Fear
That was the one thing flooding his mind as he tore through the forest
His bare feet slammed against roots, rocks, and anything else that happened to block his path.
Long black hair whipped through the air behind him like a tattered flag, dirty and wild
His dull amber eyes darted wildly through the forest, scanning for any traces of the men chasing him
Which didn't take long, as they seemed to want him to hear them, talking as if the whole world wanted to hear what they had to say
"Hey! It's over here!"
"Filthy thing thinks it can run."
"I mean, what do you expect? Without a master, it's no better than a beast after all."
"Haha, yeah, I guess you're right"
At the sound of the voices, his head snapped towards where they were coming from
But that would prove to be the worst decision he could have made in that moment, as the very same second he turned towards the voices was the same moment he finally felt something other than fear
Something worse than fear
He felt a deep skin-scarring pain as something slammed into him from in front, sending him flying through the dark forest until he eventually hit a tree, nearly breaking it in two with the force of his landing alone
He could feel as his bones broke from the impact; he could hear as the skin on his bare chest sizzled and burned in the cold night air as if he alone was taking the heat of the world.
Looking down at his chest, his eyes lost and unfocused even at the sight of his own burning skin, once smooth with a tint just a shade darker than caramel, now blistered black like burning charcoal.
But he didn't scream. He couldn't, not now, not yet, not when the need to escape far overpowered everything else.
Looking up in front of him with his wide, panicked eyes, he locked onto the source of his pain, one of the many causes for his torment, and what he saw was a….
A woman.
She had ash-gray hair that framed her sharp, elegant face, pale blue eyes that glowed dimly in the night, and a flat and detached expression that showed nothing but boredom as fire danced in her palms.
She stood tall, taller than most men, easily six feet four, with a dangerously curvaceous figure that only made her presence even more unnerving.
She just stood there watching him, examining him as his dull amber eyes met her calm sapphire gaze
It was just a simple bored stare, but to him it felt as if just moving would end in pain, not death but deep burning pain. So he stayed not because he wanted to, but because that's what his instincts told him was best.
It didn't take long for the other two to catch up now that he was no longer moving, but as they approached, their voices became noticeably quieter and more respectful
Even more so as they laid their eyes on the woman whose gaze was still focused on the beaten-down slave in front of her
"Looks like the boss found it."
The two men stepped out behind him, grinning. One looked like he hadn't stopped laughing since birth.
The other looked like he had grown up with a spine made of pure gold, as his body shook and jiggled with every heavy step he took
"Tried to tell you not to worry," he said, continuing as he came face to face with the woman.
"We gave it the drug, just like you said, Mistress V., but then it snapped, jumping through the auction house window like the rabid beast it is."
The woman said nothing; she just stared, finally taking her eyes off of the slave and pinning them onto her incompetent subordinates.
And as her eyes lifted off of him, that was when he finally moved, pushing his body to move despite the broken bones, despite the burned flesh, despite him being surrounded; he still moved; he still forced himself to move.
His mind, shattered by trauma and drugs, barely held together. Instinct screamed to him, and he listened.
He bolted. Again. This time, to the right.
But the fat one moved like a shadow despite his size.
He crashed into him, pinning him beneath a wall of meat and sweat.
He felt as four hundred pounds of flesh crushed his ribs into the dirt.
But even that didn't stop him; he bit down Hard.
His fangs tore through the man's stomach as skin, fat, blood, and muscle ripped away with a wet snap.
Blood sprayed like a fountain.
"AAAHHHH!!"
"Jake!" The other man screamed, stumbling toward his fallen comrade.
He used that moment to escape, scrambling free, running on all fours, blood dripping from his chin.
Mistress V didn't move; she simply watched, eyes flat and bored, as if this whole chase was beneath her.
But underneath that boredom was a small spark of interest as she watched the boy continue to run with blood dripping from his chin
Then, without a hint of urgency, she held out a small glass bottle filled with glowing yellow liquid, throwing it to the man holding Jake, saying simply
"Give him this."
The man accepted it with trembling hands and a shaky smile. But when he turned to thank her, she was gone.
Mistress V had vanished.
He felt her coming before his ears could even pick up any sound, much less the sound of her approaching
One moment it was quiet, just the wind blowing and his steps slamming against the floor, and the next her!
"Did you really think you could run, little beast?" Her voice scraped against his skull like nails on a chalkboard, a sound that he had no desire to hear, but it didn't matter to her.
As she appeared beside him. One moment empty air. The next time, it looked almost effortless to her, as if his escape attempt was just that—a foolish attempt.
