𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘢 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘥, 𝘢 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩-𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦, 𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘭𝘶𝘦.
~𝘌𝘹𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘱𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘡𝘪𝘳𝘰 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘴
---
Asher drifted within an infinite void of darkness, echoing voices both familiar yet unknown danced within his mind, his grasp on reality slowly fading. Asher let the voices speak to him for he had nothing else to do. He had grown tired of trying to block them out, so he welcomed them.
It felt like years since he discovered Megan's true identity.
Megan...𝘔𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘯...the name was familiar to Asher, yet he had lost the meaning of it long ago. Truth be told he had forgotten his own name until just now when a voice called out to him.
𝘈𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘳...
Asher blinked slowly before settling back into his comatose-like state as he drifted along the darkness.
𝘈𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘳...𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘬...
This time, Asher was sure he heard correctly. He turned his head, expecting to see nothing but blackness, but he realized that he was looking at a door covered in tacky superhero posters. Asher rubbed his eyes, but the scene didn't change.
"Was it all...a dream...?" He could scarcely remember what had happened, but he knew that he had died. At least, he thought he had died. Asher looked down at his hands, his small, chubby hands, and realized that he was laying in his old bed. The bed he used to lay in back when he was a child...
Asher quickly threw the covers off of himself and unsteadily made his way toward the door before tossing it open. Asher ran down the hall and almost tripped making his way downstairs, but he paused when he saw his father.
His sister was there too. They were...both there...alive and...
Before he knew it, tears were gushing down his cheeks as he stood at the base of the stairs and stared at his wonderful family for what seemed like the first time in his life. Asher was so happy, but the pain was inconceivable. He remembered the moment he watched them both die, but even that memory seemed only a dream now.
"What's wrong, son," his father asked as he furrowed his brows with a worried expression. Asher's sister, who should be 17, dried her hands and moved a pot off of the burner before walking over and crouching in front of Asher, her hand ruffling his long blue hair.
"Was it another nightmare?"
Asher tried to form words, but it was all he could do to prevent himself from choking up. He just weakly nodded his head as he buried his head in his sister's shoulder. She smiled and pat Asher's back with a loving smile on her face.
Ever since their mother left, times have been hard on them, but they all found joy in each other, something that would be taken away sooner or later. But it was all a dream, they were right there...yet they seemed to be...different. A thin voice suddenly whispered in Asher's ear.
𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦...𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺...𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳...𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺...
"Stay...forever...family..." Asher shook his head as a dull ache spread throughout his body. His sister quickly frowned and put a hand over his head to find that he was burning up. She made Asher sit down as his father wet a rag before wiping his forehead with it.
𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳...𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦...𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨...𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦...𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦...𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘺...
"Happy..." Asher's father furrowed his brows even more as he listened to his son ramble on. Eventually, the dull ache turned into a fiery pain that ate at his very soul. Asher fell from the chair he was in as his body began to spasm and as his bones began to emit audible cracks and snaps.
𝘋𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴...𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘺...𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘺...𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵...𝘨𝘰 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬...
Asher grasped his head as his memories began to flood his head. He remembered when the District he lived in, District 4, was overrun, resulting in the death of his family and his forced relocation to District 13.
He remembered meeting Megan, a man named Rato that pissed him off more than he could believe, meeting the ever cynical Kieran and the alcohol loving brute named Bjorn. He even remembered the feeling of betrayal before his death...that slow, ever-present pain that permeated his body not unlike the pain searing his bones.
As Asher grit his teeth to prevent himself from wailing out in agony, he vowed to return and exact his vengeance on Megan, and then clean his home of the horrid blight that killed his family. Even if he had to do it alone, he would see his home restored to its former beauty.
Asher rose to his feet with a furious expression and a murderous intent hidden deep behind his eyes. He took one look at his family, at the things impersonating his family, and they disappeared with but a thought. The voice in his head shrieked in despair, but he ignored it.
He only cared about one thing. Getting his revenge. He would cross hell itself if it meant he could return back to his world. If only he had the powers he hated so. If only he was a Chimera with the never-before-seen ability to bring the dead back to life...if only he had power...
Lamenting his powerlessness, Asher turned to the door of his house and slowly began to walk toward it. When he opened it, however, it wasn't what he expected. The road ahead was burnt and aflame, the sky crimson red with winged horrors above. Rivers of magma replaced fresh water streams, and volcanoes dwarfed mountains in the distance.
