THE ZOMBIE SYSTEM-Chapter 66 - 65: The Price of Power

"Mom, stay behind me. Elise, prepare emergency evacuation protocols."

Leon stood over his mother and Elise in the basement shelter. The commander’s call resonated through his bones with each psychic pulse made his teeth ache while power flowed through his system in ways that felt both familiar and wrong.

His interface blazed with notifications he’d never seen before:

[Vessel Compatibility: 97.3%]

[Primordial Connection: Active]

[System Evolution: Phase 2 Unlocked]

[Warning: Autonomy Override Detected]

The messages terrified him more than any monster he’d faced. His zombie system was changing without his permission, evolving in directions he couldn’t control or understand.

Leon felt his undead growing more powerful in the commander’s presence. His mage zombie Staff crackling with purple energy. The assassin emerged from shadows that hadn’t existed moments before.

All three undead moved with coordination that exceeded his direct control. They responded to his will but operated with strategic thinking that belonged to them, not him.

Elise watched Leon’s face carefully. Something was shifting in his expression. The warmth that usually softened his features was cooling into calculated assessment. His eyes moved between her and his mother like a tactician weighing strategic resources.

"Leon, we need to move now," she said urgently. "That thing is getting closer."

"No." Leon’s voice carried new authority that made both women step back. "Moving without proper intelligence would be inefficient. We establish defensive positions here while gathering information about the commander’s capabilities."

The words were logical, but the tone was wrong. Leon had always been protective of his family, driven by emotion as much as strategy. This cold calculation felt like someone else speaking with his voice.

His decision-making was becoming more calculated. He studied exit routes not for his mother’s safety, but for tactical advantage. Elise’s healing abilities registered as strategic assets rather than personal connections.

"The basement offers three escape routes," Leon continued methodically. "Emergency tunnels connect to the eastern drainage system. If those are compromised, the northern foundation access leads to abandoned subway lines."

His mother touched his arm gently. "Leon, you’re scaring me. This isn’t how you normally talk."

Leon looked at her with eyes that seemed older than his years. "Sentiment is a luxury we can’t afford. The commander represents a threat that requires optimal response protocols."

Elise felt ice forming in her stomach. Leon was using phrases he’d never spoken before. ’Optimal response protocols’ sounded like hunter terminology from training manuals, not words that belonged in his vocabulary.

His interface revealed abilities he never knew existed within his system:

[Death Dominion: Unlocked]

[Soul Anchor: Available]

[Dimensional Tether: Activating]

[Vessel Protocol: Standby Mode]

Leon accessed the new abilities with familiarity that shouldn’t exist. His consciousness expanded beyond his physical form, touching minds across the city. He sensed every death, every injury, every moment of fear and desperation.

The knowledge felt natural despite being completely alien to his previous experience.

"I can feel them," Leon said quietly. "Every person dying in the monster attacks. Their life force dispersing into ambient energy that could be harvested and repurposed."

Elise grabbed his shoulders. "Leon, listen to yourself. You’re talking about harvesting human souls."

"Efficiently utilizing available resources," Leon corrected. "Death energy represents power that dissipates wastefully unless properly channeled."

The personality shift was subtle but undeniable. Leon’s protective instincts remained, but they were being filtered through cold logic that prioritized effectiveness over sentiment.

Elise confronted him directly. "This isn’t you. Something is changing the way you think."

Leon dismissed her concerns with a wave of his hand. "I’m optimizing my approach based on new information. Emotional decision-making leads to tactical errors."

His undead servants positioned themselves around the basement with military precision. They moved independently of his conscious commands, responding to strategic imperatives he hadn’t issued.

Elise attempted her healing magic on a cut across her palm. The green light sparked against Leon’s enhanced death energy and burned like acid. She jerked her hand back with a gasp of pain.

"Your power is corrupting everything around you," she said. "My healing magic rejects your presence now."

Leon examined the interaction with clinical interest. "Fascinating. Your evolved abilities and mine are achieving resonance through dimensional alignment. The burning sensation indicates successful energy integration."

The words were Leon’s voice, but the analytical detachment belonged to something else. Elise realized the commander’s influence was reshaping his personality in real time.

"You’re becoming like them," she whispered.

Leon’s enhanced perception detected movement three blocks away. The commander was approaching with measured steps, its presence warping reality with each footfall. Street lights exploded in sequence marking its passage.

His system interface provided tactical analysis of the approaching entity: ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com

[Abyssal Commander: Class Unknown]

[Power Level: Beyond Classification]

[Threat Assessment: Minimal - Vessel Protection Active]

[Compatibility Rating: 98.7% and Rising]

The revelation struck Leon like lightning. His zombie system recognized the commander as an ally, not a threat. The ’Vessel Protection’ protocol meant the entity wouldn’t harm him regardless of his choices.

Deeper in the interface, buried beneath layers of code he’d never accessed, Leon discovered the truth that shattered his understanding of everything.

His zombie system hadn’t been a random awakening. The technology had been designed by the same entities now invading their dimension. Every evolution, every power increase, every moment of growth had been guided by programming embedded in his soul.

He was a sleeper agent. A vessel prepared over months of careful development to serve as an anchor point for dimensional invasion.

"The system was never mine," Leon said with horrifying clarity. "It belongs to them. I belong to them."

His mother stepped forward despite her fear. "Leon, you’re stronger than whatever they built into you. Fight it."

"Why would I fight optimization?" Leon asked genuinely. "The commander offers knowledge, power, and purpose beyond anything this dimension can provide."

Elise felt tears streaming down her face. The Leon she knew was disappearing behind calculations that valued efficiency over humanity. The man who’d risked everything to save his mother was being replaced by something that viewed love as tactical weakness.

The basement walls vibrated as the commander’s presence grew stronger. Its psychic call penetrated the building’s foundation, speaking directly to Leon’s enhanced consciousness.

"Come, vessel. Your preparation is complete. Embrace your true nature."

Leon felt the compulsion pulling him toward the stairs. But for the first time since the commander’s arrival, he hesitated. Looking at his mother’s frightened face and Elise’s tears, some part of his original personality struggled against the cold logic consuming his thoughts.

The choice crystallized with perfect clarity. He could flee with his family, preserving their lives but abandoning his destiny. Or he could confront the commander and discover what he was truly meant to become.

Both options carried prices he wasn’t sure he could afford to pay.

The commander’s footsteps echoed through the building above them as Leon struggled to decide which future he would choose.

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