_______________
There was a small town named Valey (Va-lay) situated in a valley between two vast mountains, the smallest of the two reaching well over 15,000 meters high, with the larger one being nearly a quarter larger.
This valley appeared just like a picturesque scene straight from a storybook, a large forest encapsulating half of it that contained trees around 24 meters in height that were a beautiful green gradient, with a waterfall streaming down one of the mountains into a vast lake located directly adjacent to the village, and small houses made of brick that gave off a homely feeling making up the quaint town.
If one were to take in the environment, they wouldn't help but to feel a peace overcome them. Breathing in the air, they would smell an earthy scent, as if the area was unencumbered by the pollution of everyday life.
Listening to the running water, one would feel a strange peace, the sounds enough to almost lull one to sleep.
The town of Valey held a population of around 150,000 people, being one of the smaller towns within the kingdom of Veria. Within this town, a young man who appeared to be in his mid-20's could be seen, he was quietly sitting on a log, staring blankly at the space in front of him, lost in thought.
This young man could be viewed as handsome, but he seemed to contain a certain fierceness to his looks; he had skin the color of milk chocolate, a face with sharp features, a pointed nose, sharp sword-like eyebrows, long curly hair that reached the small of his back, deep, swirling blue eyes that seemed to almost suck the soul out of those who were brave enough to stare into them, and lips perpetually kept in a straight line of disinterest that seemed to have two sharp fangs peeking out of the corner of them, making his appearance take on a certain tone of ferocity.
However, what was probably the biggest oddity of him, was the little red flame mark that marred the middle of his forehead, the color seeming to perfectly contrast the color of his eyes, drawing one deeper into his gaze.
This young man was named Torus, and as he sat watching his surroundings, he felt a wave of nostalgia wash over him. Sitting there, he pondered to himself, remembering the events of the past month-and-a-half, and where exactly everything had so drastically changed.
~One Month Prior~
Torus snapped awake as if any other day, scrambling to fully awaken after finding himself to have woken far later than he normally would after a long day of training. Slipping out of the warm comfortable sheets that covered him, Torus rushed about to get ready for the day.
After scrambling about in a panic, Torus was fully changed, quickly rushing down the stairs toward the entrance of his house.
However, as he rushed out, Torus quickly came to a stop, turning back around to give his Mother a quick peck on the cheek. As he was about to leave, he noticed the slight smile on her face as she watched his figure, and after remembering the last time he had forgotten to give her a kiss, Torus couldn't help but to let out a slight shudder.
As he sprinted through the small town, his feet padding against the brick pavement, Torus watched his surroundings with a sense of familiarity.
The village of Valey appeared similar to what one would expect of a middle-aged town, with houses made of stone and wood mixture, capped with brick rooves. As he walked through it, Torus could feel the peaceful atmosphere, as well as the feeling of connection among the people, a gentle smile growing on his features as he enjoyed the cool morning breeze blowing through the long strands of his hair.
Every once in a while, he would pass a member of the town, giving a small wave or smile to them, being greeted by each as he ran past. This showed the connection and closeness of the town, with each person knowing one another.
Entering the hall, Torus was unsurprised to find the inside to be filled with a large group of males, with very little females within; this was due to the long-known fact that women were less likely to awaken a combat-type God Seed. Walking quickly through the crowd, ducking and dodging between those that were currently sparring, Torus finally came to a halt in front of his Master.
As he swiveled about, Torus' nose couldn't help but to wrinkle, the strong smell of sweat seeming to encapsulate the area. However, as he came to a stop before his Master, a new smell seemed to enter his nose, this one a much more sweeter scent.
Torus' Master was a woman whom appeared to be in her late-to-mid 20's, she had long lustrous black hair that came down in gorgeous locks, tanned olive skin that seemed to glow a perfect golden color within the brightly lit room, a face free of wrinkles with thin eyebrows, chocolatey brown eyes that felt as though they could cause one to melt, a thin nose that added a noble-like air to her face, and lips that were pulled into a smile so beautiful it could almost cause someone to fall into a daze.
And yet, staring at this woman, Torus could feel nothing but a sense of dread.
Torus took in a deep breath, feeling relieved at his making it on time and hopefully avoiding whatever tortuous punishment his Master had concocted this time.
