Chris Eldritch ran as fast as he could. His legs cramped and burned from the effort, his heart hammered against his ribcage without mercy. His breath came in cold desperate puffs, his lungs burning as they tried to take in air. The clothes he wore were wet and sticky on his skin, making him grimace as he ran down the sidewalk in the moonlit streets.

The middle aged man gasped with each step he took, the desire to scream welling up in him. His knees buckled and he fell down on the dirty sidewalk, his heavy breathing the only sound that could be heard. He tried to crawl away, but his arms felt like lead and he groaned.

He wanted to cry himself dead, he wanted to bawl his eyes out and make all the problems in the world disappear.

"Jess…" The name escaped his lips and his face scrunched up as he let out a wail. He started dragging himself across the floor, tears and snot coming off him without care. He cried as he thought back to his wife, feeling pieces of pebble and garbage dig into his body as he continued forward. "I didn't meant to…!"

His beating heart felt broken and another sob escaped him. As he gasped and moaned, his nose wrinkled as a horrible odor assaulted him. Looking up he saw that he had stopped in front of a pile of garbage mounted up in front of an abandoned store.

Chris found the sight to be appropriate as he got on his knees, stumbling towards it and falling on the bags without a care in the world. He ignored the glass that broke beneath him or the bones that stuck into him or the slime coating his body. He looked up at the night sky and cringed. His left hand was raised up as he stared at the ring on his finger. He clenched his hand into a tight fist, biting his lips hard enough to draw blood and closed his eyes.

He felt his hand drop limply to his side as he continued to stare at the sky. The sound as he sank further into the garbage bags reminded him of earlier in the night, arriving home, hearing the bed squeak and the thumps as it impacted the walls. His heart tightened at the memory, the scent of musk and arousal once more filling his nostril. In defiance he took a deep breath of the garbage around him, filling his nose with the disgust surrounding him and sighing in relief when he burned the memories away. For now, at least.

He curled himself into a ball and sobbed. I didn't mean...I didn't mean...I…! He closed his eyes, taking calming breaths and trying to stop his shaking body. The darkness of his vision calmed him, the sound of the garbage bags behind him made him forget and the stenched of arousal- the darkness turned red as the sound of the bags gave away to the pleasure female moans beyond the door. He snapped his eyes opened and howled.

"It wasn't my fault! You fucking made me do it…! You…! Aah!" He just kept on crying, laying there on the floor.

The sound of footsteps filled his ears and he looked up, seeing three dirty and mean looking men. All of them were disheveled, hairy and wearing baggy clothing. The one in the middle licked his cracked lips and showed off his yellow teeth as he looked at him with a shifty stance. Chris tensed as they stood a few feet away from him, and he nearly gagged at the horrible musk that poured off them. It was even worse than the garbage he was laying on.

"I thin' we foun' som' goods!" The words were slurred and slow, as the three smirked or grinned. They pulled out knives and a crowbar, walking towards him.

Chris's eyes widened, and he pulled back further into the garbage pile. "S-Stay away…!"

"Com' here lil' piggy!" The one with the crowbar snarled as he pulled his arm back, ready to smash it into Chris' head.

"N-No! 「「This Corrosion 」」Act 2!" The scream escaped Chris' lips before he could stop himself. His body was surrounded in purplish energy as a form sprung out from within him and intercepted the blow. The thug blinked as his attack was halted and his crowbar bent.

"W-What…!?"

An emaciated figure held the weapon, slowly rising to its full height of six feet. Chris whimpered as he looked at This Corrosion, the humanoid phantom with a pale lavender face, two small circles for eyes colored a bloody crimson and lips turned down into an open mouthed frown showing cracked teeth. Its body was covered in a porcelain-like material the same color as his face, wrapping around the top of the skull before going down the back of the head, the neck and the spine before wrapping around the waist. The rest of his body was colored in dirty gray white, cracks slowly spreading through his chest and arms.

