Chereads / AKUMA: Tale of the Last Demon / Chapter 12 - Chapter 12: New Beginning

Chapter 12 - Chapter 12: New Beginning

Akuma lay gasping on the cold, unforgiving cave floor, his heart pounding as the phantom sensations of his fall slowly faded. The strange figure's offer echoed in his mind, their ominous words wrapping around his thoughts like a noose tightening with each breath.

"Everything, of course."

Akuma shuddered, the weight of the encounter bearing down on him. He had rejected the figure's offer, but the price was still lingering in the air like a storm waiting to break. His refusal hadn't saved him—no, it only delayed the inevitable. The mark seared into his hand was proof enough that he was marked for something darker, more sinister.

His body trembled uncontrollably, not from the cold but from the terror gnawing at his insides. The flickering ember of hope, the fire of determination he had carried with him, was snuffed out in an instant. There was no victory here, no triumph over the dark forces surrounding him. Only the crushing realization that he was alone. And weak.

So, painfully weak.

---

The cave offered no shelter from the growing storm outside. The wind howled like a beast, and the temperature dropped even further. Snow began to seep through cracks in the stone walls, piling up around him. He could feel the cold creeping in, each gust of icy wind stealing away whatever warmth remained in his body. His hands and feet were numb, and the frostbite had begun to set in. The pain in his limbs became unbearable, sharp like needles driving into his flesh, but he had nothing to stop it.

His mind screamed for action, but his body refused. His muscles were spent, and the exhaustion weighed him down like a boulder. He was helpless—entirely and utterly helpless.

---

By the second night, the hunger became unbearable. It gnawed at his insides like a ravenous beast, each growl of his stomach louder than the last. His vision blurred, and his mind grew hazy with the fog of starvation. The thought of death, once distant, now loomed closer. He had no food, no water, nothing to sustain himself. Each day had been a battle for survival, but now, even the smallest victory seemed impossible.

As the night dragged on, Akuma found himself hallucinating, strange shapes dancing in the shadows of the cave. He swore he could hear the voices of the goblins he had slain, mocking him from beyond the grave.

"You should have taken the deal."

"You're nothing but prey."

"Weakling."

The voices clawed at his sanity, and Akuma pressed his hands to his ears, trying to block them out, but they only grew louder. His grip tightened, his fingernails digging into his scalp until they drew blood, but still, the voices remained. He screamed, a desperate, guttural sound that echoed off the stone walls, but there was no one to hear him.

The darkness was closing in.

---

By the third night, the wolves came.

Akuma lay curled in a corner of the cave, his body too weak to move, too starved to fight. His senses dulled, and his vision had become a blur of shadows and cold. He didn't even hear them at first—the soft padding of paws on the snow, the low growls in the distance. But as they drew closer, his survival instincts kicked in, and a primal fear surged through him.

The wolves, drawn by the scent of death, crept toward the entrance of the cave. Their glowing eyes pierced the night, hungry and feral. Akuma could see their shapes now, large and menacing, their breath fogging in the frigid air.

There were four of them—no, five. He tried to sit up, to muster some semblance of strength, but his body refused to obey. His vision swam, and he felt dizzy, the world spinning out of control.

"This is it,"_ he thought numbly. "I'm going to die."

The wolves closed in, their growls deepening as they circled the cave entrance. Akuma could see the hunger in their eyes, their lips curled back in vicious snarls, teeth bared and gleaming in the dim light. They were starving, just like him, but they were predators.

And he was their prey.

One of the wolves lunged forward, snapping its jaws just inches from Akuma's face. He flinched, his body recoiling instinctively, but there was nowhere to go. His back was against the cold stone wall, and his limbs were too weak to defend himself. The wolf's hot breath hit his face, and he could smell the rancid stench of its hunger.

Akuma's breath hitched. "I won't die like this," he had said, but now, those words felt hollow. Empty promises made to a world that had already decided his fate.

Another wolf lunged, its teeth sinking into his leg.

Pain exploded through him, and he screamed, a hoarse, ragged sound that tore through his throat. The wolf pulled back, dragging him toward the center of the cave, its teeth sinking deeper into his flesh. Akuma kicked weakly, but his movements were sluggish, powerless. He could feel the warm blood running down his leg, pooling in the snow beneath him.

The other wolves moved in, their growls growing louder, more frenzied. They were going to tear him apart, piece by piece.

He could feel it—the inevitability of death creeping closer with every bite, every snap of their jaws.

No," Akuma thought, his vision growing darker, his body colder. "No, I can't die like this."

But the pain, the hunger, the exhaustion... it was too much. Too overwhelming. His consciousness began to slip, the world around him fading into nothing.

In his final moments, as the wolves tore into his flesh, Akuma's mind drifted back to that figure. That offer of power. The darkness in their words.

