The forest was shaking. Trees cracked, roots tore, soil exploded with every clash. The night sky above the canopy seemed to tremble from the rage carried in the girl's screams. Nash, controlling Hina's porcelain body, stood face-to-face with the supernatural girl whose scarlet eyes burned like molten fury.
Chains whipped through the air with a sound like rattling iron. They struck the ground, carving furrows deep into the earth, throwing dirt and splinters into the air. Nash ducked one, then another, but a third lashed across Hina's shoulder and sent sparks flying.
"Goddamn," Nash growled, rotating the puppet's porcelain arm, hearing the crackle of energy against the indestructible frame. "You're really going all out, huh? I don't even know you, and you're out here acting like I ruined your entire life."
The girl bared her teeth, a smile twisted with pain and rage. "You… are... them. You reek of them!"
"What the hell are you talking about?" Nash shouted back, raising Hina's fists. "I don't even know you, girl!"
Her only response was a scream that split the air, so sharp it sent birds scattering from the treetops. She charged, spectral chains coiling around her arms and legs, turning her into a crimson blur.
Nash barely had time to react. He swung Hina's porcelain fist forward, catching her across the jaw. The impact echoed like a gunshot, sending her skidding across the ground, tearing through roots and bushes. Yet she didn't stay down. She spun midair, chains wrapping around a tree, halting her fall. Using the momentum, she launched herself right back at him.
Nash cursed. "You're like a yo-yo from hell!"
She slammed into him feet first. The porcelain body rattled as her kick connected with his chest, sending Hina flying backward through a tree trunk. The wood cracked apart, showering the ground with splinters.
Inside the puppet, Nash groaned. "Alright. Fine. I'm sorry but let's fucking end this."
He lunged forward, catching her chain mid-swing. The porcelain fingers locked around it, refusing to let go. Sparks erupted as the chain pulled taut, the girl straining against it. Her crimson eyes widened as Nash yanked, dragging her across the dirt like she weighed nothing.
"Got you now!" Nash roared, swinging her like a hammer. He slammed her into the ground once, twice, then hurled her against a boulder. The stone cracked down the middle.
But instead of staying broken, she rose again. Her body flickered, glowing brighter, her wounds closing as her chains writhed more violently.
Her voice trembled, half rage, half grief. "You… will not... kill me again!"
"Girl, I'm not the one who wronged you!" Nash snapped, throwing up Hina's fists as she bolted forward.
She struck, faster than before. Each chain became like a serpent, snapping at his limbs, trying to bind his arms and legs. Nash blocked with raw porcelain force, fists clashing against metal, every hit sending shockwaves through the forest. Sparks rained as porcelain met phantom steel.
The girl's eyes burned brighter. "You look like them! Who ordered and watched me suffer! Who laughed as I begged! You'll… are them!"
Nash's teeth ground together. He forced Hina's body forward, slamming a knee into her ribs, then delivering a crushing uppercut that hurled her skyward. "I already told you! I don't know you! Stop lumping me with people I don't even know!"
She screamed as she flew. Chains lashed midair, anchoring her to a tree, then she swung down like a pendulum. Her foot connected with Hina's head, the ground quaking from the blow. Nash toppled, smashing into the dirt, the earth splintering beneath the puppet's weight.
The girl landed atop him, fists raining down. Each strike echoed like a hammer, pounding against porcelain. Nash blocked, arms crossed, shouting between blows.
"You're strong, I'll give you that! But you're wasting all that anger on the wrong person!"
Her layered voice cracked, almost a sob beneath the rage. "There is no wrong person! Every man... and woman with pretty face… you're all the same!"
Nash shoved upward, throwing her off. He rose, porcelain frame gleaming under the moonlight. For once, his voice dropped low, serious. "Alright. I seriously have to end this, is this how all supernatural thinks or functions?"
He charged. His porcelain fist slammed into her chest before she could summon her chains. She flew backward, smashing through two trees, rolling across the dirt. Nash didn't let up. He sprinted, caught her mid-roll, and drove a knee into her stomach. The air left her lungs in a choked gasp.
Nash grabbed her by the hair, porcelain fingers locking tight. "I don't know how the supernaturals are born or made but you will definitely make innocent suffer!"
Her eyes snapped open, glowing brighter. Chains erupted around her, slicing into the ground. One wrapped his arm, trying to crush it. Another lashed his leg. Nash snarled, pulling against them, porcelain creaking under the force.
Her chains pulled tighter, trying to tear Hina's body apart. Nash gritted his teeth.
