Author: I tried a different writing style with this chapter to see which one feels better. Please give your opinion and don't forget to review.
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Days passed since I was locked in here, I could tell that by counting the number of times I was fed as well as my body's natural clock.
The first day was hell. The cold floors and silence that seemed to mock me were my constant companions. I wondered why this happened to me?
I avoided conflict like a plague while growing up, spending nineteen years without getting into any physical altercation as far as I can remember. Yet, I was imprisoned by a king who wishes to exploit me for my abilities.
The irony that the boy possessing the power to manipulate life itself is imprisoned by an aged king is not lost on me.
Fate is a cruel mistress.
Being able to manipulate organic matter made the food much more bearable. I reckoned that starvation was a tactic used on prisoners to keep them weak and in line, easy to break. Yet, the repetitive sight of the trash they served as food only served to enrage me.
That rage fueled my next course of action.
Dungeons are not known for their hygiene so it is no surprise that rats scurry around. From their lack of fear in approaching me, I had used a portion of my food to lure them to me much earlier.
In the palm of my hand sat a rat. To any observer, it would be a typical rodent but to me, it was so much more.
In all my time using my semblance on the people of the village, I avoided messing with the brain, a self imposed restriction. A restriction that I tossed away in this cell.
After more than a few trials with errors, I finally achieved my goal. A rat with heightened intelligence, reaching human levels by my estimates. It could understand me but it obviously couldn't speak.
That won't be necessary for what I have planned. Nezu, as I had taken to calling it, had other functions than increased intelligence. His gums secrete a lethargic venom that forces the human body to slowly shut down in a matter of days. If not treated, the victim would die.
A venom I designed myself.
"This won't hurt a bit." I said to him.
Placing Nezu on the ground, I placed my palm on his tiny head, activating my semblance once more. Nezu's skin shook for a moment before a second Nezu split from his body.
Demi-cellular division; a method of replication in which all duplicates are connected to the main unit through a hive mind.
I didn't keep track of time but by the time I was satisfied, my cell was filled with what were essentially clones of Nezu. A horde.
Picking up the original once more, I pet his head softly. "How does it feel?" I ask.
He tilted his head for a moment before nodding it slowly. From the corner of my eye, I see the rest of them doing the same.
"Good, you know what to do. Let nobody be spared." I say, getting another nod from him.
The occasional knight guards think I've gone crazy but that's alright. Watching the many rats scurry out of my cell through the holes they came through slightly made up for it.
While the rest run along to infect as many as possible, the original stays with me. That would allow me to effectively control them through him.
Forgive me, for this is a necessary retribution. I say a silent prayer for the innocents that will get caught in my retaliation.
Now, I wait.
-[The Palace]-
Sitting in his study, the king looked over the reports his men had delivered to him. Things were getting bad.
It started with a few people falling sick but it was dismissed. People got sick all the time, it was nothing to worry about. He didn't realize how wrong he was.
It started out with people falling sick, then it started spreading and more people got sick. Even animals weren't safe. Then they started dying, all of them showing the same symptoms; a gradual feeling of tiredness that increased as time went on.
The death toll increased by the day. Oswin was convinced that it had something to do with the new guest in the dungeon but he dismissed that as well.
First of all, the boy was a healer and secondly, he was still in his cell. How could he have anything to do with it when he couldn't even see the light of day.
Though true that it all started soon after his incarceration, there was no evidence to prove his involvement.
For now, all they could do was try to contain it as much as possible. He thrashed his son's suggestion of having the boy heal the masses. The risk of him getting infected as well was too dangerous for him to allow that.
Unless this disease found its way to his doorstep, no such thing would happen.
-[Corvus]-
Days turned into weeks but patience is a virtue that I'm coming to understand. With every day that passes, more people are infected and the blame rests on the head of the one who wears the crown.
Perhaps it's through some morbid sense of satisfaction that I waited without complaint. Though, patience did not mean idleness.
I spent my time making improvements to Nezu, improvements such as stronger bones, more flexible tendons, and strengthening his tiny muscles. The most significant thing I managed to do was to give him a regenerative ability.
Scratches heal instantly and his tail grows back minutes after it was cut off. I used the bones of the previous resident of this cell to fashion a knife and basically turned off the pain receptors in Nezu's tail before cutting it off.
I'm not unnecessarily cruel.
Safe to say, the rodent was grateful if the way he rubbed his head against my leg was anything to go by.
He suddenly went stiff before scurrying into my pocket. My confusion was quickly answered when I heard heavy footsteps approaching.
Soon, a knight stood in front of the cell, unlocking it. The man moved with purpose, grabbing him and roughly pulling him to his feet.
"The king wants to see you." He finally said, dragging me forward without any care.
They assumed that I would be weak from poor nutrition and therefore be unable to resist. There was also the fact that knights were trained while I am just a civilian healer. How could I possibly resist?
This would have been the case weeks ago, however, I have long since passed my tipping point.
As he pulled me out of the cell, I reached into my other pocket, pulling out a bone. Out of his sight, that bone morphed into a war hammer, one edgy being especially sharp.
Unfortunately for him, he only noticed it when I wound my arm. Before he could properly react, I swung it, the sharp tearing into his helmet like paper.
I may not be able to use my semblance to manipulate my own body but that didn't stop me from working out with the idle time given to me in captivity.
As the man fell limp to the ground, blood spurted from where my weapon had made impact as I pulled it out. He was dead for sure.
Wasting no time, I rushed up the stairs leading out of the dungeon. Pushing the door open, I see a knight standing guard outside, his raised helmet showing his surprised expression.
"What?!"
With growing familiarity, I swung the hammer once more. Unfortunately, the man showed his worth as a knight, unsheathing and raising his sword in time to parry it away.
My hand shot into my pocket, pulling Nezu out, my palm glowing as my rodent friend grew in size, now almost as tall as I was. Before the knight could back up, Nezu snapped forward, tearing into the armor in a single bite.
Nezu tossed the now gravely injured man to the side before turning to me.
"Good boy." I said, petting his fur. "Now let's get out of here."
The enlarged rodent lowered himself, allowing me to jump onto his back. As soon as I was stable, he took off, ignoring the knights that were alerted by the earlier sounds of combat.
Their shock at the sight of a giant rat with blood around its mouth gave enough room to barrel past them to make our escape.
Fortunately, I still remember the route I was dragged through and soon I was riding towards the large door.
In front of it was a familiar face, Igor. The man who had escorted me here. He had a solemn and conflicted face.
"I'm sorry that it has come to this." He said, unsheathing his sword with a stance. His aura visibly surrounded him but that was the least of my concerns.
"I am long past apologies." I mutter loud enough for him to hear as I brandish my hammer.
Patting Nezu, he shot forward once more as Igor charged at us. Pointing my bone hammer forward, I changed the shape of the hammer, instantly increasing its length.
He was unprepared for that, the head of the hammer slamming into him, sending him crashing into the wall as I continued forward, exiting the palace.