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Orion, the prodigy, walked a path of challenges and losses. His father, a renowned warrior, founded the guild where Orion was raised, nurturing the desire to follow in his footsteps as a leader. However, the tragic death of his father during an expedition shattered Orion's confidence. The man he admired, whose strength had seemed unbreakable, was brutally killed by a monster on an ordinary day, just like that.
At the age of 20, he took over the guild. Even with his self-esteem weakened, Orion led successful expeditions, but his gaze grew darker when he looked at royalty. The people called him a "prodigy," and he accepted that title with pride. It was as if the world recognized his greatness, and he bathed in the light of that recognition. Everyone admired him when he was younger. He learned everything easily, was strong — of course he grew up believing he would be a star.
However, the arrival of the royal children changed everything. The youngest daughter had terrifying power, and the son, a rising prodigy, surpassed adults with ease. That inner fire burned in his eyes, and Orion felt something he didn't expect: envy. A gnawing envy that made him question his own worth.
He, who had faced monsters and explored unknown lands, now found himself overshadowed by children. Their brilliance was more intense, their abilities superior. And Orion? He felt like a star that had lost its light, eclipsed by these young talents. A blind little girl could destroy the entire kingdom? What kind of joke was that?
Irritation burned inside him, a blazing flame that consumed him. Why was the world so unfair? Why did he, the prodigy, now feel diminished?
The answer was there, in those two monsters disguised as humans. His narcissism gave way to bitterness — a feeling that drives people to do unthinkable, cruel, even inhuman things. He wanted to be the light again, the center, to take the place he deserved.
That day, Orion drowned his worries in a bar, trying to forget the burdens weighing on his shoulders. That's when a man dressed in white, with an aged appearance, appeared before him. Their conversation stretched on, covering viewpoints, beliefs, and dreams, until it reached a dangerous topic.
"Why don't you just take it from them?" the man asked, his voice filled with mystery.
Orion frowned. What did this stranger mean? The throne? Ridiculous. He was just a guild leader, and royalty was far beyond his reach.
"...What?"
"The throne, the kingdom, the future. If you want it so badly, go get it." The man insisted, his expression unshaken.
Orion laughed, but there was something disturbing about those words. Of course it wasn't that simple. Any attempt would result in his immediate death. After all, he was just a pawn.
"Are you serious?" Orion challenged, suspicious.
"Of course I am. You see, I have my goals, you have yours. We can help each other. I mean, I can help you, if you're willing to do what I say..." The man smiled, a smile that didn't reach his eyes.
The conversation didn't end there. Orion refused initially, but something made him reconsider in the following days. The hooded man seemed to watch him, as if he knew Orion would eventually accept.
He truly was what one might call a rat, for in his mind, no one in the world suffered the pain he did — the pain of not being the best at everything, of living in isolation, of not reaching higher positions.
That mysterious man read Orion like a book and knew he would eventually give in.
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Orion narrowed his eyes at the figure standing before him. Small. Thin. Ridiculous. He laughed. Not a laugh of humor, but of absolute contempt. That thing smaller than Serena was the obstacle he had to face? This had to be a joke.
"You've got to be kidding me..." he muttered, shaking his head.
But his smile vanished the next moment.
Victor didn't answer. Didn't move. He only stared, golden eyes cold as blades. Orion felt a shiver down his spine for no apparent reason. No. He couldn't be feeling this. Not from someone like that boy.
Orion drew his sword, and with a firm step, made the ground tremble beneath his feet.
"Get out of my way."
Victor tilted his head slightly, as if analyzing his stance. A second later, he disappeared.
BOOM!
Orion barely had time to register what happened before his body was thrown back. The impact struck his back like a steel hammer, knocking the air from his lungs in a choked grunt. He staggered, driving his blade into the ground to avoid being flung away.
The silence that followed was nearly deafening.
Orion gasped. His muscles trembled slightly, and only then did he realize he was sweating.
"Tsk..." he wiped his mouth, irritated. His eyes rose, meeting Victor once more, unmoved. Expressionless. As if that strike had been a casual gesture.
Rage burned in Orion's chest.
"Damn you..."
The sword in his hand glowed with dark energy, compressing into a pulsating sphere of darkness. Orion grinned savagely.
"Let's see if you're fast enough for this!"
He raised the sphere and unleashed a barrage of black projectiles. The shadows tore through the air, slicing the space between them in fractions of a second.
But Victor was no longer there.
Orion's eyes widened at the sight. Victor moved effortlessly through the shots, like a flowing shadow, as if the attacks themselves were trying to miss him. To Orion, it seemed the boy was teleporting with each fraction of a second. One moment to the left, the next to the right, and then...
Too close!
Victor appeared right in front of him, too fast for his mind to follow. Orion barely registered the golden glow of his eyes before feeling the pain.
CRACK!
Victor's fist plunged into his abdomen. Orion felt the impact reverberate through his entire body. His breath stopped. His stomach churned. It was as if every organ inside him had shifted from the blow's force. A bitter taste of blood rose in his throat.
