I was beyond shocked by my new appearance. I stared at my deformed arms, five times thicker and twice as long, ending in long black claws that looked like solidified shadow. I touched my horns they had become massive, nearly twenty inches of razor-sharp ebony. My legs had undergone the same metamorphosis, turning into pillars that forced me to slouch just to avoid smashing through the cabin ceiling.
Every movement was a terrifying discovery. Simply clenching my fist made the air crack around me. I was no longer an ordinary Dahes; I had become a monster.
I looked down at my father's body. In this state, my vision felt different, sharper. The sadness that had been suffocating me moments ago had hardened into a dull, throbbing rage. I took a step, and the rotted wooden floor collapsed under the weight of my transformed leg.
"Dad..." I whispered again.
I reached out a clawed hand toward the bed.
SCRITCH.
The sound tore through the silence. My monstrous claws the things I now had instead of hands had sunk into his decomposed cheek without the slightest resistance. I had desecrated my own father.
"I'm sorry, Dad..." I growled, the words sounding like a jagged tear in my throat.
Leagues away, at the summit of an ivory tower brushing the clouds.
In a room draped in shadow, a silhouette clad in silk stopped abruptly before an immense map of the Empire. A specific point began to pulse with a violet glow.
"An awakening..." a calm voice murmured. "With an intensity we haven't seen in a long time. Alert the sector officer."
Back at the cabin.
Hours later, the silence of my grief was shattered by the rhythmic pounding of iron-shod boots on the muddy ground. I looked through the window to see an Imperial squad. I was paralyzed. I knew why they were here: the appearance of the Kana that allowed me to transform.
Then I saw the man who towered over them all.
The officer leading the squad commanded respect before he even uttered a word. He was a man in his forties with a massive build, his powerful muscles straining the straps of his heavy armor. He wore no helmet to hide his sharp featured face, letting long blond hair flecked with gray from years of campaigning fall past his shoulders.
His gear wasn't that of a mere soldier, but that of an elite executioner. He was protected by thick plates of matte black and charcoal-gray metal, designed with aggressive, perfectly fitted edges. Fine blood-red lines traced the joints and his breastplate, cutting through the darkness of the steel.
At his hip rested a weapon that almost clashed with the brutality of his armor: a sabre of deadly elegance. The hilt, a sober and functional assembly of gray steel and black leather, extended into a naked, crimson blade. Under the lantern light, the deep red metal seemed to pulse, radiating a razor-sharp aura.
I also noticed a peculiar lantern gripped in his left hand. It cast an emerald glow, a deep and supernatural green light that bathed his armor. It wasn't a simple flame; the light seemed alive, pulsing in rhythm with his steps, as if it were hunting something.
"Soldiers, this is it! Form up!" he barked coldly, his orders snapping like whip cracks.
Damn it, what do I do? If they catch me, I'm not sure I'll make it out alive, but the house is already surrounded. I felt my heart hammering against my chest, which was now too narrow for my new lungs.
"I am Officer Beroth of the Mafetam Sector. Come out, or we will be forced to use strength!"
Hearing his words, I remained frozen, my thoughts racing at a speed I never could have achieved before.
"No answer… Fine. You two, go get him," Beroth ordered, gesturing sharply toward the door with his emerald lantern.
Two soldiers broke rank, shields raised and spears leveled. Serial numbers were engraved on their pauldrons, and fear was visible in their hesitant movements. I could hear them approaching, their boots crushing the wooden debris. Shit, they're coming. My monster body reacted before I could even think: my shadow claws lengthened by a few inches with a sinister screech.
They crossed the threshold and stumbled upon me. One of them screamed:
"It's a physical-type Dahes!"
"Stay back, damn it!" I growled.
"A physical-type, then? We won't have to overthink this," Beroth said with a smirk.
"Come on, kid, make it easy on us," one of the soldiers said in a falsely reassuring tone.
They lunged. In a coordinated move, they tried to strike me simultaneously: one aimed for my head, the other for my gut. By reflex, my monster body took over. Before I could think, my claws slashed through the air.
A whistle of shadow, followed by the sickening sound of steel shearing through flesh. Both men's arms were torn away. Horror overwhelmed me instantly. Seeing the blood stain the floor, I fell to my knees, my oversized limbs trembling with terror.
"No! I'm sorry!" I cried, my voice breaking. "I didn't mean to!"
The soldiers shrieked in agony, writhing on the cabin floor. Hearing their cries, Beroth didn't flinch. I saw him give a discreet signal to his men outside: the order to burn the house down.
The smell of smoke and pitch suddenly filled the room. Flames began to lick the dry wooden walls. Realizing I was about to be trapped in this inferno with my father's body, I bolted toward the entrance. But Beroth was waiting. He was right there, ready to pounce, his crimson sabre drawn. Behind him, the rest of the squad had formed a wall of shields, spears pointed at my heart.
"My home... you bastards! I'll never forgive you!" I screamed toward the smoke-blackened sky. "I swear it! All of you! Bork... Ariss... Beroth... the entire Empire! I'll wipe you from this world!"
My cry no longer sounded human. It was the roar of a wounded beast. Facing me, the officer tightened his grip on his crimson blade, a spark of defiance in his eyes. I charged him with every ounce of strength I had left.
But as soon as I launched myself, he vanished from my sight. A streak of crimson-red cut through the air behind my neck, and before I could understand what was happening, the world dropped out from under my feet. Darkness rushed in, brutal and total, and I plunged into a deep sleep.