The Drazan Expanse was rude, twin suns, scorching. Heat and steam. Ethan and Velina, both facing the Maw Lizards. Ethan flipped his dagger and rammed it into a second creature's chest, then twisted hard, watching the light fade from its eyes.
He moved to the last beast as it tried to flee. And that's when the rage bled out of him. He grabbed the beast by the tail, yanked it backward, then slammed it into the rocks once—
Twice—
Three times—
Until the ground was soaked in black ichor. Velina stared.
"Ethan."
He didn't move. His chest heaved.
[WRATH : 80/35 — OVERFLOW SURGE]
[WARNING: Prolonged Overflow may trigger seal weakening]
[×3 TARTARUS BEASTS DEFEATED]
[+50EXP GAINED]
[CURRENT EXP: 270/500]
Ethan's hand hovered near his side. The mark beneath his clothes burned so hot it felt like branding iron pressing into his ribs.
Velina stepped forward cautiously. "That was... excessive."
"They got in the way," Ethan said, voice low.
She didn't push. Instead, she retrieved the cores. Ethan stared at his blade. His reflection warped in the ichor dripping from the metal.
They don't see you.
They never did.
They only see a name… a monster.
So why not become it?
---
Later, they found another pair of beasts stalking a dried oasis. Smaller. Insectoid. Ethan killed both before Velina even drew her blade.
[×2 TARTARUS BEASTS DEFEATED]
[+20EXP GAINED]
[CURRENT EXP: 290/500]
"Leave some for me," she said, trying to joke.
He didn't laugh.
He didn't even look at her.
They kept moving.
Every encounter, every clash, Ethan grew more violent. Every beast, no matter how small, was met with lethal force. Efficient became ruthless. Defensive became offensive. At one point, he leapt at a beast before it attacked. It hadn't even roared yet. Velina blocked its flanking partner and kept pace, but the concern in her eyes grew with every passing moment.
This wasn't survival anymore. This was exorcism.
They stopped to rest at a half-buried ruin as the sun began its descent. Velina collapsed against a pillar, pulling out dried meat from her satchel.
Ethan sat with his back to the stone, head lowered. She tossed him a piece.
He didn't eat.
"You have to pace yourself," she said.
"I'm fine."
"You're not," Velina snapped. "You're burning. I can see it."
Silence.
"I saw the mark glowing again," she added, more softly. "You are pushing too hard...and you see it, with each rage, each fury, each brutality, it glows...why do you inflict that to yourself?"
"Velina...i will keep saying this...it's none of your concern" Ethan said coldly.
Deep down, he knew what was happening. The System wasn't feeding off ability use anymore. It was feeding off him.
His rage. His desire to dominate everything that hurt him. Beasts. Nobles. The ones who called him trash. The ones who'd burned his family. The ones who took all from him.
Let them keep watching me, he thought. Let them monitor my every move from their magic towers. They'll see soon enough.
See what I become.
---
Dusk settled over the desert. The wind grew colder. The sky turned bronze. Ethan stood again. Velina rose as well, slower this time.
"More flayers to the east," she said, glancing through a spyglass crystal. "Want to circle around?"
Ethan shook his head. "No."
"Too tired for a detour?"
"No. I want them to see me coming."
---
The flayers fell like ash from the sky. And Ethan tore through them like a wildfire through dry fields. Velina fought hard. Efficient. Professional. But Ethan fought like vengeance had a face. He caught one mid-air and crushed it in his grip before tossing it at another to knock them both down.
He was in rage. He didn't care. The wind carried the sound of ripping wings and steel slashes. And when it was over, he stood alone in the silence again, surrounded by twitching corpses
[×10 TARTARUS BEASTS DEFEATED]
[+30EXP GAINED]
[CURRENT EXP: 320/500]
Velina looked at him, quiet.
"You're going to break," she whispered.
Ethan looked at her, then at the twin moons rising overhead.
"Not before I break them."
[WRATH: 85/35]
[WARNING: Prolonged Oversurge may trigger seal weakening]
"Ethan you are not a monster, your are not a beast...don't act like one. The rage you feel will cause your loss. You will lost your humanity...your are being blinded by your rage" Velina explained, concerned by what Etha was becoming.
Ethan stared at the twin moons. His crimson lit orbs still glowing faintly, the Leviathan markings still aching, glowing like ancient runes. Ethan didn't reach for it, he didn't have to.
"You are talking like one who has endure alot. You don't understand what I feel Velina...you were given birth with a golden spoon in your hand, though you are no noble, your father is well known and respected. I was given birth in a place far from all, far from foodstuffs, water and any other facility. We had to fight, to dig with our nails to have what to eat. You rich will never understand the pain endure by the poor" Ethan explained angrily. Velina didn't say a word, all that he said hit hard.
"Have you ever lacked what to eat" He asked
"No... I haven't"
"Have you ever digged the ground for food"
"No... I haven't"
"Have you ever felt the pain of loss"
"No... Ethan... I haven't" Velina responded, she couldn't look at him.
"Good...you have always slept in a comfortable bed, breakfast, dinner, supper, you ate at your stomach's satisfaction, you had everything that you ever wanted"
"So don't talk trash... Don't talk about humanity... The ones who's lost their humanity are the nobles, they treat the poor like scum, slaves. We are humans too, we deserve to live too, we have a heart and feelings too, we feel pain... But they will never understand that. I HATE NOBLES AND WEALTHY INDIVIDUALS" He growled, his veins bulging on his forehead
Velina felt his rage, his hatred, his pain, he was right, she couldn't mouth a word. She just stared the sand on the floor, head bent.
"Don't worry Velina. I don't hate your dad, neither do I hate you. He helped me, I felt it in his eyes, he is not like all the rest. I will forever owe him for his hospitality"
Silence reigned once more. The night was still long.
[WRATH: 90/35]
[WARNING: Prolonged oversurge might trigger seal weakening]