Astral Hoarder: Embrace of Malevolence

— Back in the Corner Coffee Shop —

Zimo Banks was dreaming at that moment, and for once, he felt like it wasn't a dream he wanted to escape from. The room he was in shimmered with soft light, not quite real, but neither entirely imaginary. It was somewhat... Beautiful.

He was a child again, standing in a dim hallway with walls so cold they radiated frost into the air. He didn't know where he was, but looking around and noticing the faint features of things that seemed like paintings, he figured it was probably a rich place. At least richer than any place he had ever been in before.

Looking around, wondered where he was. But that was also the moment he realised something. He was not alone.

Before him floated a face, gazing at him and emanating a warmth that was undeniable in this cold place. It was featureless, smooth, and vacant, signifying just how distant the memory was.

The closeness he felt was rendered, though. When he finally extended a hand, tiny fingers trembling, he still couldn't reach.

However, he took some steps on his one-year-old feet, and the moment his hands neared the face, it dissolved into mist, revealing the wall behind it. Immediately, the scene around Zimo changed, transforming into something else entirely.

As ice touched his skin, and the sharp chill cut deep enough to make him whimper, he realised that he was in a different body, and he could finally move his body normally. But where would he go? He was in a box!

He knocked on the box for a long moment, trying to alert someone to his position and his state, but by the time he was done, he soon realised just how bad his situation was. Before he could even get out of there, the scene changed and he found himself elsewhere.

Suddenly, another figure appeared, pulling him back, and showing its face. But this wasn't a face ZImo appreciated. 

This face wasn't empty but was far worse. Cold eyes stared at him, devoid of compassion It was a face carved from stone practically lifeless and empty. There was no warmth in this figure's hands or gaze, only a suffocating indifference. It pulled him along telling him to do things, forcing him to do other things.

Zimo felt his life get empty. Even in his dream, Zimo's heart ached. Everything was so cold, and time passed by like this with everything being cold…

He reached forward, desperate for the feeling of warmth he had felt once before. He remembered it in Maya's laughter, in fleeting moments during his university years when someone's touch had thawed the ice around him. 

But the warmth always left, leaving only that chill. Even at that moment, he could still feel that chill. As Zimo found himself in a dead world he could see a flicker of darkness in the distance. And then this flicker of darkness flashed in green and began spreading quickly, threatening to swallow him.

Zimo felt fear grip him as he began running away in the opposite direction. But when he did, the shadows and the darkness spread further and further until they engulfed him and then at that moment Zimo once again felt that warmth. And then as he revelled in that feeling.

A sudden, thunderous *BOOM!* erupted through his consciousness, forcing him awake and forcing the darkness to flash away.

Zimo jolted. His body was damp with sweat, and his heart thudded in his chest. For a moment, Seeing the dim lights around him, he thought he was still dreaming, but the muffled screams and heavy footsteps told him otherwise.

Something was wrong.

Something was inside the store!

Was it the Zombies? Or maybe he should be calling the Deadspawn. What else could he think of them as? Or maybe it was one of those Beasts… If it was, what was he going to do?

ZImo thought of all this as he slid out of the seat, cautiously moving toward the door. When he finally saw what was out there, the view sent a jolt of panic through him. A massive cat-like beast prowled into the front wall, its movements languid yet terrifying. The front wall? Destroyed. At least the reinforced glass portion of it.

ZImo felt his heart stop beating and his legs began shaking, feeling the intent to kill that Beast. What was that thing?

Its fur gleamed under the moonlight, an ominous black streaked with silvery purple lines that pulsed faintly, and they were like veins that allowed the light of the moon to bounce off in an incredible way. Its eyes glowed a deep amber, scanning the surroundings with unsettling intelligence.

The worst thing... Zimo had nowhere to hide.

Zimo looked around, grabbing a fire extinguisher as he approached the thing that stood almost as tall as a teenager. But just as he approached, he saw something he would never have expected… What were they…? Now ways... How was this even… possible?

Standing near the creature were people Zimo hadn't expected to see again. His heart dropped. Maya. Jacques. Alex. Some others from his team… And… was that Felix? The new intern?

As Zimo was looking at them, they were looking at Zimo. And he could see smiles in the eyes of everyone around there, maybe everyone except for Felix. And then when he saw the cold smile on Jacques and Maya's faces, Zimo couldn't help but take a step back.

Those were smiles that had evil in them. He had seen those kinds of smiles so many times before.

Zimo's gaze darted to the mark on Maya's arm, an intricate symbol that pulsed in sync with the one etched onto the beast's leg. Recognition hit him like a punch. Zimo was not an idiot. It did not take him long to realise what was happening. No matter how incomprehensible it was, or how unfair he felt it was, that was his reality now.

It seemed Maya had tamed that Beast. And now she was using it to destroy this place. And with that cold smile of hers… Before he could process the implications, Maya's voice shattered his thoughts.

"Take him down, Phoebe!"

The Beast moved faster than Zimo thought possible. One moment it was outside, the next it had leapt through the glass wall with an earth-shaking crash. Shards of glass rained down as Zimo was hurled backwards, landing hard against the floor. Before he could scramble away, a massive paw pinned him to the ground, forcing the air out of his lungs and some sour fluid to ride up his throat.

