The clinic lay in ruins, a stark contrast to its former state. The floor had been ripped apart, broken and splintered, the walls punctured through, crumbling dust.
Haruka and her well-intentioned, yet frantic assistant tended to two injured individuals. The gangster that had been on the brink of death, his bones snapped in two by the crushing weight of the Knight's boots, now exhibited a marked recovery, bearing a semblance of health.
Conversely, James, with most of his cheek covered in fresh bandages, and though being overzealously tended to by Inani, appeared shaken.
It was not only him, for every single person here was utterly unnerved by the presence emanating from the young man in the suit, terrified by his depthless eyes.
Well, one figure remained unperturbed.
Zhan Shen, the elderly butler, had a conflicted expression upon his face, and with a gaze focused upon his young master, exactly as he had done once before, he retreated. His face grew pensive as he settled himself to the side, taking the role of a silent observer.
Perhaps Miles himself should have been gripped by fear, by the realization that an entity, previously confined, had now been unleashed. The very moniker, the Beast Within, carried ominous implications, but... he wasn’t.
Such concerns seemed trivial, even paltry in comparison, and he could feel the Beast agreed.
How could they care? When control eluded the both of them? When an external force dared to usurp what had been rightfully theirs?
An abyssal fury burned within them, their wrath directed at the audacious human that had dared overstep its station.
Gazing upon the target of their ire, they let loose a frigid breath, and a cold calm settled over their seething rage. The exhaled air curled out like ethereal mist in winter twilight, and yes, inexplicably, the ambient temperature of the room plummeted by several degrees.
Collective will and concentration harmonized, harnessing the endless, formless fury, towards a singular purpose. Pure enmity aimed squarely at one target–the Marionette Core, the intrusive, invisible object supposedly vying to strip them of their autonomy.
Instantly, a spark of revelation flashed within Miles’ mind, one seemingly extrinsic to his own cognizance, dragged out from the dredges of a mind that was not entirely his own. It felt more alien… unnatural, even compared to the previous occurrence.
Ding!
[The user has achieved true sight. Skill: Magicae Aspectus - Uncommon unlocked.]
Abyssal eyes gleamed with awakened knowledge, and the two skills activated simultaneously, converging to unveil a new visual.
The once purely scarlet realm, solely highlighting systems of blood circulation and the inherent presence of beating hearts, now bore a faint line of crackling azure–a filament like thread, connecting the repulsive core of blue lightning nestled within his body, to the diamond-like crystal residing within the heart of a blood red silhouette floating in the air.
That was the culprit, the measly being that had dared tie a leash on them.
A tempest of fury broiled and the Beast Within seethed, outraged beyond measure.
Yet despite their emotions, they could not move properly, ensnared and slowed by the parasitical effects of the disgusting energy from the core.
The Beast could no longer have it.
Abruptly, Miles jerked back, his body shuddering.
He felt his skin crawl, an alien sensation, uncomfortable, wrong, and his pores opened, exhaling fumes of ebony smoke. The wisps gathered, forming into an ethereal presence–a nebulous creature, of darkness and shadow given life–enveloping him like a mantle or armor.
With that, his eyes reverted to normal, the demonic pitch-black veneer dissolving, as though the entity responsible for it had departed.
Miles could sense it, the Beast had manifested within the undulating shadows that cloaked him, but he was not affected by its presence.
He knew what it thought, he felt what it felt. There was little he did not know, and thus, little to fear.
Suddenly, the shadow over him flashed a dark scarlet, and a familiar scorching heat consumed his insides. The familiar pain of Sanguine Ardeat, but at an unparalleled intensity seared through his nerves, elevated to a threshold he had not dared approach himself.
[The Blood Burns.
-0.5 BP ≈ 1 BP lost.]
But the heat abated as soon as it had come, the pain having lasted for only a fraction of a second. It was so swiftly dismissed, that all that was left was his reeling mind.
[Remaining Blood Points: 10/10 (+ Blood Bank: 12/100)]
A sense of energy and potency surged through him, even the vague pain resolved by a bit, but it was slight in comparison to what he had had to endure.
This was the observed and expected result of Blood Burn, but that had not been the purpose here.
