Simon adjusted his glasses, the frames slightly slipping down his nose, which was slick with sweat. Around him, the remnants of Veridian City lay in ruins—skyscrapers reduced to twisted metal and crumbling concrete, smoke rising in thin plumes across the horizon. The air was heavy with ash and the stench of burnt debris. He stared at faintly glowing hands, like distant stars flickering in the night.
"This is my life now..." Simon thought, his mind racing but his expression calm, unreadable. He clenched his fists, feeling the energy simmer beneath his skin, unstable and foreign.
A low, guttural growl echoed from somewhere ahead. Simon's gaze snapped to the source—a beast, hunched on four legs, its massive body rippling with muscle as it stalked through the cityscape. Its eyes, red as burning coals, locked onto him. For a moment, Simon stood frozen, a cold shiver running down his spine. His heart pounded, fear gnawing at his resolve. "It's huge... like an elephant... no, bigger," he muttered under his breath, glancing up at the beast's towering frame. He could feel the creature's killing intent washing over him like a suffocating wave, but still, he didn't run. His fingers twitched, and his thoughts raced. "I can't win this outright... but I can survive."
The beast snarled and charged, the ground shaking beneath its thunderous steps. Without thinking, Simon split into three. It was illusion magic—a technique he'd learned ever since the start of the apocalypse—created two perfect copies of himself, all three moving in sync as they scattered in different directions. The creature's enormous jaws snapped toward the middle Simon, its razor-sharp teeth closing around empty air. Simon blinked. It actually worked. His relief was short-lived as he noticed the beast had shifted, its attention now on the real Simon, the one moving toward its flank.
'Move. I need to move now.' Simon commanded his trembling legs. Despite the fear, despite the shaking in his limbs, he charged forward. The other illusions sprinted alongside him, each making for a different angle. As the beast snarled in confusion, Simon leaped, his palms reaching out to touch its rough, fur-covered hide. The moment his hands connected, a torrent of energy surged into him, raw and powerful. His body trembled as it absorbed the monster's strength. The beast, feeling its energy drain, thrashed violently, throwing its massive body against nearby buildings, smashing them into rubble in a frantic attempt to dislodge Simon.
Pain lanced through Simon's body as he was crushed against walls, debris slicing into his skin. He gasped, tasting blood in his mouth, but held on, his fingers digging deeper into the beast's hide. His muscles screamed in protest, but the energy... it was healing him, repairing his broken bones, sealing his wounds almost as fast as they were made. "I'm... not dying yet," he whispered through gritted teeth. The beast roared, its movements becoming sluggish. With a final, desperate leap, it tried to shake him loose, but Simon's grip only got stronger. He felt the monster's energy waning, slipping away with each passing second. The once-mighty creature's growls turned weak, and finally, with a low, pained whine, it collapsed.
Simon released his grip and stumbled back, breathing heavily. His body was bruised and bloodied, but the pain was fading, replaced by a growing warmth as the monster's energy settled within him. He looked down at his hands glowing brighter, now pulsating with the life force he'd sucked. The beast, lying in a heap of fur and muscle, gave one last weak growl, its eyes dulling as it accepted its fate.
"You scared the life out of me," Simon muttered, wiping the blood from his mouth. He reached up to adjust his glasses but froze when he realized they were cracked beyond repair. With a frustrated sigh, he tossed them aside, the metal frames clattering against the rubble. The energy inside him was intoxicating—raw, untamed, more than his body could hold. His fingertips tingled as it leaked from his pores. He clenched his fists, trying to hold it in, but the power was slipping. "I can't keep it all... not yet."
"I could get used to this," Simon whispered, his voice edged with something darker, something almost... hungry.
