Rhozal didn't falter, even as the disembodied voice echoed through the vast, echoing halls. His powerful legs ate up the ground, carrying Vondris deeper into the Qal-Azhari Proving Grounds, away from the chaos of the gala. The air thickened with the stench of fear and unwashed fur, a grim perfume that clung to the damp stone walls. They plunged into the lower levels of the academy, a labyrinth of service tunnels and grimy beast-pens, far from the pampered nobles. The rhythmic clang of iron gates and the distant roars of caged creatures became their new soundtrack. He skidded to a halt in a shadowed alcove between two massive, empty cages. The bars were thick with grime, and the lingering scent of some large, terrified carnivore was almost suffocating. Rhozal gently set Vondris down, his large, tawny hands still braced around her waist, his breathing a harsh rasp. His pupils were dilated, the gold flecks in his eyes swirling like agitated dust. “Master,” he rumbled, his voice rough, “we need a plan. The air… it feels wrong.” He gestured vaguely at the gloom around them, his nose twitching, almost like a wild animal scenting a predator. The beastman’s instincts were always unnervingly acute. Vondris straightened her tunic, brushing off non-existent dust. “No, *I* need a plan. You merely need to stand there and look menacing.” Her gaze swept over the filthy surroundings, taking in rusted feeding troughs, scattered bone shards, and a viscous, greenish sludge pooled in a corner. “Airborne, he said. Excellent. Just what this trip needed, a plague.” [WARNING: BLOOD-ROT PATHOGEN (Strain X-17) TRANSMISSION: AEROSOLIZED. IMMEDIATE MITIGATION PROTOCOLS RECOMMENDED. FAILURE TO COMPLY MAY RESULT IN CELLULAR DEGRADATION AND SPONTANEOUS LIQUEFACTION.] “Spontaneous liquefaction, huh?” Vondris muttered, rubbing her chin. “Catchy. Alright, Okhmar, you doddering menace, spill it. What’s the off-label use for arena-beast slop in a bioweapon scenario?” Okhmar’s light-etched visage flickered into existence, superimposed over the rusty bars of a cage. He wore a pristine white lab coat that seemed incongruous with the grimy surroundings, a perpetually distracted smile on his face. “Ah, Vondris, my dear! Prompt as ever. Liquefaction, yes, quite exciting, isn’t it? For you, perhaps a full 12 hours. For Rhozal, given his… unique physiology and current saturation, it’ll be closer to eight. A robust dataset, truly.” Rhozal snarled, his ears flattening against his skull. “Eight hours until… until I melt?” His claws extended, scoring faint lines into the stone wall beside them. “Don’t be so dramatic, Rhozal,” Vondris said, though an unwelcome chill tightened her stomach. Eight hours was uncomfortably fast. “Okhmar, the remedy. Now.” “The counteragent, the counteragent,” Okhmar hummed, tapping a finger against his chin. “Well, the Phase Two Booster *is* the remedy. But since you’ve misplaced its key ingredient in a dramatic explosion, we must improvise. Think of it as a… temporary palliative. Your current environment is rich in bio-reactive compounds. Specifically, the nutrient paste fed to the pit-fighters. High in protein, low in ethics. Perfect!” Vondris stared at the greenish sludge in the corner. “You want me to… make a cure out of beastman gruel? You’re serious.” “Deadly serious, my dear!” Okhmar’s smile widened. “The key is the trace mineral content, specifically the Xylos-Bloom’s inherent affinity for disrupting the parasite’s chitinous shell. The pen-swill, when combined with… oh, let’s say, a dash of dried blood from a recently deceased arena combatant – you see any around? – and perhaps a pinch of ground-up bone from a larger predatory species, should create a temporary osmotic destabilizer. It won’t *cure* him, mind you, but it’ll buy you a few precious hours.” Vondris’s eyes narrowed. “You’re not just making this up as you go, are you? This sounds suspiciously like you’re using me as a free research assistant for your Multiversal Medical Board tenure review.” Okhmar’s blue projection shimmered. “Why, Vondris, such cynicism! Though, if it *were* to contribute to my ‘Innovative Palliative Approaches in Extreme Environmental Stressors’ thesis, that