"I should have taken the deal."

And then, everything went black.

As Akuma's vision faded and the darkness began to consume him, a whisper echoed through the void. It was a voice he knew well—ancient, cold, and filled with malice.

"I told you, Akuma..."

The voice slithered around him, seeping into every corner of his mind. There was no light here, only the oppressive weight of the darkness that had claimed him.

"You could have had everything."

A cold wind swept through the void, and Akuma, though barely conscious, could feel it pulling at him, dragging him deeper into the abyss. The pain from the wolves' attack was distant now, a fading memory, but the weight of his choices—his refusal, his arrogance—pressed down on him like a thousand stones.

"You think you are different, special. But in the end, you are just like the others. Weak. Helpless."

Akuma wanted to scream, to fight back, but his body was beyond broken. His spirit, once so strong, felt fractured—shattered by the relentless assault of fate. His will, once fierce, had been stripped away, leaving him vulnerable, exposed.

"Do you regret it?" the voice asked, soft and mocking.

Akuma didn't answer. He couldn't. His thoughts were a chaotic swirl of pain and regret, of anger at himself for refusing that dark figure's offer. He had thought he could overcome anything, that his strength would be enough. But now, as death loomed, he realized how wrong he had been.

"You should have taken the deal, Akuma. Power... is all that matters in this world."

There was a pause, and in the silence, Akuma's fading consciousness latched onto the voice. In his final moments, he wanted—needed—to understand.

"What... do you want from me?" Akuma's voice was barely a whisper in the darkness, his strength spent.

The voice laughed, low and cruel.

"I want what I have always wanted, Akuma. I want you. Your body, your soul. Your hatred. You are the perfect vessel for my power. You just have to surrender."

Akuma's mind reeled, trying to comprehend the weight of the offer. But what choice did he have? He was dying—if not already dead. The wolves had torn into him, and there was no coming back from that. Was this the end? Or was it a new beginning?

"Say the word, and all this suffering will end. You will be reborn, stronger than ever."

The offer hung in the void, tempting, alluring. Akuma's heart, weak as it was, still yearned for life. But the cost... it would be everything. His soul, his humanity—if there was any left.

His breathing slowed, his heartbeat weaker with every passing second. The pain was gone now, replaced with an eerie numbness. He was on the precipice, teetering between life and death. But that voice, that offer... it clawed at him, refusing to let him go.

"I..." Akuma's voice trembled, his mind a storm of conflicting emotions. "I don't want to die."

The darkness shuddered, and for a moment, there was silence. Then, the voice spoke again, soft and triumphant.

"Then accept it. Accept me. Embrace the darkness, and I will give you life."

Akuma hesitated, his thoughts spiraling into an abyss of doubt. But as the cold crept deeper into his bones, as the last vestiges of life slipped away, he knew he had no other choice.

"I accept..." Akuma breathed, his voice barely audible in the void. "I accept your power."

The moment the words left his lips, the darkness surged. It engulfed him, swallowing him whole. His body, once broken and weak, was flooded with a cold, terrible energy. It twisted through his veins, warping him, reshaping him into something new—something far more powerful than he had ever been before.

The pain returned, but this time it was different. It was sharp, burning, but it didn't weaken him. Instead, it made him stronger, feeding the dark power growing inside him. He could feel his wounds healing, his strength returning, but with it came something darker—something monstrous.

The wolves, still circling his broken body in the cave, sensed the change. Their snarls turned to whimpers as they backed away, tails between their legs. They could smell it—the stench of death, of something far worse than hunger.

Akuma's eyes snapped open, glowing with an unnatural light. He rose slowly, his body restored, but his soul... tainted. His lips curled into a twisted smile as the power coursed through him.

"I am not the same as before." His voice was a low growl, filled with a new, terrible authority.

The wolves, once so confident in their hunt, now cowered before him. With a flick of his wrist, dark tendrils of energy shot from his fingertips, wrapping around the wolves and lifting them into the air. They struggled, snarling and biting, but it was no use. Akuma's power was absolute.

"You thought you were the predators," he whispered, stepping forward, his voice laced with malice. "But you were always the prey."

With a final flick of his hand, the tendrils tightened, crushing the wolves in an instant. Their bodies crumpled to the ground, lifeless.

Akuma stood over them, his chest rising and falling with the rush of new power. The cave was silent now, save for the crackling energy that danced around his form.

"This... this is what power feels like."

He laughed, a dark, hollow sound that echoed off the stone walls. He was no longer the weak, dying man from before. He was something more. Something darker.

The figure's voice returned, softer now, satisfied.

"Welcome, Akuma. Welcome to your new beginning."

Akuma's eyes burned with newfound purpose as he stared into the depths of the cave. The world had tried to break him, to leave him for dead. But now, it was his turn.

"I will not fall again."