"Congratulations! You're a Chimera."
"... The fuck?"
-Moments Before-
Laying inside his car with a large spike going through his chest was a nightmare fuel sight that would haunt him for the years to come and more, but as he shifted back to his human form and let his partial elementalization burn out (Because fire), he approached the downed man and pulled the spear out of his chest, taking his body out of the car and laying his unconscious but barely alive body in the grass: 'I can save him, but it'll take a large sacrifice and it'll hurt me a lot... Maybe if i heal his soul too he can stay alive for long enough for me to treat his injuries at a slower and less taxing rate...' He laid his hands on the ground as a large green light surrounded Billy's body, his chest had a hole on it and part of his heart had been lost, so he was alive by a miracle or- 'Wait, broken soul, but-' It was weak, very weak, but he could see it.
He focused his effort on healing his soul first while keeping him alive- his mother Yanaye Bell taught him about whiter and death, while his mother Faseeha al-Rayes taught about life and how they are both two sides of the same coin! His body started withering inside out as nature accepted his sacrifice- His pain for the boy's life, since he couldn't die, nature would let his body experience lots of pain for him to cast powerful spells with the help of nature itself! 'Fuck, this is so fucking shitty...' His bones turned brittle as his blood rotted inside, turning black like pitch before he saw it- A shapeless, green wraith of a soul on top of the boy, his soul had several crask on it, and he used the energy from nature to heal such cracks enough for the soul to manifest itself.
Meaning?
He could see if his theory was true! As his eyes gazed upon the light green transparent floating gasous sphere, he saw it shift and turn, taking the form of various animals, and he knew- This was the soul of a Chimera. '"Yes!" Chimeras are semi-immortal, meaning they can heal from injuries (albeit really slower than him, unless he promotes them as their King), and don't die of old age! Their natural connection to nature also makes them able to use natural magic, and it makes it easier for him to save him! "C'mon, need to save him... Can't fail again!" He already killed so many kids, he can't fail again right now! His hands glowed as he grasped the broken soul and healed it just enough so the connection with nature could be reestablished and- The soul glowed brightly, he saw the thin thread connect to the soil beneath them as it drew energy from nature, and with Zunni's help the almost dead Billy Hargrove started to heal at a incredible rate. "I declare, Billy Hargrove, to be a Knight Chimera- In the name of Nwundy-Zunni, Champion of Many Shapes and King of Chimeras, so it shall be."
It might seem really dramatic, but he knew it was necessary- Him declaring Billy to be his knight meant his chimera ranking was above the others, meaning he was stronger and his connection to nature would grow, and he would also grow a natural connection to him as his first and only knight at the moment. 'I hope i don't regret it...'
The way Chimera Rankings work are... complicated. Chimeras have a natural connection to nature, right? The way it works is that Chimeras can become animals (Normally they just focus on one through their lives) and cast magical spells- Nature also calls them to duty, protecting life from the Outsiders is something they have to do to protect themselves and nature! The way a Chimera is ranked is through their connection to nature and their strengths and shapeshifting abilities! [Peasant], or [Pleb] as they are called, can only shift into weak or small animals (From house cat sizes), their connection to nature is the same as any other born Chimera, they can get stronger too.
Then comes the [Soldiers], these can become stronger animals, like large bears or wolves, and some can even shapeshift into more than one animal! They can learn to cast spells too.
Then there the [Commanders] who can become more than 10 animals at will and even mix them together! They can partially shapeshift and cast spells too, they are strong enough to learn about
A [Centurion] can become a hundred different animams at will, large like a blue whale and small like tine mouse, they also have a deep connection with nature, enough for them to learn Communion, which is a technique used to connect one's mind and spirit with nature to such degree that one can see the dead and easily talk to them. [Centurions] can easily partially shift and use it for combat effectively.
And then [Knights], who have all the benefits cited before, but with the duty of protecting the [King], for such duty they receive the special ability and connection to their king, which they can communicate telepathically if the king so desires- They also receive the Blessing of their King, able to shape into every animal, and even eith training, learn other forms of shapeshifting!
And the [Nobels], but these are special cases- Like [Barons], [Dukes], [Regents], who are tasked to take care of a place! They receive a special connection with the place, being able to sense everything inside thanks to their king's will and wish. They sometimes are bound to their place, meaning they cannot leave the area they are meant to protect at any costs! The bigger the area, the greater the title- From [Regent], [Lord], [Baron], [Viscount], [Count], [Marquis], [Duke]. Unlike the other rankings, [Noble] Chimeras can be chosen to be [Nobles] independently of their previous ranking, which grants them a higher strength in their territory than outside it.