With the vision of a world bathed in red hues, Miles witnessed something he and Cadmus had only hypothesized back then. The blood within his veins, which had been burned with searing heat, evaporated, escaped the circulatory system, passing through muscle, and through the pores of his skin, finally entering the air.
The Beast reached out, the shadowy shroud extending dark tendrils, assuming a semblance of limbs. It manifested hands, clawed, and seized the blood vapor that wafted in the air, gathering it into it’s grasp, and... crushed.
Instantaneously the blood liquified, coagulating into a miniscule droplet, held within the grip of a shadow. Restive and dynamic, this blood undulated, expanding and compressing, and it shifted, extending into an indistinct elongated form.
[Discipline: Haemomancy molds the blood.]
Accompanied by the tinkling resonance of solidifying crystal, the liquid blood hardened, transforming into a weapon forged entirely of solidified blood. The weapon was a diminutive dagger, with a short, double-edged blade measuring around 20 centimeters—it was reminiscent of an assassin's blade.
For a moment, something, a dot of light flashed within the crystal, vanishing as soon as it had appeared.
PUGIO.
The name echoed in Miles' mind like a whisper from a bygone era, but he didn’t get long to contemplate.
The clawed hand of shadow that held the blade was actually his own, merely cloaked by the Beast, and almost seamlessly, he–or rather, they–wielded it, held by a hilt that was familiar yet also not.
With unspoken accord, they swung, the blood crystal shimmering in the light of will-o-wisps, the blade sliced through the accursed blue thread.
Knight Xavier recoiled in agony, as if what the blade had cleaved through was his chest instead of empty air.
Even with his body bloodied and battered, his consciousness barely held by the life support of the armor, Xavier had maintained his command over Telekinesis. But the shock of this attack seemed to transcend mere physical pain, as for the first time ever, he lost control.
His severely injured figure was forced down from the air, the loss of his ability sending him crashing into the wooden floor.
Xavier's heart anguished in never before known agony, but even then, he was shocked.
Circumstances had compelled him to use the entirety of the telekinetic energy he had manifested and gathered over several years, using it to fuel one single ability.
The Marionette Core, his trump card, a subtle means to manipulate individuals to conform to his wishes, or if need be, a discrete instrument even in combat. It had been a linchpin in numerous moments of his life, its efficacy undenied even in the rare instances where he had been forced to retreat. Not a single opponent had seen-through his ability.
Even Xavier himself was unable to visibly see it, merely sending the presence of some form of connection as the user of the skill.
However, this creature, this monster cloaked in shadows, had seen through it. It had understood the nature of the Marionette Core, and its immediate move had been to attempt to sever the crux of the ability, the heart-to-core link.
Fortuitously for Knight Xavier, the slashing blade had failed to completely break the connection, a momentary interruption that was mended swiftly.
Regrettably for him, the Beast was far from pleased.
SCREECH!
Raising its shadowy maw toward the vaulted ceiling, Miles’ head arching in tandem, they let out an inhuman scream sending shivers through all those that heard it.
[The Blood Burns. -20 BP is forcefully consumed by the Beast Within.
Remaining Blood Points: 2/10 (+0/100 in Blood Bank)]
The sheer volume of blood burnt intensified the pain even further–it was mind breaking. For a moment, Miles lost himself in that inferno of agony, only for him to be dragged back to reality for the skill ended as swiftly as it had begun.
With what few parts of him retained clarity, Miles found himself filled with power and energy, boundless and limitless. It was vitality given life, threatening to explode him from within his veins.
Surging with excitement, a volatile blend of glee and rage curved his lips into a twisted grin, an amused chortle let out.
He should have felt horrified by the near-depletion of his blood points, of becoming comatose, but he cared not. All he could focus on was the searing, blazing sensation in his throat.
He was thirsty, no, parched, at the mercy of an unquenchable thirst that hungered for a familiar taste. All he felt was agitation, a desire to free himself of the pain.
The scarlet world visible to only him, clearly showed the human silhouettes that populated it, veins pulsating with what he yearned for, hearts thudding rhythmically–everything appeared tantalizing.
Prey shivering lifelessly in his grasp, a cool cascade of blood flowing down his throat, that would be sure to sate his hunger.
A mutual understanding resonated between them, and Man and Beast were in agreement.
A portion of the boundless energy was directed towards his right leg, the blood within boiled, blazing, and... exploded.
