The atmosphere grew impossibly still, the weight of something unexplainable pressing down on the villagers like a thick fog. All eyes were locked on Nicolas. He lay there, tears streaking down his cheeks, his small body trembling with a power none of them could comprehend.
The bear Wesen, towering over him just moments before, had stopped in its tracks. It let out a low growl, as if trying to reclaim the dominance it had just moments earlier. But Nicolas didn't flinch. His gaze was no longer that of a frightened boy—it was something else entirely, something ancient and filled with a wrath that felt far beyond his years.
Nicolas' eyes locked with the bear Wesen's, and for a split second, there was silence. Then, a guttural scream pierced the air. The monstrous creature's roar was so loud and shrill, it sent a shockwave through the surrounding trees, shaking their branches and scattering leaves like rain.
The creature thrashed violently, its limbs flailing as though it were being torn apart from the inside. Its once intimidating form crumpled, falling to the ground, rolling and writhing in the dirt. The bear Wesen clawed at itself, desperate to stop whatever unseen force was ravaging its body. Its muscles bulged unnaturally, veins swelling as it continued to howl in pure agony.
Nicolas stared unblinking, his small frame no longer trembling. His eyes glowed fiercely, and though he couldn't comprehend what he was doing, something within him guided the raw power coursing through his veins. The ground under him quaked softly, mirroring the intensity of his emotions.
The bear Wesen's body swelled grotesquely, its skin stretching as if ready to burst. Its screams escalated to an ear-splitting pitch, shaking the hearts of the villagers, whose faces were frozen in expressions of absolute terror. No one could understand what was happening—how could a small child, with just a look, bring such a powerful creature to its knees?
"Impossible..." one villager whispered, his voice barely audible over the screams. "What…what is this?"
The bear Wesen let out one final, desperate cry before its body, swollen like an overfilled balloon, finally reached its breaking point. With a sickening boom, the creature exploded in a violent spray of blood and gore, painting the earth with its remains. The shockwave of the blast sent a gust of warm wind through the village, splattering the nearby homes and trees with crimson. Pieces of the monster rained down like some grotesque storm, and for a moment, time seemed to freeze.
The villagers stood paralyzed, eyes wide, mouths agape. Some had dropped their weapons in sheer disbelief, while others clutched them tightly, knuckles white, as if holding on to the only thing grounding them in this nightmare. A thick, metallic scent filled the air, the smell of blood so strong it coated their tongues, making it hard to breathe.
"What… what did we just witness?" another villager stammered, his voice shaking as his eyes darted to Nicolas, the boy lying there motionless in the center of the carnage.
Nicolas' father, still struggling to push himself off the ground, watched in absolute horror. His heart pounded in his chest, faster and harder than it ever had before. The sight of the bear Wesen's mangled remains, the sheer power that had erupted from his son—it was too much to process. His mind raced to understand, but the more he thought, the more his body trembled with fear and confusion.
As the blood and dust began to settle, the other bear Wesen—larger and more fearsome—let out a deafening roar. The sound reverberated through the village like thunder, shaking everyone from their daze. Furious at the death of their kin, they turned their massive heads toward Nicolas, eyes blazing with hatred.
With a mighty howl, they charged.
The ground rumbled beneath their enormous paws, the force of their steps shaking the earth. Their roars filled the air, their claws glinting in the pale light of the dying day. The villagers, snapping out of their shock, screamed in terror and began to flee, their hearts filled with dread as they watched the enormous beasts bear down on a mere child.
But Nicolas stayed on the ground. His golden eyes, still glowing with that wild, untamed energy, fixed on the charging creatures with an unsettling calm. The moment the first of the bear Wesen came within a few feet of him, it stopped mid-stride. Then another.
The beasts were frozen in place, their massive forms suddenly stiff, as though an invisible force had gripped them tightly. Confusion flashed across their faces, their snarls turning into low whimpers. Their muscles twitched, as if straining against the unseen hold that kept them locked in place.
The villagers, who had been running for their lives, stopped and turned. What they saw next would haunt them for years to come.
The bear Wesen began to twist in place, their bodies slowly rotating as if caught in the pull of a powerful whirlpool. Their enormous forms contorted unnaturally, their spines bending and snapping with sickening crunches.
Nicolas' eyes glowed brighter, swirling with a golden light that mirrored the movements of the creatures. It was as though his very gaze was pulling them apart, piece by piece. The beasts howled in pain, their massive claws digging into the earth as they tried to resist, but there was no escaping the force that gripped them.
The air grew thick with tension, as if the very world was holding its breath. Not a single villager spoke or moved. The disbelief on their faces was palpable—wide eyes, slack jaws, bodies trembling as they bore witness to the impossible.
"He's… he's doing that," one man whispered, his voice barely above a breath.
"That child… it's him," another murmured, her hands trembling violently as she clutched at her shawl.
The bear Wesen continued to twist, their bones snapping audibly with each rotation. Their once mighty forms were being reduced to nothing more than mangled shapes of fur and blood. The ground beneath them cracked, the earth trembling under the immense pressure.
Nicolas, however, didn't waver. His small body, surrounded by the swirling energy that poured from his very soul. His golden eyes spun faster and faster, matching the frantic movements of the dying creatures before him.
With one final, bone-shattering crunch, the bear Wesen collapsed in a heap. Their bodies, now broken beyond recognition, lay scattered across the blood-soaked battlefield, their once fearsome presence nothing more than a distant memory.