"KUUUUU!" 「This Corrosion 」groaned out as the arm holding the crowbar cracked further, then broke completely. Like glass, the arm fell to the floor and crimson red mist started to pour out of its body. The mist wrapped itself around the arm of the dirty man-

"Gh-Ghyah!" The scream was guttural as he stepped back and dropped the crowbar. The man looked at his hand, the skin slowly peeling away to reveal red raw meat. Blood started drenching the floor as the dirty skin of his arm was surrounded by the mist and wasted away. The clothes themselves started to fall apart, at a much slower pace than the skin had as the hand of thug was showing bone.

"T-This guy is a cape!" The thug in the middle trembled, falling on his bottom as he watched his companion get eaten away. The other man glared at the fallen Chris and screamed.

"Die! Die!" He charged, scaring Chris as he brought his hands up and was stabbed through his forearm.

"Argh!" Chris howled, whimpering as the knife was ripped out of his flesh and stabbed again into his shoulder. "This Corrosion!"

"Fuck you! Fuck you! Fuck you!" The stabbing thug roared as his face was splattered red. He brought his knife up, looking down at the sobbing Chris who was covered in stab wounds and cuts. "Di-! Ghragh!"

His words were cut off as 「This Corrosion 」enveloped the assailant in mist, making him scream in agony as his body started to be consumed. The middle thug crawled back, looking as his two companion screamed and howl. The first one had already lost all of his skin, his arms being nothing but bones held together by the last flecks of tendons and cloth. His face was red and his eyes were gone, as he screamed and screamed, until even that was taken away as his vocal cords disappeared. The second victim of this attack was underway, already his right eye becoming nothing but red mush and tongue looking as if it had been bitten off.

Chris gasped as he got to his feet, wincing and bending over to stop the pain from all the stabs on his body. He looked at himself, seeing his shirt drenched red. He tried to raise his left arm up, but it barely moved and he whimpered at the sharp pain. He looked at the final thug, who was hyperventilating. He squinted his eyes as he saw the mist closing on him.

"Can you see it…?" Chris asked slowly, "Are you a Stand user too?"

"W-What the fuck are you talking about!?" The dirty man glared at Chris. "You fucking assh-ghragh! No! No! What are you doing to me, let me go!"

Chris didn't answer, as he looked at the final thug be eaten away by 「This Corrosion 」. Chris looked at the skin disappearing, at the blood dripping on the floor. He payed attention as the tendons became undone and as the screams reached a loud crescendo. The earlier smell of musk and sweat tipped in favor of gore as the metallic smell made him almost choke. The loud noises of splattering blood painting the floor further red. The breast shrunk as she screamed, begging at him to stop. He looked at her face, at Jess's horrified and pain filled expression.

Chris ignored the other man that had fallen, tossing and turning in the last dregs of life. He walked over the stained cover, looking at his lovely Jess as her beautiful skin was gone and replaced with meat and red tendons. Her eyes were nothing but empty sockets, her hair shortening until nothing but the scalp of her head was left, revealing bone.

The heart that was supposed to be his, the one he had won over with his charm and gifts stopped and began to disappear under 「This Corrosion 」's powers. With that, Jess stopped moving, her life coming to an end. He fell on his knees-

And laughed.

"...I'm so sorry Jess...I'm so sorry…!" He looked up at the night sky and blinked, frowning for a moment as the smell of gore and garbage assaulted his nose. He stared down at the three bodies surrounding him, letting a shaky breath escape him. "Ah...I...I…"

"Hmm, how bothersome to see you like this. Chris Eldritch."

Chris flinched. Looking to his right he saw a dark figure under the shadows of a building. The dark figure started to approach, and Chris quickly got to his feet. He started to step back as the shadowy figure walked closer to him.

"W-Who are you…!?"

"I? I am no one, just a 「Man Who Sold The World」, there's no need to worry Chris Eldritch. I'm simply curious to see how much you have improved. I wish to see your growth."

"M-My growth…?" Chris frowned, holding his tight chest. He felt short on breath, an ominous feeling pressing down on him. It was too much to bear, he couldn't breathe and his vision was starting to go black. He turned around, he needed to get away. He took the first step and immediately fell, tripping over the dead body of one of the thugs. Falling face first, he screamed at the cold sensation that ran up his head as he scrunched his nose. He held his bleeding nose, whirling around as the footsteps from the shadowy man. He growled.

