. Instead of fear, a thrill ripples through you. The inky darkness climbs your thighs, then wraps around your torso, warm and sinuous, as if it knows exactly where to go. It’s all-consuming, overtaking your skin with a smooth, black sheen that glimmers with hints of silver.
The warmth intensifies, spreading into your muscles, your veins, all the way to your core. An electric pulse surges through you, setting every nerve alight in euphoria. You gasp, gripping the sink as a surge of raw power sweeps over you. It’s beyond anything you’ve ever felt, like every cell is coming to life, humming with strength and energy. Your reflection blurs as you squeeze your eyes shut, drowning in waves of exhilaration.
When you open them, you barely recognize the person staring back. Your jaw is sharper, your eyes are darker, gleaming with an intensity that feels both yours and…something more. You feel it in your core: an intelligence, something ancient and wise, whispering to you from beneath the surface.
Your muscles bulge beneath the shimmering black, thicker, stronger than you ever thought possible. Veins trace new lines of power across your forearms and shoulders, and you bring one hand up, watching it clench into a fist that could probably break concrete. The symbiote pulses around you, tightening across your chest, coiling around your legs, holding you in a comforting embrace.
*We are one,* a voice purrs, as deep as a midnight storm. You can’t tell if the voice is in your head or coming from the creature enveloping you. It’s yours, yet more than yours, a resonant force echoing through every fiber of your being.
Your reflection stares back at you, powerful, sleek, and unstoppable. Your face is familiar yet transformed—stronger, more chiseled. You reach up, feeling your skin, or rather, the surface of the symbiote that’s now a part of you, alive and tingling beneath your fingertips. It shivers at your touch, responding to your movements, as if thrilled to be with you.
The euphoria hasn’t faded; if anything, it’s heightened, making every breath feel like fire and thunder. You flex your arms, feel the surge of strength, and a dark, satisfied smile spreads across your face.
*Are you ready?* the voice purrs again, a challenge and a promise. And for the first time in your life, you feel utterly, undeniably ready for anything.