Chapter 55: Chapter 55: The uncanny valley He shouted again, louder than before, his voice tearing through the space. His arms trembled from the strain, but the jaw finally gave.
The flesh ripped like wet cloth. Muscles snapped, tendons split. Blood sprayed across his chest and face.
The creature didn’t die quietly.
It thrashed one last time, its still teeth digging into his shoulder as if trying to take something with it.
Rhian screamed from the pain but didn’t back away. He raised his hand, the nails long and sharp, and began stabbing.
Once.
Twice.
Again.
He drove them into its chest, over and over, punching through skin and muscle, clawing with each strike. Blood spilled in thick streams.
It splattered on his face, soaked his arms, and ran down his sides. His jaw clenched, but then... he laughed.
He didn’t know why. He didn’t care.
The pain in his shoulder was unbearable, his arms numb, but he kept going. The monster was already dead, body limp, but Rhian didn’t stop.
His hand kept moving, stabbing, tearing, carving until the meat beneath his fingers felt like pulp.
His breath was ragged. His vision blurred.
He collapsed beside the corpse, his body covered in red. He rolled onto his back, staring up at the ceiling of stone. Blood ran from his shoulder, but he wasn’t thinking about that.
He laughed again.
It was louder this time. Echoing through the cave.
It didn’t stop.
A few more minutes passed. His body had healed, at least most of it, but he felt the exhaustion settling in.
His limbs were heavier now that the rush of battle had faded. The blood on his skin had started to dry. His breathing slowed, no longer ragged, but steady and tired.
He leaned back against the wall.
The battle hadn’t gone well. That was clear.
Not because he had taken damage, injuries were expected, but because he had completely abandoned everything he had been taught.
Whatever little training he’d had, he ignored all of it. The moment things got real, he dropped into pure instinct and emotion.
That wouldn’t have been a problem if he’d fought well. But he hadn’t. He was lucky. Simple as that.
Rhian shut his eyes briefly. His head was starting to clear, but the memory of the fight wasn’t going away.
He opened his system again and looked at the abilities listed.
𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢 How was he even supposed to use any of these? He had no experience. He never attended any mystical or hybrid courses.
While he was in Miss Liane’s evolved class, she had focused more on individual development than shared instruction. Everyone’s ability worked differently, so there wasn’t much general advice.
Still, it couldn’t be that hard... right?
He stayed there for a moment, letting his thoughts wander while his core began to recharge. The energy that had been used up during the fight was slowly returning. Energy regeneration was a passive every carrier had. It just took time.
Rhian pushed off the wall and stood up. His legs were steadier now. He looked around the room.
The damage was obvious. The floor was cracked in several places. Stone fragments were scattered everywhere. Bits of the monster’s body still remained, and a deep smear of blood led toward the far end of the wall where he’d finally brought it down.
He thought about using his shadow ability... but stopped.
There was no light in here. Nothing that cast shadows. Without a torch or some light source, the ability was useless. The room was too evenly dark.
His own enhanced sight didn’t help. It only made things clearer to him. It didn’t affect what the shadows actually were.
The illusion was the only thing left.
He didn’t think it would be easy. Five seconds wasn’t much. But it was something.
He didn’t need to meditate. He didn’t need to breathe slow or focus on an aura or some other nonsense. He just had to think about using it.
So he did.
A sword appeared in his hand.
He grinned.
Without hesitation, he stepped forward and swung it toward the monster’s corpse. The blade passed straight through.
His grin faded slightly.
’Right... illusion.’
Before he could even blink again, it disappeared. Five seconds had passed.
He stared at his empty hand and exhaled slowly.
There was potential. He didn’t know how yet. But it had some use. That was enough for now.
He looked toward the path leading back, where Nia still waited. He wasn’t going to leave her out there. This room was open and cleared. It was better than the entrance or the tunnel.
Time to bring her back, then go further.
A few more minutes passed before Rhian returned with her in his arms. He stepped carefully, checking the floor for blood, whether it was his or the monster’s. Eventually, he found a clean corner, out of the way and free of any mess, and gently laid her down.
His shirt and blazer had been torn beyond repair, hanging off him in shreds. He grabbed what was left of it and pulled it off, tossing it aside. It offered no real protection anyway.
Only then did he notice the scales didn’t stop at his biceps. They extended all the way up to his shoulders.
Rhian glanced down at himself. He still wasn’t used to it. His body had changed more than he expected. It looked familiar but also didn’t feel like his anymore.
He raised his hand and looked at his nails. They were normal again—blunt, short, regular. He tilted his hand, watching them, then thought about the claws. They came out immediately, sharp and black. When he willed them away, they retracted just as easily.
A grin tugged at his mouth.
He looked toward the tunnel ahead. The path continued on. There could be more of those things. He had to be careful. If he got into another fight, running back here would be a mistake. That would only bring danger straight to Nia.
So if there was a fight, he’d have to finish it there.
He turned back. Something else needed to be handled first.
The core.
He walked to the monster’s body, slowing as he reached it. Now that the fight was over, and his head was clear, he could actually look at what he’d done.
It was a mess.
Blood soaked the ground. The jaw was completely torn, split down the middle. Its face didn’t even resemble a face anymore. Deep cuts, torn flesh, and crushed bone. Parts of it were still twitching.
His hand shook slightly.
’Is this me?’
He stood still, his eyes locked on the wreckage.
His chest felt tight. His breathing wasn’t heavy, but something felt wrong in his gut. The image was too real, too human, even if it wasn’t.
He closed his eyes and clenched his fist.
’It was either it, or me... and Nia.’
That much was true. But it didn’t help as much as he thought it would.
He added another thought to push it down.
’It was a monster.’
They didn’t care how it felt when they killed someone. They didn’t hesitate. So he wouldn’t either.
He knelt and went to work on getting the core.