Sorry for lack of updates. Did you know that working at a lab takes a lot of time? Anyways, here is the chapter, however it’s a bit short today. I’ll update again soon… very soon… And no, don't worry: The main character will never fall back on his "hidden power in the form of another self/being" inside of him like in Bleach. I don't like that. At all.
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When the boy awoke, he was hit by an unbearable hunger. How to describe it? Insatiable would be the most accurate word, but even that could not explain the full gravity of this feeling. The toll of constant healing and stress came in the form of an empty stomach. The urge to eat was so great, he lost himself in a rampage, desperately seeking for food.
If he had seen himself, he would be more worried about his reckless actions rather than the mindless beast he became. The boy would have forced himself back into control, using the new-found resolve so deeply engraved in his heart to avoid moving farther into the forest. The intense thoughts based purely on instincts that had taken his body wanted nothing more than to devour, and the alluring smell of the resident creatures towards the center of the woods offered little argument to stop the berserk boy.
However, this was not the boy. Otis Farren was no longer the sentience in control at this very moment. Instead, something primal that had slept since he had gained power awoke. Caused by the boy's lack of food, and the fact that Otis's mind was no longer in a position to move his body, the strange being took it into it's own hands.
The child walked in a straight line into the dense thicket ahead, paying no heed to the trees and logs in the way, obliterating them with a simple kick or punch. His calm look belied his current true, feral outlook. Hands and legs bloody from now invisible wounds, the being extended multiple senses at once, something that the original owner of the body could not. Sweeping across the area around him, his powers spread out in waves, catching everything within a mile. About three-fourths of a mile to his right, he could sense a large creature standing still. It’s heart beat at a slightly faster rate to accommodate the rather bulky body.
Turning in the correct direction, the being exploded outwards, dashing towards his new prey. Unlike earlier, it was now hunting time. No longer did it crush everything in it’s path, and instead opted for fast yet quiet movements.
The boy landed behind a large tree trunk, peering at the monster with the eyes of a predator. The target’s posture largely resembled a dog, however it was as tall as a person when on it’s four legs. Although the posture was dog-like, it’s appearance was something else entirely. Grey, scaly skin coated it’s body, meeting halfway from the beast’s belly with thick armored plates. It’s tail was long and snake-like, easily spanning the length of the rest of it’s body. Sharp glowing eyes with a pinkish tint were placed above it’s massive tooth-ridden mouth. The plating that topped its body was riddled with holes of various sizes. However, they were not to be mistaken as wounds. The monster was aptly named Wizard Eater, as the gaping pits on its body sucked out magic from the air.
The being opened it’s mouth for the first time, and spoke two words quietly, so as not to alert the prey before he was finished.
“Ethereal Fires”
The boy’s arm grabbed at the air, and the area around his hands very slightly distorted. A strong smell of ethanol filled the air, and the skin and muscle on the hand tore itself off, slowly disintegrating. Intense heat waves expanded into the atmosphere, not escaping the monster’s sense. It turned towards the source, and was met by the scene of a human boy holding his hand as far away from the rest of his body as possible. No, it wasn’t a hand anymore: it was a rapidly shortening stump.
The boy had to hurry. Any more and the mana channels that stretched through his arm would burn away, dissipating the spell.
The invisible flames stopped eating away at the being’s body. The magic had already been launched.
A wave of heat so great the branches withered and the earth combusted slammed into the front half of the Wizard Eater, shearing it right off. The magic absorbing properties that made the monster so famous and avoided were nothing to the power of the fire. The ball of flames carved a hole through the forest, and continued onwards; vaporizing the terrain. The grass surrounding the clearing instantly burst into a colorful array of dancing inferno.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
Nothing could escape it, the pressure containing it to prevent it from harming its caster no longer restraining it.
The heat waned, and the fire suddenly disappeared, but the being was enraged.
By the time the fire had stopped, there was nothing salvageable left of his food.
There was no use. It would have to hunt manually; and it could feel the boy’s body getting heavier due to the strain of magic. It knew the magic, however efficient and well-crafted it was, would have extreme repercussions on the frail child. After all, simply using it caused such great damage to itself.
The being stopped to stare at the boy’s arm, before continuing onwards, farther into the great forest.
~+~
At first, the world was unsure what to think of the Six Warriors. They chose to remain silent and had little interaction with the public, they were quick to anger, and they had an obvious greed for power. In fact, they would seem the opposite of a stereotypical hero.
But despite all these worries, the Six Warriors were loved by the Humans, Elves, Dwarves, and Fairies. The higher tiered beings chose to remain silent, however the most powerful of creatures, the dragons, were enraged.
The Six Heroes, The Six Dragonslayers, the Six Saviours. That was how they were addressed by the masses of races with low magic powers.
The Six Monsters, The Six Savages, The Six Murderers. That was how they were addressed by the dragons.
They killed the monster that plagued their kind with fear, and proved that lower races weren’t always ‘weaker’.
What the public didn’t know was they had long given up their true race. Each absorbing one of the Aspects, they couldn’t even be called a dragon or a mortal. No, they were an entirely new species.
‘Draconians, perhaps?’ One of the warriors mused to himself. ‘No. That doesn’t sound quite right.’
He was sitting in his own home: A tower that reached high into the sky, but managed to stay hidden due to a constant cloaking magic. A magic of such scale would have required the resources of many kingdoms, however just him was enough.
After achieving the wish he so desired, he realized it wasn’t what he truly wanted. Firstly, there really wasn’t much to do. There was no one to fight, and no one he truly cared about either. In fact, the man didn’t even care for himself. After all, he knew what kind of person he was. There was also the paranoia that one day everything he had built up would be snatched away by one of his ‘comrades’. But the largest reason he was regretful was what he had lost to achieve this empty feeling. He sacrificed everything he knew and held dear, but received so little in return.
A scene from the past appeared in his mind. A picture of a life he had long forsaken.
A woman kneeled on the ground. A bloody child in her hands.
The more the warrior thought about it, the more he was pulled into that memory.
Suddenly, he was his past self. He stared at the woman in front of him, before looking down.
His hands were painted red.
The memory faded away, and so too did his feelings of doubt. He knew his answer.
“It wasn’t worth it…”
The great, invincible warrior fell to his knees, and wept for a path long passed.