I never expected my journey to go like this. this certainly wasn't the start I had hoped for. when I made my final decision to set out I never expected to get caught and I certainly never wanted such a thing to ever happen to me since it brought nothing but pain and misery to myself and those around me. though it sucked it was a far more intriguing start to an epic adventure than what people normally go through.
now that the prelude was out of the way my real Adventure can begin because now I am not alone on this Journey. I have just recruited my first subordinate. By just looking at him I knew that Howell was a strong fighter. I did find it odd that this injured man that we found in the middle of the sea didn't care about returning home but instead decided to try his luck with me.
Though this was strange to me I honestly didn't care either. To each their own I myself have a lot of problems to deal with. The places I'm going mostly aren't on any map. I'll have to be recruiting people with a death wish or a love for adventure as deep as I. The possibility of danger I would be facing is certain so having a few well skilled fighters by my side is a no-brainer.
Aside from just Fighters, I will also need a doctor, a cook, engineer, and so much more. I can fit the role of Navigator, geology expert, and finance manager but it would still be silly of me to try and do everything. but all that is a problem for future Nathaniel.
Present-day Nathaniel's biggest problem is finding land and finding a replacement for his arm. I wasn't too worried about getting a new arm since in this world automail existed. Automail is mechanical limbs built by specialized engineers who have some background in medical knowledge. They are made to help the crippled regain their former lives. Finding someone with automail equipped is not uncommon. Accidents happen all the time both big and small. There's even many people in the military with automail equipped.
Automobile comes in various different kinds the customization options are nearly Limitless. There is a huge multibillion-dollar market for automobile. Though this is true there are also separate classes of automail. There is civilian, civil Service, military, and a Fourth Kind that is just black market jailbreak automail that contains illegal modifications or hidden weaponry.
Nathaniel wanted a military grade automail but those were hard to come by unless you knew the right people. Which he did but he was unwilling to crawl back to Gregory to ask for a replacement arm practically immediately after getting shipped off. The awkwardness of the conversation alone would kill him.
He could easily get a civilian use automail and then find, someone, to modify it but even then he did not have high expectations for its shelf life with the life he is currently living.
The problems that came with losing on arm we're great but I brought this onto myself. I failed to deal with my own demons bringing ruin on to others. This is my cross to bear, though it's inconvenient at least it's manageable.
On the ship I spent a bit of time tending to Howell's wounds. I removed his dirty bandages and wash them with water before drying and placing them back on. There was little else I could do for the man since I was no medical expert and our resources on this ship where limited. With my special abilities I presumed that I could probably aid in his healing. But I have not tried such a thing before so attempting to do so now may do more harm than any good.
Honestly I am just beginning to realize how little I have experimented with my abilities. Between running and dealing with my own personal demons I barely did anything with them. This realization made me want to practice while I can but it's also made me aware of another problem.
I have just accepted Howell as my crewmate but I also don't know how he would react to me being a legacy holder. He might persecute me or just become terrified of me I did not know how he would react. I knew June already knew what I was and she seemed fine with it. Though I did not know if she bared the curse as well or was a Legacy holder like myself because while she beat me I have next to no memories of the event.
But since she was fine with who I was I was in turn fine with her eating people so long as she didn't eat parts of me again.
As the day drew on I began needing to know the answers to these questions I decided to reveal what I was to howl in order to gauge his response. This Legacy was a part of me now hiding it was near impossible so I needed people who were accepting of who I am and what I was.
I was tending to Howell's wounds in the shack. His wounds looked terrible, but they were a nice shade of red and pink. There was no inflammation so he was on the right track to healing.
I sat next to Howell and this is where I began to reveal parts of myself. I hoped for the best since Howell seemed like a good man. But even the best of men can fall short and become unwilling to accept other people.
"You're healing up quite nicely Howell. Your rate of recovery is quite impressive keep this up and you'll be up and about in no time".
