The last thing I saw before everything went dark was the world crumbling into dust—my own reflection grinning back at me, twisted, hungry. "No, this can't be happening..." But the darkness swallowed me.
Suddenly, a flash—my eyes shot open. Where... am I? My vision blurred, my head spinning. I tried to move, but I couldn't. My limbs felt like they didn't belong to me. Wait... this isn't my body. My heart pounded, panic rising. "Am I... trapped inside someone else?"
Then it hit me. Asia... My mentor. I was inside her body, seeing through her eyes, but helpless to control anything. It felt like I was watching a nightmare unfold in slow motion. My entire being screamed for control, but I was nothing more than a prisoner.
"No, no, no... this can't be real!" My mind raced, heart pounding against the walls of her chest—our chest.
Through her eyes, I saw him. Hiccup. The Martial King. The man who had crushed me. His presence was suffocating, his smile cutting through me like a knife. He loomed over us like a demon from a twisted nightmare. "Why him?!"
Hiccup chuckled, his voice dripping with contempt. "Asia... pathetic." His hand gripped her throat, lifting her off the ground as if she weighed nothing. "All that power, and yet here you are—on the edge of death. You really thought you could protect Eric from me?"
My blood boiled, rage coursing through me. "LET HER GO!" I screamed inside, but no words left her lips. I was trapped. Helpless. And I felt every crushing moment.
Asia tried to speak, her voice hoarse. "You... won't win."
Hiccup's grin widened, his grip tightening. "Oh, but I already have." His eyes gleamed with malice. "I didn't come here to kill you, Asia. No, no... that would be far too easy. I want you to suffer. I want to see the life drain from your eyes... slowly."
"NO!" My mind roared, but my voice was swallowed by the void. I felt her body convulse, struggling for air, and it felt like I was suffocating too. Every muscle screamed, every breath was agony. "Fight back, Asia!" I begged her in silence.
She tried. I could feel it—her Anium flickering to life, weak but present. But she was too broken, too drained.
Hiccup laughed, a sound so vile it twisted my gut. "Look at you. Even with all your strength, you're nothing. You can't stop me. You couldn't protect him then, and you won't now. Eric is mine."
His words drilled into my mind like nails. "NO! I'LL KILL YOU!" I screamed, the helpless rage consuming me. But I couldn't move. I couldn't stop him.
He slammed Asia to the ground. The impact rattled through me like a shockwave—bones crunching, vision blurring. The pain was unbearable. "This is... torture."
Hiccup leaned down, his face inches from ours, his eyes burning with sadistic pleasure. "I'll tear Eric apart, piece by piece. And you? You'll watch." His hand crackled with energy, hovering over her chest. "But not yet. No, I'll make sure he sees you broken first. That'll be far more entertaining."
Asia's voice was faint, but I could feel her determination. "Eric... will stop you..." She believed it, but I could feel her fear too. And worse—my own.
Hiccup's grin grew wider, more twisted. "Let him try." He stood up, looking down at us with pure malice. "This isn't over. It's only just begun."
He raised his hand, dark energy swirling. "Say goodbye to your hope, Asia. And say goodbye to Eric." The energy burst from his palm, and everything went black.
Inside her body, trapped, powerless—I couldn't do anything. "I'll kill you, Hiccup. I'll destroy you!"
The darkness pressed against me, squeezing the air from my lungs. I couldn't breathe, couldn't move. My chest was heavy, a crushing weight, and just when I thought I might disappear into the void forever, I heard it:
"Eric, you meanie, you can't leave me alone!"
That voice. Elena's voice. My system, my guide—calling out in desperation. Is that her...? Am I still alive?
Suddenly, my chest tightened, and I gasped for air, snapping awake like I'd just surfaced from the deepest ocean. My body jerked, eyes flying open, and there they were—three girls piled on top of me, crying like I was a corpse that just came back to life.
I tried to sit up, but their weight was pinning me down. What the hell is happening?
"Master, we thought you were gone!" one of them sobbed, clutching my arm. Master? They were calling me master?
Elena's voice broke through again, frantic. "Eric, wake up! Don't scare me like that!" Her face was inches from mine, tears glistening in her eyes. She wasn't just my system now—she was real, her worry tangible.
I pushed through the confusion, still groggy, and managed to mutter, "What… Elena…? What's going on?" My head was spinning, heart pounding as I looked from one face to the other. How did this happen? I was just in that cave—trapped in Asia's body.
That's when it hit me: Asia. Hiccup. That memory... I'd been pulled into some twisted vision of my last battle, and now I was here, with Elena and these two girls—Sheena and Neha—both sobbing like I'd been on death's doorstep.
"What happened?" I growled, still half in a daze. "You two—how are you awake? And why are you calling me Master?"