"「This Corrosion 」"

The Stand turned slowly towards the dark man, the red mist still escaping through his broken arm. "Kuuuu!" The Stand growled and moved forward, launching a punch with its other arm.

"Annoying." The dark man sighed. Blue energy surrounded the man and a figure appeared behind him. He grunted and the figure charged forward, meeting 「This Corrosion 」with a punch of his own. The attacks met and 「This Corrosion 」's arm broke, plumes of red mist escaping and wrapping around the shadowy Stand. The shadowy man flinched as he went stiff.

Chris felt a manic giggle escape him. "I got you…! 「This Corrosion 」's power will eat you alive! I don't want to kill anymore! B-But I won't let you hurt me!"

The shadowy man took a step back, looking at his body as his clothes were being eaten away. "Tsk, indeed, your Stand has evolved...hasn't it Chris Eldritch!?"

He breathed hard as 「This Corrosion 」continued eating away the ominous man. "Act 2...that's what happened...「This Corrosion 」evolved, but I lost control...I can't control it anymore…!"

"I see." Chris eyes widened, looking behind to see the Man in shadows standing there with his hands in his pocket. When did he move!? Chris' mind was going into overdrive as his Stand stayed attacking the previous spot. The Man glared at Chris with venom, an overwhelming pressure stabbing into Chris. "How disappointing...I had expected that you would at least make it up to Act 3…"

"W-Wh-guagh!?" Chris couldn't even get his words out; the air in his lungs were knocked out of his body. Drool and spit flew out of his mouth, as the gloved hand of the Man's Stand buried a fist into his stomach. The Stand disappeared and Chris fell to his knees, then collapsed face first. He was saved from the fate of face planting on the floor once more thanks to the Man, who grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt.

"Now, let me see your growth." Chris whimpered, feeling his shirt be ripped opened and roughly held down. He winced as his stab wounds were aggravated by the strong hand holding his sides. He felt rough fingers on his neck, brushing against the 「Mark 」that had appeared there a few weeks ago. He gasped when that very spot was grabbed in a vice grip.

"Ghra-! P-Please...let me go!"

The grip tightened and Chris heard a growl so inhuman and menacing that he felt his heart skip a beat. He didn't dare move, looking pointedly at the floor and gasping at the hold the Man had him in.

"How utterly pathetic Chris Eldritch, you could only rise to the number of 155? I had expected a sinner like yourself would be able to grow beyond this. You even managed to acquire an Act 2...yet you have such a lowly 「Number of the Beast 」... by this point I'm starting to lose hope, I might in fact have to rely on that priest getting here to motivate everyone to commit sins. How annoying." The grip lessened and Chris let out a sigh of relief. "In order to achieve my goals and circumvent the「Heaven」of that fanatical priest, I require for a true sinner to achieve「The Number of the Beast 」. Hrm…"

Chris looked up at the Man standing above him. He could almost see a contemplative look from his darkened face. He knew it would be stupid, he knew that he should've stayed silent. But he had to ask-

"W-Will you let me go?"

"Hm?" The Man looked down at him and frowned. Chris felt his heart drop at the hostility emanating from him. "No, of course not. A murderer like you cannot be allowed to go free."

Chris let out a shaky breath as his vision started to darken. "P-Please…!"

"Oh, you truly are a sinner...but of the most pathetic kind. Begging in such a manner? Isn't that what your wife begged as well? Chris Eldritch?"

Chris couldn't hold it anymore, falling on his back and trying to crawl away as he cried. "Please don't kill me! Please don't kill me! Please don't kill me! 「This Corrosion 」! Come to me, protect me! Kill him! Kill him!"

"Oh? What a distasteful display. But you need not worry Chris Eldritch, for you won't die." At this the begging man stopped crawling, even 「This Corrosion 」stopped its movement. Chris looked back, his eyes hopeful.

"R-Really…?"

The Man stepped forward, the moonlight dispersing the shadows on his aged mouth. He smiled. "Of course, but you will wish for death after I'm done with you."

Chris froze, "Ah…!"

"「The Man Who Sold The World 」!"

Chris Eldritch tried to turn away and run, just like he had been doing all this time. But he couldn't, for he lacked a body.

He couldn't see in the vast blackness that dominated his being.

He had become a void.

He became nothing.