In a burst of red light, they flashed forwards, the blood burn, the Beast, and the nameless movement resulting in a speed that should've been impossible for him.
Miles felt his bones rattle, and his muscles ruptured, torn and twisted the wrong way, his physique not adapted for the velocity he had reached. The pain was mutely ignored for the response was immediate.
[Conditional Undeath Activated. All wounds healed.]
They followed the blue thread, leaving a continuous trail of shadow wisps that would twirl around it, akin to a spectral ribbon of smoke marking their trajectory. These dark wisps coalesced into an ambiguous black coil, one that meandered around the marionette's thread...
***
As the bestial creature charged, Xavier, the Knight of the Sky, was gripped by horror.
His breath grew heavy, and his figure trembled, the familiar sensation of a fear he had thought he had overcome, clawing its way back.
If he had had any doubts about the identity of the Creature, they were shattered the moment he felt this reaction. And facing it firsthand for the first time, he could feel it. A primal fear of being prey before predator, putting him in his place.
Yet, the moment their eyes met, seeing the demonic evil within, windows to an absent soul, this terror was quickly drowned out by an overwhelming wave of pure hatred.
Xavier screamed in crazed defiance, and a symphony of blades, bullets and every conceivable weapon he could gather soared through the air, launched towards a monster he hated with all his being.
The creature didn’t even attempt to evade, the projectiles penetrating cleanly through its shadowy armor, ripping holes through the dark mist. However, this smoky substance proved indomitable, for although it was easily broken through, it rendered every object that passed through it impotent, clattering harmlessly onto the floor.
For a second time, Xavier felt a chill of horror, for whatever that was, it had destroyed the enchantments engraved upon the blades of his Shardstream Nano-blade, the intrinsic connection he had enchanted upon the weapon burned away.
The Knight had already attempted to use the Marionette Core, to force the monster to kill itself, but none of his commands had made it through the connection.
He needed a different strategy, and since he could no longer bring himself to move his body, all he could rely on was the power of his mind.
Immersing himself in telekinesis, Xavier forced himself to the very limit of what he could muster, to the very edge that his mind could handle before it would shatter. Without his energy core to provide additional fuel, he had to be the source that burned.
Blood weeping from every part of him, at the cost of himself, he succeeded.
The entire structure of the building quivered and trembled, held in the grip of his telekinesis. Dust and concrete fragments cascaded from the ceiling, mimicking the effect of a localized earthquake, one intent on dismantling the building.
Xavier had no other choice left.
He'd bring the entire building crashing down if it would mean obliterating this monster. Consequences be damned, even the potential sacrifice of innocents was dismissed in rage and desperation. He would bet his own life, for it would be better for all of them to die, rather than let this lurid creature survive.
Even though it was cloaked in the shadowy smoke, he refused to believe the monster would remain unharmed when buried under a few hundred kilograms of concrete. And even if it was, the physical body that lay within would surely have been killed.
Decision made, Xavier pushed himself, his mind teetered on the edge, but his determination was resolute.
In truth, his feat was extraordinary. Such colossal telekinetic exertion was in all logic, impossible for an Epsilon Faehuman.
A grim smile curled the Knight’s lips, despite the macabre visage of blood gushing from all his pores. He had transcended the limits of his tier under this pressure, an accomplishment he had sought for years now.
But that moment of happiness was not meant to last.
Why?
The Beast materialized, an obsidian specter that coalesced right behind him.
Drawn by the force and momentum of its arrival, the dark coil it had left behind constricted, ensnaring the azure thread and squeezing it with the ruthless efficiency of a python subduing prey.
The blue thread wavered and reconstructed itself. Regrettably, Knight Xavier could not mimic this feat.
His hand would've clutched his heart could he move, for the agony intensified, and he coughed up blood and dislodged organs.
And soon enough, the rumbling of the building, the seismic call of death, was subdued, for Xavier had lost his grip on his ability for a second time.
The Beast’s shadowy maw contorted into a resemblance of a grin, gazing down upon the helpless Knight, bloodied and ruined.
Even amid the cardiac torment, Xavier couldn't help but shudder, an involuntary reaction to the monstrous entity before him.
The creature raised a claw of ephemeral shadow, and the darkness retreated, shifting, reforming around the accursed gun that had been held by the hand underneath.
