Kael stared at the black orb, its crimson light pulsing like a living heart. His hands twitched. His whole body buzzed not with fear, but with raw, uncontrollable excitement.
A twisted grin crawled onto his face. His fingers itched to touch it, to claim it, to make it his own.
"Hehehe... AHAHAHAHAHA!" His crazed laughter echoed in the empty void. Wild. Unhinged.
"THIS IS IT! THIS IS WHAT I WANTED!" His voice cracked, and his hands reached out while trembling not from hesitation, but from the sheer thrill of it.
A massive wave of black and red energy erupted, swallowing everything.
Kael's mind went blank. His body froze. The force was like a thousand screaming voices crashing into his soul.
Unimaginable, searing, mind-breaking pain.
"AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" His scream tore through the darkness, his body convulsing violently. It felt like his very existence was being rewritten.
Every cell, every nerve, every inch of his being was burning, twisting, changing.
His bones cracked. His flesh tore. His soul screamed.
Even through the agony, his lips curled up, his eyes shining with madness.
"MORE! GIVE ME MORE!"
His voice roared in the collapsing void, his body absorbing the unholy energy. His veins turned black, his skin burned with ancient runes, and his entire form warped into something beyond human.
Kael slowly opened his eyes.
And the world had changed.
Kael's breath was ragged, his body trembling as he adjusted to the overwhelming sensation coursing through his veins. His fingers twitched—his skin felt foreign like it wasn't even his own anymore.
But he felt alive. More than ever before.
The void around him had shattered. He was no longer in the trial space. Instead, he stood on a vast blackened land, where the sky bled red and the air was thick with something ancient and rotten.
Kael grinned. His lips curled too wide, almost unnatural. His body was different now. Stronger. Sharper. His fingers clenched, and for the first time—
It twisted inside him, coiling like a beast waiting to be unleashed. His very existence felt wrong as if he had stepped outside of fate itself.
"You stole what was never meant for you."
"The isn't a power originated from this world."
There, standing before him, was the figure from the orb.
A twisted humanoid abomination, its flesh-like swirling shadows, its grin stretched from ear to ear, and its single crimson eye locked onto him.
Kael tilted his head. His mad grin widened.
"Yeah? So what?" His voice was hoarse and rough, but filled with excitement.
The entity's grin twitched.
"Do you even understand what you have done?"
Kael laughed. A deep, unhinged, broken laugh.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh, I don't give a damn!" His hands spread wide, his body vibrating with euphoria.
"I TOOK IT! IT'S MINE NOW!"
The entity paused. Then, its form shuddered, and a sound like shrieking metal and broken glass filled the air.
"You will regret it."
Hearing this Kael smiled at the abomination knowing very well what it was.
"Regret…I have never regretted it because real men don't regret rather than accept their mistakes."
"Good….."A twisted smile expanded on the abomination face.
The sky cracked. The ground split open.
Darkness slowly faded as Kael's consciousness stirred. His mind was a haze of broken memories, flashes of red skies, the twisted grin of that entity, and the overwhelming surge of power.
His body ached. Every nerve felt like it had been burned and put back together. He could feel the cold stone beneath him, the scent of damp air, and the faint warmth of flickering torches.
A sharp gasp followed. Someone rushed forward, gripping his wrist. Another presence hovered nearby, hesitant yet unable to look away.
"Lord! Can you hear me?".
His eyes fluttered open. The ceiling above was ancient stone, etched with runes pulsing in a dim glow. Shadows flickered across the chamber's walls, cast by torches mounted on pillars.
He turned his head slightly.
Around him stood his people.
Ramos knelt closest, his fingers clutching his arm, his emerald eyes wide with relief yet burning with restrained anger.
"You crazy bastard..." he whispered, his voice trembling. "You almost fucking died."
Baret stood behind him with a paleface was unusually grim that seemed to be screaming,"What the hell did you do in there?"
"My Lord!'Gare muttered calmly but his clenched fists betrayed his worry.
Kael's throat was dry. He opened his mouth, but only a hoarse laugh escaped.
"Shit…" He grinned, his voice barely above a whisper. "That was… insane."
"By the way how long has it been?"
Ramos's grip tightened. "You were out for three days, Kael."
His voice cracked, and he wanted to curse but that was when he noticed
Dark circles under Ramos's eyes. The slight shake in his hands. He had been watching over him.
Kael exhaled, letting his head rest back against the cold floor.
"…Did Chris awaken ?" He smirked with the same unhinged grin that made Ramos scoff.
"FUCK! I am asking you yet you are diverting the topic."
"Just tell me what you encountered."
Kael shook his head and got off.
"I don't know but there were some complications. A bizarre power appeared."
"Bizzare power…"Ramos scrunched his brows asking now what was this new level shit.
"So what did you do?"
Kael chuckled. "I did what I needed to do. I had to take it."
Eris finally spoke, her voice quiet but firm. "What… Did you take it?"
Kael stared at the ceiling, feeling the power coiling inside him. The entity's laugh still echoed in his mind.
He exhaled, his fingers twitching as he whispered.
"Something that doesn't belong to this world but it belongs to me."