After exhaling softly, Asher wrapped his fingers around the longsword's hilt. The moment his hand made contact, the blood-red chains binding it loosened and the giant hovering above the sword vanished into nothingness.
Everything happened in a split second. Asher's right arm—now wielding the sword—turned crimson. His fingernails extended into hardened claws, and half of his hair took on the same blood-red hue.
He took a step back as if hit by an unseen force, and a wild, unrestrained power erupted from within him, sending the surrounding water into a furious churn.
"Ah…" He sighed, his voice several folds deeper as he looked at his reflection in the water—a mix of fascination and horror fixated on his mismatched eyes: one a vibrant crimson and the other a dull golden.