The very same gun that had exploded a hole over his upper chest, glowing a blazing gold, but to his surprise, it didn't shoot.
The monster seemed content to watch, relishing the spectacle of his eventual, slow death.
Knight Xavier refused.
Death was not an option.
How could he abandon Cassie to the mercy of abominations like this? To these empty creatures of remorseless cruelty? He owed it to the poor souls that were usurped, this young man who had been killed just to make room for this demonic being!
The Beast's head angled, as if pondering, as if recognizing something. The gun lowered, once again retreating into the depths of a shadow claw.
'I cannot give up! Who else knows or even cares about these monsters?'
The Beast's other hand blurred, something, a flash of red, pierced through the massive gap in his armor. In the next moment, there was a dagger of scarlet crystal embedded deep within his chest.
Xavier groaned, flinching at the sudden intrusion of blade in his heart, but his armor didn't allow him to feel much of the pain, his mind elsewhere.
'No, no, no, I still have a chance! Who would be there for Cassie if I'm gone? With the armor, with this armor, I can survive! If I can last long enough to retreat back to Capital Command, I can make it! I just have to fight—'
The Beast's head angled, and after a moment's amusement, it began to grow unnaturally. A maw entirely of shadow parted, and it fell on him, sinking its phantom fangs into his body.
An instantaneous paralysis seized Knight Xavier, all motion arrested in an abrupt instant.
He had assumed wrong.
He would have no revenge, nor would he survive.
Far from it, this would be his last—
The Beast inhaled.
All thought vanished as Xavier's face contorted in silent agony. The pain was all encompassing, his blood and flesh feasted upon by the creature he both feared and hated.
His form began to atrophy, collapsing like a deflating balloon. Skin sagged, muscles thinned, and an unsettling decay set in.
His final thought was one of regret, of unfinished business, of worry, and with that, Knight Xavier thought no longer.
***
Miles stared at the motionless figure before him, Xavier, the Knight of the Sky, a once famous, perhaps even beloved protector of Capital City.
Unfortunately, the Beast Within harbored no regard for the illustrious identity of its prey. Still extending from his body, its shadowy maw persisted in its voracious feast, consuming insatiably.
At this point, Xavier's skin had caved inward entirely, exposing the skull beneath his fragile face, his skeletal frame pronounced as if starved for months.
Nevertheless, the azure thread that had bound him and the Beast was waning, in response to its creator's fading life.
In the face of the grotesque spectacle before him, Miles knew what he should've felt was repulsion, sickness, or at the very least, disgust. This was the inhumane act of devouring a living human, of how a once formidable Knight was being stripped of his vitality and flesh, his face stricken in terror and pain.
Well, he did feel repulsed, disturbed even, by the nauseating scene before him, but... it just tasted so god-damned delicious to care.
It was the Beast that feasted, its shadowy maws that did the unsavory act, but as if it was an extension of himself, Miles not only witnessed the deed, he felt every sensation and tasted every nuance. And holy hells, was it a taste beyond compare!
It was utterly incomparable to the blood he had drunk from the bags of blood. The so-called expensive delicacies he had feasted upon in his life were utterly overshadowed, perhaps not even matched by a glass of Clurichaun!
It was as if there was some innate flavor unique to the act of sourcing the scarlet fluid directly from its origin, and by the Sidhe, was it phenomenal.
If the legendary ambrosia truly did exist, Miles was convinced it would at best be on par.
This was a taste one could easily get addicted to, a flavor that could become an alluring desire that lasted a lifetime, but even as Miles lost himself in relishing this divine flavor, a series of notifications rang out.
Ding!
[First Blood Source consumed.
+1 Faehuman Source for possible assimilation.
+3 Free Stat Points, +15 BP gained.]
Ding!
[Personal BP restored to 10/10.
Remaining Stored in Ripae Sanguine (Blood Bank): 7/100]
Simultaneously, Miles sensed the ebbing of his thirst, his hunger sated, replaced by a feeling of satisfaction.
He and the Beast seemed to be in some form of symbiosis. When one fed, the other was fed as well. Unfortunately, now that Miles’s thirst was sated, the fact that he had relished the taste of human flesh, became a disgusting thought once more.
Right on time, another notification appeared with a Ding! cementing the morbidity of his actions.