That thought soon came to a screeching death however, as he heard the next words that came out of his Master's mouth, "I see you still haven't managed to get rid of that bad habit of yours of sleeping in, huh Torus?
Maybe my punishment last time wasn't enough for you, well instead of 500 laps around the building why don't you go ahead and run 1000 - maybe this time, the lesson will stick!" Torus' Master exclaimed, a look of dread flashing across Torus' face as the words rung in his ears.
Torus could feel nothing but dread at these words. This was what caused Torus' reaction toward his Master to differ so drastically from other's, because he knew the truth - behind that sweet smile hid the mind of a sadistic woman.
Torus knew better than to attempt to argue with his Master, so, letting out a long suffering sigh with shoulders sagging, Torus was quick to head toward the entrance of the building, preparing himself for the torture of his muscles that was sure to follow. As he walked, Torus couldn't help but to slightly drag his feet, sulking a bit at the situation.
The Guild Hall was a decent amount larger than the average building considering its need to hold so many people. For someone who hadn't awakened their God Seed, this was a reasonably difficult area to run around for just 200 laps; for someone who had awakened their God Seed, this was a far-cry from their peak, such that they could easily lap the entire city well over 20 times, let alone just the building.
Torus prepared himself, doing stretches to warm himself up before he began his sprint around the building, setting a blazing pace.
It was about an hour later when Torus had finally come to a stop; breathlessly, he wheezed out, "Finally, I've completed all 1000 laps. Are you going to teach me something now, Master?!" Torus exclaimed, seemingly excited at the prospect of learning something related to fighting, but really he was just excited to do anything aside from running.
His Master gave him an appraising look, before eventually giving the smallest of nods, turning and beginning to walk away.
Torus was stunned at this behavior, having no idea what this strange response meant, before the voice of his Master rang out with a tinge of amusement and playfulness hidden behind the stoic façade, "Are you coming? I thought you wanted to train, but if not, I don't mind ending things here for the day." She said, turning around to hide the teasing smirk that overtook her otherwise stern countenance.
This one sentence sent a jolt of shock through Torus' mind, before he hurriedly replied whilst chasing after her retreating figure, "Coming, Coming!" he hurriedly shouted. It was with this sentence of panic and surprise that the Master-Disciple pair headed back inside the entrance to the Mercenary Hall.
~~~~
Currently, it was late in the afternoon and the sun had long fallen from the sky leaving the valley suffused in darkness; and yet still, a pair of figures could be seen, seemingly rapidly clashing with one another.
One appeared to be that of a feminine figure that seemed rather tall for a woman at a height of around 1.93 meters (around 6'4), while the other was the figure of a broad-shouldered man who stood at a height of around 2.0 meters (around 6'7), something considered as relatively tall for the Divine Race.
What was surprising about the scene was that the much shorter woman seemed to be easily defeating the larger male, almost manhandling him; yet, whilst still managing to keep an air of grace about her.
Finally, the spar appeared to have come to an end when the man, in a state of frustration, tried to send out a violent strike toward the woman's face with no regard to his own defense.
However, before his attack could even reach her, the woman reached out before grabbing his outstretched arm, using his the momentum of his thrust to spin her own body around with her back to the man, tucking her body inward and pulling with the force of his fist, the woman managed to flip the man's much larger form over herself.
Landing heavily on his back, the man felt it as the air was forcefully expelled from his lungs, leaving him laying there gasping to regain his breath.
Looking down at him, the woman let out a sigh of fondness before opening her mouth to speak, "Torus, how many times have I told you not to let your emotions guide your actions in the midst of a battle? It's unbefitting for a member of the Divine Race," the woman stated, her tone containing a soft admonishment within it.
This pair of figures was obviously the Master-Disciple pair of Torus Thrio and his Master, Sofia Lenor. Torus was struggling beneath his Master, feeling both frustrated with himself and anger at the situation he found himself in.
The reason for his anger stemmed from the fact that, after so long of learning diligently under his Master, Torus still couldn't manage to land even a single successful attack on her.
It was thanks to this anger and shame that something unexpected happened, something neither Sofia nor Torus could've ever predicted.
His God Seed bloomed, and with it the world as he knew it changed; his hearing seemed to amplify manifold, he seemed to be able to smell even the moisture surrounding him, his eyes could see the smallest of details as if he were viewing the world in a higher definition, and he felt as if he could literally taste the air.
