Many of the documents in the room seemed to reference Atris a lot, with one stating that he was the leader of the Harbingers. Maya guessed that "Harbingers" was probably the name of whatever organization the white cloaked people belonged to.

As far as Maya could remember, she read from Atris's journal quite a while ago back in the cathedral where she met Sophia. She wondered if there was a possibility that the members of the Harbingers were all homunculi. Though if that were the case, she couldn't yet explain to herself why they looked so different from Sophia.

But aside from that, there wasn't much else that the Shapestealer could find out from the scattered journals and papers in the area. For now, she decided to refocus her efforts on finding both Valor and Sophia.

Maya moved through the room once again. She moved towards another door at the end of the room and attempted to phase through it.

But as she tried to do so, she was repelled back by an unknown force. After shaking her head to clear the disorientation from the impact, Maya took a moment to regain her composure.

She noticed a keyhole on the door and began to search the room for any sign of a key. Maya went back to the corpse of the Harbinger member she had killed earlier. She searched his cloak and eventually found a key hidden inside.

The Shapestealer grabbed the key and moved back to the door before inserting it into the keyhole, turning it until she heard the click of the lock disengaging. After pausing for a moment, she pushed the door open.

As Maya hovered inside, she allowed herself a moment to take in her new surroundings. The area she was in looked like a vast, dimly lit prison. It was quiet, with the only sounds coming from the occasional echo of drips of water falling to the floor. Faint light from sporadic torches flickered against the walls, while chains hung from the walls here and there.

Most of the cells inside were either open, empty, or both. The few cells that weren't empty contained the corpses of pale humanoid creatures that looked eerily similar of the ghouls Maya had encountered back on the 6th floor of the tower.

Maya continued to go deeper into the prison. But she suddenly stopped as she felt an ominous presence looming above her. Immediately, she instinctively hovered aside as fast as she could.

A loud thud echoed through the prison corridors from behind her and reverberated off the walls. As she turned around to confront the source of the noise, Maya saw what she could only describe as a massive pale abomination,

The creature's lower body boasted spider-like legs, each appendage ending in sharp, menacing points that scraped against the floor. Its torso was vaguely humanoid, albeit far too twisted.

Its "hands'' were replaced with large pincer-like appendages that looked capable of snapping metal with ease. The abomination's head resembled that of a mantis: complete with compound eyes that glowed with a malevolent light and mandibles that clicked and moved every few seconds.

The abomination unleashed a loud buzzing sound that was so intense it caused Maya's head to throb with unbearable pain. The agony was such that she reverted back to her human form and nearly collapsed to her knees.

As the abomination charged towards her, Maya rolled to the side and into an open cell. She caught her breath, her heart pounding in her chest.

But the creature soon approached the cell where Maya had taken cover. In response, Maya activated [Acid Spray] and felt an unfamiliar buildup of liquid in her throat. Just as the abomination extended its pincer in an attempt to crush her, Maya dodged and unleashed a stream of sizzling acid from her mouth directly onto one of the pincers.

The acid ate through the creature's appendage quickly. The abomination reeled in pain and let out pained shrieks as one of its limbs dissolved right before its eyes.

Maya attempted to use [Copycat] on the creature while it was still distracted. However, she was met with notifications she hadn't seen before:

[Target invalid: Corrupted]

Before Maya had time to fully process the meaning behind the notification, the abomination began to swing its last remaining pincer at her again. However, the loss of its other limb had compromised its balance and made its attack swing wild. The Shapestealer managed to duck under the swinging pincer and dashed out of the cell back into the larger prison hall.

Once safely in the open, she turned to face the creature and transformed into the Nightbringer. As the abomination turned around to face her again, Maya used [Acid Spray] and unleashed a torrent of acid from her jaws.
The corrosive acid landed and devoured the creature's body: quickly eating through its pale flesh until barely anything was left behind. Within seconds: the abomination was no more.

But before she could relax for even a second, Maya's ears twitched as she heard the sound of footsteps grow louder and louder. Her fight with the abomination must have been far from quiet; so, the Shapestealer spread her wings and took off to the ceilling before clinging from it upside down.

From there, she finally saw a large hole in the ceiling of the prison hall: likely where the abomination came from. With the sound of footsteps drawing ever closer, Maya began to crawl through the hole and climb into it.

She climbed out of the hole and emerged into a room dominated by dozens of large pillars, with a stone altar at the far end. And surprisingly, right above the altar were two golden branches.

"So you're finally here, Scion of Munin."

Maya jerked her head behind her at the sound of the voice, her eyes locking onto a figure that stood apart from those she had seen before. This one wore a hooded white cloak, much like the others, but instead of a white mask, theirs was golden.

The Shapestealer jumped back and snarled at the masked man. Despite this, they seemed unfazed and even let out an amused chuckle in response.

"Let's have a proper discussion."

Maya ignored the masked man's invitation. Instead, she spread her wings and flew towards him.