would be a delightful synergy! Now, I’ll need real-time biometric data. Your vitals, Rhozal’s blood oxygen, pathogen load estimates… the usual. My assistant will be contacting you shortly with the data upload protocols.” Before Vondris could unleash a blistering retort, Okhmar’s projection winked out, leaving them in the oppressive silence of the beast-pens. Vondris turned to Rhozal, who was pressing his forehead against the cold stone, his breathing still shallow. A faint sheen of sweat covered his brow, and his fur, usually sleek, looked slightly matted. “Right,” Vondris declared, already scanning the adjacent cages. “Pit-slop. Dried blood. Ground bone. Sounds like a recipe for… something. Stay here. Don’t melt.” She moved with purpose, her mercenary training kicking in. A discarded bone from a large creature – a Gryphon-Bull by the size of it – lay near a forgotten water trough. She used a loose rock to begin crushing it, the dull thud echoing in the gloom. The sludge was indeed the pit paste, thick and foul-smelling. The blood… she found traces of it near a recent struggle in a deeper cage, thankfully dried. As Vondris meticulously mixed the gruesome cocktail in a cracked ceramic bowl she’d found, Rhozal let out a low, guttural growl. He was pacing now, a predator trapped, his tail lashing. The air around him seemed to thicken, a faint, metallic tang emanating from his fur. His eyes, fixed on Vondris, glowed with an unsettling intensity. “Master,” he rasped, his voice raw, “you must leave.” Vondris didn’t look up from stirring the concoction. “Don’t be absurd. You’re my ward. I can’t just abandon my assets.” “This… this sickness,” he continued, his words coming out in ragged bursts, “it makes the… the beast… restless. I can feel it. It wants to protect. To claim. To… *possess*.” His gaze burned into her. “My will… it weakens. I won’t… I won’t be able to control it. The infection… it amplifies the instincts.” He lunged, not at her, but toward the wall beside her, his palm slamming against the cold stone, effectively pinning her. His other hand, claws retracted for now, rested heavily on the wall above her head. His body heat radiated against her, a furnace of agitated power. His scent, normally a comforting mix of ozone and wild leather, was now sharp with desperation and something primal. His eyes, wide and unfocused, stared past her, as if battling an unseen enemy. “I beg you, Master,” he pleaded, his voice hoarse, “leave me. Before… before I do something I cannot undo. Before the beast takes over. Before I become… a threat to you.” His head lowered, pressing against the wall, his breath hot against her temple. “I would rather die a thousand times than… than harm you. Go. Live. Please.” The last word was a cracked whisper, dry as gravel. For a moment, Vondris was utterly still, the vile paste in the ceramic bowl forgotten. The sheer, raw desperation in his voice, the physical manifestation of his internal battle, was unlike anything she had ever witnessed. It wasn't the blind loyalty of a pet; it was the ferocious, self-sacrificing devotion of a true beastman, fighting against his own nature for *her*. The idea of leaving him behind, of escaping to her luxury retirement while he melted into a puddle, was suddenly not just unappealing, but utterly repugnant. “Absolutely not,” Vondris stated, her voice sharp, cutting through the heavy air. She pushed against his arm, not to escape, but to make him look at her. “You think I’d just… abandon you? After all this? After you broke Tavlos’s face for me? After you nearly liquefied yourself to cover my escape? You are *my* problem, Rhozal. And I clean up my own messes. Besides, if you die…” she trailed off as an icy clutch seized her gut. The liability warning from the System, the one she’d dismissed as abstract legal jargon, flashed in her mind. “No,” she breathed, accessing her interface, her fingers flicking across the glowing projected glyphs. “No, it can’t be.” [WARNING: SOUL-BOND CO-DEPENDENCY ACTIVATED. CESSATION OF VITAL FUNCTIONS IN SOUL-BOUND DEPENDENT (RHOZAL) WILL RESULT IN SYNCHRONIZED CARDIAC ARREST IN PRIMARY CONTRACT HOLDER (VONDRIS).]

Off-Label Uses for Chosen Ones