Dera blinked, his vision blurry and his mind clouded.
"What the hell... was that?" he muttered, his voice trembling as he stared at his right hand, still crackling with remnants of the sinister purple Aura. The monstrous body of the one-finned Lycan lay before him, now nothing more than a hollowed husk, it's core completely devoured by the energy that consumed it.
CLING!
A series of notifications appeared before him.
[You Have Devoured a One-Finned Venom.]
[Levels Before Evolution: Lv. 100/100 – Completed]
[You Are About to Enter a Venomic Evolution in 5, 4...]
Dera's eyes widened, confusion taking hold.
"W-wait, what does that even mean?" he stammered, glancing nervously at the screen in front of him.
{It means you're evolving into a one-finned venom, you mumbling moron.}
Dera froze, his head snapping from side to side.
"What the... who said that?!" he demanded, his voice echoing through the entire cavern.
But before he could demand more answers—
[...2...1...]
VHOOM!
Dera suddenly collapsed to his knees with his eyes open wide, a guttural roar tearing from his throat as the evolution began. His bones cracked and shifted violently, reshaping with a sickening crunch.
"Ahhhhhhhh!" Dera screamed. The pain was unbearable, as though his very essence was being torn apart and remade. His spine arched, vertebrae snapping into new positions, forcing his body to elongate and twist unnaturally.
Muscles rippled and expanded beneath his skin, tearing apart only to regenerate thicker and stronger. Veins bulged, glowing faintly as raw energy surged through him.
"What... is... happening?!" Dera screamed, clawing at the ground as his hands began to elongate.
His fingers stretched and hardened into talon-like appendages, the nails sharpening into deadly weapons. The pain was relentless, an inferno burning through every fiber of his being.
"Keo—keoks! AHHHHH!" He let out another agonizing scream as an unbearable heat built within his skull, making him throw his head back in torment. A low growl escaped his throat, rising to a roar as a single fin—or perhaps a horn—began to pierce through the right side of his forehead.
The sharp, jagged bone erupted slowly, tearing through skin and muscle, sending waves of searing pain through his body. His chest heaved, ribs expanding with each strained breath, and the ground beneath him cracked under the weight of his Aura.
And then, it was over.
"Huu... huu... huu..."
Dera gasped for air, his body trembling as the transformation finally ceased. Slowly, shakily, he rose to his feet. His towering silhouette exuded an overwhelming aura of raw power, the darkness around him bending and twisting under its pressure.
The horn protruding from his forehead gleamed in the dim light, a deadly black sheen reflecting the chaos of his evolution.
His once ragged breaths steadied, the glow in his blue eyes piercing through the surrounding darkness.
Slowly, he flexed his hands, marveling at the sheer strength coursing through his veins.
"So this is what it feels like to be a One-Finned Venom," he murmured, his voice steady yet laced with awe. A faint smirk tugged at his lips.
"I can't lie... aside from the unbearable pain, it feels amazing now,"
His thoughts drifted to his brother, Chika, and his expression hardened.
"Just wait, Chika... I'm coming to find you."
{Hmm... you didn't pass out. That's a first.}
The voice echoed in his mind again, dripping with mockery and amusement.
Dera froze, his newfound calm replaced by unease.
"Who are you?" he asked, his voice steady but low.
It hit him then—memories of the battle flooding back. The moment that damned lycan sent him flying and he crashed onto its throne, losing consciousness for a brief moment... something else had taken over.
Something ancient.
Something terrifying.
He remembered how his body moved against the lycans, how it fought with a strength he hadn't known he possessed.
The lycan had been slightly stronger, but it lacked battle IQ and proper combat training. Whoever had taken over his body had used it with far greater efficiency, employing advanced techniques while conserving what little aura he had left.
"If I remember correctly," Dera muttered, his voice cutting through the silence, "that Lycan called you Shadrach."
{You are not worthy of saying my name. Say it again, and I'll kill you in the most painful way ever possible.}
Dera froze, a cold chill crawling up his spine. He wanted to dismiss his words as bravado, but something about the tone told him it wasn't an idle threat.
Because a strange sensation rippled through him—like a tether. Somehow, he could feel the presence within him. It wasn't just a voice. It was alive, linked to him.
"Then... who are you?" Dera asked, his voice low but curious. Some stranger just suddenly took over his body for some minutes and showcased an incredible fighting prowess, surely he must know of it's origin.
{Tsk... I don't have the strength to waste on explanations. I'll send you a link with all the information about my origin and anything else you need to know. Do you accept?}
Dera blinked, caught off guard by the request.
"You're... asking for my permission?" he said, surprised. He didn't think Shadrach was the type to seek permission for anything.
'Which means he can't do anything to my body without my permission.'
The realization gave Dera a flicker of confidence.
'Then, was that threat just an empty—'
{This kid is seriously testing my patience.}
"Tsk... Fine! Fine, I accept," Dera relented, raising his hands defensively.
The moment the words left his lips, a surge of energy shot through his mind like lightning. His vision blurred, and his knees buckled as wave after wave of information flooded his brain.
"Ugh... what the—" Dera groaned, clutching his head. The sensation was overwhelming, nauseating, as if his mind was being force-fed knowledge too vast for him to handle.
The chaos finally subsided, leaving him breathless and pale.
"So... you're the subconscious mind of the Shadow Venom, created to assist me," he muttered, piecing together the fragments of the information.
"And I'm the 10th incarnation of the Shadow Venom?"
{...}
"What happened to the other nine?" Dera asked, though he already had a sinking suspicion.
{They're all dead.}
The answer was blunt, devoid of emotion, yet it carried a weight that made Dera's chest tighten.
"I see". He lowered his head, grappling with the grim reality. Would he also share the same fate as them?
Shaking off the thought, he asked, "What should I call you? Since I can't say your name?"
{You may call me Shadow.}
Dera nodded slowly.
"All right, Shadow," he said, his tone firm. "Thanks for your help because I'm gonna need it."
His expression hardened.
"And let me make one thing clear—I'm the one in charge here. Not you. Do you understand?"
silence..
{...I understand.}
The reply was eerily calm, almost mocking. Something about the way Shadow agreed unsettled him, as if there was an unspoken layer to the response.
CLING!
A faint metallic chime shattered the moment.
[You Have Completed the Penalty. You Will Now Be Transferred Back to Your Original Zone in 5... 4...]
Dera's brow furrowed.
"Ah, yes, the system," he muttered. "It mentioned rewards after I killed that Lycan. I'll check those later when I return to—wait." His eyes narrowed.
"What do you mean original zone?"
A sinking feeling crept over him.
"Wait... I'm not going back to that deadly forest, am I?"
{...}
"Shadow? Why aren't you saying anything?" Dera asked, panic rising.
Still Nothing.
"Shadow?!"
[...2, 1...]
VHOOM!
In an instant, Dera was gone, his body engulfed in a burst of light.
When the light faded, he wasn't in the old man's house.
He was back.
The oppressive darkness of the black forest greeted him like an old nightmare. The damp air clung to his skin, and the faint sound of distant growls sent chills down his spine. Worse yet, he was in the exact position he had been in before—the heart of danger.
As his vision adjusted, his heart sank.
Right In front of him, two razor-sharp shurikens spun toward him like deadly wheels. From the left and right, arrows shot out of the darkness. Behind him, the sound of a wood trap filled with spikes resetting sent a shiver down his spine.
He was surrounded. The traps converged, locking him in the center of an inescapable death.
It was at this moment that he knew, he was fucked...
"Ah... Shit"