"kakaka"
"Kikikiki"
"Gegegege"
"jijijji"
What is will?
There are many answers to that question.
But one is that it is the internal force that drives us to act, even in the face of difficulties.
"Keep them in line, we can't let them keep doing whatever they want."
"I won't let them get past here."
But sometimes that's not enough, no matter how strong the will or how intense the passion to do something.
"There are too many of them, ugh! But I won't back down, even if it's useless."
Determination crashes against the rock of reality: ruthless, indifferent, relentless.
"I'm sorry, my little one, Daddy can't come back to you!"
In this world, wishing for something with all your heart guarantees nothing. It only reveals the truth that many fear to face.
Every effort can be devoured, and every sacrifice can result in nothing...
..
Few souls remained standing. The warriors had been consumed by their own momentum, or struck down by the union of forces that should never have existed.
The beasts and aberrations had almost finished their work: they devoured, destroyed, and marked the end of what was once order and form.
The world is not fair. It does not protect the innocent, it does not reward strength, it does not even recognize courage.
Death comes without asking, and chaos does not distinguish between the guilty and the victims. This was the harsh truth that the battle had revealed: it is not enough to fight, it is not enough to desire, it is not even enough to live.
Everything is ephemeral. Everything falls apart.
Wroooom,Gllllrrr,Kikikiki,Grrrrr,kakaka
Slowly, inexorably, the tide advanced toward the center of the city, sweeping away everything in its path.
The warriors, the buildings, the memories, the very essence of life were reduced to rubble under its weight.
Some warriors still resisted, and the reddish barrier in the heart of the city remained firm, a faint symbol of hope.
But how much longer could it hold? Who was left to face the end? Was there even a chance of surviving this dark night?
The questions hung heavy and bitter in the air... but curiously, the last question had an answer, like a divine response to those who still believed in such things.
It was a simple, resounding, and absolute... 'Yes'.
Thrumm-thrumm-
At that moment, whether by coincidence or something that simply had to happen, a brief vibration was heard.
And just then, as if all the beasts were a single organism, they stopped.
They stood still, motionless, and silent, without uttering a single growl or roar. Even the giggling and mocking aberrations ceased all movement.
The phenomenon was most intense in a group led by four aberrations and nearly a hundred beasts that were about to reach the center of the city.
None of them, with their primitive consciousness, could understand what was happening. There was no visible threat, nothing to attack... only a vibration.
Small at first, almost imperceptible, something that would easily be ignored in this chaotic field, but now that silence reigned, it was oppressively clear.
Dthrrummmmm.... Thrumm...Thrumm!-
The vibration intensified, clearer and deeper, resonating in the air and the ground, like a heartbeat, a pulse coming from something enormous, from a being whose mere existence was beginning to make everything around it vibrate.
All the beings present felt it.
Something had changed.
The creatures searched for the source of it all, in their surroundings, confused, fearful, trying to find the origin of this sensation.
And then they saw it.
Between them and the barrier in the center of the city, a jet-black stain appeared, so dense that even the faint glow of the barrier seemed to have no effect on it.
It seemed to absorb everything. Absolute darkness, letting nothing escape, but then a contradiction occurred...
Blorp!
A wet, viscous sound was heard. And from the stain emerged a hand, so dark that it looked like a piece of that stain in the shape of a hand.
Thrumm!....Thrumm!-Thrumm!.
The air became heavier, suffocating; the colossal heartbeat rumbled more clearly.
The hand groped the ground, seeking support, and the jet-black darkness gave way, becoming solid beneath its fingers, giving it a firm foothold.
And it didn't stop there.
Blorp!.
A second time, from the darkness that seemed to let nothing escape, another dark hand emerged.
That being seemed to take a firm hold with both hands and, as if aided by them, began to emerge.
Black hair emerged first, like a river of darkness, followed by eyes, nose, mouth, chin... slowly, every part of the being emerged from the jet-black stain.
Each movement seemed deliberately slow, though it was impossible to say whether seconds, minutes, or some undefined moment had passed.
Perhaps it was a blink, perhaps an eternity; no one could be sure. The pressure of its presence made everything around it feel strange, as if time itself hesitated in its presence.
All those present could only watch as the figure slowly but inevitably took shape.
A being whose mere presence oppressed everything, including the foundation of laws, made its appearance...
It was Cassian.
But he was not in his normal state.
His build was slightly thinner. His limbs and hands were completely black; toward his elbows and knees, the darkness began to dissipate, transforming into curved patterns that were black tattoos, tracing precise, twisted lines on his skin: they ran across his forearms, thighs, chest, abdomen, neck, and part of his face.
His eyes were a complete void, totally black to the point of being inconceivable, and the strangest thing was that on his back, the blackness had formed a demonic pattern: a horrible face, distorted by rage, that seemed ready to tear a piece out of anyone who looked at it.
Thrumm!-Thrumm!-thrumm!.
Cassian's gaze rested on the beasts. They remained motionless and bowed their heads instinctively, from the heaviness and suppression emanating from his presence.
They felt that something, a superior and colossal being, was watching them.
Faced with this, any movement seemed like a death sentence.
They were facing an absolute predator, a sovereign they should not even look at.