Above the Nobels are only the [King] and [Queen], which is the title a [King] Chimera gives to their Mate, making them theirs forever- It's a magical marriage, only when both parties agree do the title gives its effects, making the [Queen] match the [King] in power automatically, and if not possible to do so instantly, slowly increases the power of the [Queen] until they match the [King].
See? Complicated. But remember- Ranking doesn't mean shit, it doesn't mean a [Peasant] would lose to a [Knight] in battle if the [Peasant] is strong enough.
The highest ranking he could promote Billy to without giving him too mch responsibility would be the [Knight] Ranking, which increased overall his abilities, but due to his damaged soul it'll take some time until all his Chimera abilities manifest themselves, the first one being the superior Regenerative Healing Factor! Not as strong as Zunni's, being able to regenerate missing organs under hours, but thanks to him overwhelming the body of the new Knight Chimera with overwhelming nature energy to heal him, he watched as the hole on his chest closed easily, leaving the only evidence of such thing happening be the hole on his shirt! Once he saw that Billy was okay, he got up as his body visibky went from skeletal to his natural buff look in a few seconds, his body returning to its natural vigorous look. "Fuck..." He hissed as his bones snapped back into place, his blood boiled and turned red once again, and his eyes fell out of their sockets, full of maggots, only to regrow as new ones- Since he didn't need those others anyway! The same happened to a few of his internsl organs, he opened his body by pulling his skin apart, he took out the rot black heart, the withering liver, the disgusting intestines, and the maggot infested lungs.
This was the sacrifice he made.
Once gone from his body, those organs simply regrew- He already has donated a lot of organs, from lungs to livers and even a heart or two, hoping it'd help someone -which was a freaky sight someone was lucky enough not to see, after all, who wants to see a guy with his chest open taking out his organs from his body? He set those organs on fire by igniting his own hands, this was partial elementalization, something he is still learning how to do! Like, he's supposed to know know to turn his body into elements, which is harder to do than you might think... "Now... I think i should take him to my home now." And indeed he did, he put the boy on the camaro with the broken windshield as he was still unconscious, probably seeing a fragment of his past life as a Chimera in a dream? Before leaving he dealt with the giant insects, making sure to keep it away from the citizens of the city so they wouldn't see such abominations.
Opening the door, his couple of caretakers- John and Evelyn Nader, Chimeras of the [Lord] Ranking, Territory: The Vermont Residence in Hawkins, Not Bound by Place but by duty of order of their king. -who helped him bringing the boy over, Zunni asked John to fix the car as much as he could and following his King's orders he did his best, switching the windshield for a new one, repairing the seat that had a small puncture hole, and fixing the smashed part of he vehicle. Evelyn transformed into a small brown spider and walked the walls, she was asked to guard and watch the room where Billy Hargrove slept as Victor Zunni Vermont went to... Do stuff. Now, take your mid out of that gutter because he's talking about dealing with those centipedes and the tunnels below the city, he felt thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of these things below the city... he'd have to set fire to them, or use a Mass Banishment spell which would temporarily kill him for a whole day before he comes back- It'll already happened before, him seeing his body dropped to the groung as he had "died" only to go back to it once it was healed enough 24 hours later.
Meaning? He can't die, even if he wants to.
-Scene Cut-
The momemt he woke up, he felt shock run through his body- he thought that maybe, just maybe he was finally dead, but when he opened his eyes he was in a... room? Yeah, he turned his head a round a bit, still feeling a little confused afer waking up from that dream, a dream where he was a giant flying beast, roaring and setting cities on fire, fighting these strange things... That was some weird shit. "I'm glad to see you're finally awake." His head snapped towards the guy he ran over, Vermont, who sat by a chair close to the bed holding a book with moss growing over it- Which he doubts is even a little bit hygienic: "The fuck happened?" He asked in a whisper with the sliver of anger, tired still after- "Did i fucking die or something?"
"Well, not really, i made sure of it... But hey, look on the brighter side: Congratulations! You're a Chimera." Victor chuckled a little as he saw the confusion on Billy's face as he muttered: "... The fuck? I'm a what?" Ignoring the clear Harry Potter reference only he could see due to his knowledge of the future, he said with a tiny bit of an accent to his voice for a moment as he couldn't resist: "Yet a Chimera, Billy... That means a lot of things but to give you the resume? You're a reborn spirit of nature, bound to nature, which grants you powers such as a fast Regenerative Healing Factor, super strength, speed, reflexes, stamina, and more... Also, you can transform into animals and other forms of life shapeshifting is not easy but i think you'll get the hang of it once you unlock it."
Billy Hargrove was very confused.