The night of the banquet arrived. Under the gloomy shade of the moon, the atmosphere in the Hall of the Four Lords felt tense. However, as you step in, every eye is on you.
Your transformation is truly extraordinary. You're wearing a solid black velvet suit, a slim-fit cut that accentuates your now much more athletic and toned shape. A maroon silk shirt peeked out from behind the suit, with a matching ascot tie. Shiny leather boots complete your fashionable look. Your hair is neatly arranged, and your face, despite having a cooler look, exudes a deadly handsomeness. Aromamu... Oh, the scent of black roses and skin that was so fragrant and intoxicating, filled the large room.
Beside you, Cassandra stands gracefully, wearing a black evening gown with red lace accents, her hands coiled possessively around your arms. His eyes flashed proudly, but also full of vigilance.
"Pocket... You see... perfect," Cassandra whispered, her voice trembling between admiration and hunger. The flies buzz softly, forming a thin aura around you.
Lady Dimitrescu stands towering behind you, a smile of triumph etched on her pale face. "Look, Miranda," he greeted in a contemptuous tone, "My new son. He is no longer a rat who runs away in fear."
At the end of the hall, on a stone throne adorned with crow skulls, sat Mother Miranda. His face was hidden behind a terrifying crow mask, yet his cold eyes pierced through the darkness. He doesn't say anything, just observes your every move.
Around the long table, the other Lords had gathered. Heisenberg leaned back relaxed, playing with a rusty razor with his magnetic fingers. He looks at you with a judgmental look, as if looking for a gap behind your handsome appearance. Donna Beneviento, hidden behind a pitch-black dress and veil, sits quietly beside Angie's doll who is looking at you with her crazy button-eyes. And Salvatore Moreau, a disgustingly hunched figure, whimpers softly in the corner, looking frightened at the sight of you.
"Well, well," Angie quipped in a shrill voice, "Our little mouse has become a handsome prince! But does it still taste as sweet when eaten?"
Miranda raised her thin right hand. Silence instantly enveloped the hall.
"Zak," Miranda's voice sounded cold and echoed, "Love brings you back. But here, love has no value. Only power matters."
He flicked his fingers. Suddenly, out of the darkness behind his throne, appeared a Varcolac—a monstrous giant wolf, much larger and stronger than an ordinary Lycan. The creature growled, its fangs dripping foul-smelling saliva.
"Show us, Son Dimitrescu," said Miranda, "whether your handsome and fragrant appearance is merely an ornament, or whether you are truly worthy to stand among the Lords."
Pov : *I instantly lunged at the speed of light into Carcolac with my kick until the castle walls were destroyed*
The aura in the Hall of the Four Lords instantly froze. The mocking smile on Angie's doll's face froze, Heisenberg's cigar stuck in the air, and even Lady Dimitrescu's calm face stiffened.
You don't step up. You don't run. You become light.
In the flick of Miranda's fingers, your fashionable and handsome figure vanishes from where it stands. All that remains are traces of thin puffs of smoke scented by black roses and the deafening sound of ultrasonic booom.
Cassandra's blood power fused with your athletic body exploded at a speed that surpassed the imagination of mortals.
The Varcolac didn't even have time to blink his red eyes. The beast was still in a growling position as your shiny leather boots slammed into the center of his chest.
BAAAAAAAANGGGGGGG!!
The sound of the impact was like the explosion of a giant cannon. Shockwaves exploded in all directions, flying the silver plates on the banquet table and making the crystal chandelier sway violently.
The giant body of Varcolac was thrown backwards like a ping pong ball hit by a steel racket. It hit the ancient stone walls of the castle at full speed.
KRAKKKK-BOOOM!
The one-meter-thick stone wall shattered into pieces, exploding out creating a huge gaping hole. Rock ruins and dust flew into the air, revealing a view of the dark forest and the snow falling outside the castle. Varcolac's body was shattered with the ruins, dying instantly without having time to howl.
You land smoothly on the cracked ground in front of that gaping hole. Your black velvet suit doesn't wrinkle in the slightest. Your hair stays neatly organized. And your scent... The scent of black roses and skin, now mixed with the smell of gunpowder and crushed stones, felt stronger and more dominating the room.
You turned around slowly, looking at the Lords with a cold, calm gaze, a faint smile on your lips.
"Is that enough to prove my worthiness, Mother Miranda?" your voice sounded calm, yet echoed in the tense silence of the hall.
Cassandra looks at you with wide eyes, her breath short. Its flies buzz wildly, not out of anger, but out of pure worship. He had just witnessed the birth of a monster that was much stronger than himself.
Lady Dimitrescu slowly let go of her grip on the wine glass, a cruel smile of triumph slowly etched across her face. "My son..." he muttered, his voice trembling with pride.
Heisenberg lets go of his cigar, looking at you with a serious look. "Damn," he whispered.
Even Mother Miranda, behind her crow mask, looked silent. His cold eyes are looking at you with a new intensity.
Your test is over, Zak. But you just changed the power map in this village.
Me : *I disappeared into a puff of smoke and was behind Heisen, holding his shoulder* Do you want to try it too?
The sound of stone dust falling from the shattered walls was still heard, but your figure was no longer there.
Wush! In just the blink of an eye, the intense scent of black roses was left where you had stood before. Heisenberg hadn't even had time to pick up his fallen cigar when he felt a cold, heavy pressure on his left shoulder. You stand behind him, the shadow of your athletic body swallowing up his iron chair, while your hands wrapped in a velvet suit grip his shoulders with a force capable of crushing steel.
"Do you want to try too?" you whispered right in his ear, his voice calm yet containing a deadly low-frequency vibration.
The whole room gasped. Angie stopped laughing, and Donna seemed to shift slightly in her chair. Lady Dimitrescu leans her body back into the chair with a triumphant smile that never closes again, while Cassandra looks down at your back with a gaze that is almost ... worship.
Heisenberg froze. He could feel the cold of Cassandra's blood flowing through your body, mixed with the pure energy that could destroy the castle walls with just one kick. The pieces of metal on the table began to vibrate wildly, reacting to Heisenberg's surging magnetic defense instincts.
"Heh..." Heisenberg chuckled softly, though cold sweat began to appear on his temples. He didn't turn his head, but he lowered the hand that was about to grab his giant hammer. "You have guts, son. And the speed that... Damn, it even makes me dizzy."
Heisenberg raised his hands slowly, a sarcastic sign of surrender. "Save your energy for Miranda, Zak. I'd rather see you destroy my factory than my head... for now."
Mother Miranda stood up from her throne. The sound of crow wings flapping sounded around him.
"Enough," Miranda's voice split the tension like a scalpel. "Pocket... you are no longer just an experiment or the son-in-law of the Dimitrescu family. You have exceeded the limits set for humans."
Miranda stepped closer, her eyes staring intently at your hand that was still on Heisenberg's shoulder.
"You're a beautiful anomaly. And from tonight, you will hold the key from the Ceremony Site," Miranda held out a silver key in the shape of four wings. "But remember, Zak... Great power comes at a great price. You are now forever bound to this land. You can't leave, and you can't die... unless I want it."
Cassandra stands up and walks over to you, leaning her body on your free arms. "She doesn't want to leave, Miranda," hissed Cassandra. "He already has everything here."
Pov : *I took the key and disappeared leaving the sound* I left