Howell displayed a vigor like no other even despite his wounds. With a powerful baritone voice Howell said," this tis but a scratch I've had worse. look here see this scar on my lower right side. It was left on me after I failed to notice a surprise attack by a powerful foe in time. He cleaved halfway through my body and nearly cut me in two.
If any other man took that blow I'm sure they'd be dead. I'm sure I would have died too if it weren't for my thick and sturdy body. That was during my younger years but it was still one of the hardest battles of my life. I came incredibly close to death that day. But I held firm despite my injuries and came back to fight another day".
Nathaniel was astonished by the story but what was even more awestruck by the mortal wound Howell had the audacity to just call a scratch. On the lower left side of Howells abdomen was a cluster of scar tissue that spread up towards his back. The sight of this injury sent chills throughout Nathaniel's body. His heart thumped harder as the only thing Nathaniel could compart this wound to was the state of his own body after Zepher tortured him.
There wasn't smooth skin just hardened contorted flesh. Fused with surgical scars that created an abstract work of horror that made you wonder what miracle was performed that day to allow this man to continue to draw breath on this Earth.
With rushed breath I fumbled the words, "What kind of attack could have did this to you? The scar is longer than my arm and -, just how?".
Nathaniel was truly struggling to comprehend the enigma that was before him with increasingly greater difficulty when Howell placed his hand on Nathaniel's shoulder. Howell's gesture was followed by a worm smile and a friendly face. "its alright these are old scars they don't hurt as much anymore".
Seeing Howell's calm demeanor Nathaniel wanted to punch himself for letting himself get frazzled by such a thing. Taking one last look Nathaniel scanned Howell's body now seeing the peppering of old would that pain has long faded from yet still remained. He then looked down at his own skin. It was smoother then ever before all the scars where gone yet the pain still remained. 'Those are old scars', Nathanial said to himself, 'those are old scars'.
Centering himself Nathaniel continued. "My word you have lived quite an exciting life and going by the number of Old Wounds I can see you've been through quite a a few battles. By that logic can I also assume that you are an educated man Mr. Howell".
"If you're asking me if I know how to read then yes. I do enjoy a good story now and then, but I am not an overly educated man if that's what you're wondering".
"No, that's not what I was referring to at all. Book smarts can only go so far. I'm asking how well you are versed in the ways of the world".
Howell raised his eyebrow wondering what Nathaniel was getting at." I'm not sure what you mean please enlighten me".
Nathaniel continue to speak and surmised," this world is a big place. It is possibly even bigger and filled with more secrets than me and you could ever believe. There are things so beautiful it can leave you in a trance but this world also has a darker side to it. People are that side we have been living in the dark for a long time. So much so that it's the only thing that they can see. People see the darkness in others before anything else. This has led people to be fearful and people who are afraid of the dark cannot move forward and become ignorant to the truth hidden inside it. People do this for good reason. It's because there are things to fear in the dark and one of those things sits before you.".
Following those words Nathaniel's right-arm completely changed. His skin morphed into dark red scales that shined with the same metallic glint as his continuously elongating fingernails. His arm bulged in size as his muscles constricted and grew. on quick succession Nathaniel took his fingers and stabbed it into the palm of his hand. blood trickled out of the wound and then floated in the air without a drop hitting the floor. The blood revolved around Nathanial's hand he bended it to his will as he closely observed Howell's reaction.
Nathaniel focused to observe every little reaction on his face. But he was a bit shocked to see none. From what Nathaniel could surmise Howell wasn't simply hiding his emotions he laid them completely bare. With Nathaniel's quick wit he surmised that this level of reaction could only come from a high level of desensitization to the subject. This was a wealth of new knowledge for Nathaniel because it meant Howell had at one point been in such heavy contact with people like himself that he has become unfazed by those wielding the curse. This was strange to see he has taken such an unusual thing and normalized it in his mind.
Though Nathaniel saw this he still asked, " tell me Howell are you scared of the dark? ".
