The day went on as usual, but it was already night; Siegfried was alone and seemed to be alone at night, without friends, he only talked to nature and the sky. Fortunately, Bleakstone's landscape was very clear, there was no excessive light police there. At least there was in the Rural skyline.
Siegfried just spoke and was silent for a moment, staring at the sky in amazement, however, there was the sound of people calling for help. Siegfried turned his head, he didn't care who it was, he only saw a beggar man who seemed to be starving at the moment. Siegfried didn't want to waste his money, he immediately took the beggar to a fancy restaurant.
It wasn't long before the order arrived. Siegfried ordered about two kilos of Kobe beef, after which, Siegfried engaged the beggar in conversation to warm up the atmosphere. He didn't have to pay because all the food here was free for him, since he had already paid for it, but there might be some people who didn't know.
Siegfried asked the old man. "How long have you been doing this, sir?"
The man replied cryptically. "I've been destitute for about seven years, ever since my house was evicted."
"Ah, well, maybe I can help you later." Siegfried responded.
The order came, the old man finally ate his food with gusto; it seemed like he hadn't eaten in days. Within thirty minutes, the food was gone, and the man thanked Siegfried for the meal.
Siegfried smiled and patted the old man on the shoulder. "Sir, I have some money here, it might help."
Siegfried helped the man with some money; he might not think it was much, but he gave about a suitcase of money and gold to the man without expecting anything in return, even sincerely giving it away.
"I hope that in a few more years, I can meet you looking different." Siegfried said.
"Thank you, son, may Lord reward your kindness."
Siegfried then escorted the man to his home, in a rural slum; the man thanked him again, Siegfried smiled, and finally, he returned home, his heart feeling lighter than ever. As he walked, he couldn't help but reflect on the encounter, feeling the satisfaction of having made a difference in someone's life, even if only for one night. The stars above seemed to twinkle a little brighter, as if recognizing his act of kindness. Siegfried felt a connection to the universe, a sense of being part of something bigger than himself. And when he reached his doorstep, he knew that goodness would always be with him.
Siegfried's heart pounded in his chest as he surveyed the bubbling potion. "Is this some kind of poison?" he exclaimed, his voice tight.
Retch's grin grew wide. "Ah, an experimental potion." he chuckled, gesturing Siegfried towards a door that led deeper into the laboratory. "Come, come, take a look at this!"
The air was heavy with a strange metallic scent as they entered. Under the flickering light of a lamp, a hideous shape writhed on a nearby table. The creature was a hideous hunk of flesh, a strange blend of rat and snake, its body mutated beyond recognition, its claws dripping with thick slime. Before Siegfried could voice his disgust, Retch spoke again, his voice tinged with an unearthly appeal.
"Not alien visitors, my friend." he said, "but the unfortunate results of my last experiment."
A chill of fear coiled in Siegfried's stomach. "So the potion is dangerous?"
Retch's smile faltered for a moment, then returned, strained. "Dangerous, yes, but its effects on humans in small doses are completely unknown." With a practised flick of his wrist, he picked up a syringe and injected a small amount of the potion into his own arm.
Siegfried watched, mesmerised, as Retch's eyes widened. The scientist's posture straightened, his movements growing more agile. "I feel marvellous!" he exclaimed, his voice sounding like a madman. "My mind is racing, full of possibilities!"
Before Siegfried could react, a primal urge overcame him. He snatched the bottle and gulped down the rest of the potion in one gulp. Searing heat erupted from within, his bones groaning in protest as his body twisted and stretched with alarming speed. Within minutes, he towered over the laboratory, his form a grotesque parody of a human, his skin cracked and oozing blood. Panic choked her.
"This is not good," he shouted, his voice distorted. "I have to control this!"
Retch, who was smaller than the now monstrous Siegfried, picked up a serum containing an antidote. With his newfound mind, Retch jabbed the syringe into Siegfried's throbbing flesh. Miraculously, it worked. Siegfried's torturous transformation receded slightly, leaving behind lingering pain and a new awareness of his monstrous potential.
Thirty minutes later, Siegfried had shrunk back to his normal size. He looked up at Retch, his face grim. "That was... unexpected. Perhaps it was too much to handle casually."