Then came the kick, the deep, hard kick that made him feel like his organs were trying to pry their way from inside his body
Her boot slammed into his ribs, launching him sideways.
Sending him crashing into a tree with a sickening crunch, blood spewing from his lips in a hot stream that didn't even have time to land properly as she was on him not even a second later
"Why don't you come with me?" she whispered, stepping straight down into his already burned stomach with her heel, twisting and pressing as blood flowed out of him
"Maybe I'll keep you as my little pet, if no one buys you, of course." She continued crouching down, placing herself right onto his pelvis, grinding against him as she made herself comfortable.
Her fingers were grabbing onto his face, running through his hair, and stroking his cheek as she examined him even more, even though even now he was fighting her. His mouth was trying desperately to bite off the disgusting fingers she had on his face.
But that only seemed to make her smile wider, as if she was playing with a disobedient pet
His features were sharp in a feral way, unrefined, untamed, a face not yet marked by strength but still noticeably handsome even when he looked half dead; insane, he still looked handsome
And she seemed to like that, her hips rolling, grinding against him even more as she let out a low, shaky breath, her eyes glowing a glossy blue as she felt herself strain with need, but then she stopped herself; she couldn't afford to damage the product, so she had to stop, if only until the auction ended after all
"Money comes before pleasure," she said with a lazy grin.
"You understand, don't you, little beast?"
Her voice dripped false sweetness, slick and oily, like poison wrapped in silk.
He didn't understand all her words.
His fractured mind was drowning in broken sentences and memories that he could barely comprehend.
So how would he be able to comprehend her words
But even so, she still seemed to have achieved her goal, as just that ugly smile on her disgusting face was enough.
His arm lashed out, claws aiming for her face, seeking to get rid of the smile himself.
But she was faster.
Her burning hand slammed into his stomach once more, slamming against the fresh, still bleeding wound as blood painted her fist, clothes, and face, much to her delight
He screamed as her fingers scorched his flesh, branding him, carving something deep into his skin.
The burning wouldn't stop.
She pressed her hand harder into his stomach, dragging her fingers across his skin like she was shaping wet clay.
"Oh? You like that, little beast?" she cooed.
"Come on, keep screaming for me; if you do, I might just buy you. Wouldn't you like that? You'd get to be my personal boy toy; we could have fun just like this and more, so, so much more every day. " She looked even more sucked into her delusions as she spoke, but she didn't stop
"So come on, scream, show me that you want it, show me that you want this!"
Even while burning his skin and treating him like her own personal art set, her hips never stopped grinding against him; at one point, he could even feel a wet, sticky liquid begin to drip onto his thighs and pelvis
But the pain was just too much to even focus on anything else
His body trembled violently, but still, he refused to scream, watching as her grin slowly faltered.
"I said scream! Don't you want to come home with me? Come on, scream. I know you want to," she cooed before turning into a full-blown scream
At this point, she had stopped simply burning him; now she moved on to punching him, her hand still engulfed in flames
She punched him again and again in his face, watching as his face bruised, as his lip split, as his eyes swelled, as his nose bled, and as his face blistered.
Even his wolf-like ears, black, sharp, and twitching in agony, began to burn. Still… no scream.
He refused to scream; he refused to give her the satisfaction.
Eventually, the others arrived.
"M-Mistress V…" the fat one stammered, clutching his newly healed gut.
"The Auction… it's almost time…"
"Hmph, whatever. I didn't want you anyway, beastborn scum."
She stood, soaked in his blood, her wicked grin already completely faded, leaving behind nothing but the same cold, distant expression she had arrived with.
With a slow, deliberate gesture, she grabbed his long, fluffy black tail still smoldering from her flames and dragged him through the dirt like discarded trash.
The others followed, careful to stay out of her shadow.
They moved through the forest back towards the auction house, completely unaware of what the beast was seeing
Completely unaware that this was the beginning of the man that would one day flip the world upside down.
Completely unaware that this was the birth of the man that would one day wage war on humanity
And to think it all began with one simple message
[Congratulations, Descendant Azrael. You have reached 18 years of age, happy birthday]
[As a gift, Lord ███████ has left you two blessings. Unlike others, these are unique to you. Cherish them.]
[Freedom of the Broken]
[Body of Pure Devastation]
[Happy birthday, Descendant Azrael.]
[And welcome to the ██████ System.]
[To view your status, think "Status." To learn more, please complete your first mission.]
And a whole sea of hate.
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A/N: Please tell me what you guys think of chapter one. Was it too far, too graphic, or just right to be interesting? Please tell me; I want to know your thoughts