Howell didn't even lag behind with his answer he simply found this whole situation funny." this is what you wanted to talk to me about. do you think me superstitious and a paranoid like those who have never seen a real curse bearer in person. I have walked farther in the dark then you could possibly believe.
I have seen many people with the curse a lots of them are just normal folks who stumbled upon a relic by chance and now have to live in fear of what the future has in store for them. along with constant persecution by their fellow man. I judge not a person by the curse they wield but the heart they carry inside themselves. So you need not be scared of me, my friend. The only monster in this room is I, you are no monster what I see is what you truly are a man who I hope will become my friend".
Howell smiled with an intensity that shined as bright as his soul. Nathaniel found himself stunned by this Brilliance and was somewhat at a loss on what to do next. Nathaniel has been so used to dealing with scheming old men that someone like Howell is a like it throwing a curve ball at him. Though this was true Nathaniel was honestly glad his first assessments of Howell was correct Howell was a good man.
A tension that Nathaniel didn't even know he had was relieved from his shoulders. Without having to worry about Howell any longer Nathaniel drained his blood back into his body. His wound hissed as steam rose from his palm showing the signs of his rapid healing at work. The cut on his palm was an insignificant wound that closed up in less than a minute. As Nathaniel was healing Howell came out and said.
" Your suspicions of me while not needed was not groundless. I know you needed to protect yourself first above anything else. The life you must have lived because of your curse must not have been easy. But worry not my friend for I am here and I share a similar burden so you can cry in my arms if need be".
Nathaniel gave Howell an odd look as Howell reached for his things by his side. Howell pulled out a small knife from his stuff and pressed his blade against his skin. Though the knife was just sitting on the floor and contained no special properties about it besides it's a being made of iron. It still singed Howell's skin when it touched is flesh. His wrist was burned by the cold dagger. He didn't keep it there long but a burn mark was left there all the same. His skin still hissed as his flesh smoked like a cooked ham.
"See my friend there's no need to be on guard with me. We are the same and are stuck in the same boat both literally and metaphorically might I add". Howell chuckled at his own quip.
"So, you bear the curse as well this truly is a small world. Tell me is it from a relic or did you gain at from a legacy like me?".
Howell shifted a little at this question taking a second longer to answer than before" it is from a relic I interacted with the back quite a few years ago".
"Are you still in possession of this Relic?".
"No, that thing I turned into the kingdom ages ago. The only relic I have in my possession now is that shield".
Howell pointed to his shield by his side. This large round shield still shined as though it were new. But since it was in the hands of a real warrior like Howell that should be far from the case. there was no Nicks on the shield, no chipped paint, no scratches, or even any dents.
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Nathaniel did not know how this was possible unless he just got the shield refurbished but Nathaniel doubted that was the case. The Shield was mostly silver but had a strange styling that Nathaniel could not accurately place.
There appear to be A mix of copper-gold inlaid with the silver and upon a closer look Nathaniel could swear that's why this Shield that looked as though it were made of a single piece of iron was actually composited of countless tiny hexagons.
Nathaniel wanted to hold the shield in his hands but he was stopped by Howell.
" I would advise you against trying to use its abilities. Even if I did allow it which I am not you would just hurt yourself or end up accidentally destroying the entire ship. This shield is special to me it is my absolute favorite. It has companied me for many years. So, please understand why I refused for you to hold it".
Nathaniel nodded his head in understanding then backed away from the shield.
"Thank you my friend".
Curious Nathaniel ask, " why do you consistently calling me your friend. We barely even know each other for longer than a day so why do you keep saying that. Is it because I never told you my name if so let me apologize and correct that right away. my name is Nathaniel and the woman that pulled you out of the ocean her name is June. I don't know if she already told you her name but there you go for a second time just in case".
Howell responded, " I don't just call you my friend I call everyone I meet my friend because even if they aren't if I say it enough times and show enough enthusiasm then it just might become true".
"That's an odd way to make friends but you are an odd fellow. Why do you want to become friends with everyone so badly. Not everyone you meet we'll make a good friend".
