Corruption is not a mortal force. It isn’t entropy, indifference or apathy, nor is it mere cruelty, hatred or malice. To hunters who have sworn themselves to the Vigil, Corruption is thought of as a black flame. It burns downward, pushing into the darkness below, and tunneling into the worst aspects of humanity to shine its fetid light on them. It is not merely a darkness, but a living well of horrors that is beyond the monsters that hunters are supposed to fight. It is the stuff that legends are made of… and those legends are always cautionary tales.

One of the most visible forms of this Corruption, according to some hunters, are slashers. These monsters who emerged from a human skin to become something else are primary examples of this black flame, or Dark Vigil as some on the fringes of the community have come to call it (implying that slashers have some greater purpose, akin to hunters, which is a sentiment that’s started more than one brawl among those who keep the Vigil). However, another example of this Corruption are so-called tainted places, which are seen by some who study this phenomenon as pockets of crude oil; cysts where these dark energies coalesce until it warps the very environment around them.

When Corruption touches parts of the mortal world, it can leave a residue on those places. While most wish to purify anything that has touched Corruption (typically with fire, prayer and high-yield amounts of radiation), there are others who see these tainted things as potential tools in the fight against the things that lurk in the shadows of the world. These hunters, seen as misguided by some and insane by others, believe that they can wield these tainted tools against monsters without succumbing to the Corruption that lurks inside of them.

Most who try fail. Worse, by trying, they only add to the Legend of these items, which is what lends their Corruption its power.

Released: 28th February 2026 Pages: 29

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