Torus felt a high wash over him, he felt freed of the mortal shackles that had previously held him down. As this feeling overwhelmed him, a sudden desire seemed to encompass him, something he couldn't simply ignore; and with this feeling overwhelming him, Torus' head turned up, roaring out into the clouded sky.
Yet, what Torus was not expecting was that along with this increase in strength was something else, as if a bestial instinct was fighting for control of his body. Torus fought the feeling off as best he could, but through a combination of inexperience and the shock caused by his newfound increase in senses, these new instincts were quick to overpower him.
And with that, Torus lost control.
~~~~
Sofia was shocked, feeling dazed at the sight in front of her; how had her precious Disciple ended up like this? She had never seen someone who awakened their Aspect so thoroughly lose control of themselves.
Sure, some people had brief periods where they would become power-drunk directly after Awakening, but to so thoroughly lose control of themselves like this? It was almost completely unheard of.
Before Sofia could try to comprehend what had occurred before her very eyes, she felt as if the eyes of a hungry predator had begun to stare her down. Shuddering in discomfort and a little of something else at the feeling, Sofia focused her attention back over to her disciple wherein she found her eyes widening in shock at the sight before her.
Where before had stood the handsome youth that was her disciple, now stood what appeared to be a beast in human form, with sharp canines, long claw-like nails, wolf ears atop its head, a tail poking out It's backside, and its figure crouched in a position as if ready to pounce on its prey.
The beast gave her an appraising look while sniffing the air in her direction, before its claws seemed to retract and the look in its eyes changed; no longer did it view her as an enemy, it now instead held a gaze of animalistic desire.
This did little to dissuade Sofia of her feeling of discomfort, and instead only worked to increase it. Sofia decided she had waited long enough, quickly rushing toward the beast in preparation to knock it out, hopefully bringing her disciple back to the surface.
Rushing forward, Sofia expected to be able to easily trounce the beast; It was, after all, in the body of her precious disciple, someone she could manhandle in her sleep.
Yet, when her fist was just about to connect with the beast's face - which was clearly shocked at the speed of the attack if the look on its face was any indication - the beast bent It's spine in an unnatural way, Its figure sharply pivoting as the attack flew over It, It's body now bent backward similar to how a bow might.
After a moment, the beast finally seemed tired of the disadvantageous situation, one of its claw-like hands lashing out. As It's hand swung out, it seemed to aim for her arm, moving in to subdue her rather than genuinely attack her.
Sofia's eyes widened in surprise; however, she did not panic and instead took two quick strides backwards far faster than the beast could ever hope to follow, appearing around 10 meters away, something seemingly impossible considering Sofia had only taken two steps.
After that abrupt confrontation, Sofia now viewed the beast in front of her as a serious threat, her expression changing from its perpetual smile into a deep frown of concentration, her brows slightly furrowing.
The beast let out a deep snarl of frustration at its target managing to escape its attack; no longer feeling like waiting for Sofia to prepare to attack, the beast launched itself at her.
In just four quick strides, the beast had reached her, extending its claws in preparation to attack her, now viewing her as a threat worth eliminating after personally feeling the previous strength she put into her attack.
Sofia reacted to the attack instantly, sidestepping the incoming swipe from the beast and punching her hand out with palm open, fingers pressed together as she aimed the tip directly at the beast. The attack pierced deeply into the beast's chest, and using that as a hold, Sofia swung her free hand down, smashing the beast into unconsciousness.
The strike Sofia had just used where she had managed to pierce the beast with her nails revolved around her Aspect; Sofia had a rather unique aspect - one of sharpness.
~~~
Torus awoke with a killer headache, feeling as if he'd just woken from a day-long nap. Looking around, he was shocked to find himself within what appeared to be a hospital room.
Quickly jumping up, Torus began to search himself for any injuries, unaware of the incident that had occurred after he'd lost control. Yet, before Torus had the chance to even jump up, he was stopped by the pain that lanced through his body coming from his stomach.
Letting out a hiss of pain, Torus returned to his previous position once more, slightly raising his shirt to look at where the pain originated. However, as he took in the sight, Torus felt a wave of relief as whatever injury was there seemed to be almost completely healed up.
Just then, the 'pitter-pattering' of someone's feet could be heard as they slowly walked down the hall, heading directly in the direction of the entrance to the room Torus was within.
_______________