Howell sighed heavily flashes of his life ran by before he replied, " answering that is not easy it requires you to know my life story of which itself is not something easy for me to drudge up.".
"Alright, then I guess we'll save that story for a later time".
Nathaniel and Howell both had a nice discussion for a bit longer. Nathaniel eventually left Howell to rest in the room alone. Outside the shack onto the deck, Nathaniel saw June fishing. Though June messed up when she sailed out to sea with no provisions on the ship or doing something as basic as remembering which direction you set sail in. The two still lucked out when they discovered that the boat belong to a fisherman. There was fishing rods, plenty of hooks , a net and some other stuff. This allowed them to not go hungry out on sea.
Nathaniel left June to her own devices while he focused on himself. He had put off not mastering his abilities long enough. It was time to find out what he could do. On the deck of the ship, Nathaniel cut into his palm again. Nathaniel's blood flowed out it took shape to his will and became a sword. this blood sword hardened and seem to suck in the light. Parts of it refracted off the Sun but weren't too shiny which Nathaniel was fine with. Nathaniel took a few practice swings and found out that the blood sword was light in his hands but the true weight of the weapon was something jaw-dropping. with only a few liters of his blood Nathaniel crafted a weapon weighing hundreds of pounds.
Nathaniel didn't know why his blood was so heavy or how even his own body function anymore. In truth Nathaniel wasn't even sure if he needed blood in his body to live anymore. Intrigued by this thought Nathaniel wanted to see how far he could take this and begun to drain his body of as much of his blood as possible. Bood erupted from Nathaniel palm like a water hose.
It was unnerving for Nathaniel to see this much of his own blood but he pushed through and continued with the experiment. The blood he released was enormous it congealed into a blob that floated in front of him. The more he release the bigger the blob grew which only serve to surprise and dumbfound him. Nathaniel was like this because the amount of blood he released was most definitely more then his body could have or should have been able to retain.
The blood ball was larger than himself but Nathaniel stopped producing more out of sheer worried for his life and because he started to discover the increasing demand of stamina as such an action required. To create this ball of blood that was as large as his own body took what Nathaniel could surmise was the equivalent energy to complete a 1-mile run full sprint without pause. it wasn't much of a drain in Nathaniel's eyes.
The most Troublesome thing that about Nathaniel's Discovery was his body continuously producing more blood at an absurdly fast rate to resupply what it had lost. This was Troublesome because this Blood production consumes stamina this increase in stamina meant that Nathaniel would get hungrier faster and would require more food to satisfy himself.
After finding this out the ever-growing curse of hunger that people seem to suffer through makes a lot of sense because normal amounts of food alone will not be enough to replenish what they had lost. It may even reach a point that no amount of food could satisfy a person anymore.
This discovery was invaluable because it meant that Nathaniel truly had to limit how often or switch up the way he uses his abilities for something more energy efficient. Nathaniel never noticed this stamina drain before because he used his abilities in small amounts.
Going by that logic Nathaniel thought of how he could go about this. It took him a minutes before Nathaniel came to a satisfying answer. instead of creating weapons of blood all the time. He would instead coat already existing weapons in his blood amplifying their effectiveness.
With that thought in the mind Nathaniel Drew out the sword he took from his brothers stash that was equipped on his hip and a coat that his blood on it. The blade look like he had just hacked a man apart with it. Nathaniel was fine with that aesthetic a weapon was used to kill not to be a toy and Nathaniel plan to use it for that intended purpose in order to protect himself.
Nathaniel swung his sword around in a practiced motions. Nathaniel was no amateur with a blade his real father had trained him in the usage of many weapons. These skills stayed with him throughout these years and through these 50-plus years he has been alive he has continued the practice just as hard using the same methods that his father instilled into him.
Nathaniel went through the motions as he swung his sword around on the ship. He was getting into the groove of things as he was trying to figure out how to effectively utilize both his weapon and other skills simultaneously.
Nathaniel practiced with a phantom opponent that he made in his mind. Hee imagined their dual vividly this was done quite easily because he had fought this person before.
