"Alright… let's go see Enren," one of the Zetens muttered, exhaling sharply as he pushed himself to his feet.
The others followed, stepping over the body sprawled before them, the boy who had caused them so much trouble. Dune lay motionless, his chest still, his once-defiant gaze now empty.
"I still can't believe that kid managed to destroy the core, and kill two of us. another grumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. "Enren's going to be pissed."
"Yeah, but at least we killed him," someone else added, though there was no satisfaction in his voice, just relief.
Then they froze.
A strange sensation prickled at the back of their necks, a cold presence.
"Hey…Dave behind you." The man stiffened. Slowly, he turned, And there stood Dune.
But this wasn't the same boy they had just killed. His body was dark, as if all light had been drained from him. He stood completely still, his posture eerily unnatural, his very existence setting off something primal in their instincts.
No one spoke. No one moved.
"What… the hell?" one of them whispered.
"His heart stopped. We checked, he was dead!"
"Then what are we looking at?"
"Does it matter? It's probably his ability, kill him!"
One of them lunged, But Dune was already there.
He moved without sound, without warning. One second he stood still, the next, he was in front of them. He didn't speak. He didn't even breathe. There were no eyes, no mouth, no face, just a blank, featureless void where his expression should have been.
"What the hell is this?!"
A sickening crack filled the air. Dune's fingers wrapped around the nearest man's head, his grip like a vice, then squeezed. Skull and bone shattered beneath his fingers, blood spraying in thick, pulpy streaks as the man's body crumpled.
"Run!" Someone shouted. Another turned to run, but Dune pounced, faster than their eyes could follow. Dune's sharp black teeth cut through flesh, tearing his throat out in a single, violent motion. He threw the severed head aside like discarded meat.
"Shit, shit, shit!" One of them raised his hand, green Neba flames erupting from his palm. "Burn, you *f*!"
The fireballs shot forward, colliding with Dune's body. But he walked through them.
No reaction. No pain. No hesitation. The flames barely flickered as he broke through them, his horns now fully formed, twisting up from his head.
"Damn it!" another shouted, his voice trembling. "He's lost control! Just run, run! If this keeps up, the trial is over!"
Losing control meant being consumed by the beast inside. Every Zeten and Neba user knew the risk. But this wasn't normal. This wasn't just a loss of control.
"This kid… he only had a green Neba," one of them muttered in disbelief. "What kind of creature is this? He isn't even using Neba… and he's this strong?" It didn't make sense.
This wasn't Neba. This wasn't Zeten. Then what was it? That was his last thought before Dune moved again.
Sword-like claws had sprouted from his elbows, sharp as obsidian. In a single, clean motion, he slashed, ripping through the man's torso, splitting him in half.
The last survivor, seeing this, stumbled backward, falling to the ground. His breath came in ragged gasps, his entire body trembling. "No… no, no, no, please…"
Dune stepped forward. His body was now completely black, his mouth beginning to form, wide and unnatural, filled with gleaming, serrated teeth.
The man scrambled backward. "Please! I—I'll do anything! Just don't—" Dune didn't respond. He raised his foot
And pressed on mans face, slowly crushing his head. A wet, sickening pop. Blood seeped into the dirt. The man's final, strangled scream echoed through the trees. And Then darkness followed.
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Dune gasped, his body jerking awake.
Cold air filled his lungs, sharp and ragged. His vision swam, shapes and colors blurring together as he struggled to make sense of his surroundings. He was lying on the ground. The forest stretched around him, silent and undisturbed, as if nothing had happened.
"What…?" His voice was hoarse, barely above a whisper.
His hands pressed against the dirt as he forced himself upright. His body ached. His clothes were shredded, his scarf still intact, but his shirt was torn, the sleeves barely hanging on.
"Damn it…"
His fingers brushed against his neck. Then his chest. That's when he felt it a deep jagged scars. His breath hitched.
"My Neba… didn't heal this?" His fingers traced the rough edges of the wound. "How…?" That didn't make sense. Neba always healed wounds. So why was this still here?
And where… where were the others? The last thing he remembered was dying. And now, he was here Alive?
Dune exhaled slowly, steadying himself. Whatever happened… whatever he had done… there were no answers now. Only one thing left to do. He turned and stepped into the forest, walking forward.
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Nely and Dune walked through the forest, the only sounds were the rustling leaves and the occasional distant call of some unseen creature. The air was cool, the scent of damp earth surrounding them.
Nely huffed in frustration, her fingers weaving through the air as she attempted to form a makeshift hair tie from her own Neba. A thin, glowing strand of green Neba coiled between her hands, flickering like a living thread as she guided it around her hair.
But the moment she tightened it, fwip, her shortened strands slipped free, falling stubbornly against her face.
"Ugh!" she groaned, blowing at the stray hairs only for them to land right back over her eyes.
She tried again, pulling her hair back with both hands, forming the Neba tie once more. This time, she gritted her teeth, making it even tighter.
Snap.
The neba unraveled, and her hair fell forward in messy strands.
Nely froze. A twitch formed in her eyebrow.
"…I hate this," she muttered, clenching her fists.
With an irritated sigh, she gave up, aggressively ruffling her own hair before crossing her arms in defeat. "Stupid short hair," she grumbled, glaring at nothing in particular as if the universe itself was mocking her.
Clenching her fists, she muttered under her breath before finally snapping,
"I swear, I'm gonna kill Enren whenever I see him!" she fumed, crossing her arms. "I was growing my hair for so long, and look what he did to me!"
She turned to Dune, expecting some kind of sympathy. Instead, he simply raised an eyebrow.
"He isn't dead?" Dune asked, his voice calm but laced with mild disbelief.
Nely scoffed. "No. That bastard has some crazy ability to take over someone's body and their abilities… slowly. I don't even know how he got that from just Green Neba, but here we are." She exhaled sharply, rubbing her temple.
"It wasn't his real body, so his actual one is somewhere else… Annoying."
Dune sighed, glancing into the distance.
This was a problem.
As if they didn't already have enough enemies, now there was Enren, someone who could steal bodies and abilities, hiding who knew where, waiting.
"By the way Bunny, what are you gonna do when you go back home?"
Dune blinked, caught off guard. He glanced at her, then back at the path ahead. "Fein is probably destroyed now. I guess… I'll go to Rendely. I need to find my family there."
He hesitated before adding, "If they… if they managed to escape the chaos."
Nely walked a little slower, processing his words. "I hope your family made it! You will find them Dune!"
Dune exhaled. "I hope so too." A beat of silence passed between them. The wind rustled through the trees, stirring their hair.
Then, after a moment, Dune turned to her. "What about you?"
Nely's steps faltered slightly, she hadn't expected him to ask. Maybe he wasn't as distant as she had thought.
"To be honest… I… I don't know," she admitted. "I lost everything." Her voice was steady, but there was something hollow beneath it.
"Nobody is waiting for me there."
Dune glanced at her. She wasn't looking at him, just staring ahead. But then, she smiled.
"Let's meet each other when we're out of here, Dune."
He stared at her, puzzled. "Alright… I guess."
Nely grinned. "That sounded like you didn't have a choice."
Dune sighed, shaking his head. "You kind of just decided for me."
"Exactly, so don't you dare broke this promise!"
The weight of their situation felt a little lighter. They kept walking, side by side, the forest stretching endlessly before them.