Simon closed his eyes, focusing inward, directing the volatile energy into his core. The raw, chaotic power surged within him like a raging storm, but he pushed it down, taming it, channeling it. He visualized his body—his muscles, bones, nerves, organs—and imagined the energy flowing into them like a river, strengthening and refining them. The sensation was immediate, as if every fiber of his being was coming alive. His muscles tightened, each strand swelling with newfound strength. The fibers stretched and grew, the energy feeding them like sunlight to a starving plant. His entire frame seemed to expand, not visibly, but in how his body responded, each movement sharper, quicker, more deliberate. He could feel the surge in power, the sense of control tightening around his limbs as if they were now perfectly attuned to his thoughts. His arms, legs, and core bristled with raw potential, his muscles more efficient, more powerful than they had ever been.
The bones in his arms and legs began to hum with the energy, a deep, resonant vibration that echoed through his skeleton. The sensation was strange—heat and pressure building from within, as if the marrow in his bones was being melted and reforged into something unbreakable. Simon gritted his teeth, the growing intensity almost too much to bear, but he didn't let go. He held the energy in place, forcing it deeper, letting it harden and solidify every bone in his body. His limbs felt denser, heavier with power, but they moved with the grace and precision of a well-crafted weapon. "More..." Simon thought, a fierce determination in his mind. The energy obeyed, coursing through him like a lightning strike, igniting every nerve. His reflexes sharpened, his senses expanding in all directions. His nerves lit up, a web of electricity connecting him to the world around him. Every noise, every shift in the air, became clearer, more precise—the distant crackle of flames, the faint groaning of collapsing buildings, even the rustling of wind through the rubble. His body thrummed with vitality, every beat of his heart syncing with the pulse of the city around him.
His organs followed next, swelling with power as the energy flowed into them. His heart—once racing with adrenaline—began to slow, its rhythm steady and strong. Each beat thundered in his chest like a drum, a slow and deliberate thud that sent waves of strength through his veins. His lungs expanded, the oxygen rushing in like a flood. Each breath filled him with life, deeper, richer, as if the very air had become a source of strength. His liver, his kidneys, even his stomach—all were fortified, transformed into efficient, tireless machines, designed to support this new body, this new strength. The sensation was overwhelming. He could feel his body shifting, adapting to the influx of power. His veins pulsed with the life force he had taken from the beast, his blood carrying it to every corner of his being. It wasn't just a feeling of strength—it was a feeling of invincibility, as though nothing could break him, as if no force in this world could tear him down. His body had been reforged, remade into something more than human.
Simon opened his eyes, feeling the energy settle within him, though it still flickered at the edges of his control, threatening to spill over. He flexed his fingers, marveling at the power coursing through them, the subtle, refined strength now embedded in every muscle, every tendon. His body felt... different, as if he had been reborn, his former weakness cast aside like a forgotten skin. He flexed his arms, testing the newfound strength, feeling the hardness of his bones and the responsiveness of his nerves. He could move faster, react quicker, strike harder. A smile crept onto his face, but this time it wasn't out of relief. It was something else entirely. Satisfaction. He had survived. Not just survived—he had grown stronger. He had taken the beast's energy and made it his own. And the power... it felt good. Too good.
"I could definitely get used to this," Simon murmured, rolling his shoulders, the movement smooth and powerful. His body responded effortlessly, as if the energy had fused with him on a fundamental level. The beast's life force was now part of him, woven into the very fabric of his being. And though the energy wasn't yet perfectly controlled, it was enough. For now, it was enough to make him feel... invincible.
But as the once-distant fear faded, something else took its place. A craving. A need for more. More power. More strength. The energy still thrummed inside him, but it wasn't enough. It would never be enough. He could feel the hunger creeping into his thoughts, a gnawing need that whispered for more—more challenges, more monsters, more energy to consume. He glanced down at the defeated creature, its lifeless form sprawled in the debris, a reminder of his victory. Yet it wasn't the sight of the dead beast that captured his attention—it was the potential. The thought that there were more like it out there, more beasts with power waiting to be absorbed, more energy to claim. His fingers twitched, his body still buzzing from the recent infusion of power, but now they itched for the next fight, the next opportunity to feed the growing hunger inside him.