Nathaniel's blade whistled in the air as he imagine it clashing against the blade of an intimidating foe. Their blades grinded against each others ringing in the air. Their duel was not a friendly one each strike was aim to kill each strike called for blood.
Nathaniel was Nimble as he fought against this shadow of a man. His sword flashed as he dance with the wind. Nathaniel came in like a whirlwind forcing his opponent on the defensive. But the shadows defense was strong. It blocked and countered everyone Nathaniel blows before kicking him in the gut forcing Nathaniel back 3 steps.
Nathaniel did not falter he pressed on coming in hard as he met each blow with equal ferocity. Nathaniel appear to be fighting this man as an equal but only he truly knew the gap between the two. The shadow was holding back he could sense it in his blade. The shadow could strike harder, move faster than him, endure longer. This was not a fight this was nothing but teasing a child
This filled Nathaniel's heart with rage because he did not want this he wanted to be seen as an equal to fight as an equal. He urged his body to move on, to push forward, to give everything it got and more. Nathaniel's muscles tightened all throughout his body. Each tendon was steel and they exploded with power. The whistling clash became a rumble of cannon fire.
Their blades shook the air as Nathaniel came at the shadow harder and faster than before. His steps cracked the wood of the deck as he fought. His eyes glowed with a fire that ignited inside him. His Crimson orbs left streaks in the air as he tracked all of the shadows movements. The remnant blood on Nathaniel's blade coiled as it moved in tandem with his blazing heart.
As Nathaniel fought all the blood on Nathaniel's blade pulled together and clung to the edge of the blade. The blood glowed with the same energy found in Nathaniel's Crimson eyes. Nathaniel stood his ground against this Goliath's shadow. His thoughts where simple because he thought only on how to win.
For years his blade never reached the body of the shadow in front of him but now it shall. Nathaniel's blood visibly throbbed with energy and sparked to life. He rose his sword high into the air and brought it down with tremendous might. The energy contained in Nathaniel's blood shot forth out towards the body of the shadow in a vertical wave. This attack threatened to destroy everything in its path as it was sent forward. This attack was launched to close the shadow had no place to run in time to avoid it.
This was exactly what Nathaniel wanted this was what he dreamed about for his blade to finally reach. With hope and anticipation Nathaniel watched as his dream was dashed. The shadow couldn't avoid it but it didn't need to. It met Nathaniel's attack head on. The shadow's blade rose just as high as Nathaniel and came crashing down onto the blood wave.
Just like parting water the wave split in two separate pieces not harming the shadow at all. The two separate blood waves continued onward as Nathaniel crumpled to his knees. The shadows blade had met its mark. It split Nathaniel down the middle in two. The battle was over and the shadow had won. Nathaniel breathed heavily as a bit of perspiration transpired onto his skin. Though he had lost Nathaniel was not heartbroken by it.
It was just another loss among the countless others over the years. Nathaniel was just happy that this immovable wall that he had been sparring with for 50 years still had some new tricks. On the ground, Nathaniel looked up in admiration at the fading shadow that was his father.
Defeat was a humbling experience because it kept Nathaniel from getting cocky but most of all it allowed Nathaniel to learn from it. Nathaniel looked at his sword and gazed deeply at it. He looked past the blood and look towards what was inside. There was an energy in his blood like none other it wasn't electricity but something far more potent. Time will tell what all this means and how much of its secrets he will unlock.
As Nathaniel was deep in thought he heard clapping behind him. Turning around he saw it was June who was pleased by the show.
"Encore, encore, do it again. you destroyed the ship a little but that was fun to watch. It was almost as though you are fighting against a real person. Your acting skills are superb where'd you learn to do that anyway. "
Nathaniel explained to June," what I did was just a little Shadow fighting it's nothing spectacular. Any person can do it, it just takes a little focus and dedication. It helps you train but it's best to imagine fighting against people you've faced before so you're imagination doesn't run wild allowing you to spar in a more realistic fashion. Get a hang of the skill and your visions become more realistic".
