David's master stepped forward, fear twisting his face into something almost inhuman.
"Kill him!" he barked, drawing his sword with trembling hands. "He's a threat to our village!"
Threat?
David stared at him, confused, heart pounding.
"I… I didn't do anything," he said, but the words felt small, swallowed by the rising panic around him.
Three slaves, those who had been sent to search for him stepped out of the crowd. Their eyes were wide, their bodies shaking, as if they were looking at a monster wearing David's skin.
Silence pressed in for a heartbeat.
Then one of them finally spoke, voice quivering.
"We… we went to search for you and the other slave. On our way, we heard a scream. We ran toward it and…" His throat tightened. "And we saw you standing there."
David felt the world tilt.
The man continued, almost whispering now.
"But something was wrong. The air felt heavy… tainted. Like a dark presence was choking the forest."
His eyes flicked away, unable to meet David's. "And from where we stood… we saw you holding a woman's severed head."
His words hit like a blade.
David's mind flashed white
I didn't… I couldn't… did I?
The moment David opened his mouth to defend himself, another slave cut him off, screaming through tears.
"You demon!" he shouted. "You killed your own brother! We ran when we saw you. Ran for our lives and we stumbled upon a body. Our brother…" His voice cracked. "He was torn apart. Destroyed past recognition. You monster!"
Monster.
The word echoed like a curse.
And suddenly
David remembered.
The memories slammed back into him like a flood he never asked for.
When he lay unconscious in the forest, bones shattered, breath fading, the witch had leaned over him, ready to devour his soul. But something else had stirred… a presence,cold, ancient, merciless had consumed him from within.
His broken legs twisted, cracked, and straightened as if commanded by unseen hands. His vision drowned in darkness; his eyes turned pitch-black, swallowing the world whole.
The witch sensed it.
Even she, a creature born of the underworld had stepped back in fear.
She lunged first, desperate. David moved without thought, without humanity. Her claws sliced through the air, but in a blink her hands were no longer attached
They fell to the dirt with a wet thud.
Her scream ripped through the trees.
And worse, her severed limbs didn't regenerate as they should. Instead, something inside her burned… a fire she had never known. Smoke curled from her veins.
Panicking, she crawled across the ground, shifting her form into a beautiful woman, soft skin, trembling lips, pleading eyes. A last attempt to trigger human sympathy.
But the thing standing over her was no longer human.
David grabbed her by the neck, lifted her effortlessly, and with one cold movement tore her head from her body.
And that…
that was the moment the three slaves arrived and saw him.
In that instant, a single question carved itself into David's mind:
What am I?
He tried to speak, to explain, to cling to whatever humanity he believed he still had but their ears were sealed by fear. His words fell lifeless to the ground, unheard, unwanted.
And he understood.
Nothing he said would save him.
These people, terrified of everything beyond their walls had already decided what he was.
A monster.
Steel rang as villagers drew their swords. Torches flared to life. Flames danced in their eyes like judgment. They formed a circle around him, tight, hostile, trembling with the need to destroy what they feared.
Then they rushed him.
Dozens of footsteps. Dozens of screams. A storm of hate closing in.
David felt his breath quicken, his mind spiraling between confusion and rising rage. His vision flickered light, darkness, light until something inside him snapped.
"STOP IT!!"
The shout wasn't just a voice.
It was a force.
A blast of raw power erupted from him, tearing outward like a shockwave.
The ground cracked. Bodies flew. Men and women were flung through the air, crashing into walls, carts, and each other.
Screams filled the village as torches scattered, fires sparked, and chaos swallowed everything.
Then silence.
As the energy died, David's heartbeat slowed—and clarity returned like a cold knife.
He stared at the destruction around him. The injured villagers. The fear. The pain.
And he realized what he had done..
(David's POV)
I looked down at my hands, trembling, glowing faintly.
Veins pulsed beneath my skin like rivers of living energy, flowing, burning, alive.
This… wasn't normal.
This wasn't human.
My chest tightened.
As I stared at the fallen villagers, broken, bleeding, terrified because of me.
The truth hit me like a blade.
Maybe I'm not human at all.
Guilt crushed the air in my lungs.
Before anyone could rise again… before anyone could try to kill me… or beg for mercy I couldn't give…
I ran.
I didn't think.
I didn't breathe.
I just ran.
And as my feet hit the ground, something inside me surged. My speed snapped forward like lightning.
Villagers barely even saw me pass; to most, I was just a blur cutting through the smoke and panic.
I didn't look back.
Not once.
The forest swallowed me whole.
Night had already fallen, and darkness hung heavy between the twisted trees. Every step echoed in the silence, the only light the faint glow leaking from my own veins.
Hours passed or maybe more.
My legs finally weakened, and I found a cave hidden behind a cluster of stones.
I dragged myself inside, gathered whatever dry wood I could find, and started a fire.
The flames flickered weakly, but it was enough to warm my shaking body.
I lay down… but sleep didn't come.
My mind refused to rest.
Questions circled me like vultures.
Am I human?
What happened to me that night?
Who were the beings I saw in my visions?
What am I turning into?
The fire crackled softly.
And in the darkness, I realized that the thing I feared most…
was myself.