[ You have slain {Capital Knight (Knight of the Sky) / Faehuman (Epsilon - Enhanced Telekinetic) / Follower of the Celestial Path of the Riyan / One who has sensed the World beyond the Veil / Rare Cyber-Ware (Capital Allsight [Vision/Surveillance - Eye] Implant (v9.9) / Sky Knight Gawain [Omni-Defensive Enchanted] Armor (Unique) / Shardstream Nanoblade [Fae-Signature-Bound - Weapon/Tool)} ]
Bonus experience for killing an enemy greatly above the user in power.
Bonus experience for killing a member of the Riyan Sect.
Experience Penalty due to external interference.]
Ding!
[Vawul Class: (Newborn) has reached Lvl. 10 - Stat Points allocated.]
[Primary Requirement for Vawulan Evolution met.]
A surge of power, an electric rush of energy, coursed through Miles' veins, the allocated attribute points raising his physical status significantly.
Although he relished it, Miles' mind was distracted.
He had anticipated it, he had known this would happen, but he couldn't help but be conflicted by the death of the Knight.
Despite his readiness to take necessary action, even if it meant to become a monster, Miles couldn't suppress what he felt. He couldn’t stop the inherent human facets of disgust and pity.
The former Knight of the Sky had experienced unimaginable torment leading up to his demise. Though he may not have screamed, Miles understood. He would never forget the sensation of how it felt to have one’s blood and flesh consumed, while forced to be frozen and helpless. After all, he had suffered through it himself.
The realization that he had done the same, indirectly played a part, didn't feel right.
Even as the divine taste of blood and flesh continued to explode upon his senses, Miles felt... wrong.
With the wielder of the Marionette Core no more, the blue thread had finally dissipated. The core of energy within him had dispersed as well, fully returning control.
The battle was concluded, all adversaries lay defeated.
Yet, the Beast remained undeterred, for it was not done with its feast, not even close.
Unyielding, it continued to consume, to devour.
Mere moments later, with most of the flesh and blood consumed, the corpse of the once great Knight crumpled into a grotesque husk.
It barely retained a humanoid form any longer, the skin crusty, dry and stretched over the skeleton. Despite having met his demise mere minutes ago, the remains resembled a mummy, a corpse that had languished in decay for a few years. It was worse than what had remained of that Faesycian corpse in the gutter.
Still, the Beast consumed.
Eventually, the blood that fed him relented, no liquid left within what was left to feed upon, and that was when it was replaced by an unfamiliar energy, passing into him exactly as the blood had been consumed.
It didn’t carry a taste or flavor, not like blood from its source, but like dessert to a perfect gourmet meal, it was complementary to the flavor of the scarlet ambrosia.
Miles hadn’t noticed it before, but now that it had been consumed, a sense of completeness enveloped him. He no longer felt hollow, or empty.
It was almost similar to those moments he had experienced before, with the mysterious pixie, with Xavier’s sudden attack, but this was far more complete.
He felt right, correct, and in a strange, distorted sense of nostalgia, he felt... human?
For an ephemeral moment, everything was embraced in a sense of perfect bliss. There was no trouble, no endless hunger, no concerns. Just a moment of absolute perfection.
[First Soul consumed, Soul Energy Detected.
+10 Soul Points(SP) gained.]
[The Newborn Vawulan lacks the means to form a Mementorium. SP cannot be stored.
-10 Soul Points(SP)]
In the very next moment, this newfound energy dissipated, as if it had never been. And once again, Miles was incomplete.
Struggling to cling to that sense of fulfillment, Miles grappled with the vanishing sensation, 'W-What was that?'
Confused and delirious, he had gained something in a moment of trouble providing him solace and fulfillment, only for it to be taken away in the next.
The fact that it was somehow supposed to be Knight Xavier's soul, didn't register, nor was it relevant. His only focus was the overwhelming feeling of emptiness and loss.
Miles felt lost, adrift, unsure of what action to take or what thoughts to think.
For a moment he had forgotten the Beast Within, was still out and about, and its rising emotions, its thoughts and intentions took the place of the gap in his mind.
The creature seemed to have an answer, an instinctual response.
As if in a daze, Miles followed its guidance.
Man and Beast united once more, thinking the same thought, calling out for something familiar, something that was now the core of their existence.
'System Status.'
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