Power Corrupts & Corruption is Power

There is a force of corruption in your world. For as long as you have lived, you have been warned of it, how it robs people of their free will and makes them monsters. However, you have also learned that these monsters are pretty powerful, and that is something you have grown to covet... Fascinated, you studied in secret for years, trying to trace the origins of the corrupting influence and whether anyone succeeded in subduing it. You find a lot of stories about it being "purged" by those who are "pure of heart" or "pure of soul" or "pure of whatever." And then, finally, you find something you would call a more scientific account, an early study on the subject. It describes this "corruption" as a natural force unto itself, and cites multiple examples of how trying to stop a force of nature ends frequently in catastrophe. It further gives examples of how that which can adapt to the rigors of natural forces come out stronger. While it never claims one can tame or control the corruption, it lays out a framework of thought that might reveal a way. After finishing this lengthy tome of study, you determine that it should be possible to acclimate yourself, a bit at a time, until all that power is yours... Of course, you could be completely wrong about that and just end up becoming another mutated, mindless monstrosity, but "fortune favors the bold," right? (Make sure to keep the Memory updated with any transformations you experience.)