*
I walked out of the enclosed space I resided to digest what I had learned. It was a lot.
The first thing I thought about was how the little bit of knowledge I felt I gained was enough to change my outlook altogether.
Surprisingly it was the same for these creatures.
The more they learned, the more they changed.
What was even more intriguing for me was how their histories spelt hatred and war. It was easily one of the more evident parts of their history.
To some degree, it made me feel less guilty about taking their lives. They always harmed each other regardless of the era.
I wasn't about dishing out salvation. But my thought process shifted from blindly feeling on life energy, as I learned it was called, that alluring energy, to searching for other things that could edify me. Like knowledge.
I found myself having an identity crisis.
What was I?
Where did I come from?
Was I really born in that darkness?
The cure was to amass more knowledge. This was only the start.
Hunger said so.
I walked up to a puddle of water and crouched down to have a good view of my body from the reflection.
I had grey flesh with pulsing veins that was shaped into a humanoid thin body. On my face was nothing but a mouth, my head bald as can be.
It was a mystery how I could even see.
I had four limbs, two legs and two arms with no fingers or toes, much like socks.
Ah. Being able to describe is a sweet feeling.
My skin was very rough, but this body was very much welcome. My other body felt less than my own and more like a collective platform.
Could it be that my body obtained enough nourishment and reverted back to its original form?
My thoughts spiralled to something that made my skin crawl. A realisation.
From that woman's thoughts, I learned of the name of that human who bested my creature. The Grade S. First of its kind. It was able to communicate. In guttural, barely comprehensible sounds at least.
That human's name is KingMaestro189.
I etched it into my mind.
The realisation I came to, is that I would have died.
Had I attacked these humans with my main body and faced this young man, I would most have likely been killed instantly.
Unfortunately, Grace did not seem to know the young man's actual abilities.
What she did know, however, is that once an enemy stood before him, they all died. The same way, regardless of size, regardless of strength. Much like the case with Grade S straggler.
Frankly, that had been true for all my Stragglers. They always die pathetically like those disposable CGI cannon fodder armies from the Marvel Universe.
(A/N: I actually love Marvel).
They were inefficient. I didn't realise this before I learned this much.
I was glad I obtained this knowledge. I can't afford to act recklessly with that human around.
Luckily...
I walked back to the enclosed space, walking irregularly while getting used to this body.
I looked at my victims.
Grace's innate ability was fascinating.
It was called Berserk Animalist.
She was capable of assimilating animal DNA perfectly into her own, making her stronger and faster.
Her Extension Ability was even more so fascinating. She gained such a profound knowledge of animals that she could merge them perfectly into better and stronger breeds, even awakening their hidden attributes.
I walked up to the man who lay unconscious before her. He had been abducted by my eagle, which could seamlessly make its presence vanish. All these humans had been taken before they could do anything.
A string of my consciousness delved into his mind and I saw everything that it stored.
His name was Daniel.
A man from Trinidad and Tobago. He was a thief. Failed his studies in school and resorted to a life of crime. He always got what he wanted, finding that he had an extreme talent for taking other people's belongings without them noticing.
Before he knew it, it became his livelihood, the only thing that made his life worth living.
Thus he awakened the innate ability, Snatch. He could steal anything without his victim knowing. Anything below a certain weight, for material objects that is.
His Extension Ability was quite the marvel. He could Snatch intangible objects given that the distance was not too far. He could snatch lights, smoke, air etc. However, he rarely used this ability as its scope was quite scary.
I walked away from him and went back to Grace.
I had an idea.
I held her head and ....broke her neck. She died.
The life energy within her began shuddering and began seeping out of her body. This is what I wanted. The life energy that was trying to escape was the one that Empowered these humans. It was the one I wanted. It clearly had special properties that made Invigorated who they are.
I gathered up strings of my own energy, surrounding the life energy seeping out. I slowly drew it back into her body and them... I sent one of my many consciousnesses into her body.
'The body of an Invigorated should be strong enough to handle it,' I thought. It only made sense.
I waited for a while, keeping the life energy in check until Grace's body started to quiver. Her body started changing. Her skin emanated a powerful lustre and when she opened her eyes, a bright light shone outwards.
I smiled.
She turned to me as she woke, looking at her body.
The life energy within her settled. Or rather she settled it on her own. She was using a portion of my body's original energy to make it settle.
It was no longer Grace. It was a different me that had integrated into her body, taking possession of her mind.
She stood and smiled at me, looking curiously around and flexing her muscles.
"It feels good to finally have a body of my own," she said.
"I know. How do you feel?" I asked.
"Good. Very good," she said as she balled her hand into a fist. A dark red energy emanated from it, causing the surroundings to churn.
She suddenly burst into laughter and looked at me.
"It worked. Even better. The life energy and our own merged. I feel even stronger than Grace ever was. Furthermore.." she said, extending her hand.
It suddenly changed into that of a wolf, with dark fur, powerful muscles pulsing underneath.
"My innate ability is way stronger than it ever was," she said ecstatically.
"Fascinating," I said and walked up to Daniel...and did the same thing. Granting him a portion of my consciousness after I took his life first.
After another light show, Daniel stood and smiled as well.
It was funny, seeing copies of me actually assimilating into other individuals to create different versions of those people.
Now it was time to implement the most efficient war tactic I knew.
"Daniel. I need an inside man. You fit the criteria pretty well. Go and infiltrate their Safe Zones. Remember you're feeding for two. The others will be ready soon. They may come to your aid."
"Sure," Daniel said and stretched lightly, his dark skin exuding a lively sheen.
"I got an upgrade as well."
He rushed out of the enclosed space, disappearing outside in a blur.
I turned to Grace.
"I can't turn any more than you guys. And maybe those four. Giving you a body and supplying my energy costs me fuel. I'll get hungry if I make more," I said.
"Our Stragglers are pathetic. They are slaughtered at every turn. Make me some new ones. Stronger ones. Let's not be satisfied with needless numbers. I need quality. For now, I won't make a move. I'm adjusting to my body. And I'm wary of that human."
Grace laid her hand on the ground at then turned to me.
"Of course. I've always wondered how my Innate Ability would work with the remnants of Dinosaur DNA," she said.
The first-ever Invigorated Stragglers were born.