DARAK'S POV

"Welcome home, Darak! O, almighty phantom of darkness!" I shouted, letting my voice echo through my domain as I rose from my stance, crackling my bones as I welcomed myself back to this world. I took a long breath as I started recalling the memories of a long-forgotten past; our race was monsters that consumed our prey to become stronger, we were born from darkness in the deepest depths, or the abyss as humans called it.

Because we were cannibalistic, many of us didn't survive, and soon our race came to near extinction. I, who was sealed and longed to be free, came up with a plan to set myself free. I severed a part of my soul and sent it to the underworld; soon the soul entered the gate of incarnation and reincarnated as a human boy named 'Atreus Eastel'.

Soon he reached the age of ten and I started calling him to my location through the soul connection. I waited and waited for the boy to arrive, and finally, he did in an unconscious state with a sword stuck in his heart.

I hurried to save him as I seeped into his unconscious body, ripped the sword off his chest, then threw it away, and commenced the soul merge. Yet, I failed. We didn't completely merge because he was unconscious and severely damaged, forcing me to sacrifice my remaining strength to help him recover, which took two years.

Then I felt conflicted as happiness came washing over me. Hatred and rage surged through my veins as my human memories came rolling in. Not the joy of defeating a stronger foe that we only knew as monsters, but the joy of having family and ones who cared about me—an impossible concept to monsters who hardly had any emotions.

Then, my rage overtook me. I was just a human born with an illness called [Soul Decay], destined to die at an early age. Why was I betrayed? Why wouldn't they just leave me alone? Just why?

"I swear on the name of my race that I will strike fear into those who dare to harm me and any of my beloved ones."

"I vow to make those who betrayed and took my happiness from me regret coming into existence."

"I swear upon my being to be human only to those who value and love me, and a monster to those who try harming or even coming near them."

"I vow to let my darkness swallow anything coming between me and my revenge."

I made my vows and then called back my domain. It was the [Absolute Darkness] ability, one I was very familiar with. The darkness started shrinking as it closed in and encompassed my body, soon it seeped back inside completely. I stood on the tree branch where I slept, the sun rising across the horizon, casting its rays of light across the forest.

With a yawn, I called my status page. My phantom abilities should show up as they were meant to be. Ability descriptions that I was aware of were hidden now; I could easily see them again if I wanted by focusing on the desired ability.

[Name: Arteus]

[Health:61/100]

[Food:17/20]

[Class: Hybrid Predator]

[Level: 1 | Exp: 5/20]

[Dark Matter: 50 | Dark Energy: 30/30]

[Strength: 36 | Dexterity: 17 | Heal: 20 | Darkness: 5]

[Ability Points: 0 | Attribute Points: 0 | Skill Points: 0]

Base abilities:

Enhanced Senses - (Max)

Mindevour - (Max)

Regeneration - (Level 1)

Phantom Form - (Level 1)

Shift - (Level 1)

-Allows you to imitate the form of a creature you ate using [Predation]

+Manual Trigger

Predation - (Max)

-Allows you to devour 10% of a prey's total stats

-Increases [Dark Matter]

Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

+Manual Trigger

+Trigger Condition(s):

+The prey must be devoured entirely

+The prey must be 5 levels ahead to consume its stats

Absolute Darkness - (Level 1)

-Allows you to release your domain

-Traps anyone within 100 meters and prevents intruders

+Manual Trigger

Class Skills:

Narco - (Unlock: Level 10)

Hmm? Am I considered a human now? Frankly, I didn't know exactly. Maybe it displayed like that because the physical body belonged to my human counterpart, Atreus.

I dismissed my status and started going down the tree.

On my way down, I was looking for any birds too, and soon, I found a couple of crows. I killed both and ate one of them, earning 4 [Exp] in the process. I continued jumping from one branch to another till I landed on the ground.

Besides the kill [Exp], I had earned the crow form and 10 [Dark Matter], and through the memories I got from [Mindevour], I could now understand and talk bird language again. Besides that, I got a clearer image of this forest as well, and I knew that an orc village was the nearest place occupied by intelligent species far toward the east.

For abilities that required manual triggers, one could shout or call the ability name, and it would trigger if the conditions were met. I called [Shift], and my body shrank into a way smaller size compared to my human form, morphing into a crow in the process. It didn't take long, and the transformation was complete.

My body started expanding and growing larger thanks to the [Dark Matter]. I was now standing on the ground under the rags that were covering me entirely. I struggled a little bit to get myself free and attempted my first flight, at least since I had merged my human counterpart. I started running and flapping my wings, and then shortly, I jumped off the floor and rose toward the sky.

I was now gliding in the sky, scouting for kills to gain more [Exp]. As a start, I went for easy kills and soon found a snake about two meters in length. I charged down aiming at its head as it was slithering on a tree branch, I pinned its head with my claws and began to hit it with my sharp beak. After three hits, I severely injured the cobra, taking 26 damage in the process, dropping my [Health] to 35. With two more hits, I managed to kill it, and the notifications were pleasant this time as I leveled up.

(You've killed an adult level 13 cobra and gained 12 XP)

(You've leveled up!)

(You've earned 5 Attribute Points)

I dismissed the notifications and immediately allocated 3 [Attribute Points] to [Dexterity] and 2 to [Darkness]. After consuming the cobra, my [Dark Matter] increased by 30, reaching 90. Thanks to [Predation], I gained two stat points, which I invested in [Darkness], bringing my [Dark Energy] to fifty-four.

Several hours passed as I hunted, successfully taking down a level-six deer and a few other birds, including one eagle. Dealing with the eagle, which was seven levels above me, proved challenging. After removing its wings, I reverted to my human form and killed it, gaining four [Attribute Points] in the process.

Choosing not to utilize the [Attribute Points], I saved them for future use. With sunset approaching, I embarked on my final hunt for the night, transforming into my crow form. After circling the forest for a couple of hours, I identified a massive bear near the eastern side. It stood about seven feet tall and was likely at least level twenty. Recognizing the challenge it posed, I opted to ignore its presence for the time being.

As time progressed, I continued my observations, making my way toward the wolf pack to obtain a clearer understanding of their territory. Upon reaching my destination, I perched on a tree, attentively observing the pack's territory below.

The pack comprised forty wolves, with approximately twenty-two being large adults, and the remaining eighteen either young adults or little cubs. As night fell, I stayed vigilant, keenly watching their activities. Approximately two hours later, eleven wolves, including four large adults and seven younger ones, departed from their territory, presumably heading out to hunt. As time passed, and likely less than an hour later, the wolves returned, but some were missing.

One large adult and three younger ones were absent, and the remaining wolves appeared injured. Their condition was far from ideal; two young ones were limping, and one of the larger individuals seemed to have taken quite a beating. I took flight, searching for the missing wolves, and soon found them. The large one was being dragged by the bear I had spotted earlier, and the others were battered on the ground, though still alive.

I patiently waited for the bear to depart then I descended, assuming my cobra form, and swiftly killed the injured wolves, gaining two [Exp] from each. After disposing of the bodies in my domain, I returned to the pack's territory in my crow form. Finally, I settled down for sleep on a tree branch, unconcerned about form.