That thing… was not alive.
Nor was it dead.
It was trapped… between states, like an uncorrected error.
—
The creature took a step forward.
The sound of its bones grinding against one another… was enough to send a shiver through their very souls.
But Nir…
Felt none of it.
—
Because, in that moment…
He did not see a "monster."
Instead…
He saw broken energy.
—
The aura around the creature was shattered, leaking black threads like smoke.
Fading…
Returning…
Then fading once more.
—
"Unstable…"
The voice within him whispered.
"Easy…"
—
Another step from the creature.
Then—
It lunged.
—
"Look out!"
Lyra screamed, her magic circles rising instantly, emitting a blue flash.
Cain's aura ignited, a glowing flame wrapping around his arms.
Syrn raised his hand, his eyes shining with sharp focus.
—
The magic… exploded.
Light.
Heat.
Power.
—
But…
Nir stepped forward.
—
Just one step.
—
The moment the spells drew near the creature…
He reached out his hand.
—
He didn't even touch them.
He simply…
Brushed past them.
—
But…
They vanished.
—
As if their very existence… was no longer permitted to continue.
—
Silence struck the clearing.
—
"What…?"
Cain whispered, his eyes wide.
—
But Nir didn't look at him.
He stood before the creature now.
—
He raised his hand.
Slowly.
—
The creature shrieked… a distorted sound, as if multiple voices were trying to escape from a single throat.
But Nir…
Did not stop.
—
"Devour."
—
It wasn't a word.
It was…
An act of will.
—
The instant his hand touched the creature's body—
It collapsed.
—
Not an explosion…
Nor a combustion…
But a disintegration.
—
As if something inside it…
Was unraveled from its roots.
—
The distorted aura…
Was pulled away.
—
Black threads surged toward Nir's hand, then into his chest.
—
A moment.
Then…
Stillness.
—
The body… fell.
Empty.
Like a doll that had lost its strings.
—
Silence.
—
Everyone was staring.
But not at the creature.
At him.
Nir.
—
He stood in place, motionless.
His eyes… fixed.
But inside him—
An explosion.
—
The power that entered his body was not gentle.
It was not stable.
It was violent.
Raw.
—
"More…"
The voice… was no longer a whisper.
It was a craving.
—
His fist trembled.
His breath quickened.
—
"Nir…"
Lyra's voice was distant.
"Nir! Stop!"
—
But…
He wasn't looking at them.
He was looking at the village.
At the shadows between the houses.
—
Because he felt them.
More than one.
—
"So many…"
—
A step.
—
"Don't go any closer!"
Cain shouted.
—
But Nir…
Advanced.
—
"Damn it, stop him!"
Syrn began weaving a spell, complex circles appearing around him.
—
But before it could complete—
Nir waved his hand.
—
Just…
A wave.
—
And the spell…
Vanished.
As if it had never been.
—
Syrn froze.
"…Impossible."
—
"Weak…"
The voice this time… came out audible.
But…
It wasn't Nir's voice alone.
It was deeper.
Heavier.
—
"Nir…?"
—
Slowly…
He turned to them.
—
His eyes…
Were not natural.
The blackness… was deeper.
—
"Your magic…"
He said with a terrifying calmness.
"…Means nothing here."
—
Another step toward the darkness.
"In the face of this…"
He placed a hand on his chest.
"…It is nothing."
—
—
And in that moment—
They emerged.
From between the houses.
From the shadows.
—
Other bodies.
Distorted.
Dozens.
—
Black eyes.
Broken movements.
The air… filled with corruption.
—
"Yes…"
The voice within him… smiled.
"Now… learn."
—
—
But—
Suddenly.
He stopped.
—
His grip tightened.
His body… trembled.
—
"No…"
Nir's voice… returned.
Weak.
"…Not like this."
—
Silence.
—
"You resist?"
—
His teeth clamped shut.
"I…"
A step back.
"Will not…"
His breath came with difficulty.
"Lose myself."
—
—
The shadows drew closer.
The monsters… began to move.
And Lyra, Cain, and Syrn—
Stood.
Between him… and them.
—
Despite the fear.
"If you're going to turn into a monster..."
Cain said with a shaking voice—
"...Then we're going to stop you."
—
Silence.
Nir… looked at them.
For a second…
He returned.
If only a little.
His eyes… regained a human spark.
—
—
But he felt it.
Deep down.
The power.
Waiting.
Growing.
Adapting.
—
Slowly…
As if it were…
Crafting a body… that could withstand it.
—
—
And somewhere…
Far away…
An ancient voice… murmured:
—
"He does not just swallow magic…"
—
Silence.
—
"…He negates its very existence."