Kellen suddenly grasped the back of his hand and tightened his grip to resist the searing pain coursing its way up his hand and through his trembling arm.
The blood core embedded itself deep into the opening it procured in his palm and the synchronized beating heart inside could be felt even more. The rapid beating in his chest and hand, at the same time, were beginning to drive him crazy.
The skin bordering the opening in his hand began to close itself and bury the pulsing orb until it could no longer be seen past the surface of his skin.
Just as the pain was beginning to subside, Kellen felt another wave jolt through his veins, up his arm, through his chest, and directly pierce his heart.
His mouth opened with a silent scream lodged in the back of his throat due to the shock he felt in his heart. Sweat poured down his face as he deeply huffed in response to the shock.
Kellen could feel his heart's beating momentarily stop, like a sudden murmur, before resuming to pump at a higher speed than normal.
'What happened to the core?'
After catching his breath, Kellen noticed that the small heart beat in his hand was no longer there, and was instead replaced by a slight burning sensation, similar to the one that he had felt in his chest.
He dumbfoundedly raised his clenched hand up to his face and slowly opened his fist to reveal what lied beneath on his palm.
However, upon his inspection, Kellen was surprised to find no exterior signs or indications of the core even forcefully entering his body in the first place.
The skin on his palm, where the core had entered, did not even leave any remnants of a scar or cut. The only remaining indicator of his painful assimilation was a small dark red tally that looked like an unknown claw mark from a random beast.
The strange mark resembled a small tattoo and Kellen could only shake his head in amazement as a response.
'Is that it?' He asked in confusion.
'Congratulations, looks like your body was able to fully absorb the core.' Breathed Nergal with a hidden sigh of relief.
'Nice job kid!' Cheered Osiris as he lazily floated about in Kellen's head.
'Yeah, no thanks to either of you!' Grumbled Kellen as he continued to inspect the strange mark on his palm.
'What's this mark?' He asked as he lifted his hand above his face for a better look.
'It is a sign left by the blood core. It signals that you have successfully assimilated with it. I'd imagine that if you are able to absorb more then the mark will adjust accordingly.' Explained Nergal with a new passion.
'Hey! What happened to your body?' Asked Osiris as his lazy drifting had coincidentally brought him near Nergal's cage.
Nergal opened his flaming eyes to inspect his figure. The once dull and faded color of his body had brightened slightly, revealing a reddish hue filled with burning intent.
'Hahaha! It is a sign of my power returning!' Nergal crazily laughed excitedly.
'Shit... If gets out of that cage, I'm probably dead meat...' Mumbled Osiris as he grumpily floated away from the hysterically laughing demon.
'What? You regained some of your power?' Asked Kellen suspiciously.
'Yes! It tis only a fraction of my complete state, but we are on the proper path now! Here, summon some of the sun demon energy and I'm sure you will see a difference.' Urged Nergal.
Kellen still held some suspicions that the old demon was not telling him the full truth, but in order to achieve his revenge, he had already stepped on this path and did not see any use in backing away now.
Summoning the solar demonic energy in his blood, Kellen felt a increased surge in power. The burning sensation he felt throughout his body when he originally used this strength was of a completely new potency. The blood strongly flowing through his body seemed to circulate a lot faster now and felt like a small stream of pure fire pumping through his veins.
Kellen flexed his hands and could feel a boost in energy surging through them that was more powerful than before. If he could compare it to his previous state, it would be like a small fire to a lit candle.
The heated wave of energy was fiercely flowing throughout his entire being, starting from his rapidly beating heart, that felt slightly enlarged in his chest, and was like a miniature furnace.
The claw mark on his hand began to glow with a blood red light and started to slowly creep up the palm of his hand to his knuckles.
Kellen watched the sudden movement with surprise and panic.
'What is that mark doing?' He asked worriedly.
'Don't worry, it's only going to its proper location.' Assured Nergal.
Kellen calmed himself and continued to curiously watch where the mark would actually stop. The small glowing claw snaked its way around the bottom face of his hand and crawled up the side of his index finger. There on the top of his finger, near his knuckle, the claw stopped and spread itself.
The mark was no longer a claw as it wrapped itself completely around Kellen's finger, like a ring, and glowed happily in its new location.
'It's a ring?' Questioned Kellen after seeing the mark no longer make any more sudden movements.
'It is still the same as before. Just think of it as a demonic tattoo signifying your success.' Answered Nergal.
Kellen twisted his hand to inspect his new demonic tattoo and nodded his head in acceptance and satisfaction.
He figured the transformed mark was at least more concealable and believably normal than its previous form.
Kellen lowered the glowing demonic tattoo and returned his attention to his current surroundings. The ravine was no longer painted with a bloody light or red mist and now was only dimly illuminated with a dull white glow. The once blood red floor was now completely pitch black, like scorched stone, and Kellen could not feel its previous heat beneath his feet any longer.
The poor people frozen to stone still covered the landscape but the fierce red glow, from the blood core, no longer shed light on their gruesome expressions. Kellen looked back to the blade embedded in the stone person beneath him.
The ominous blade did not sparkle in a malicious light anymore and its cold aura had died down significantly. However, the white runic carvings on its face still glowed with a dim white radiance, which was the only source of illumination in the bottom of the ravine.
Kellen studied the reformed blade with a new curiosity.
'This little weapon was the cause of all that destruction...'
This realization sparked further interest in Kellen as he carefully touched its cold hilt. The petrifying effect it held was not as strong as before, and Kellen easily overcame its power by circulating his abundant solar demonic energy.
The glowing red demonic tattoo on his hand shed more light onto the weapon in his grasp and revealed a small insignia on its hilt near the portion that housed the now pitch black blade.
A white runic insignia of the roman numeral four shined beneath the red glow of the tattoo.
"Four?" Murmured Kellen in surprise as the image of a short plump kid with rustic hair appeared in his mind.
Four was one of the Romans from the laboratory that had usually taken part in Kellen's daily misery. He often followed Seven around as part of his posse and was one of the many kids who had happily participated in Kellen's torture.
The red glow from Kellen's demonic tattoo flared with a fierce energy as rage began to fill Kellen's chest.
"That fat little prick!" He shouted as small red flames erupted in Kellen's eyes.
He was unsure whether this sword actually had a connection to the disgusting imp from the laboratory but the memories associated with that roman numeral had ignited Kellen's emotions.
Kellen tightened his grip on the sword and easily unsheathed it from the stone body with ease as his demonic energy surged.
He held the blade up to his face to closer inspect the carving. The small flames in Kellen's eyes dwindled slightly as he found another curious insignia on the directly opposite side of the blade.
The symbol of a small lock with an eye in its center eerily glowed under the red light.
"The cult!" Breathed Kellen with recognition.
When he thought about the result of the havoc caused by this weapon, Kellen was not surprised to discover a clue that signaled the identity of who could have caused it. He lowered the blade from his face and stared around at the petrified bodies still lying on the ground with a cold expression.
'You said you had never heard of a weapon like this before Osiris?' Questioned Kellen rhetorically.
'Yes! I've never seen anything like the likes of this before...' Osiris confirmed.
'That's probably because it was made after I was summoned to this world.' Remarked Kellen coldly.
'Hm... That would make some sense, since I was trapped with you ever since then. But who's is it?' Asked Osiris in curiosity.
'My guess...' Began Kellen.
"Hey! Whew... Finally caught up with you!" Panted Tommy as he raced over between the stone bodies on the ground.
"That stupid fog finally disappeared and I was able to finally find my way down here... What's up with that expression?" Huffed Tommy as he plopped down next to Kellen and inquisitively stared up at his dark face.