Chapter 7: Devourer

Jacob's sudden changes sent chills down Charles's spine. It didn't make sense 'I can't sense any cultivation from this boy yet he gives off such a formidable aura' Charles was a little nervous thinking about why this change happened 'he's still a brat with no cultivation, this should be a walk in the park' Charles concern slowly faded and his smug smile returned.

"Drop the act boy, you stand no chance in this fight" Charles lowered himself readying himself to fight "Just die quietly"

Charles then bolted towards Jacob at a speed that Jacob should not be able to see and through a simple punch to his side 'it's over already' Charles's confidence soared as Jacob didn't even react as his punch inched closer seeking to pop his opponent's head like a melon.

Jacob then glanced at Charles with his bright golden eyes seemingly staring through Charles' soul before leaning back slightly letting the punch fly by him as he kicked Charles' leg causing him to lose his balance and resulting in Jacob throwing him across the room.

'Impossible' Charles was wide-eyed as he flew across the room doing a somersault and landing on his feet "What a lucky boy" Charles stated not believing that Jacob could truly dodge his punch and retaliate. He then dashed towards Jacob again this time throwing a feint to the front and appearing behind Jacob with a roundhouse kick to the head which Jacob ducked and then retreated.

Jacob was dodging and retreating punch after punch by a hairs width and sweat could be seen on his face 'God damn he's fast, nowhere near One's level though' Jacob had trained 11 years sparring against One who was a 7th stage body cultivator and although he says Charles is slower he can still barely keep up with his speed with his golden eyes.

'I need to counter him somehow or I'm gonna run out of energy before reinforcements get here' Jacob may have been dodging and weaving Charles for now but his energy was starting to drain and he knew that his speed and strength would be easily countered by Charles "ENOUGH!" Charles yelled infuriated by the rat running away "I thought I could take you with pure strength but I guess not" even though Charles was a third-rate villain he was still a cultivator and all cultivators have their own martial techniques and skill.

Charles then grabbed the sheathed sword that has been dangling from his hip and burst forward like a lightning strike and unsheathed his sword aiming for Jacob's neck 'Fuck!' Jacob pulled his axe up attempting to block the strike ending with a large clang and Jacob being thrown across the room, this pattern continued with Jacob barely blocking and being thrown around. It now looked like he was being toyed with by Charles whose relentless strikes caused Jacob's hand to go numb and his arm to tremble as it started to swell

'Damn it! He broke my arm through sheer force!' Jacob was not fairing well and immediately started coming up with a plan as he desperately fought against the pain continuing to block Charles's strikes causing further cracks along his forearm bones 'I guess I have no choice but to use 'it' even if it means my death' Jacob came up with a desperate plan using one of the martial techniques that One told him not to use until he became an actual cultivator.

Charles's attacks started to grow faster and faster with lightning accumulating on his blade he readied himself for the final attack "DIE!" he yelled before Jacob vanished in mid-air appearing above him while his axe's blade started to glow red. Jacob then threw one axe at full power which disarmed Charles 'where did this power come from!' His strength as multiplied ten fold or at least his axe's strength has' Charles was distracted by the sudden development and barely moved his arm in front of his chest before *BAM* Jacob's axe landed cleaving Charles's arm vertically leaving two flaps of flesh and embedding the axe in his chest.

*BOOM* Charles crashed into the ground rolling before being embedded in a wall. Jacob faired better but not much coughing up blood and landing on his knees with a pale face 'Gah I forgot how it feels to use a martial technique with no ethereal energy' he laughed to himself coughing up more blood before sitting up against the wall opposite of Charles.

Charles however was still not put down sitting up against the wall he pulled out a small vial with a worm like creature inside wiggling around furiously 'I didn't think I'd have to resort to this going up against a non cultivator, pathetic' Charles degraded himself as he popped the vial open catching the weakened Jacob's eyes that now turned back to hazel 'that looks similar to the parasite that almost infected Penny' realization spread over Jacob's face causing him to power through his pain to stand up and walk as fast as he can towards Charles

Valiant as his efforts might be, he was still late as Charles popped the parasite in his mouth chewing it and swallowing "You're done now boy. The power granted to me by the Entity through Unity will end your worthless life, mutt" Charles started to convulse and mutate as he grew taller and grew muscles way too big for the human body as his eyes turned red and his legs turned into that of an animals, his skin turned pitch black along with his now bald head and his teeth grew several inches turning into razors.

