Alpha kicked a small stone with his right foot. It rolled along the rocky mountain path as he muttered:
"Why is everything so boring? Nothing's moving. No screams, no explosions... even those damn insects stopped screeching."
He kept walking slowly toward a high ground overlooking the valley. The wind was dry, the sky still.
From his pocket, he pulled out one of the crystals and pressed it gently. A magical map lit up in front of him.
"No energy signals here either… Did they all vanish? Or are they plotting something?"
He returned the crystal to his pocket and continued walking. In the distance, columns of smoke rose into the sky, but they were old nothing recent.
At the edge of a cliff, he paused and looked down. No movement. Just the remnants of an old battle.
He said quietly:
"I don't think the monsters retreated for no reason… Something's happening."
At that moment, a faint spark appeared behind him. He turned instantly no one was there but he noticed a faint trace of magical energy.
"Someone's watching."
He raised his hand and released a pressure pulse toward the trail. The rocks shattered, but nothing emerged.
"Cowards… still hiding."
Then he turned toward the distant smoke and began to quicken his pace.
---
Inside an armored magical carriage, a research team led by the Archmage was transporting a piece of the monster's body. The specimen was sealed in a compressed energy container, surrounded by multiple isolation spells.
The Archmage spoke calmly: "We'll run a full analysis… We need to understand its structure and the source of its energy immediately."
They arrived at the central laboratory in the capital. Without delay, they placed the sample on a metal table in the middle of an analysis circle and began the procedure.
One of the assistants recited a detection spell. A beam of light burst forth but the sample didn't react.
Another assistant said: "Strange… no sign of life energy, but the structure is still active… like something's breathing inside it."
One of the surgeons began making a small incision into the gray tissue.
Within seconds, he suddenly screamed:
"Aaah! I'm… I'm burning! Inside… it's burning!!"
Everyone turned to him. But he wasn't on fire. No flames, no smoke. His body appeared completely intact. Still, he writhed on the ground, screaming.
He shouted again, pounding his chest with his fist:
"Get it out… something's inside me!"
Then he went still. His body dropped, lifeless. Silence.
The Archmage approached cautiously. The researcher's body looked normal no external injuries.
One of the students said: "Sir… the gray energy from the monster, it transferred into him. It wasn't detected, but it slipped through his skin."
The Archmage immediately ordered: "Shut the circle down now. No one touches the sample. This isn't just energy. It's a living being… and possibly intelligent."
"Prepare an immediate report for the King. We cannot analyze them without risking more."
The body that everyone thought was dead... moved.
The researcher who had fallen moments ago stood up slowly. His eyes were expressionless, lifeless. Everyone around froze in place.
He opened his mouth, but the voice that came out was not his own.
"But… that wasn't his voice…" one of the apprentices whispered, stepping back two paces.
The creature inside the body spoke in a confused, low, heavy tone:
"Ah… this body… feels… somewhat… good."
It looked around. Its eyes didn't scan the place they examined the people as if they were food.
Then it muttered:
"Hmmm… food here."
The Head Sorcerer quickly raised his hand and cast a freezing spell, but the entity inside the body was unaffected.
The creature smiled.
"Primitive magic." The Head Sorcerer ordered one of his apprentices:
"Inform the King immediately… tell him we're facing something unnatural."
The apprentice dashed off without hesitation, while the Head Sorcerer began activating his spells.
The creature inside the researcher's body attacked first, moving with unexpected speed. The Head Sorcerer launched a concentrated burning spell, but the creature jumped over the flames and countered with a void distortion spell that nearly hit his chest.
The spells collided. Explosions rocked the walls. The ground cracked. Dust rose and filled the space.
The Head Sorcerer drew a magical circle on the ground, then shouted: "Binding Seal!"
But the creature tore through it with a strange force.
"You are not human… what are you?!" the Head Sorcerer yelled.
The creature did not answer. It just attacked again.
Outside, dust rose from the ceiling of the laboratory like a column of smoke ascending into the air.
Alpha stood atop a nearby building, scanning for threats.
He saw the dust rising. He stopped in place, then smiled.
"Did they bring me some entertainment?"
He leapt from building to building, heading straight toward the source of the disturbance. While the others gathered the corpses, a thick pillar of dust rose into the sky. It was clear, dark gray like a warning.
The mercenary captain stopped working, looked toward the horizon, and said:
"What is that?"
One soldier stepped closer and said, "Sir… it's coming from the Sorcerers' lab."
The mercenaries exchanged glances. Tension thickened.
"All that dust? Did a spell explode?"
The captain replied quickly, "No. That's not an explosion. Something's happening there."
Then he shouted, "Prepare yourselves. No one moves until we get orders from the King."
One soldier swallowed nervously and whispered:
"Wasn't Alpha on that side?"
The captain answered, "Alpha watches from above… if he intervenes, then know things are under control."
The apprentice entered, breathing hard, his clothes dust-covered, and bowed quickly without waiting for permission to speak.
"Your Majesty! An emergency has occurred!"
The King lifted his head slowly and said in a firm tone:
"Speak."
The apprentice continued rapidly:
"In the lab… one of the researchers dissecting the gray corpse… something took over his body. He started speaking in a strange voice, as if he was no longer himself. Then he attacked the Head Sorcerer."
The advisor gasped and asked:
"And the Head Sorcerer's condition?"
"I don't know, sir. I was ordered to come immediately. But… the dust is now covering the entire place, and a strange energy appeared suddenly we've never seen anything like it before."
The King and the advisor exchanged quick glances, then the King said quietly:
"Send a notice to Alpha… immediately."