However, as she soared mid-air towards, the masked man calmly raised a hand and unleashed [Greater Light Binding]. Swords of pure light materialized from thin air and stabbed at Maya repeatedly: immediately paralyzing her.

With the Shapestealer immobilized, the masked man approached her. He knelt down to her level. "I'm going to let you go, and you're going to revert back to your original form so we can talk."

He then stood back up and raised a hand. "Of course, you're also free to ignore my instruction and see what happens."

With a snap of his fingers, the man caused the golden swords that had immobilized Maya to vanish into thin air. For a moment, Maya considered launching another attack then and there. But she ultimately decided to play along for now, at least until she could get a better grasp of her situation.

She forced herself up from the ground. Her form began to shrink and morph until she had reverted back to her human form. Maya then glared at the masked man before asking. "Are you Atris?"

"Not quite, though he is waiting for you on the tenth floor." The man said.

"So, what do I call you then?"

"It doesn't matter; let's instead talk about what the Harbingers have to offer you."

Maya raised an eyebrow. "Offer?"

The masked man gestured towards the two golden branches on the stone altar. "As you can see, we've provided these golden branches for you as a token of goodwill."

"Thanks, but I don't buy it; and more importantly, where are my friends?"

"We're holding the beastman within one of our cells, but he is safe. As for the Paladin…"

"What did you do to Sophia?" Maya asked.

"She's alive, but what happens to her next depends on your choice."

"This whole negotiation isn't going to work unless you prove to me that my friends are safe and sound."

The masked man shrugged. "If you insist."

The masked man snapped his fingers. At that moment, Maple peeked her head out from Maya's hood, her small form tensing as she began to growl towards something on Maya's left.

When she turned her head to the left, Maya gasped. Sophia was there, but her skin and hair had turned completely pale, and her usual black armor seemed to have transformed into writhing shadows that moved with a life of their own.

"I'd like to thank you for bringing her to us; she was one of the best prototypes that Master Atris had ever made," the masked man said.

"What did you do to her?"

The man shrugged. "We returned her to her original purpose."

"Turn her back!"

"I'm afraid that's no longer possible."

Maya, fueled by a mixture of anger and desperation, transformed into an Ironhead Bicorn and charged towards the masked man with all the force she could muster.

But as she barreled towards him, the masked man remained unfazed. With a calmness that belied the situation, he stood still, waiting for the right moment. Just as Maya reached him, he effortlessly caught her by the head and, with a display of strength that seemed impossible, threw her across the room.

The Shapestealer activated [Metal Coat] to coat part of her body in metal to cushion the impact. Despite her efforts, she landed upside down with a hard thud.

She fell to her side and reverted back to her human form. The impact forced a cough from her lips, and a bit of blood followed.

The masked man walked closer to Maya and shook his head. "It's a shame that you seem so...apprehensive of us."

Maya struggled to her feet and wiped the blood from her mouth with the back of her hand and spat onto the ground. "Not gonna lie, kinda hard to like you."

The masked man then pointed towards Maya. "Then perhaps we'll have your friend convince you."

In response, Sophia pulled out a pitch-black sword. She then immediately dashed towards Maya.

Instinctively, Maya tried to use [Copycat] on Sophia. However, she was met with a disheartening notification:

[Target invalid: Corrupted]

As the Paladin rapidly closed the distance between them, Maya dodged the first few swings from Sophia's sword. The Paladin seemed to move with an unnatural speed, far surpassing anything Maya had seen before.

Eventually, Sophia caught Maya off guard. The Paladin threw her sword aside and landed a solid punch to Maya's stomach.

The blow forced the air from Maya's lungs. And before Maya could recover, Sophia grabbed her by the neck and lifted her up.

The masked man walked next to Maya. "We'll have you join us, one way or another."

As Maya struggled for breath, black tendrils surged from Sophia's armor and began to wrap around Maya's hands and traverse the rest of her body.

But just as the tendrils encroached on the Shapestealer's eyes, Maple suddenly barked and her tail began to glow a bright red.

The masked man began to reel in pain and staggered back, clutching at his head as if assaulted by an unseen force. Maya began to feel a surge of power unlike anything she had experienced before.

The shadowy tendrils from Sophia's armor were rapidly sucked into Maple's glowing tail and drawn away from Maya rapidly. As this happened, she saw notifications beamed into her mind:

[Corruption purge sequence initiated]

[Searching for highest Tier Form]

[Tier 3 form: Nightbringer detected]

[Forced Evolution Sequence Initiated]

[Spectral Nightbringer unlocked]

[Displaying changes]

Entity Name: Nightbringer >> Spectral Nightbringer

Level: 22

Physique: 9 >> 7

Dexterity: 9

Magic: 4 >> 6

Unique Skills:
1. Sonic Screech
2. Acid Spray
3. Air Slash >> Shadow Slash
4. Spectral Shroud

Requirement: kill a humanoid creature or a large monster >> penalty: sickness

[Tier Upgrade: 3 >> 4]