Jacob stared at the monstrosity in front of him and for the first time since he lost his family and his colony Jacob felt fear instinctually as if telling him that he stood no chance "Now watch boy as I turn you into meat paste" Charles's voice turned demonic and hoarse. Jacob couldn't comprehend what he heard 'he just ate a parasite! How could he retain his consciousness and freedom?!' Jacob's world cracked as this should be impossible 'Unity found a way to harness the Entity's power!!' the thought causing him to shiver as he thought of the possibilities this could lead to.

Without warning, Charles and his humongous body disappeared and reappeared behind Jacob in less than a millisecond and landed a punch directly on Jacob's spine causing a crack as he was sent through the facility's outer wall landing on the asteroid's surface. He coughed up blood and fought his tears and excruciating pain 'I'm done for…' Jacob's will and resolve weakened when faced against such a monstrosity defying common logic.

Charles jumped through the hole left by Jacob's body and landed in front of Jacob's mangled body barely holding onto life. Jacob looked into his red eyes thinking off his regrets when he noticed a glint on the ground near him. There was another vial with a parasite that seemed to have fallen out of Charles's torn clothes. Jacob looked at the vial and contemplated on what he should do 'I want to live…I want to survive' his survival instinct kicked in as he dragged himself away from Charles

"A pathetic last attempt of escape!" Charles laughed hysterically as he watched Jacob's corpse like body drag itself away. Jacob managed to reach the vial dragging it towards his body trying to hide his plan from the distracted Charles as he continued to hysterically laugh with his eyes close.

Jacob then opened the vial 'If there is a God then I pray that my soul be saved from what I'm about to become' he then grabbed the parasite and slurped it like a noodle before crunching it down in his mouth and swallowing. His body started heating up to an unbearable level, he started to spasm as he wanted to fight the change.

Jacob fought against the mutations and wished to harness only the strength 'I won't let myself become a monster if I can help it' Jacob's last struggle to live and stay human caused his body to spasm uncontrollably as his eyes turned red and then back to hazel and then turned golden. His eyes felt like they were being pierced by needles and his insides were twisting like how someone would twist a balloon to make a balloon animal.

'FUCKING HELL!!!! He didn't have to go through so much pain so why do I!!!?' Jacob was experiencing hell and it seemed to last an eternity as ethereal energy started rushing into his body at the speed of light.

…

Jacob's consciousness then appeared in a black space. He touched his body and his face and felt no pain which made him feel relief, but then realized that he couldn't feel anything at all! He was scared that he lost the fight against the parasite making him believe that he turned into a mindless monster and this was the last of his consciousness.

A hand appeared on his shoulder which startled Jacob making him jump up and enter a karate stance "Calm down bud" Jacob heard a familiar voice come from the figure which appeared much clearer now. He was a middle aged man about 188 cm just a little shorter than Jacob and he had herculean muscles and a face similar to Jacob's just older with a beard "Dad..?" Jacob's world stopped as he stared at the face of his father who he believed died in the attack of colony X.

His face began distorting between confusion, happiness, anger, and finally sadness as he realized that this was probably just a dream "it isn't a dream buddy" Jacob's father said with a warm smile "even though this is only a fragment of my soul that I left for you when you were ready I am still technically here" Jacob looked at his father walking slowly towards him reaching his hands out touching his shoulder and then abruptly hugging him as tight as possible with tears rolling down his cheeks.

Jacob felt unimaginable happiness in that moment squeezing his father as if he was trying to crush him in a bear hug "a man shouldn't cry on another man's shoulder" his father gave him a chop on the head as he tried to lighten up his son's mood with a joke "of course, Dad" Jacob smiled through his snot and tears looking like a toddler after a tantrum.

Jacob took a few minutes to calm down and gain a little more rationality "You ready to discuss why I'm appearing before you?" His father asked with a serious face "Yes sir" Jacob said as if he was a recruit talking with his drill sergeant "I'm here because of the parasite that you ate, dumbass" his father had an angry tone as if his son just broke the television (personal experience) "Well you see Dad, I was kinda getting my ass handed to me by a conscious host and I thought the only way not to die was to you know…" Jacob was like a nervous child in front of his father "I don't want an excuse because that's not why I'm here. I am here because you are about to realize the power you hold" his father paused to make sure Jacob was listening.