He couldn't even get up. What the hell was going on? He looked into the creature's eyes only to see it looking at him, coldly, just as Maya had only a few hours back in Rob the Manager's room.

Zimo knew it at that moment. He was so fucked.

The pressure was unbearable. His ribs creaked, and pain shot through his chest. He gasped for air, but it was futile. The beast growled, its fangs bared inches from his face, and Zimo knew he was moments away from death. If he did anything, he might just die. But that was the case if this was something he comprehended.

But this was something else. This was Beast taming. It was not the Wild. He could not understand things in the context of instinct. No. This was a different concept. 

The others entered the room with slow, deliberate steps. Maya led the group, her expression cold and distant. Jacques followed closely, his arms crossed, while Felix lingered at the back, his expression a bit more complicated.

"Zimo," Maya said, her voice void of the warmth he once knew. "How the tables have turned. We asked you before, to graciously come over with the food. But you… You said No to that. You told us to fuck off, didn't you? Now you know what happens when someone disrespects you right?"

Zimo tried to respond, but his words came out as pained gasps as the Beast pressed down onto him. It was not allowing him to get out of its grasp and maybe even it might just be responding to Maya's intentions to hurt him. ZImo could only gasp in pain. Jacques took this as a moment to finally make his move.

Jacques crouched beside Zimo, a mocking smile on his face. "Not so high and mighty now, huh? What happened to all that 'principle' you were preaching? What happened to everything you were saying? You even hung up the phone on me and everyone else. Can you imagine how that felt?"

Before Zimo could say anything Jacques slapped his face, and when he did, he had a sick smile on his face as he began chuckling, while looking around at this store with all the food.

"Go on then, Collect all the food so we can bring it back! They will soon understand that this is a new world, with new rules. They will all understand. Every single one of them."

Zimo closed his eyes, suppressing the rising despair as best as he could. He didn't even care about the pain or the fact that these people were going around taking everything that now belonged to him. He didn't need to ask why they were here. The store, his resources, his stubbornness—it had made him a target. And targets get hit and destroyed.

Maya leaned closer, her hushed voice dripping with venom now that everyone was gone, busy with other things. "You always thought you were better than everyone else. You thought you could survive on your own, didn't you? Well, look where that got you."

Zimo turned to Maya, a faint smirk on his face and when she saw that she sneered even more. Felix finally spoke, his tone conflicted. "Maybe we should just take what we need and leave. He's not worth this much. I mean look at him..." 

Maya shot him a glare. "This isn't just about supplies, Felix. It's about sending a message." Just as Felix was about to say something, Maya spoke first. "Felix, Zimo is a traitor! You DO NOT want to be like him, do you?"

"Phoebe," she commanded voice slicing through the tension of a knife. "Show him what happens to the proud. Show him what happens to the traitors!"

The beast growled, its amber eyes locked onto Zimo. He barely had time to scream before its jaws clamped down on his arm. Pain erupted, blinding and all-consuming, as the beast tore through flesh and bone with terrifying ease, the sound coming out as a disgusting, *Pflscht!*

"Ahhh!!!!!" Zimo's cries echoed through the room, Maya and Jacques didn't flinch, instead looking on with interest. If one had a keen eye, one might notice that Jacques was paying more attention to Maya, his gaze a bit more worried than anything. After all, she was showing everyone her crazy side. Was this what they meant by power corrupts?

Felix turned away, his face pale, and the others, who were collecting the cakes and bread, couldn't help but drop their bags. In the same funny way, the beast dropped the mangled limb at Zimo's side, licking its bloodstained jaws as if savouring the taste.

"Holy fuck!"

"Oh my god, I'm gonna barf!"

"Maya, what the fuck!"

"Shut up!" Maya said, before turning to Phoebe. It seemed everyone was getting affected by the Blood. Maya had already seen though, how her girl could control the temperature of water. "Phoebe, freeze his stump, we dont want him to die too early."

Huh?

In the next moment, when it touched the exposed wound that was pouring blood onto the ground, and then froze Zimo's stump, ensuring that he stopped bleeding out, everyone's eyes went wide.

What? It turned his stump to ice!

"Enough!" Jacques barked, his voice carrying an edge of urgency. "We don't have time for this. The Deadspawn might come back soon. We need to leave as soon as possible, Maya."

Maya nodded, her composure returning as her frustration was somewhat alleviated after witnessing Zimo lose his coding ability, which had provided him with a significant advantage in the workplace. "Fine. Phoebe, seize him."

The Beast complied, grabbing Zimo by the remnants of his shirt. Blood had ceased dripping from his frozen wounds, but tears now streamed from his eyes as he was dragged away, his pain originating from a different source. Blood dripped steadily from his wounds as he was pulled out of the room and into the night.

The group moved swiftly, destination clear: the Webstorm Technologies building. There, Zimo would endure the most agonising moment of his life, and from that point on, he would truly understand pain. That moment would also become the defining moment for the rest of Zimo's life.