With a roar, he flexed Hina's porcelain frame, shattering the chains like brittle glass. His fist drove into her chest, sending her sprawling. He followed with a kick, launching her into the air. She slammed into a tree, the impact snapping it clean.
Still, she rose. Her aura flared crimson, brighter than ever, her chains burning with spectral fire. She charged one last time, all her fury in her scream. "I will not fall! Not to you! Not to anyone!"
Nash braced.
Their clash lit the forest. Chains and fists collided, sparks showering. Nash struck with a barrage of blows, porcelain fists slamming into her ribs, her jaw, her stomach. She screamed, striking back with chains and kicks, but Nash didn't relent. He pummeled her into the dirt, cracking the ground, until finally, one last punch to her chest shattered her crimson aura.
The girl froze, eyes wide, glowing light spilling from her body. Her chains dissolved into dust. She staggered, trembling, her voice breaking. "No..."
Then her body crumbled into light and ash. Her essence swirled, drawn like smoke into Hina's porcelain chest. Nash gasped as the world shook. A screen flickered in front of him.
---
[Capture Successful]
Supernatural Acquired: Velith Scorn
Options:
[Convert to Aether]
[Keep]
---
Nash blinked. "... You know what? Easy choice."
He jabbed [Keep]. Immediately the name burned brighter on the screen.
[Velith Scorn has been added to your roster.]
Nash muttered, panting inside the puppet. "Velith Scorn, huh? That must be the girl I just beat. Damn… you were a nightmare. But hey, this is a good experiment. Let's see if the system lets me transfer you to a relic later."
He tapped her name. More text unfurled, and Nash found himself staring at her description.
---
Velith Scorn
Type: Emotional Birth (Rage + Despair + Betrayal)
Origin
She was once a bright and athletic college girl, a dreamer who longed to become a national athlete. But envy poisoned those around her. Sabotage, humiliation, and cruelty turned her daily life into torment. Her so-called colleagues and even her coach conspired to break her will, pressuring her into despicable things she refused. In retaliation, their abuse grew harsher, seeking to shatter both her body and her spirit.
One day in the gym, they tried to trap her, cornering her like prey. She fought her way out, but her escape led to pursuit, her tormentors then sent a gang of members they are with to chase her down. They hounded her through the streets until she found herself cornered on a bridge, the river's dark waters rushing below. With no path left, she chose the only freedom remaining: the plunge.
But before she could leap, gunfire cracked. Bullets tore through her arm and leg, and when she hit the water, her body betrayed her. The pain and wounds made swimming impossible, and the river dragged her under. Alone, drowning, grief and rage filled her final breath.
In that moment, the Aetherium condensed around her broken form, answering her fury. From her suffering, abandonment, and unyielding will, a new supernatural entity was born, her sorrow and wrath given eternal shape.
Abilities:
Phantom Stride, Chain of Spite, Vengeful Surge, Echo of Torment, Red Rebellion.
---
Nash read through it all. His voice softened. "Damn… no wonder you were pissed. You didn't just come out of nowhere. You were made of rage itself... but why have so much hatred against me?... Or is it rage and hatred against everybody?."
He sighed, shaking Hina's head. "Guess that means I've got to carry your story now... but you're a thousand more welcome than a gutter fiend. Oh yea, I remembered that the gutter fiend are environmental birth..."
The forest was quiet again. Too quiet. Until a sound broke it. Footsteps.
From the treeline, a man emerged. His skin was jagged like stone, glowing cracks of orange running through his arms. He carried a warhammer etched with glowing runes. His eyes locked on Nash immediately.
The man lifted a device in his free hand. Its crystal glowed faintly. "What are you doing here?" he demanded, voice rough.
Nash stiffened, keeping Hina's porcelain face blank. "Just... standing around."
The man narrowed his eyes due to how creepy she looks and sound, staring hard. "I followed a supernatural towards this direction..." He stepped closer, suspicion heavy in his glare. "And you… what is a transcender doing here"
Nash tilted Hina's head, voice echoing hollow and inhuman. "Aren't you also a transcender? It's pretty obvious that we all want to capture a supernatural... What exactly do you want?"
The man froze at the sound, shivering. The puppet's voice, flat and wrong, crawled up his spine. He forced himself to speak. "We're hunting a supernatural. Do you… happen to see one?"
Nash stared at him for a long moment. Then he said simply, "It's gone." Without another word, he turned, walking away.
The man's jaw tightened, but before he could respond, another figure emerged from the trees. A man with hair like frost, eyes pale as ice, carrying a similar device. His breath fogged in the night. "Jack, it's still reading something. The trace is here."
Both their devices pulsed brighter, their eyes turning toward Nash's retreating figure.