Chapter 60 - 60 - A Surprising Move

Pravitas crashed down on the ground like a perfectly hit volleyball to the sandy beach, drawing a straight line in the dirt as he tumbled helplessly for several yards before his body finally stopped.

He spat up a handful of blood, as he reached for his chest, shocked to feel the vicious remarks of the horrific attack of the beast.

With great effort, he slowly pushed himself off the ground. His mouth smeared with his own dirty blood, painting a pretty pathetic visage of the haughty entity just a couple of moments ago.

Still, the smirk never left his expression, he continued to eye the beast with eyes filled with contempt and disdain.

With great effort, he slowly pushed out each of his words.

"So… That is all?… A weak claw… mark is all… you are capable of?" Pravitas wanted to laugh, but he could only muster a meager chuckle. Even that was quickly replaced by the erupting coughing fit, as another ball of bloodied saliva was spat on the ground.

His words further irked the Heavenly Beast's anger. Releasing yet another loud war cry, it has suddenly thrown itself into one more assault, charging at the struggling human hopefully one last time. His face contorted into a fierce growl, the tiger could see nothing but blood by now.

The anger, the rage, the thirst for this hateful creature's blood has made it go into a mindless, berserk state.

"Kiddo… I'm sorry, but we only have one last shot at this… You have to trust me, and let me do it." Suddenly as if time slowed down, the controlling spiritual entities inside Lucien appeared in the dark, empty inner void, his soul space.

Two figures stood before each other. Lucien, and another figure, matching Lucien's silhouette, but merely consisting of a coalescence of shadows. Two vibrant, blood-red bead-like eyes glimmered eerily from the convulsing collection of dark spiritual tendrils that built up the otherworldly entity.

"Kiddo… Do you trust me? Do you trust… US?" It spoke in a hoarse, guttural voice, its nightmarish gaze fixated on the worried-looking boy.

Lucien did not answer the question at first. He matched the other entity's gaze. For several moments he just looked, trying to solve the puzzle, the mystery regarding this strange, demonic another half of his.

Can he trust it? Can this creature, this enigmatic existence be trusted at all?

He kept thinking about all the events that transpired in his short-lived life so far. He was tormented, haunted for all his childhood. Hated, disdained, looked down.

Beaten, tortured, and continuously tormented.

Experimented upon… Mutilated…

Still amidst the darkness, there was one sparkle of hope, one pillar of light… One woman, one person that saved him, pulled him back from the brink of death and nursed him back.

Trained him… Gave him a goal, rekindled his desire to push on.

Suddenly, in the dark void, a bit further to the right of the duo a faint white pillar of light pierced through. Its meager power shined upon a feminine figure lying unconsciously on the ground.

Looking at her disheveled, dirt and blood-covered face, anger and determination finally overcame the hesitation and doubt that still clouded his heart and mind. He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth as he returned his gaze and fiercely looked at the shadowy figure's dark, blood-red eyes.

"Do it." He gritted the words as he gave a singular, but determinant nod. No more doubt. No more indecision. If he was destined to become the monster, he will no longer run away. If his fate was destined to be filled with darkness. If he were destined to become the embodiment of despair, then so be it.

As the words left Lucien's lips, a wide smirk appeared on the previously faceless head of the shadowy figure. He squinted his eyes, forming two slits, and spread his arms with clear delight.

In the next moment, the entire dark void of his soul space quaked. Unrestrained, wild energy shocked and illuminated the previously endless darkness, as the whole inner world trembled.

As if the chains, the shackles that held the entity back, kept him in constraints were finally released, an ancient power, a dark and ferocious wind erupted from deep below, throwing both entities back to reality where not even a second has passed.

Suddenly both eyes lit up as the ancient power filled the boy's body and meridians alike. Suddenly a heavy, cold wind howled shielding and covering the boy as he abruptly sprung up from the ground, matching the approaching creature with newfound vigor.

Although surprised, the Violet Flame Tiger didn't put too much thought into it, after all, there was still a large gap between the two. He was a heavenly beast, an existence akin to demi-gods, whilst his opponent was a… mere human.

Right?

Suddenly as he closed the distance, and lounged its large body against the boy ready to tear the arrogant human to pieces, the boy also reacted.

His right arm struck forward, with his open palm facing the approaching Tiger. From the center of his palm, suddenly a dark circular hole appeared.

In the next instant, before the tiger could react in any meaningful manner, three dark tendrils shot out, akin to fleshy spears, and pierced the creature that was still flying towards him in the air.

One tendril pierced the Tiger's thick skull, another its heart, and the last somewhere around its navel, putting an abrupt and unexpected end to this unjust bout.

Still, that was not the end of it. Although life was rapidly waning, escaping his body, the tiger still struggled, stubbornly holding onto his consciousness. His eyes were filled with madness and hate; how could such a weakling, a miserable ant achieve something like this?!

This went against the heavens! He was destined to be a king, a ruler! His life cannot end here, he had still so much to do, his fate was not fulfilled!

He refused to accept the harshness of reality, it indignantly roared, struggling as his large body hung in the air.

Still, no matter how much he struggled, how much he fought against it. His 'fate', that he refused to believe in and accept, was already sealed. Life was rapidly leaving his body, he had no way to go, no more path to take.

As drowsiness slowly crept in, it looked at the hateful human one last time, only to see the contempt in his eyes, his cruel and incredibly annoying grin that stretched across his stupid face.

Before darkness overcame his mind, the very last word that he heard was a single word. An order, a command that came from this wretched one, this annoying existence. It kept ringing in his head, slowly merging with the void of darkness that as the moments passed began to turn into something more and more inviting…

The single word, the command that rang in his head as the Heavenly Beast, the Violet Flame Tiger breathed his last was something that both Lucien, and Pravitas exclaimed simultaneously, watching with great, ferment furor, excitement, and passion as tendrils began to suck all the essences and energy out of the large, purple-colored furry, feline body.

"ABSORB!"