Sheena wiped her tears, her voice trembling but strong. "We woke up after you saved us from those mind-control monsters. We remember everything—how you fought with us and then protected us, even when it looked like you'd die."
Neha, the schoolgirl, chimed in, her voice thick with emotion. "You saved us, Master. We owe you everything. We—" She hesitated, her eyes flashing with something deeper, almost… devotion. "We want to serve you."
Serve me? I blinked, trying to process their words. It felt like the ground was slipping out from under me, but I kept my focus, my mind racing. So they remember everything… but why this loyalty?
Elena cut in, sounding both exasperated and relieved. "Eric, after you collapsed, they must've used their awakened powers to find you. Somehow, they dragged you out of that dungeon before it vanished."
I felt my jaw tighten. "And how the hell did I end up here? In this place? The last thing I remember is that damn cave, then I was in Asia's body—"
Sheena interrupted, her voice urgent. "We sensed your energy was fading. The dungeon was collapsing, but we refused to let you die in there. So we… we used a technique to teleport you out."
Neha nodded quickly, her face still streaked with tears. "But when we pulled you out, you weren't alone. A girl came out with you…"
A girl? My mind immediately went to Elena. Did they see her?
I exhaled sharply, connecting the dots. "That girl… was Elena."
Both Sheena and Neha looked at me, wide-eyed, clearly confused. They didn't know. Of course, they didn't.
"Elena is my system," I said, my voice firm but tired. "She's been guiding me this whole time."
Their eyes widened even more, shock mixed with awe. They hadn't known. How could they?
Elena, still by my side, gave a weak smile, wiping her eyes. "I was just trying to help... but you scared me, Eric. You nearly—"
I cut her off gently, squeezing her hand. "It's fine. I'm here now."
Sheena and Neha looked at each other, then back at me. Their expressions had shifted—no longer just awe, but a strange sense of loyalty. It was unsettling but powerful. They saw me as their savior. And now… they wanted to follow me.
But the question that gnawed at my mind wouldn't leave. How did I get from that cave… to here?
"Explain," I growled, looking between them all. "How did you two manage to save me when that place was literally fading from existence?"
Neha hesitated but spoke up. "We felt your energy, Master. We knew you went on a dungeon raid, and with our powers, we could trace it. But the place was crumbling. We... we didn't think we could make it in time. But we refused to give up."
Sheena added, her tone serious. "We figured out a way to teleport you, even though it should've been impossible. When we pulled you out, that's when the girl appeared."
That girl—Elena.
I exhaled, the puzzle slowly coming together. "So… you two saved me. And now you want to be my servants?"
They both nodded, faces flushed with conviction. It was strange, surreal even, but their loyalty was genuine. I couldn't deny that.
I leaned back, the weight of the situation settling in. Two girls devoted to me, saved by me… and my system, Elena, now by my side in a whole new way.
The next day passed quietly, but something had shifted. Sheena and Neha were relentless in their insistence on becoming my servants. At first, I brushed it off, thinking they were just being dramatic. But they wouldn't let it go. Every time I turned around, they were right there, with pleading eyes, reminding me of the debt they felt they owed. Eventually, I gave in. I was never one for theatrics, but there was no avoiding it this time.
The day slipped by with surprising ease. We wandered through Narsingdi, the four of us—me, Elena, Sheena, and Neha. Elena, as always, whispered sarcastic jabs into my mind, amused at the entire situation. "Looks like you've got quite the fan club now, huh? How does it feel to be the center of attention?"
I couldn't help but roll my eyes at her teasing, though I couldn't argue. It was strange—pleasant even—but it left me with a weird sense of unease. Was this really the calm before the storm?
By evening, we boarded the Magnet Hovered Train, bound for Cox's Bazar. Cumilla was the next stop, and for once, I allowed myself to relax. The gentle hum of the train lulled us into a quiet peace, the rhythmic sway of the cabin slowly pulling me into sleep.
Until something ripped me out of that peaceful lull.
A commotion. At first, it was distant, muffled voices, but it quickly escalated into a sharp rise of panic. My eyes snapped open.
"Eric, something's wrong." Elena's voice, sharp and urgent, pierced through the haze of my drowsiness.
I sat up, my senses kicking into overdrive. Ahead, a female staff member was yelling at a man slumped in his seat several rows away. "Sir! If you have a condition, you need to get off at the next stop! Please don't cause any trouble!"
He didn't move. He was just sitting there, unmoving, his skin pale as death. The passengers nearby were growing nervous, their whispers filling the air like static. Something was off, way off.
And then I saw it.
His hand. It was melting. What the hell?! His fingers were oozing, literally dripping onto the floor like molten wax. The staff member stumbled back, horrified.
"Elena, what is this?"
Her voice was tense, alert. "It's not normal, that's for sure. Eric, this isn't good. Whatever that is, it's mutating. We need to stop it before things spiral out of control!"