"You have the power to absorb parasites and use them as a tool for cultivation. I named this power the devourer physique which has only existed in me and you" his father stated as a matter of fact "I also had this power which is kind of the reason why Unity attacked colony X…" Jacob stared at his father as the words sunk in causing his face to go dark "so mom and Katherine died because you liked to eat bugs?" Jacob looked at his father withholding the urge to sock him in the jaw "No your sister and mother died because someone betrayed humanity. Their attack would've been warded off if someone didn't allow them to attack!" His father was angry thinking about the traitorous bastard "That doesn't matter right now. What matters is that you need a tutorial." Jacob focused in on his father's next words.

"What you just ate can be considered a low level parasite. Like humans, the Entity's parasites can cultivate with the same energy and the same levels as us. The parasite you ate just now was a second stage parasite which means that you're lucky to be alive and although you didn't know you're still a dumbass" Jacob just nodded and rubbed the back of his head as he laughed awkwardly "this also means that your ability is stronger than mine allowing you to absorb the energy from parasite's a stage above you and I know they don't taste the greatest but eventually you'll grow numb to it and it'll be like chewy gummy worms!" his father smiled and Jacob just cringed at the thought of chewing the parasites like gummy worms.

"You can find these parasites in hosts obviously and can be extracted easily with those nice golden eyes you have, thank your mom for that one. Your eyes should allow you to spot the weak points of your enemies which for hosts is the spot where the parasite resides. These two abilities make you the bane of the Entity's existence which is always a good thing" his father gave Jacob a thumbs up "I don't have the time to explain how to use everything because my remnants, but you're a smart boy so I'm sure you'll be able to figure it out easily." Jacob's father started to fade as his body turned to light particles.

"Being able to learn everything you have at such a young age is proof that you've got this bud" his father smiled gently as the last of his body started disappearing into light particles. Jacob reached out trying to hug his father one last time, his hands going right through his body "I love you, dad" Jacob knew this was temporary but didn't wish for it to end as he knew this was truly his last time to speak with his father "I'll make you proud" he said with a resolute gaze as his father disappeared completely "I know you will" were his father's true last words.

…

Back in the real world Jacob finally regained his consciousness as he still heard Charles's crazed laughter 'I can feel the vast energy inside me' Jacob could feel his body was stronger as well as his soul. He had broken through and became a real cultivator going straight to the late stage of both the Centaurus and Betelgeuse realm 'This is still not enough but maybe I can escape to the teleporter.

Jacob set his plan in motion as he took advantage of the fact that Charles was still distracted and jumped up abruptly running at top speed past Charles and through the hole his body made earlier, due to the breakthrough to the late stage Jacob was able to heal some his body allowing him to have one last burst of energy as he raced to the teleporter.

Charles was shocked as he didn't expect to feel the power of a late stage first realm cultivator 'how is this possible?!' He bolted chasing Jacob but was stopped by the astounding force of a sword "You look like shit Charles!" It was Georgia who finally reached Jacob after being informed by Penny and Charlotte "I already forced them to teleport to the colony!" Georgia shouted at Jacob indicating that he also must escape.

Jacob took zero chances and immediately attempted to teleport as Charles roared "NOOOOOO!!!" And a large red slash of energy burst through the air as Jacob disappeared and hit the teleporter's control panel "Shit!" Georgia screamed knowing that Jacob will now be teleported to random coordinates within the solar system.

...

The sky rippled and a young man flew out of a crack in the sky and landed with a loud bang among a large amount of trees "Fuck!" he rolled around the ground and finally stopped when his back hit a tree causing cracks to form "Fucking teleporter! Where the hell am I?!" Jacob looked around to see nothing but trees "A forest? The colony doesn't have a forest since they're considered a waste of space on the asteroid. The only places that should have a forest are one of the planets in the solar system...fuck."

Jacob realized that he was now stranded on a planet that housed billions of hosts and now had to fight tooth and nail for survival with his still injured body.

...

AN: that's it for the intro so let's start the real story :)