Chương 398: I Devour

Korin's body went still. His mind did too. Vale quickly placed a hand on his shoulder. His face was full of worry. Even on one knee, Korin was much taller than him, but that did not matter anymore. Korin could no longer hear Vale. He could not hear the forest or even the voices that had filled his head for so long. Something else had caught his attention. A link. He could not explain it. He only knew that something had answered him from somewhere beyond his senses. Korin's eyes shook. Then they closed.

And they stayed closed. Korin opened his eyes inside his Conceptual Plane. It was a place of pure pain. Screams filled the endless dark. Some cried for help. Others laughed like madmen. Their voices mixed together until they became one awful sound. Countless eyes stared at Korin from the darkness, each one showing some twisted form of fear, anger, or joy. Blood covered the ground beneath his feet. Black liquid metal flowed through it, forming rivers that stretched into the distance. Korin barely reacted.

Compared to his own mind, this place felt... peaceful. He slowly looked around. A huge mouth suddenly rose from the darkness and rushed toward him. Its jaws opened wide as it tried to swallow him. Korin sighed and raised one hand.

"Disappear." The mouth burst apart. Blood and black liquid flew across the ground before fading into the air. Korin did not even look at it. None of this was real. They were only voices, memories, and things made by his mind. At least, that was what he had always believed. Then Korin noticed something in the distance. No... someone. He stared at the figure for several seconds. A man was kneeling on the ground. His mouth hung open, and blood ran from his lips. His body was frozen, as if he could not move at all.

He was around Korin's size, maybe even a little bigger. Black armor covered most of his body, but it was badly damaged. Cracks ran through the dark plates, and large pieces were missing. Beneath the armor, his body was covered in deep wounds. They refused to heal. Blood kept flowing from them and soaked the ground around him. Korin slowly walked closer. Something inside him told him to stop. His heart began to race.

'My Enigma.' It had to be. There was no other reason for this man to be here. If he really was the source of Korin's power, then this might be his only chance to get answers. He needed to know about the voices, his curse, and his father. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. He needed to know everything.

"Hey!" Korin shouted.

"Who the hell are you?!" The man suddenly moved. His head lifted. Black hair hung around his pale face. His eyes slowly focused on Korin. Then they widened.

"Korin...?" Korin took another step forward. But his plane would not allow that action. Bloody arms burst from the sea of blood around him. They wrapped around his legs and held him in place. At the same time, the screams around them grew louder. The whole plane seemed to shake. The wounded man looked terrified.

"Don't-Don't come any closer." Korin stared at him. The man tried to reach for him, but more bloody hands grabbed his arms and pulled him back.

"I won't be able to control myself!" Korin's thoughts raced.

'The closer I get to my Enigma, the more likely I am to meet it inside my Conceptual Plane. Is that why my powers have been acting strange?' The man opened his mouth again. A horrible scream came out. It did not sound human. It was like metal being torn apart. The sound spread across the whole plane.

"No..." the man whispered.

"They're coming." Korin frowned.

"What does that mean?" The man looked straight at him. Fear filled his face.

"Run!" His voice echoed through the darkness.

"Get out of here! You're too young! They'll tear you apart!" Korin gritted his teeth.

"What are you talking ab—" He stopped. He heard something. Clack. Then another sound. Clack. Clack. More followed. Countless legs moved across the ground. Each step sounded like metal hitting metal. Then came the screams. Korin slowly looked up. His blood ran cold. Figures were coming toward them. There were too many to count. They looked like a mix of men and beasts, but none of them looked fully human. Some crawled on six legs. Others dragged huge bodies behind them.

Their shapes were twisted and broken, yet each one carried a heavy presence. They felt like mountains. No. Even worse. The wounded man's presence seemed small beside them. Korin stopped breathing. One of the creatures suddenly lunged. It crossed the distance in an instant. Korin tried to move. but his legs wouldn't. The bloody hands around his legs tightened.

'I can't get out. If I don't leave now...' The creature opened its jaws. I'll die. Korin could only watch. Then— BOOM! Something slammed into the creature from the side. The beast was thrown across the ground. A small figure now stood between him and the creature. It was smaller than Korin and looked human at first glance. Thick crystals covered its body, growing from its skin like armor. But there was nothing human in its face. it only showed the need to kill. The figure turned toward the creature and screamed.

"Kill, Kill, Kill, Kill!" Korin's breath caught. That voice. His whole body began to shake.

"Dad...?" The word barely left his mouth. It couldn't be. His father was dead. Korin had killed him. His Visora Organ had been destroyed. There was no way he could still be alive. Unless...

"You never died... did you?" The crystal-covered man charged. He slammed into the creature and tore through its body. One of its insect-like legs was ripped away and thrown aside. Blood covered the crystals as the man attacked it again and again. The creature screamed and tried to fight back. But it never got the chance. The man drove his foot into its head. CRACK. The creature died. Korin stared at him. His mind struggled to understand what he was seeing.

"My powers... they don't just let me adapt. I consume what I kill, and I keep them... for later." The crystal-covered man climbed onto the creature's body and let out a loud, animal-like roar. Korin stared at him. Whatever stood before him was no longer the father he remembered. Calling him a man felt wrong. He was a monster. A weapon forged by his own death. Then the creature turned toward Korin. Its eyes locked onto him. Steam escaped from its nose as it slowly moved closer. For a moment, it stopped.

Then it lunged. Korin raised both arms and blocked the attack. The force pushed him back.

"Stop!" The creature kept attacking.

"I'm your son!" The man froze. For one brief moment, everything went silent. His head slowly lowered. His eyes fell toward the large hole in his chest. His body shook. Then his face changed.

"Murderer." The word sounded wrong. It was twisted and rough, almost like something evil was speaking through him. Korin stepped back.

"No." The creature attacked again.

"No! It wasn't me! You have to believe me!" There was no answer. The man struck him. Korin's vision went white. He was back. Back in the forest. Back inside his own body. His eyes snapped open, and he took a deep breath. His lungs burned as if he had just come out of deep water. Vale was still beside him. The forest was still there. Everything looked the same. But Korin's mind was falling apart.

'What the hell was that? Was that really my father?' He didn't know. He could not tell if the man inside his Conceptual Plane had truly been his father or if his powers had created another copy from his memories. But one thought scared him more than anything else. If his Conceptual Plane really consumed the people he killed... Then maybe his father had never truly left. Maybe Korin had been carrying a piece of him all this time. Korin stared into the distance. His hands slowly tightened as they shook.

"What... the hell was that?"