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Chapter 2 - 2. The Undead Wraith

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[Resurrection complete – 100%]

Johnny's eyes snapped open as he lay on the cold stone floor. Murderous rage flashed in his gaze.

"Dump my body outside for beasts to rip apart? Fine. Then I'll tear you apart first."

At his command, shadows began to writhe around him. Dark mist seeped out from his body, coiling and thickening until it took shape as a gaunt, corpse-like figure wrapped in necrotic energy. Its limbs were stretched unnaturally long, its talons razor-sharp.

The Undead Wraith. His first summon.

"Awaiting… your command."

The words didn't come from its mouth. They crawled directly into Johnny's mind, heavy with obedience. The creature bowed slightly, awaiting orders.

Johnny barely flinched. He didn't feel fear. Instead, he sensed its absolute submission, and that fed a dark thrill in his chest.

The sound of footsteps echoed down the corridor. The two guards who had mocked his corpse earlier were making their rounds again.

Johnny's lips curled into a smile.

"Kill them."

"As you wish."

The Wraith raised its clawed arm. With a screech of rending metal, it slashed straight through the enchanted Asgardian cell door as if it were paper.

"What was that?!" one guard barked, snapping to alert.

Too late.

Blood sprayed across the dungeon stones as the Wraith's talons carved through the first guard's chest, leaving five jagged gashes deep enough to split him open. He dropped dead before he could even scream.

The second guard froze in horror as the phantom revealed itself mid-strike, its skeletal form shimmering into sight.

"W-what are y—"

His words ended in a wet choke as the Wraith plunged its claws through his ribs, tearing him apart in seconds.

The stench of blood filled the air, thick and suffocating.

"Your orders have been carried out. What is your next command?"

Johnny's chest heaved. He hadn't personally struck the blows, but their deaths were on his hands all the same. His stomach lurched at the carnage, yet he didn't regret it. They'd murdered him without hesitation. Now they'd paid for it.

Still, before he could issue another order, the Wraith bent low over the corpses. Its jaw unhinged grotesquely, splitting wider than human anatomy should allow. Fangs glistened as it began tearing into the bodies, devouring flesh with savage hunger.

"Holy—ugh!" Johnny gagged and turned away, bile rising in his throat. The sound of crunching bones and tearing sinew echoed in the chamber.

"Food… mine… delicious… all mine…"

The voice throbbed in his skull as the Wraith devoured. Blood splattered across the stone. Organs and tissue vanished in gulps, until nothing but blood-streaked skeletons remained.

Johnny forced himself to look again just in time to feel something stir inside his own body. Heat surged through his veins. His muscles tightened, strength flowing into his fists.

"The hell…? I feel stronger."

It clicked instantly.

The Devourer System.

By feeding, the Wraith strengthened itself and passed a portion of that stolen power back to him.

But there was something else too. A faint, alien energy hummed within his core, subtle but unmistakable. He closed his eyes, reaching for it.

"…This is divine power."

Godforce. The raw energy of Asgard's warriors. The same kind of essence Thor channeled as thunder, the same power Odin wielded as judgment. And now… a sliver of it ran through Johnny's veins.

He clenched his fist and drove it into the dungeon wall. Instead of pain, only a faint sting remained while the stone cracked beneath his knuckles.

A wild grin spread across his face. "Unbelievable. Just from two guards. If I can devour more gods…"

His pulse quickened with hunger and ambition. Fear was gone. The rules that once bound him back on Earth the morals, the laws, the hesitation meant nothing here.

Asgard had already killed him once without giving him a chance to speak. Now, he would answer in kind.

Johnny rose, shadows swirling around him.

"Good. Let them come. The more, the better."

The Devourer had awoken and Johnny had already begun to change.

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