548 CHPT 548: Embrace
The wind in his ears felt like spirits— like ShapeShifting spectators. Roaring and screaming at the violence. Pulled into the journey with him on a Prey Driven escapade.
They grew louder as he fell faster until it was all silenced by the crash and burn. Literally.
He hit the ground face first in Furnace's labyrinth and was immediately engulfed in flames.
Flames that mirrored the tether in his mind. Flames that mirrored the superheated rise of his physical stats as he dumped all of his System points into his physical and magical capabilities.
Hot— flowing energy synthesizing the wild of the world and heat of the beasts. As the fire bathed him green sparks split the flame and roared.
Speaking of beasts, he could hear the Silver Cursed going mad above ground. Alpha moved to resettle order with his fists, throwing them around and punching down others with vicious curses and screeches. It sounded like the riots in the Sunlands.
In a weird reversal of events, this time the madness wasn't because people wanted to speak to him. They wanted him dead. They wanted order. They were driven by instinct all the same to an all different end.
And instead of hiding on the rooftops with his friends, he was below ground. With a Dragon, spitting hellfire into his backside as he ran. As he chased down Alpha. As he attempted to take the tower and his freedom.
There it was. His desperation. In the flesh….
"[Claude—]"
"Fuck it. We do it now."
"[Very well then. Give him hell.]"
He traveled the stairs eight steps at a time, hands scooping up balls of air to carry him further upwards. The flames superheated his frame, causing the metal flooring to give and sink, leaving smoldering shapes of his feet in his wake.
His adrenaline coursed through his veins and shut off his trivial thoughts. There was no room for them.
There was no room for anyone but himself and Alpha as he exploded from below like…. Like nothing he or anyone had seen.
His heat— his intensity, melted the floors. He couldn't stay still. He hit the ground running, blurring past the Shifters as they clung to the walls tending to their wounded while others watched at the ready for war.
Alpha stood over Don who lay over Fernanda— the old Crocodile bled from the face a dozen ways. He blinked frantically past tears and the red glow of his eyes. Maybe the Full Moon was closer than he thought.
Alpha spun around, baring his ape-like fangs in a defensive screech as his eyes widened in animalistic terror.
The hybrid beast jumped out of his way, landing up on his scaffolding framework above. Face and featured blocked by the sun.
Claude looked up and felt his chest heat up— expand even. Instinctively he coughed and spit a bright green line of fire.
It ripped through one of the support beams, leaving dripping metal at its ends.
"More…"
He puffed his chest and circled Alpha from below, slowly scaling the walls as he ran in a smoking spiral.
PFOO! PFOO!
He sent a barrage of fire breathing spears into the atmosphere.
"HOO! HOO!" Alpha flipped and rolled out of the way until all the scaffolding was compromised and fell inward.
Shifters below scrambled.
Claude jumped from the walls to intercept the falling Alpha.
As he did, he grabbed one of the falling support beams and swung it at Alpha.
BONG!!!!!!!
The Beast flew backward into one of the barely built walls. He shattered through it like it was made of paper.
Claude rushed over, knowing the battle wasn't over. He found himself hanging over the wall, watching as Alpha fell. Spitting flames at the dark descending shape.
Calmly the StoneApe brought his hands together in a deafening thunder clap. Blowing out the nearby fires and gaining the sea monsters attention below.
BOOM!
The blast sent him back into the outside walls. With no hesitation, he caught on and began climbing.
Bounding, really. With so much force entire pieces of wall were left bent and partially torn from the tower as the monster ascended. Its crinkled snout and black lips peeled backward in a wild snarl.
Claude could do little more than pull guard as Alpha reached him and grabbed hold of his throat, squeezing so hard he went blind for a moment.
When he came back to focus, Alpha was on top of him.
"ALPHA!" Alpha brought down a deadly hammer fist on Claude's chest.
BOOM!
[35% HP Remaining]
"LEADS!"
Another.
BOOM!
[20%…..]
"YOU! FOLLOW HOOO!" He brought his hands together. His chest trembled like rubble in a landslide.
Claude brought his knee up, catching sight of how the scales covered his skin like knights armor. Sectional and sharp. His knee smashed into the monsters groin.
Desperation.
"AHHHHHHHHH!" Alpha's knees caved in as he howled.
Claude panicked as he melted through the floor before reaching out and catching the floor with one hand.
In a rush, he spit a fireball through the floor ahead and swung himself to it, flipping above ground with his Malevolence Tether.
He stood behind Alpha— who was recovered. And grabbing onto his Lunar Artifact firmly.
A WereTiger moved behind him. He'd heard from Rupont and Arne that they had the deadliest pounce on earth. Something about muscle content and vibrating incisors.
Claude caught the Shifter by the tail he didn't know he had and snapped his neck.
Crack!
[+200 EXP]
Alpha's eyes widened in rage before he let go of the Artifact and gave into the transformation with an earsplitting roar.
His size increased marginally, leaving the shift to focus more on the structure of his face. The curl of his claws. The bend of his spine. The density of fur that went from a steady black to a wiry salt and pepper coloring. Like the Warhounds back home.
In seconds the StoneApe went from a mannish monkey beast to a Primal Wolf Monkey resting on all fours. Its knuckles rested on the floor like mallets.
The creature growled, ears flared backward. Snout long and frothy at the end.
"[Don't forget your abilities.]"
Claude's chest ignited as he spit another flame .