" Well, that sounds lame why don't you just fight against a real person instead? ".
" That's because I don't always have a real opponent to fight.".
" I'm here you can fight me".
" No, I'm not going to fight you.".
"Why not who else you going to fight the air can't be that interest an opponent"
" I'm not going to fight you because I am currently crippled. I don't know if you know this but I am currently missing an arm because someone ate it. My fighting capabilities have declined significantly and will stay that way till I can reach a town with an automobile shop. I'm using this time to learn more about my legacy and how to better utilize it"
June rolled her eyes, "ugh, do you really have to keep bringing that up I already apologized for it.".
" I'll stop bringing it up when it stops being true and you learn that eating me is bad very, very bad. if you didn't stop me from hurting all those people and technically save my life you do realize I would be trying to kill you right now. I forgave the arm thing because of that and even after you ate it I'm still in your debt. So I am willing to be friends with you cannibal who ate my arm or not".
June seemed to perk up after hearing this and asked, " since you're still in my debt can I ask that you stop bringing up the arm thing and completely forgive me out right". June pressed her palms together in a prayer of hope.
Without an ounce of hesitation, Nathaniel replied, "No!".
June let out a sad sigh as Nathaniel went back to the still floating blob of his own blood to practice more. As Nathaniel continue to practice he discovered that his blood ability contain a lot of Versatility. His blood can easily absorb and disburse all kinds of impact damage, piercing, and slashing. he didn't know how well it handled with the elements but when he sends a blob of blood into the water it didn't just disperse. He found that he could make his blood hydrophobic and completely unmixable with the water if he so wished it.
Other tests showed that the rate at which she healed depended on the severity of the wounds. it was currently unknown to him if he could speed up this process.
As for the durability of the blood when the hardened Nathaniel could not accurately analyze this. He struck his hardened blood with his sword but he was unsure if he was too weak or his blood was too malleable.
Moving on from that Nathaniel focused on changing his blood properties. He can make his blood acidic pretty easily. He did this mostly because it was easy to observe as the blood ate away at a piece of wood. He found out that he could change the intensity of the acid but you did not know how high it could go and was incapable of making it go past a certain point. he did not know if it was the limits of his ability or the limit of what he could bring out of it.
Moving on from this Nathaniel finally went to try something he found quite interesting what he heard it from his brother. He wanted to try and control other living beings. Since Nathaniel was no sadist he just caught some fish and use those as experiment subjects.
The fish objected but Nathaniel insisted too much. after catching the fish Nathaniel waved his arms around expecting the fish to bend to his will. for a moment he thought he had it but it turned out to be just the fishes death throes from its being unable to breathe out of water.
Thinking he was going about it the wrong way Nathaniel tried controlling the fish's blood instead. He focused his mind on the fish's blood expecting to form some kind of mental connection. It was met with the same result.
So this time he tried drinking the fishes blood, touching it, nibbling on it while it was still alive, carry pieces of it around, and attempted to do a weird ritual that he came up with on the spot but there was still no effect.
Nathaniel figured out that he was doing something wrong or his brother gave him false information decided to do things a bit differently. Instead of controlling the fishes blood he injected his own into the fish. once he did Nathaniel saw a change. His blood didn't just spread is dominated every part of this fish it was like a disease that started slowly but once it got going it's steamrolled forward at a ridiculous pace.
The fish could only provide a little resistance to what was happening to it. Before long the fish was his and he meant that in a literal sense. Nathaniel felt connected to this fish there were many fish in the sea and there were many like it but this was his fish.
