Chapter Two: What we Became

With the Hollow destroyed and everything they once knew gone, Evaris and Maeris are forced to confront the consequences of their evolution. Evaris discovers that his new body comes with a dangerous side effect—the Hunger Craze, an uncontrollable state brought on when his evolved body does not receive enough brain matter. After nearly attacking Maeris, the two begin trying to understand what has happened to them and realize that Evaris’s bite caused Maeris to evolve as well. While searching for food and somewhere safe to stay, they discover the seemingly abandoned Silkveil Manor. What initially looks like shelter quickly becomes a trap when they encounter a powerful Jorōgumo who intends to make them her next meal. Forced into a deadly fight, Evaris and Maeris work together to overcome her and survive. Afterward, hunger drives them to consume portions of the Jorōgumo’s brain. Soon, strange new abilities begin appearing. Maeris discovers that she can produce supernatural webbing from her fingertips, while Evaris realizes that his hearing, smell, vision, and awareness have become dramatically stronger. They eventually conclude that eating different parts of the Jorōgumo’s brain allowed each of them to inherit different pieces of her abilities. Using another ability inherited from the Jorōgumo, Maeris begins creating supernatural masks capable of disguising their true appearance. With the masks allowing them to pass as vampires, Evaris and Maeris finally have a way to move through the outside world without immediately being recognized as zombies.