"ROAAAAAA!!" Alpha roared so loud the air shook and the flames fizzled out midair.
The beast charged like a bear with overdeveloped muscles. Lumbering along in a bulky gait.
Claude moved to jump. Stopping first as he noticed the lack of fluidity to Alpha's form. He was locked into all fours. Locked. He rested on his heels and let himself grow conscious of his surroundings. Of the shape of the walls. The depth of the dents where Liquid Metal compounded and left weak spots. He memorized them during breakfast and dinner for a reason.
Sparks of flame rose from his heaving chest. Fenrirs eyes once again. So close they felt like they were grafted over his own. Like they were his own.
"Where's your desperation?!" There was so much to that question.
"It's…. It's right there."
Claude didn't move.
He opened his arms as if ready for an embrace. Hell, he'd been ready for an Embrace for far too long. It was time.
"Come on!"
Alpha smashed into him with his gigantic shoulder.
The two flew across the Tower floor. Shifters rushed out of the way as they collided with a wall so hard the sheet metal of upper levels fell and crashed behind them.
BOOM!
[10%….]
He coughed up a mouthful of blood. It steamed and burned through Alpha's torn longcoat.
Gil attempted to break through the scales and failed.
Claude ran his claws across Alpha's back, struggling to reach far enough from the roundness of the monsters slouching frame.
Alpha continued to ram him, attempting to suffocate. Succeeding.
He ripped and tore. Giving all the desperation Fenrir questioned.
He scanned the walls, trying to call forth the memories of the weak spots in the walls. The ones Don spoke of. He reached, fell short from all angles as his ribs broke beneath the dragon scale.
He was no longer burning hot enough to melt the metal. To gain breathing room.
As if his intensity had faded. As if he wasn't….
"Fuck…. I'm not…."
Alpha reared back and slammed into him again. What a sturdy wall all of a sudden….
Ursula's face rested at the back of his mind. Maris and the Vampires. Rollan and the satyrs. Isaac. Warren. Frosty and Loba.
He reached for the wall again.
Magically the small cracks widened and the wall twisted open as if invisible hands grabbed the metal and peeled it apart.
Claude's hand touched outside air. Absorbed Wild Magic.
Don stood in the center of the tower. Red Aura glowing like dragons fire as the Tower shifted shape all around him.
Reborn.
Brought to the brink and changed fundamentally.
Claude liked that.
He smiled. A sad and pathetic smile as Alpha rammed into him in a mindless frenzy.
"I'm so tired…. Of getting in my own way."
The scales fell, leaving the human form beneath. But not for long.
Revitalized with Wild Magic, Claude flipped over onto the back of Alpha.
His gums itched to no end as his fangs extended and his tongue went barbed. Saliva dripped from his mouth and fell into the beasts furry nape. Like sauce on a steaming platter of meat.
He dove in, sinking his teeth into the creatures massive neck. He hit a vein and felt the blood flow, causing him to bite down harder. Causing him to choke and gag. Causing him to lose focus. He felt like a balloon being filled with air. His muscles stretched. His mind cleared. His form shifted. Giving him the ability to dig deeper.
He grabbed fistfuls of fleshy fur and threw them aside so he could get to the bloody muscle. The monsters screams made his spine tingle in euphoria as the fear blended with the tender meat.
There was no shame. No hesitation, no decorum. Blood splashed against the fur on his arms. The sun overhead made it glimmer like liquid Ruby. Entrails hung from his knees half eaten. He spit out teeth in between taking bites out of Alpha's snout.
The others inside watched in horror. Some in enjoyment. Claude didn't care. He was at the best part. He lifted the nearly cleaned skeleton and bit into the skull, licking and sucking out the monsters feral and twisted brain. It was sweeter than the taste of candy. Sweeter than the fruits that grew around his fathers cabin. Soft like noodles with a taste he couldn't even describe. Only feel as it rippled down his tingling scalp all the way to his shaking legs.
He sat in silence over the massive skeleton before feeling the Shifters behind him. Memories of the one that pounced filled his mind. Shifters without a leader go mad. Their mental safety net gone and moral compass spun out of control. The fight wasn't over.
Claude took Alpha's longcoat and threw it on as he turned to face the Shifters.
Immediately he exploded in a tornado of shadows and green flame.
The Phantom Wolves burst onto the scene, circling Claude and barking at the Silver Cursed wildly. Gil leapt out of his chest ready to kill before Claude caught him on his Malevolence Tether. Right before he bit into Don.
In his Lupine form he felt refreshed. Reborn. But he was closer to death than he'd been in a long time. But they didn't need to know that.
He flashed his fangs.
"Who's next…."
Don's Aura faded and he took a step back. He looked around at everyone before turning back to Claude and taking a knee.
The remaining Silver Cursed followed.
[Alpha Position Regained.]
[+800 EXP]
DING!
[Transformation Skill Upgraded from (Partial Embrace) —> (Full Embrace)]
***
Hours passed since Alpha's death. His skeleton began to smell. The sun set, leaving the sky in splashing shades of orange and dark blue.
Nobody moved.
Don— being the child he was, succumbed to his youthful curiosity and looked up at Claude. His form was so unique. Not a Wolf… but undoubtedly wolflike with his long snout and raised heels suited for all fours. His hulking hairless dark grey chest heaved with his snores. Soundless. The hounds he summoned watched them all with inhuman alertness.
"Ay dios mio…." Don muttered, "He's asleep standing up."