Then came the second wave of the impact.
He was flung back, his body slicing through the air like a runaway missile. The wind howled in his ears as the wall rushed toward him too quickly to react.
BOOOOM!
The collision cracked the concrete, dust and debris flying everywhere. The impact was so violent he felt the shock reverberate through his spine. His entire body screamed in protest.
Orion coughed, spitting blood. His vision wavered. He tried to move, but his muscles were stiff, trembling uncontrollably.
His eyes slowly rose to Victor.
That gaze... cold, serene. Without a trace of effort.
Orion felt something he didn't want to admit.
Am I... afraid? Of this?
He realized — that wasn't even a human. It was a literal monster. A loathsome, despicable creature — something he would never forgive.
∘₊✧──────✧₊∘
"Here. Take this." The calm, cold voice of the hooded man echoed in the dark room. His white cloak swayed slightly, almost glowing in the dim light. He was known only as the Fifth.
Orion looked at him with distrust, hesitantly reaching out. When the object was placed in his palm, he felt the weight of the glass vial.
Inside, a red crystal pulsed softly, as if alive, radiating a strange, disturbing energy.
"What is this?" Orion asked, his voice laced with curiosity and caution. He didn't fully trust the Fifth, but knew the man wouldn't hand him something without purpose.
The hooded figure remained silent for a moment, his eyes hidden beneath his hood's shadow. Then, with the same tranquility, he replied:
"It's a monster fragment. A crystal extracted from an ancient, powerful creature. If, at any point, you face something you believe you can't defeat, eat this crystal. It will awaken your most 'monstrous' power." The final word was spoken with particular emphasis, as if it held a deeper meaning.
Orion furrowed his brow, examining the crystal. The red glow continued to pulse, and he felt a chill run up his spine. More monstrous power?
"And what are the side effects?" he asked, trying to hide the apprehension in his voice.
The Fifth let a slight smile curl his lips, as if he had expected the question.
"There's no exact way to know until you use it. But I can guarantee your body will be transformed — temporarily. You'll become stronger, faster, but also less human. Which, I believe, won't be a problem for someone like you."
The answer brought no comfort to Orion, but the thought of being defeated irritated him more than the risk. He had always been proud of his strength and position, and the idea of failure was unbearable.
"I don't plan to lose." He gripped the vial tightly. This is just insurance... a last resort, he thought.
"Of course not." The Fifth stepped back, his voice cold and calculating. "But remember, Orion... There's always something greater, something more dangerous. The crystal will only reveal what's already inside you. Use it wisely."
Orion watched the hooded figure vanish into the darkness of the room, leaving only the faint glow of the crystal as a reminder of his presence. He tucked the vial into an inner pocket of his cloak. I'll never need this, he thought at the time.
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Now, back in the present, Orion held the vial. It was a choice he never wanted to make... until now. Victor's calm face, the way he ignored him, the overwhelming superiority he displayed so effortlessly... everything pushed Orion toward that single path.
His trembling fingers opened the vial. The red crystal pulsed like a living heart, radiating a dark glow, as if it already knew its fate. Orion swallowed hard, his eyes locked on the substance that promised power.
Then, without further hesitation, he swallowed the crystal.
The effect was immediate.
A sharp cold ran through his veins, like something icy tearing through every cell in his body. Then came the opposite: a searing heat consumed him from the inside out. His muscles contracted violently, his whole body trembling in involuntary spasms. He screamed. The sound that escaped his throat was no longer human — it was a guttural roar, a distortion of his very existence.
A black aura began to envelop his body, thick and suffocating. Victor immediately shifted into a combat stance, instinctively moving to shield Serena. His golden eyes glowed with alert.
The cave walls trembled, cracks spread across the ground and ceiling, debris fell all around, dust filled the air, obscuring vision.
What the hell is this...? Victor thought, narrowing his eyes.
Orion's power expanded, overwhelming. The air grew heavy, charged with something wicked. Victor clenched his fists.
He's really going this far... But why?
Orion's roar echoed, but this time, it wasn't a cry of pain. It was the roar of a predator. His body began to distort.
His muscles grotesquely swelled, expanding until they tore his skin. His bones stretched, cracking and reshaping into something unnatural. His skin darkened into a bluish-black tone as claws grew from his fingers. His eyes glowed with an intoxicating red, radiating a deep, living hatred.
He was no longer human.
Orion had become the embodiment of his own envy, rage, and greed. His lips twisted into a savage smile, revealing sharp fangs. The air around him trembled, his dense aura spreading like a devouring shadow.
Victor held his stance, his face emotionless, but his entire body recognized the danger.
"So... this is how you want to play?" he murmured, his voice low but filled with determination. His golden eyes analyzed Orion, calculating his next moves.
Orion still retained a trace of consciousness, but it was corrupted. His voice, now distorted, slipped out between growls.
"I... am the strongest..." he snarled, saliva dripping from his deformed teeth. "I'll kill you... and her... you're nothing! You always had everything without effort!"