Thrumm-thrumm-thrum—
Or so they felt, until the vibration and the heartbeat stopped, leaving absolute silence.
"crrraaw"
"hihihihih"
"Gegegege"
At the same time, the feeling of suppression, suffocation, and being watched by a superior predator disappeared, giving freedom to the frozen beasts and aberrations.
There was a radical and abrupt change, and in fact, to their limited minds, Cassian now felt no different from any other prey; it was as if everything that had come before was illusory and nonexistent, as if the appearance of that heartbeat and those look had disappeared from the minds of those who perceived it.
Forgetting that.
Cassian was now just another piece of food. No, even less than that: to all of them, he felt like a weak being, something they could easily kill and devour.
And when they prepared to devour Cassian...
He was gone.
"Tenebris Step! ... Was it like that? ... But I failed a few there.... It feels different, but it's also the first time... It's a little weird... My body is more elastic. Ah! ... Ling-Ling, are you there? ... No? Is it me? ... Hmm, you're there, but you're not there? ... Are we one?"
Cassian appeared behind the group in an instant that no creature could comprehend.
He seemed to be talking to himself as he moved his body and stretched parts of it. His muscles tensed as he tested each part of his body, as if to make sure he could move them properly.
"Yes, I feel it... This is on a different level... Hmm?... Does it taste good?"
At that moment, he noticed there was blood on his hands.
And, as if it were inevitable, he raised one of his hands and let some of that blood drip into his mouth; he seemed to enjoy the taste, although he was also a little confused.
But whose blood was it?
"Rgaa aahh..."
"Hihhh"
He didn't know himself; in an instant he had killed a lot of them, perhaps it was a combination of all those who suddenly collapsed with part of their body pierced.
None of them noticed when Cassian moved, let alone when he killed them. It just happened.
It was as if the process had been omitted and only the result remained, a result that even came late.
It was absurd speed.
"Hmm, it's strange, don't you think? Oh right!... well, never mind, hmm, but I want more. Hmm... but, in fact, there's something more important—"
Cassian was not in a normal state.
In fact, it wasn't just Cassian. The being standing there was the result of the All is Mine skill, the one that previously had no explanation; somehow it activated and produced this result.
Cassian and Yeling somehow united their souls, bodies, and minds with the help of that skill, resulting in their current state.
Perhaps because he was the possessor of the skill, or because that was what the skill was about, it mostly seemed like Cassian.
But he felt it, undoubtedly it was both of them, and not just him.
And even after the fusion—or perhaps even more so after it—a fire burned within him: contained, concentrated, ready to explode at any moment.
He may be acting quiet and thoughtful, and a little doubtful about everything, but his mind was clear enough to concentrate all his strength and direction.
And knowing what was really important, with his dark eyes—which looked like doors to the abyss, a bottomless pit that absorbed any attempt to understand him—he looked at the group of creatures.
"—kill some bastards!."
Specifically toward the aberrations, darkness began to coil and shape itself from one of his abyssal hands, gradually forming a weapon—more than a sword, it resembled a large knife or beast fangs.
The next moment.
Once again, Cassian appeared where he had originally been.
"Hmm, yes, there is a difference when I say the name of the technique and when I don't, and I still feel my movements are a little clumsy. I'm still exhausted. I wonder if..."
He continued talking to himself, seemingly continuing to self-evaluate and thinking about something as he looked at what his hand was holding. There were four green orbs between his fingers.
He looked at them with interest.
To him, they were four beautiful orbs that gave off a natural and pleasant glow, like the finest crystal.
"Kikikiki"
"kakaka"
"jijijji"
"Gegegege"
But these four orbs belonged to the aberrations, who did not understand how or when Cassian had ripped them from their bodies.
Only now did they begin to dry up and let their last laughs escape into the air.
On the other hand, the rest of the beasts, with their primitive instincts, understood that staying any longer would be deadly.
Although Cassian felt like a simple prey, they understood that he was not. There was no choice: they turned and fled, as far away from him as possible.
Cassian, for his part, stared at the four orbs for a moment as he thought, and finally popped them straight into his mouth.
"They taste like wood, yum... like when you're bored and chew on your pencil. Yum. Blood is better,"
As he chewed them like candy, he shared his thoughts with himself, not caring if the beasts fled.
Not because he was satisfied with just killing those four aberrations, but because what they did made no sense to him at that moment.
"...but I certainly feel their energy. This works better than a little blood, it's much more efficient."
At that moment, Cassian finally swallowed the four orbs and felt revitalized. Although he had somehow united his being with Yeling, he only regained half of his energy and strength. Those four orbs, at least, improved him by another ten percent.
"I have to get more... although I wonder if I'll mutate or something. Tsk! Well, what does it matter? Even if I become one of those things, I'll make sure to kill them first."
He didn't care about the consequences. At that moment, he wanted only one thing: to kill. To kill everything in his path and eliminate all the aberrations.
He waited a moment; besides feeling that he was regaining some energy, he didn't sense anything else.
Realizing this, he was now ready. He couldn't waste any more time; he felt that he was already in sync and understood the changes that had occurred in his body and mind.
Another sword identical to the previous one began to form in his other hand, and he looked in the direction where the beasts had fled.
And that was it... he was no longer there.