Retch, his face pale, began to explain at length. "There is a pattern, Siegfried. The transformation is triggered under the light of the night sky, and lasts about half an hour. There is a brief window afterwards where you will lose your hearing, but then it subsides completely."
Siegfried frowned. "So, I turn into a giant monster every time I'm exposed to the night light, lose my hearing for a while, and then... return to normal? That sounds troublesome. Maybe I could order takeaway more often."
They retreated back into the house, both shaken by the ordeal. But the damage had been done. News of Siegfried's transformation had spread like wildfire. Television screens flickered with images of a hideous cone-shaped creature - vaguely reminiscent of a forgotten nightmare creature - towering over the city.
Retch, desperate for answers, tries to analyse the footage. But his high-tech equipment malfunctions. Every attempt to measure Siegfried's power during his transformation yields only one chilling message: "Immeasurable."
Suddenly, a deep, booming voice echoed in Siegfried's mind, a voice filled with power and malice. "Try to master... or leave." The voice gave Siegfried goosebumps. He wasn't just dealing with strange potions anymore. He had encountered something far more ancient, far more dangerous.
Siegfried tried to sleep, the image of his monstrous form flickering in his mind like a bad horror movie. But sleep wouldn't come. Dawn found him pacing his apartment, a knot of unease tightening in his stomach. The news was abuzz with his "disappearance," reporters camped outside his building. He ignored them, heading to his company with a cold determination.
There, a bombshell awaited. A massive order for missiles, the most advanced tech on the market, had landed unexpectedly. The price tag, however, was astronomical, far beyond their budget. A million thoughts raced through Siegfried's mind. His own needs were suddenly unimportant. He scribbled a revised figure on the order form, a mere pittance in the grand scheme, yet enough to push the deal through. Confusion hung heavy in the air as he stormed out, a cold sweat clinging to him.
He needed air, needed to think. Hopping into his car, he aimed for his usual coffee spot. Traffic, however, was a nightmare. Then, a memory sparked. His car, a advanced of engineering, possessed a short-burst flight capability. With a heartbeat, he pressed the concealed button, the image of a jet fighter flashing before his eyes. The car lurched upwards, the cityscape shrinking beneath him. Minutes later, he landed near the familiar cafe, heart pounding in his chest.
This coffee wouldn't be his usual sweet concoction. Today, he craved the bitter truth. It scalded his tongue, mirroring the turmoil within. He squinted into the rising sun, a grim realization dawning. New power demanded new understanding. Maybe success wasn't about instant results, but about learning the dance with this newfound… responsibility.
Drained, he returned home, a nap the only solace before a night that stretched before him, heavy with unanswered questions. When darkness finally fell, he knew it was time. He transformed. This time, control felt strangely easy. He focused the entity's power, channeling it into a single, blinding beam. The air crackled with raw energy, and somewhere, a massive order materialized - the missiles his company desperately needed.
But then, something shifted. His control slipped, replaced by an alien presence. This consciousness wasn't hostile, not exactly. It was beyond good and evil, a chilling neutrality that sent shivers down his metaphorical spine.
The transformation didn't end after thirty minutes. This time, the world faded around him. When it solidified again, he wasn't in his apartment. He stood before a colossal entity, a mirror image of his own monstrous form.
The entity spoke, its voice resonating within his very being. "You are chosen. Not good, not evil, but a force for balance. You walk the path of righteousness, but without the burden of morality."
Then, just as abruptly as it appeared, the entity vanished. Siegfried found himself back in his human form, the alien power now an extension of himself. He had a choice: tell Retch or face this new reality alone. The weight of that decision settled upon him, heavy and unavoidable.
Now, Siegfried could explain any anomaly, weave reality from imagination on a whim. Yet, a hollowness gnawed at him. No close friends beyond Retch. His life, a tapestry woven with power, but lacking connection.
Then, sirens wailed in the night, a harbinger of chaos. Tonight, Siegfried wouldn't just transform. He'd become the embodiment of cosmic dread. With a flourish, he produced the "Space Horrors" – a deck of cards holding unimaginable power. Two cards slid into the transformation slot: "Nyarlathotep" for the monstrous form, and "Seven Kings" for infernal might.
A grotesque metamorphosis contorted him. His flesh seemed to rot, his voice a rasping symphony of nightmares. With each attack, skulls materialized, warping reality around him. He christened this monstrosity the "King of All Evil."
