THE ZOMBIE SYSTEM-Chapter 68 - 67: The Vessel’s Choice

"Leon, please. We have to run now."

Elise’s voice cracked as the commander’s aura pressed against the basement walls. Dimensional energy corrupted the air around them, making each breath taste like copper and ash. Leon’s mother lay between them, her life hanging in the balance as reality warped at the edges.

Leon felt the approaching presence through his enhanced senses. Three blocks away. Two blocks. The commander moved with measured steps that cracked pavement and shattered windows in perfect sequence.

His system interface revealed truths that made his blood freeze:

[Vessel Development: 99.2% Complete]

[Primary Objective: Dimensional Anchor Establishment]

[Secondary Function: Reality Bridge Construction]

[Host Consciousness: Expendable Upon Completion]

The zombie system had never been random awakening magic. Every evolution, every power increase, every moment of growth had been guided by dimensional programming embedded in his soul. His rapid advancement and unique abilities were products of careful manipulation spanning months.

"I was designed," Leon said with horrifying clarity. "Built to be their gateway into this reality."

Elise grabbed his shoulders. "Then we break what they built. My healing magic can purge dimensional corruption."

"The process could kill me."

"Staying connected to them definitely will."

Leon’s undead servants flickered as his emotional turmoil affected their manifestation. The warrior zombie’s spectral armor dimmed while the mage’s energy staff sputtered like a dying flame.

But something else was happening. His elite mage zombie stepped forward without being commanded.

"Master," it spoke in his mind. "The darkness offers false gifts. I remember who I was before the binding."

Leon stared at his undead. The mage zombie had never shown independence beyond tactical thinking. Now it radiated personality that belonged to someone else entirely.

"You were human once."

"Dr. Sarah Northwind. Association researcher. I studied dimensional theory before the breach took me." The zombie’s eye sockets blazed brighter. "The entities that created your system also destroyed my team. Made us into their tools."

The warrior zombie’s loyalty wavered as its original personality reasserted itself. "Commander Marcus Reid. Iron-fang tactical specialist. They turned us into weapons against our own people."

Leon realized his control over his undead was based on their willing submission, not magical domination. The souls bound to his service had chosen to help him because they recognized genuine need. But they could also choose to leave.

"Why are you telling me this now?"

"Because the commander’s presence is breaking the barriers between us and our former selves," Dr. Reid explained. "We remember everything. Including how to resist their influence."

Elise’s evolved healing offered hope wrapped in deadly risk. The purification process would strip away dimensional corruption from his system, but the shock might destroy his zombie abilities completely. Without his undead, he’d become just another E-rank hunter facing impossible odds.

"The ritual requires willing participation," Elise warned. "If you fight the healing, it won’t work. You have to want to be free more than you want power."

Leon’s mother stirred weakly. Her condition was worsening as dimensional energy saturated the air around them. The commander’s approach was literally poisoning reality for normal humans.

"Mom, stay with me."

Her eyes opened with effort. "Leon, whatever they built into you... you’re still my son. Choose who you want to be."

The commander’s psychic voice pressed against his consciousness with increasing force. Each pulse promised knowledge, power, and understanding that mortal magic could never provide.

"Embrace your purpose, vessel. Become the bridge our realms require."

Leon felt the temptation pulling at him like physical chains. The commander offered answers to questions that had haunted him since awakening. Why his abilities worked differently than normal necromancy. Why death magic responded to his will without corruption. Why he could evolve beyond established limits.

But those answers came with a price that would cost him everything human about his existence.

Elise’s healing magic began actively opposing Leon’s death energy. Green light clashed with purple shadow as their powers fought for dominance. The conflict between their abilities threatened to tear both of them apart.

"I can feel the corruption," Elise gasped. "It’s deeper than I thought. Woven into your soul’s foundation."

"Can you remove it?"

"Maybe. But the process will hurt. A lot." freewebnoveℓ.com

Leon’s undead servants gathered around him. Dr. Northwind mage zombie, Commander Reid warrior form, and his assassin whose true identity remained hidden. All waiting for his decision.

"Master," Dr. Reid said. "Whatever you choose, we’ll stand with you. The commander turned us into monsters, but you gave us purpose again."

The building shook as the commander’s presence drew closer. One block away now. Leon could feel its attention focused on their location like a searchlight burning through reality.

His system interface blazed with warnings:

[Vessel Corruption Detected]

[Purification Attempt Identified]

[Countermeasures Activating]

[Warning: Host Consciousness At Risk]

The zombie system was fighting back. Dimensional programming activated safeguards designed to prevent exactly what Elise was attempting. Leon’s body convulsed as conflicting magics warred inside his soul.

"It’s trying to stop me," Elise reported. "The corruption is defending itself."

Leon gritted his teeth against pain that felt like molten metal in his veins. "Do it anyway."

"The shock could kill you."

"Better dead than their puppet."

Elise’s hands glowed with evolved healing energy that carried whispers of both life and death. Her power had adapted to bridge opposing forces, making her uniquely capable of purging dimensional corruption without destroying the host completely.

But success wasn’t guaranteed. The process required perfect balance between purification and preservation. Too little force would leave corruption intact. Too much would burn out Leon’s magical pathways entirely.

"Hold still," Elise commanded. "This is going to hurt."

Leon chose to reject the commander’s call and accept Elise’s purification attempt, not knowing if he’d survive the process. The decision felt like stepping off a cliff with no guarantee of landing safely.

Elise began the purification ritual. Her hands pressed against Leon’s chest while healing energy flowed into his system. But instead of the gentle warmth he expected, fire raced through his veins like liquid lightning.

Leon screamed as dimensional corruption fought against removal. The zombie system activated every defense mechanism built into his soul, triggering pain that transcended physical sensation.

His undead servants flickered wildly as their animating force destabilized. Dr. Reid’s form wavered between human and spectral. Commander Northwind’s armor cracked along invisible seams.

"Hold on," Elise whispered. "Almost there."

The purification process revealed layers of manipulation Leon had never suspected. His awakening hadn’t been random chance. His father’s death during a dimensional breach. His mother’s illness that drove him to desperate measures. Even meeting Elise in the qualification dungeon.

All of it orchestrated to create the perfect vessel for dimensional invasion.

But as Elise’s power burned away foreign programming, Leon felt something unexpected. The corruption had been wrapped around his natural abilities like chains around a prisoner. Removing it didn’t destroy his necromancy - it freed it to operate as originally intended.

The commander arrived at their location just as the purification reached its critical phase. Its rage at Leon’s defiance shook the entire district, cracking buildings and shattering windows in expanding waves.

"VESSEL! YOU WILL NOT ESCAPE YOUR PURPOSE!"

The psychic roar made everyone in the basement clutch their heads in agony. But Leon felt the commander’s influence sliding off him like water. Whatever Elise was doing was working.

The entity’s footsteps thundered overhead as it began tearing through the building above them, seeking the vessel that dared to reject its gifts.

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