Before I could react, the man's body began twisting unnaturally, his bones snapping, skin stretching as he contorted into a grotesque, hulking figure. His eyes turned wild, filled with an inhuman rage.
"DOC Virus!" Someone screamed from behind me. The fear in their voice sent chills racing down my spine.
I clenched my fists, my muscles tensing on instinct. "Elena, what the hell is a DOC Virus?"
"No time for explanations. That thing's transforming into something worse by the second. Get ready, Eric!"
This was going to be a fight.
People were screaming now, scrambling over each other in a mad rush to escape as the mutated creature let out a chilling roar. Its claws exploded from its fingers, elongated and dripping with dark, venomous fluid. SLASH! It lashed out at the nearest passengers, tearing through metal seats as if they were paper, its eyes glowing with a predatory, mindless rage.
"THUD!" I shot up from my seat, adrenaline surging through me like a tidal wave. The beast was on a rampage, and there was no time to think. I couldn't let this thing slaughter innocent people.
WHOOOSH! I bolted forward, muscles coiling as I propelled myself toward the monster. The air around me crackled as I summoned the familiar energy coursing through my veins, my hands pulsing with power. "KRAKOOOOM!" A burst of Anium surged through me as I landed a punch square in its chest, the impact reverberating through the train like an explosion. The creature was flung back, crashing into the walls with a bone-rattling BAM.
But this thing wasn't going down that easy.
The creature shrieked, its body convulsing violently as it began to mutate further. Its bones snapped, growing longer, its muscles doubling in size as it became more twisted, more monstrous. RIIIP! Flesh stretched and tore as it expanded, the train walls groaning under its weight.
I gritted my teeth. This thing was evolving—faster than I'd thought.
"Hit it harder!" Elena's voice cut through the chaos, urging me to move. "If it completes its mutation, there won't be anything left to stop it!"
The creature lunged at me again, faster than before, its claws tearing through the air with a terrifying WHOOSH. I barely dodged, the razor-sharp claws grazing my shoulder as I spun away. SWISH! A fountain of blood sprayed from the wound, but there was no time to focus on the pain.
"KLA-THOOM!" The beast smashed a row of seats into the wall with a single swipe, sending debris flying everywhere. Sparks flew as the train's lights flickered, plunging the cabin into a hellish scene of chaos and darkness. The air smelled like metal, blood, and fear.
I needed to end this fast.
I gathered more Anium, letting the power surge through me, focusing it into my fists. The creature's erratic movements made it hard to land a clean blow, but there was no room for hesitation. I leaped toward it, aiming for its head, hoping to finish it off with one decisive strike.
"WHAM!" My fist connected, sending another shockwave through the air. The beast staggered, but it wasn't enough—it roared again, its body twitching as more grotesque limbs sprouted from its sides, claws dripping with black ooze. It was turning into a nightmarish amalgamation of flesh and metal, feeding off the chaos around it.
The train lurched, rattling violently as the creature tore through the floors, its claws ripping through metal. Passengers screamed, trying to flee, but there was nowhere to go.
"Eric, focus!" Elena's voice rang in my head again, sharp and urgent. "Its core! You have to destroy the core before it fully mutates!"
My eyes locked onto the pulsating mass in its chest—a faint glow beneath layers of distorted flesh. That was the weak point. That was where I needed to strike.
The creature lunged at me again, and I rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding its claws. SLASH! Its talons gouged the floor, missing me by inches. I gritted my teeth, my mind racing. Every second I wasted gave it more time to transform, more time to become unstoppable.
I feinted left, drawing its attention, then in a blur of movement, "SWOOSH!" I surged upward, fist glowing with Anium, and slammed my fist into its core with every ounce of strength I had.
"KR-RRACK!" The sound of the core shattering echoed like thunder, and the creature froze, its eyes wide with shock. It let out a bloodcurdling scream, a final roar of defeat, before collapsing into a heap of dissolving flesh and twisted bone.
"SPLAT!" Its body disintegrated into a gooey mess, pooling onto the floor in a sickening sludge. The fight was over.
Panting, I staggered back, blood dripping from my wounds. The passengers, who had been cowering in terror, began to peek out from their hiding spots. They were shaken, but alive.
I glanced around, feeling the tension drain from my body. It was done. For now.
But then the distant sound of sirens pierced the air.
"WEE-OO, WEE-OO!" Police. They were coming. And I was a wanted man.
"We need to go," I muttered, my voice hoarse, turning to the girls who had been watching from the far end of the cabin. "Now."
Elena's voice was firm. "Don't stick around. You know they'll be looking for you. Move."
We didn't waste any more time. Slipping out of the train into the night, we disappeared into the shadows, blending into the chaos. The hunt for me was far from over, and this battle was only the beginning.
But tonight, I was still standing.