Nathaniel knew everything about this fish. he couldn't really tell you how he knew but he did he knew of every disease this fish has. he could tell how tired it was, feel its emotions, he could communicate with the fish as well. yes, when other people talk to fishes they are crazy but not Nathaniel.
because Nathaniel knew everything about the fishes biology immediately upon integration he didn't need to be a biology specialist to do what he was going to do. Copying the fishes anatomy he created another eye on the fish's back. it took a few minutes for him to connect the brain and the eye together but it worked. Nathaniel has messed with the creations of God and created a fish with three eyes.
not satisfied with this Nathaniel created more eyes on the fish but eventually found a limit. unless he used his own blood as a fuel source the birthing of additional limbs was like a cancer for whatever creature he was experimenting on. In addition to this if he did not make the correct changes to the rest of the body any new additions would eventually fail. Nathaniel discovered this because even though the fish experimented with had now fifty eyes all over its body It could only see out of four of them. It's small brain could not handle that many additional eyes.
The fish looked disgusting to look but he persevered and continued forward. Nathaniel mess with its anatomy further and tried to turn the fishes fins into working legs. This was an extreme failure because Nathaniel was copy his own body's Anatomy and applying them to a fish. The limbs didn't probably work and the creature looked horrible. Nathaniel theorize that this might have worked but he lacked for a better part of the word enough material to work with.
From what Nathaniel could tell his blood was the driving force for any change that he desired it was the fuel for everything. But the amount of material and quality that he is altering also must be considered. Meaning it doesn't matter if what he is altering is lacking a specific trait because Nathaniel can expend more energy to supplement the change. A body with the right traits makes the alterations easier and cheaper. To simplify Nathaniel can turn a fish solid gold and give it diamond teeth but the energy and time required to do that is not worth what he gets back in exchange.
With this fish done serving its purpose Nathaniel killed it and threw its body into the ocean where he then fished out another eager and willing subject. This time Nathaniel tried altering the fishes organs to allow it to breathe on land. This was another horrible failure. He met the same problem as he did with the first fish he simply did not know enough to make the correct changes.
Nathaniel tried altering the brains of fish to make them more like his own needless to say it was a failure. seeing as big changes were all met with failure Nathaniel decided to keep things small. he changed the color of the fish making it go from Blue to a beautiful gold. He made the fishes scales harder and altered its teeth.
The change was kind of bizzare to watch since old teeth and scales had to fall off to be replaced by new ones but at least the changes were quick. His blood appear to aid in the rapid evolution of everything. He could aim the evolution of anything he wanted in any direction he wanted. Needless to say this ability was complete and utterly broken.
It was then Nathaniel discovered Flintwood was right when he said the sea doesn't hold back any of its gifts but that doesn't mean you shouldn't fear its depths. Still Nathaniel took this moment to enjoy himself and bask in the feeling of his power. Wanting to know a bit more about his ability Nathaniel took control of another fish and sent it out to swim away as far from him as possible. The fish did just that it swam away from Nathaniel at a rapid pace.
Nathaniel felt his connection with the fish grow fainter as a distance increase between them. After a certain point Nathaniel felt the connection snap. Though this happened Nathaniel felt that it was only the mental connection between him and the fish that severed. Meaning that Nathaniel couldn't give any orders to the fish at a long distance away or alter its body. But the creature in question will still be under his control and follow his last orders to the end.
Since there was no connection between him and the fish. The fish will keep swimming away from Nathaniel forever until It receives new orders or dies. Nathaniel could even sense where this fish was at all times regardless of distance. It was a vague sense but he could do it. but the ability was currently useless since he could no longer interact with the fish even if he could chase it down. after all this experimenting Nathaniel came to a single conclusion.
"I'm strong".
This statement was entirely true. Nathaniel is strong if he wanted to he could create an army of Abominations similar to the monstrosity that Flintwood almost released into the prison. The versatile uses of his own blood allowed him to be ready for almost any situation. His blood was not only acidic but it could change its properties depending on his will and creativity. In addition to this Nathaniel could control the bodies of his opponents if he manages to infect them with his blood.
All these things indeed made Nathaniel strong. But he is not the only one like this. There are people in the world who have had similar abilities far longer than Nathaniel. there are people who can crush Nathaniel even without them. There is a big wide world out there beyond the horizon and nathaniel was about to discover it.