From the sky, a counterpoint to his horror emerged – a colossal spider, a grotesque birthing of astronauts' forbidden experiments. Retch's voice crackled through the comms, a harried urgency. "Siegfried, it's not one! Thousands! They duplicate, each weighing forty thousand tonnes!"
A twisted smile stretched across Siegfried's face. "Challenge accepted, Nyarlathotep."
The monsters swarmed, more coordinated than mindless beasts. Siegfried charged, his form a grotesque vanguard. He called upon Lucifer's sword, a fiery blade descending from the heavens. But he felt no heat, no impact. Blow after blow landed, but as Retch warned, the spiders duplicated relentlessly.
Siegfried, prioritizing the city's safety, lured the horde into the mountains. He soared through the air, the monstrous arachnids a horrifying ballet in his wake. But their sheer numbers overwhelmed him. He didn't care about his own demise; only the lives below.
In that desperate moment, his power surged. Mirror images of his form exploded into existence, each as horrifying as the last, quickly surpassing the spider army. Yet, the true monstrosity resided above – a colossal spider, a grotesque king.
"Siegfried, wait! That spider dwarfs you – a thousand meters, five hundred thousand tonnes!" Retch's voice shrieked.
"Limits? I don't know the meaning of the word!" Siegfried roared, defiance echoing across the mountain peaks.
A booming voice filled the very air. "Pathetic creature, flailing against my magnificence. I am Benevolent, the KING OF KINGS! You cannot hope to match my existence!"
"We'll see about that," Siegfried spat, a chilling mockery twisting his voice. "Time to end this."
He slammed a third card – "Burning Satan" – into the transformation slot, merging its power with Nyarlathotep. His form contorted further, eyes blazing with infernal fire. Siegfried was gone, consumed by the cosmic horror. His size ballooned, dwarfing even the colossal spider. Retch's voice, barely a whisper, rasped, "Twenty-three thousand meters…"
The monstrous spider king, Benevolent, regarded him with something akin to amusement. "A truly impressive form, little one. But against a god?" It chuckled, a sound like grinding glaciers. "Foolish."
Siegfried, or whatever entity now controlled him, roared a challenge. "Fight me if you can."
Nyarlathotep, the cosmic horror now piloting Siegfried's flesh, went straight for the jugular. No fancy divine pronouncements, just the cold brutality of a predator. Its voice, a horrific sound of every scream, roar, and bark ever uttered, boomed through the void. "You call yourself a god? How quaint. How utterly… amusing."
Benevolent, pushed to its limit, pulsed with raw power as it transformed. Retch's voice crackled with urgency, "It's surpassing 27,000 meters! Siegfried, you have to-"
But Nyarlathotep cared nothing for size or strategy. It was a being of pure chaos, reveling in the cosmic brawl. The fight raged, tearing them beyond the solar system, a grotesque dance of destruction amongst the cold stars. As Benevolent faltered, weakened, Nyarlathotep unleashed its ultimate attack.
No grand light show, no earth-shattering roar. Just a horrifying cataract of light, accompanied by a soul-shredding hum that resonated through the very fabric of reality. The Seven Kings, unleashed from Nyarlathotep's form, tore into Benevolent with a monstrous hunger, devouring the god-spider like a pack of ravenous beasts.
Then, with chilling indifference, Nyarlathotep deposited Siegfried's body back on Earth. A crash from above, a broken roof, and Siegfried tumbled into his room, landing with a dull thud.
"Siegfried, wake up!" Retch's voice cut through the haze, a hand shaking his shoulder.
Bleary-eyed, Siegfried stirred, blinking away the remnants of the cosmic battle. He sat up, looking like someone who'd simply overslept. Hunger gnawed at his stomach. He shuffled over to the kitchen, devouring dinner without a word.
Retch watched, a million questions swirling in his mind. "How… how did you get out of the solar system?" he finally managed. "The scientists are baffled."
Siegfried shrugged, his expression unreadable. "I don't know," he mumbled, a strange vacancy in his eyes. "There was a throne. Silent. Empty. But shapeless."
Retch didn't understand the cryptic response, but a sense of dread settled in his gut. He knew, with chilling certainty, that Siegfried's recent transformations were far from over. The entities that had possessed him were a mystery, and the cost of wielding such power remained terrifyingly unclear.
To be continued...