Serena froze upon hearing that. Her fists clenched.
Victor didn't respond. Words held no meaning here.
Orion charged.
With inhuman speed and brutality, his claws slashed through the air toward Victor. The impact was like a storm of destruction — the ground shattered under the force of the attack, cracks spreading across the earth for hundreds of meters. The cave ceiling began to collapse.
Victor leapt aside, Serena in his arms. The attack missed — barely — and split the mountain in two. A massive crater stretched to the horizon.
He really became a monster...
But Victor didn't stop. He ran, dodging blows, instinct guiding him.
"It's going to be alright, don't worry," he whispered to Serena.
She clung tighter.
"What happened to him...?"
Victor hesitated.
"Uhm... you don't want to know."
Behind them, a roar:
"I AM THE STRONGEST!"
Victor grimaced.
Well, this is a serious problem...
He raised ice barriers to slow Orion. They shattered instantly.
The chase intensified. Victor ran through the mountain's winding corridors, dodging the destructive blows at the last second.
Then, Orion leapt.
"VICTOR!!! SERENA!!! DIE!!!"
Without thinking, Victor threw Serena forward. The impact came moments later.
The world exploded around him.
Orion's strike smashed Victor against the rock, shaking the entire mountain. The two fell into the abyss below, swallowed by darkness.
Serena was left behind, dazed. Her body trembled.
Then, Orion's roars echoed again.
He returned. Alone.
"SERENA! WHERE ARE YOU?!"
His voice was filled with pure hatred.
Serena held her breath and ran, feeling along the walls. She entered one of the rooms, curling into a corner, trying to control the panic.
Orion's footsteps were deafening.
"YOU KNOW DAMN WELL YOU DON'T DESERVE TO LIVE, SERENA!"
She shrank even more.
"YOU KNOW WHAT YOU DID! BECAUSE OF YOU, YOUR PRECIOUS MOMMY DIED! DON'T YOU THINK IT'S TIME TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY AND DIE TOO?!"
Her body shook violently. Her chest rose and fell too fast.
"FOUND YOU!"
Orion lunged.
But before he could reach her...
A fist smashed into his face with overwhelming force.
The impact was brutal. Orion crashed through walls, his monstrous body flung like a ragdoll.
Victor reappeared, wounded, bloodied, his clothes reduced to tatters.
He looked at Serena and froze.
"It was... my fault... it's always my fault..." Serena murmured, her voice weak, her eyes empty.
The air around began to freeze.
Victor felt a chill run down his spine.
"Serena...?"
"I... it was me... I... I... aaaagghhh!"
She screamed.
A burst of blue light engulfed the room.
Everything around froze instantly. The floor, the walls, even the air itself. The cold was absolute, deadly.
Serena had lost control.
Her power wouldn't stop until it consumed everything.
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The mountain had vanished, swallowed by Serena's overwhelming power. The ground, now a frozen and unrecognizable landscape, was a reflection of the storm that had unfolded. Among the rubble, Orion rose once more. The heat of his aura distorted the air around him, melting the snow and turning it into a dense mist. His manic smile remained.
Then he saw.
Victor slowly emerged from the debris, holding Serena in his arms.
The boy's arms were blue, frozen to the bone, covered in deep cracks as if they were glass about to shatter. But he didn't let go. On the contrary, his fingers clutched Serena even tighter, as if his life depended on it.
"SEE?!" Orion roared, his voice reverberating through the devastated landscape. "ALL THAT THING DOES IS CAUSE PAIN AND SUFFERING! EVEN TO THOSE WHO TRY TO HELP HER!"
Victor stayed silent for a moment, just breathing. His skin was pale, blood ran from deep cuts on his body. His clothes were nothing but rags fluttering in the icy wind. He looked like a man about to fall apart.
But then, he raised his eyes.
A puff of steam escaped his lips as he exhaled, and even while panting, his voice was firm:
"Orion... I don't know why you hate this girl so much. I don't know what she did that was so terrible..."
He looked down at Serena, his expression softening for a moment.
"But all I see is a confused, lonely girl carrying a burden far too heavy to bear. You said she killed her own mother... I can't even imagine what that meant for her. What she felt, what she thinks of herself..."
His eyes returned to Orion, now cold and unshakable.
"But there's one thing I know. The only monster here is you."
Orion growled, his teeth gleaming like fangs under the moonlight.
"YOU'RE JUST LIKE HER! A FOOL! ARE YOU REALLY GOING TO SACRIFICE YOURSELF FOR THAT THING?! YOU'RE BOTH TRASH!"
Victor sighed, closing his eyes for a moment. Then, with a careful gesture, he laid Serena on the ground, covering her with his tattered shirt. His fists clenched at his sides, and he stood tall, facing Orion once again.
"You want recognition? You want this kingdom? You want to be the strongest?" His voice, once serene, now carried a sharp edge. "Then know this: everything you're doing ends now."
He tilted his neck, cracking the bones, then fixed his gaze on Orion, as if seeing right through him.
"I'm going to destroy your fantasy."
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