Bahamut's eyes fluttered open, grey, blind eyes that could strangely see. He could make the faint outline of a room, the sensation of something on his chest, and the tightness he felt all over his body.
Hovering in front of him was the system screen, showing his progress and current stats. A very surprising display, but it was expected with the intense battles he had earlier.
[STATUS WINDOW]
Name: Bahamut
Age: 17
Race: Half Beast (???)
Class: Tier 1 (Circle of Body)/ ???
Rank: Mortal
Titles: Psychopath (Lv. 1), Ruthless Killer (Lv. 1), Unknown, The BEAST (Lv. 2), Fox Bane
─
HP: 200 / 200
MP: 00 / 45
Level: 8
EXP: 00 / 600
─
Attributes:
Strength: 25
Speed: 25
Agility: 25
Endurance: 20
Perception: 38
Willpower: 30
Luck: 1.5
─
Skills:
• Pain Resistance (Lv. 3)
• Super Reflexes (Lv. 4)
• Super Senses (Lv. 5)
• Regeneration (Lv. 3)
• Death Intent (Passive – Locked)
• Beast Trait Manifestation (Lv. 2)
• Spear Mastery (Lv. 1)
─
Special Traits:
• Fragmented Soul (Effect Unknown)
• Past Lives Memory (Partial Dormancy)
• Madness Bloom (Dormant)
─
Followers:
• Ren (Chaos Bunny)
PATH OF THE BEAST
B - Brutality of the BEAST
...
Bahamut stared at the screen with wide eyes. If it wasn't for the bandages, his mouth would have been wide as well.
"What in the hell!" He practically screamed, his voice echoing loudly in the room and even outside. His scream woke up Ren, who was enjoying his nap as usual.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Ren exclaimed, his cute face twisted in annoyance, his red eyes gleaming with the promise of death.
"Look..." Bahamut stated, completely ignoring the killing intent he was feeling from the bunny.
"Holy Fuck!" Ren screamed too, his eyes widening to their limits, almost bulging out of their sockets as he stared at the system screen.
Before they could scream, someone barged into the room. She was a beautiful lady in white Egyptian-style clothes: a long, close-fitting linen dress, sandals, a broad silver usekh collar, and an amulet of the mother goddess, Isis. It was small, so the outline wasn't very visible except for the outstretched wings that seemed to wrap around something or someone.
Her skin was white, without a blemish, and her face was serene and beautiful. Green eyes outlined with dark kohl, long black hair, tied in braids that fell to her waist.
She knelt elegantly beside him, her fingers softly raising his head as she fed him a cup of water.
Bahamut was too stunned even to react... 'So beautiful!' His mind screamed, but his body couldn't react. Her touch was so divine that he could feel it through the bandages.
"Are you feeling pain anywhere?" she asked, her soft and silky voice making his body shiver.
"I-I'm okay... no pain!" Bahamut almost screamed his answer when he felt her touch his abdomen. He could feel the reaction down below incited by her touch. His mind was breaking as he tried to control himself.
'Come on! My willpower!'
And it failed him. Drastically.
"Oh? I can see you are very... healthy..." the woman said with a faint smile, her eyes staring at the bulge through the bandages.
"I'm dead..." Bahamut muttered, closing his eyes in embarrassment, while Ren fought to hold in his laugh. If the woman had focused on him, she would have seen a bunny smirking mischievously.
"You're alive. It's a good reaction, just... unexpected... I thought you were blind..."
"I am..."
"Oh? Heightened senses, huh? I remember a young blind boy with something similar. I wonder where he is now. I heard he entered the forest and hasn't returned after a month," she said with a nostalgic gaze.
"I see..."
"Oh my manners... I didn't introduce myself. I am one of the Healers of Isis, Henut," the lady said with a faint bow.
"I-I am Bahamut..." Bahamut answered with a flustered expression that was visible through his voice and even the bandages.
"Nice name. Seems you are fine..." Henut said with a smile.
"Err, what of the tests?" Bahamut asked in confusion.
"You were removed from it," a deep voice sounded from the doorway, prompting them to turn towards it. A tall man in golden robes entered, his long golden hair swaying behind him. Ren recognized him instantly... Elder Derek, his ex-master.
"I am Derek, an elder of the sect, and you've been placed under me," Derek said with a smile that felt like warmth, but Bahamut wasn't fazed. After all, he also remembered that voice from the memories of Ren he had.
The so-called master of Ren. Despicable. Ruthless. Wicked.
'And to think he is an elf...'
"I don't want to be under you!" Bahamut blurted out unconsciously, shocking himself and the others. Whatever Derek was going to say was stuck in his throat as his blue eyes roamed the bandaged body of the blind teenager. Bahamut noticed a flash of disdain and mirth in them, but it was barely noticeable, so Henut didn't see.
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, boy," Derek said, still smiling. That smile looked angelic to Henut, but it was far from that.
'The harm is already done... there's no going back now. Besides, I would rather die again than fall into this demon's hands!'
"I want to be fair to the other contestants," Bahamut said flatly.
"You're better than them..." Derek countered in a voice that was meant to caress Bahamut's ego, but he didn't know he was talking with an old being in a teenager's body.
The earlier reactions with Henut were normal. As the saying goes, " Women are dangerous." Even a god fell for a woman and encountered his doom; how much more a wandering, tortured, reincarnated soul?
But when it came to men, Bahamut was cool-headed.
"I'm reckless. There might be better ones than me," Bahamut countered, his voice flat. His argument was sound. After all, he rushed into battle unlike the rest, who bided their time to strike when it was right.
He was truly reckless, but that was his personality.
"Seems you're hell-bent on it, huh?" Derek stated. Meanwhile, in his mind, he was thinking. 'He sounds familiar... like he knows me. Even my illusion aura isn't working on him. It's either his willpower is very high, or he knows the true me... I will have to find out later. If it's the latter, I will have to erase him...'
"Yes. A competition is supposed to promote fairness, not bias or favoritism."
"Then let's make a bet," Derek said with a mysterious smile.
"A bet?" Bahamut asked in confusion and wariness.
"Yes. If you top the rankings for the test, you can choose any elder you like. And by topping, I mean... undisputed first. If you fail to top it, I will take you in, regardless of whatever treatment you will get in the future," Derek stated the bet, making Henut look at him in surprise.
An elder making a bet with a person who was yet to be accepted into the sect... It was unheard of!
Bahamut and Ren were equally shocked, but more wary of the terms. Derek had cornered them. If they don't accept it, he either becomes his master forcefully or he gets kicked out, meaning their main mission of learning more about the world and revenge fails.
If they accept, then they would have to work extra hard and pass the tests with the first position, or he would become Bahamut's master.
"So, do you accept?" Derek asked with his figurative smile.
"I do!" Bahamut answered with determination. Whatever he would do to not fall into that devil's hands, he will do.
"Good luck then. Prepare, you will be participating in two hours."
"Mm."
Derek stared at him one more time, turned, and left the room, leaving Bahamut and Henut alone.
"Err... may I get some clothes, Miss Henut? My old ones..." Bahamut said in embarrassment.
"Don't worry. Some were prepared for you. Though they are not sect clothes... yet."
"No problem. Thank you."
...
Back in the trial grounds, things were getting heated up. It was already two days for the contestants, some were even in their third day. Tension filled the air, and even those who were spectating could feel it.
Something was going to happen. Something... epic.