A bead of sweat fell down Asher's face, and it wasn't because of the scorching heat. A nervous, yet overeager smile made its way onto the man's face as a different voice sung a melodic phrase into his mind.
"Conditions met, analyzing Candidate...analysis complete. Generating compatibility test."
---
Quest
[Finding A Way]
Objective: Absorb a monster of your choice to gain its attributes and affinity.
Reward(s): Unlock species [Chimera], 50 CP. (Courage Points. Description in Author Notes)
---
Despite the situation, Asher couldn't help but release a maniacal, bittersweet laugh as he looked at the transparent white screen in front of his eyes. The 'Quest' says he has the potential to become a Chimera, something he despises with every fiber of his being, but he knew he would be stupid to pass on the opportunity, especially in his current...predicament.
Asher then realized one thing. He was completely helpless. His handgun and equipment weren't on him, and he had rags for clothes at this point. Asher turned to head back inside his house, but it was nothing more than a charred husk of a building.
With a sigh, one that even he himself did not know the true meaning of, Asher set off on the beginning to his perilous journey.
---------
After searching for any supplies around the neighborhood for hours, Asher realized that everything was gone. People, food, clothes...everything...lost...he truly was in hell. He knew District 4 was bad, but he hadn't known the full extent of the terraforming until today.
Asher clicked his tongue and began walking once more. He had no time to lament his losses. Not yet. Asher continued to walk and search for potential materials until he had made his way out of the city and into the wasteland that used to be a tide of verdant, rolling fields.
Thinking back on the message he received from the strange voice, Asher began thinking about every lava-oriented monster in District 4. Being a full-time shut-in while also being a scavenger, Asher was well versed in monsterology. In fact, he had several books dedicated to all known monsters on his planet.
While a lava-type affinity was rare in Chimera, it was for a good reason. Most monsters held advantages over lava-types, so it was generally seen as useless when one could hunt down a light-type or shadow-type and hold advantages over the vast majority of all monsters.
However, there was one slight problem with this method. There was only a single instance where a light-type monster had appeared, and two instances where a shadow-type appeared, leaving the vast majority of their stats and behavioral habits left to be speculated upon.
Both shadow-type monsters ended up killing those who hunted them, and the light-type was slain by the Chief of Chimera Operations, single handedly making the man the most powerful Chimera in existence. Though Asher resented the idea of becoming a Chimera, so too did he resent the idea of being weak. He would hunt and absorb the one monster that could bring all other's to their knees.
Kusio the Shadow Mind. The only monster with a dual affinity.
Just thinking the name made Asher grind his teeth in fury. He remembered Kusio. He would always remember the monstrosity that murdered his family, friends, and laid waste to his home. He would devour Kusio, even if it killed him. His revenge was close, he knew it...
Not much about Kusio was known besides aside being a dual affinity monster. Kusio was one of the highest ranking monsters in The Dark Zone since she was a mix between a humanoid Demon and a Dragon, not to mention that her known affinity was Shadow. Just having Shadow as an affinity was rare enough...but to have two affinities on top of being a Demon-Dragon hybrid...?
Asher knew that Kusio wouldn't go down easily.
Looking down at his soft and fragile arms, Asher realized that he needed to go through an intense transformation to even stand a chance against a low-leveled monster in District 4. Before this transformation, however, he knew that he needed shelter, food, and water, all of which would be difficult enough to find on their own.
But first, he would need a weapon.
Asher spotted a charred tree that stood tall and proud and made his way over toward it. He ran a hand down its charcoal-black bark, feeling the anguish and pain flowing through the tree as if it was his own before ripping off a thick limb.
Asher then found a stone before beating it against the side of the broken road, making a sharp edge so he could file the limb down to a manageable size. After getting the limb to the shape he wanted, Asher then used what was left of his shirt to fashion a sort-of string for the limb so he could make a makeshift bow.
After using the excess wood and making arrowheads, Asher began hunting for an easy kill. Though many of the monsters in District 4 were way beyond his league at the moment, there were very few monsters that posed no real harm to anything, and that was what he was hunting.
Asher knew that he was in the Southwestern part of District 4, so he would need to travel up North to find his quarry. Though a small part of the old Asher remained within his heart, Asher yearned for vengeance stronger than ever. He would need to be colder than ice to achieve this. A coward would be devoured instantly.
Shaking off any leftover nervousness and hesitation, Asher began heading North with his makeshift bow and arrows in hand, a light of determination shining through his blue bangs.