Hero of Darkness

Kahn delves into the depths of his own illusion technique, revealing to the enemy a poignant scene from his past.

"Mother, Father… don't abandon me." sobbed a young being, their appearance quite distinct and different from the norm, their voice filled with desperate plea.

"I can't believe we gave birth to this monstrosity." spat out the father, his voice dripping with disgust.

"This hideous thing can't be my child." the mother declared, her tone a mix of horror and disdain.

"You're probably the worst thing I've laid my eyes on." sneered the father, his scorn cutting deep.

"What did I do? You brought me into this world," the young being's voice wavered, carrying the weight of confusion and pain.

"I look the way I do because of both of you! Your bloodlines are the reason I was born this way!

So what crime have I committed just by being born?" the sorrowful being's words trembled with a mix of anger and sorrow.

"How is any of this my fault?" he retorted, anguish etched into every syllable.

"Tch! I hope you would just disappear." the father's words dripped with resentment.

"I regret the day I gave birth to you." the mother's voice held a toxic blend of regret and repulsion.

"Your entire existence is a curse to this world." the collective judgment of those around them hung heavy in the air.

"You can't blame me for this! So what if I look different than everyone else?

I'm not some evil monster. I have a heart and soul too. I have feelings too!" cried this being, their pain and frustration palpable, their words an anguished plea for understanding and acceptance.

His mother was a crossbreed, as was his father. Yet, he bore the brunt of the most undesirable physical traits from their mixed bloodlines, emerging as a being that defied any conventional categorization.

"It's not me who is wrong! It's you." he declared with fiery determination, his voice tinged with righteous indignation.

"If the world won't accept me for who and what I am… I will make it!" His words held a resolve that burned like an unquenchable flame.

"I don't need your validation. I don't want your approval of my existence,. he continued, his tone growing stronger with each word.

"I will live and die on my own terms. I will live for my own sake and search for happiness.

"You no longer have any hold over me." His proclamation carried fierce independence, a declaration of liberation from the chains of others' expectations.

"Just die!" The parents' venomous words struck like a thunderbolt, their rejection fueling the growing anger and hatred within their child.

BOOM!!

However, an unexpected event took place...

The being experienced a tumultuous transformation, its form contorting and expanding as a malevolent power surged within.

Its once-human eyes blazed a bloodshot red, radiating an aura of unrestrained bloodlust that seemed to engulf its surroundings.

RAWWRR!!!

A feral roar erupted, a visceral manifestation of the pent-up rage and torment it had endured.

"I have been wrong about it all along." it began to speak again, its voice echoing with a mix of torment and rage.

"My misery doesn't come from within me.

It's you and the outside world that have ostracized me just because I was born different.

It's you who are the cause of my sadness." he declared in a focused tone.

"Why should I conform to your standards?

After all… it's not like you would even care whether I lived or died." Its words dripped with a bitterness born of years of isolation." proclaimed the transformed four-legged creature with mane and wings.

"However…" The tone shifted, growing darker, more ominous.

"It means that I also shouldn't care whether you both lived or died." The being's voice resonated with chilling finality, its anger solidifying into an all-consuming malevolence.

The smoldering anger that had long festered within him finally erupted into an all-consuming blaze.

Swipe!

With a vicious swipe of its clawed hand, it mercilessly maimed and eviscerated its father, the very source of its torment.

Blood and gore painted the scene in a gruesome tableau.

Its maw opened wide, revealing rows of serrated teeth, and in a grisly climax, it sank those teeth into its father's head, tearing it apart with a guttural growl.

Then, its attention turned to the figure that had birthed it, its mother.

"No! Don't do this! I'm your mother!" she pleaded desperately.

"Then maybe you should have acted like one ever since I was a child.

Even animals and monsters don't treat their children the way both of you have treated me since I gained consciousness." the being retorted, its voice laced with venomous scorn.

"I'm only returning the kindness and love you've shown me my entire life." it said coldly, and in a ferocious lunge, it pounced on its mother.

What followed was a scene of unspeakable brutality, a frenzied massacre and dismemberment that left no doubt of its all-encompassing wrath.

Finally, the once-rampaging being began to subside, the blaze of anger transforming into an eerie calmness.

The Chaos Element, latent within its bloodline, had awoken, triggered by the precipice of grief and madness.

In the aftermath, the mangled bodies of its parents lay as grim evidence of its transformation.

From this turmoil emerged two grim companions—anger and the newfound power of the Chaos Element, both now intertwined as the wellspring of its strength.

----------------

The vision shifted once more, casting him into a reality that represented the passage of decades.

And the once tormented and grateful being was now living a different life that he had never hoped; one made of triumph and fulfillment.

He now stood at the pinnacle of society, respected by millions of people and holding dominion over unrivaled power.

Despite his once-condemned appearance, he had found profound love and forged a family, happiness contrasting starkly with the anguish of his tormented past.

BOOM!

However, it didn't even get a moment to relish that happiness.

An earth-shattering explosion rent the world asunder. Amidst the ruins, countless lifeless forms sprawled in grotesque abandon.

Bewilderment mingled with fear as he surveyed the devastation, taking hesitant steps backward.

Yet, horror gripped him anew as he realized that his very movements trampled the lifeless bodies of his beloved wife and children.

"No!"

His heart-wrenching cry reverberated through the chaos, anguish painted across his contorted features as he clutched his family's lifeless forms, tears mingling with the smoke and ash that surrounded him.

Step!

Step!

Step by agonizing step, a new presence emerged from the inferno—a figure equally shrouded in darkness as the vision itself.

The flames danced upon his ebony hair, a long dark-gray coat adorned with intricate silver motifs cascading around his form.

In his grip rested a mighty greatsword, its blade coursing with liquid magma. Twin dragon heads adorned the hilt, their fiery breath an eerie reflection of the destruction that surrounded them.

He spoke, his voice a low and ominous rumble, dripping with a malevolent allure.

"How dare you live happily? Someone like you doesn't deserve it."

In the midst of this nightmarish tableau, Kahn's true human form emerged, piercing the illusion with his presence.

He confronted the figure before him, his voice cutting through the darkness like a blade.

The figure before him trembled, his anger and despair mingling with disbelief.

"You... Are you the one responsible for this carnage? Did you destroy everything I held dear?"

Kahn's gaze was unyielding, his words dripping with condemnation. 

"You have a vile tendency to exploit the vulnerabilities of others, using their past traumas to push them to the brink of madness.

By feeding upon their suffering and then forcing your targets to kill themselves. 

That's how you tap into the power of the Chaos Element." spoke Kahn in a stern voice.

"But your reign of manipulation ends here. Your fortune has soured since the moment our paths crossed.

And now, prepare yourself." His tone took on a dark and ominous edge, a wicked smile gracing his lips. 

He leaned in, his voice a chilling whisper, a foreboding promise.

"To lose everything that gave meaning to your life." 

[[Author : Novel will continue at regular pace from 1st January 2024.]]