Returning to his senses, he sees that the branches managed to pierce his skull thoroughly.
However, to his surprise, the mind was untouched. But rather, things were changing to the rest of the body. Purple veins across his body deepens, hardens and increases in size. His pitch black eyes return back to normal. His bleeding stopped dramatically, the open ended holes fill up extremely fast leaving no traces of lingering scars.
'This!' He feels a new beating heart situated right next to his own. It was beating with a strange rhythm—out of sync, yet it was incredibly powerful. His newly formed lungs circumvents the whiff of contaminated air, thinking that he was mistaking it for fresh air.
His whole body can feel the heat signatures of various objects and the land nearby through small tendrils from his feet.
The once black pupil eyes became purple, allowing him to hyperfocus the surrounding area with great detail.
Clenching his once shriveled up fist, he feels a quaking grip and a surging of unknown strength coursing through his tanned muscles.
"This is something textbooks don't talk about."
"…" Crilis begins pondering to himself deeply.
He feels like an escaped experiment who happened to gain inhuman power and is now supposed to live in human society.
"But even with all this power, my mission will remain unchanged."
————————————————————————————————————
—[Front of Zerx]—
"Pull the wheels!" An Inspector commanded the two Nether Officers on the other side of a ginormous, steel gate.
Standing in a line, Crilis was in between a caravan and an Adventurer Party.
They haven't noticed the peculiarities behind the hooded Crilis.
'How nostalgic,' Crilis softly smiled when he saw such a harmonious party.
'Now what to do…' He begins coming up with excuses about the state he was in.
One thing to note was Crilis belonged to an Adventurer's Guild in Zerx.
However, due to him labeled as a Party Destroyer, he acted on his own.
Life truly comes with a bit of lemons squeezed on the tip of people's tongues.
"Excuse me sir." A young, feminine adventurer tapped on his shoulders.
He looked around and asked, "What do you need?"
"…" Looking at his purple features and rather smooth skin, she was taken aback.
"I—I Just wanted to ask if you were affiliated with the Adventurer's Guild."
"…" Crilis grabbed a medallion from his back pockets.
He shows the medallion in front of this young lady while also attracting the other three party members.
"Is this Diamond?!" A robust masculine party member came closer to have a better look of it.
"That means, you are higher ranked than the Guild Master in Zerx!" The young lady gasped, covering her lips with awe.
Continuing the onslaught of questions, he happily answered their piqued curiosities.
"Are you perhaps related to the Guild Master in anyway?"
"Indeed. Rebecca and I are long time acquaintances." Crilis chuckles.
'I haven't had a conversation in such a long time.' He thought.
'They will throw you away like they did with me.' Another voice, deeply toned and cold hearted makes its way to his thoughts.
Shocked, he took a second to process what was going on.
"Hold on. Give me a moment." He calms the group of curious cats and turns his body towards the gate.
'So it's you. What should I call you.' Crilis asked, his demeanour composed.
'Call me what you will.'
"…" Crilis begins thinking of what to call the purplish horror.
'How about Bruce, it rhymes with truce.'
'Other than the meaning. Not bad.' Its tone was that of an approval.
'I was used, my bloodline was taken. Then!' It's voice laced with fuming resentment. It's anguish was noticeable, it struck deeply within Crilis thoughts—seemingly relatable.
'I rather be the one used and be taken advantage of.'
Crilis's facial muscles contort, twist and churn to the sickening dark memory.
'But I beg to differ. If I was old enough, no, strong enough. I would of ripped them to shreds!' His subtle rememberance of his past caused a fiery fire rupturing within his heart. Something that cannot be blown away by any wind.
'What an utterly stupid humanised mindset. Set your heart ablaze. Crilis, your goals and I are the same.'
"…" Crilis take his words into consideration, putting meaning behind Bruce's words.
'You are wrong.' His gaze unfazed, his boiling vengeance cooling.
'Your philosophy is wrong.
'Your goals are not remotely the same as mine.'
'You are a Nether Beast and I am human. Do not think that your going to consume my thoughts with your corrupting manipulation.'
'…' Bruce's groan was telling.
'In the end. I saved your life. Don't you humans repay their dues?'
'You should not have brought that up.' Crilis unwraps his Battle Axe Labrys and tries to stab himself in the chest.
'We can both die together!' Crilis face grins with insatiable bloodlust and an unwavering spirit.
Before it could pierce through his chest, the adventurer lady who was analysing his body language quickly stood in front of him, spreading her arms out.
"Life is precious. Please don't surrender yourself to your traumas."
Her voice signals sorrows, her eyes were slit with sadness.
'There was light at the end of the tunnel.' He silently watches while stopping the Labrys mid-air.
But for a split second, he hallucinated. He saw his little sister in this lady. Stern and strong back, compassionate mindset.
"Freya!" Grabbing her shoulders with a tight grip, not willing to let her go.
"I'm so glad you are alive." A seasoned warrior, a wandering Armsmaster finding solace within his heart.
With a slit eye and relaxed face, his eyes tear, and he reveals his vulnerable wide smile.
"…" the lady looks back at him with weirdness, unfamiliarity.
She embraces his crying self and pats his head.
"I'm sorry for your loss."
"But I hate to say this. I am not the Freya you imagined." Slowly releasing her grip, they both stand before one another.
The cold wind blew across the scene, he stretches his arms out but his other hand pulls it back in.
"I wanted it to be true. I apologise."
Crilis pulls out a bag of coins, wanting to hand it to her.
She waves frantically saying, "It's okay. I don't need any."
"…" Crilis remembers a scene when Freya said those exact same lines.
An overly compassionate mindset that brought her to the grave.
The unwillingness to take from others but the feeling of wanting to give others more.
He couldn't forget the time he vomitted from the disgust of a scene he had witnessed when she was taken the most advantaged of.
Her clothes were ripped viciously, her cry for help echoing in his mind like a never ending nightmare, and the tongues sticking out from the uncouth fiends gave shivers to his spine.
At that point of moment, Crilis was young, he kept his mouth shut with his hand like he ordered to, crouching behind a wooden barrel bawling his eyes out. The muffled sobs continued to echo, silently. He couldn't bring up the strength to show his defiant self. How could he? The one who told him to shut up and hide was non other than his little sister.