I opened my eyes. Again. The same cold stone and earth walls stared back at me from the gloom. A trembling sigh escaped my lips. It wasn't a dream. It wasn't a nightmare. How I wished it were. That it was one of those lucid dreams, so vivid they seemed real upon waking. I wished I could hear my mother yelling for me to come down for breakfast, feel my father's playful reprimand for not studying. I wished I could go back to that morning, to normality, to when they were still with me.
But I couldn't.
"They're gone," I whispered, and the word felt like ash in my mouth. Tears welled up again, hot and bitter, but this time they were accompanied by a dry, hysterical laugh I couldn't control. A horrible sound that bounced off the cave walls. "Why? Why me? What did I do wrong?" The laughter turned into stifled sobs. "Why couldn't everything be like always? Why did this have to happen?!"
I collapsed onto the cold earth, punching the ground with my fist again and again, until my knuckles burned. "Why?" No one could blame me. In an instant, I had lost everything: my parents, my life, my future. All shattered by those... rats.
I didn't know why they had appeared, where those portals came from. But one thing I did know, a cold, hard certainty that settled amidst the pain and rage: I would get revenge. Whatever it took, I would find those damned creatures that took everything from me. I would make them pay.
And I would do it... with help.
My eyes fell on the object floating silently beside me, orbiting me with unsettling calm: my old wooden chess set. It wasn't just wood anymore. It pulsed with a strange energy, the same energy I now felt simmering faintly within me. I remembered the jolt of information before I fainted. Awakening. Something inside me had awakened, linking this game to my soul, granting me... something. Abilities.
The information was still vague, fragmented. I knew each piece could be linked to a living being, granting it some ability, but the 'how' remained a mystery. There was something about a board acting as a storage space – 64 spaces, the fleeting memory said, to store anything, living or dead, as long as I considered it a single entity. And then there were the king pieces.
Two kings. White and black. I had to fuse them with myself for the rest to work. The memory told me the white king controlled... pure? Luminous? energy. And the black one, dark energy. Both fueled by that internal reserve I now felt. And most importantly: fusing with the kings would allow me to use the abilities of the beings I linked to the other pieces. I felt there was more, crucial details escaping me, like words on the tip of my tongue.
Well, let's start at the beginning. Concentrating, I willed the chessboard box to open. It obeyed. The lid lifted, and the two king figures, one light wood and one dark, floated gently towards me. Without hesitation, guided by a newly discovered instinct, I directed them towards my chest.
I felt no pain, just a strange sensation of... clicking. As if two pieces that had always been missing finally snapped into place, right in my heart. In that instant, an ethereal crown, made of black energy with a luminous white border, materialized above my head. Its soft but persistent glow dispelled much of the darkness, allowing me to see the cave more clearly.
Mutilated bodies, some human, others... I wasn't sure. And there, at the far end, behind where I had woken up, was a portal. Different from the black vortex the rats had come from. This one was white, almost milky, vibrating with a serene energy. An exit? I remembered falling into a portal, so maybe I could leave through this one.
I stood up, ignoring the muscle soreness and scrapes. I headed towards the white light, only about three meters away. It was my only visible hope. But as I tried to pass through, I hit something invisible and elastic. Like pushing against a thick rubber wall that yielded slightly but repelled me with equal force. I tried again, with more momentum, but the result was the same. Frustrated and tired, I gave up.
I turned my head. On the other side of the cave, opposite the white portal, a dark corridor opened up, a kind of ramp descending into the depths of the earth. It smelled of dampness, dust... and something else. Something stale and metallic. I had no other choice. Staying here, next to corpses and an impassable portal, wasn't viable. I had to go down.
The crown above my head illuminated a few meters ahead, a circle of pale light in the blackness. But before venturing forth, I needed to better understand this power, the energy flowing from the fused kings in my chest.
I extended my left hand, palm up. I recalled the information: white energy. I concentrated, trying to draw that energy out, give it form. A sphere, I thought. Surprisingly, it was easy. Almost too easy. I felt a slight pull within me, a drain on that energy reserve I now perceived with strange clarity, almost like a mental percentage. 2%?, I calculated instinctively. A sphere of bright white light, the size of a soccer ball, now floated above my hand. I moved closer. It radiated no heat, and when I touched it with my other hand, my fingers passed right through it without resistance. It was like dense, luminous, palpable mist, but without real substance. Fascinating and strange.
I dissipated the white sphere with a thought, watching it vanish into the air like smoke. Now, the right hand. Dark energy. I repeated the process. Another identical sphere appeared, but this one was a deep black, absorbing the light from my crown. Same size, same gaseous texture. Only the color was different.
Gas... If it's a gas, maybe I can control it like air. I was an avid reader of manga, anime, and light novels; ideas began to flow. I focused on the black sphere. I willed it to surround my right hand, to spin. It obeyed. The black gas began to swirl, slowly at first, then faster and faster. Soon, a small, whistling vortex enveloped my hand. I could feel the force of the displaced air, hear the sharp whistle as it cut through the cave's silence. I increased the speed, marveling at the intuitive control I possessed. This isn't a tornado... it's more concentrated.
I channeled more dark energy from my fingers, feeding the vortex. I shaped it, concentrating it, giving it a conical form. The sharp tip emerged from my knuckles, expanding until it covered my forearm. It spun at a dizzying speed, a drill bit made of darkness and wind. A drill.
The idea made me smile, a bitter gesture amidst the desolation. I approached a solid rock wall. I pressed the tip of the dark drill against it. At first, it only scraped the surface. I increased the rotation, pouring more energy into the technique. The rock began to yield, to pulverize. With a final push of energy, the drill pierced the stone easily, leaving a clean hole.
It works. A small flash of pride shone fleetingly. It needs a name... just for fun. Something simple. Dark Drill. Yes, that worked.
I dissolved the energy construct. I checked my internal reserve. Creating and testing the Dark Drill had consumed about 20%. It was a considerable cost, but I had no point of comparison. Was it a lot? A little? I didn't know. I didn't know if there was anyone else like me.
Doesn't matter now. I reformed the Dark Drill in my right hand, smaller this time, ready to use. I prepared myself mentally and began to descend the dark ramp, my crown illuminating the uncertain path.
The stale smell intensified. Then, I heard it. A nauseating sound of scratching against stone, flesh being torn, and small, sharp, wet squeals. Rats. The memory of the bridge, of my parents... Fury flooded me, hot and blinding. I wanted to run down, tear apart whatever creature was down there.
But something stopped me. Like a bucket of ice water on my rage, an unnatural calm spread through my mind. My breathing steadied, my muscles relaxed. And then, I understood. Another piece of information surfaced, connected to the kings in my chest. Balance. The white king enhanced the positive, the black the negative. Together, if I allowed it, they could create a state of controlled calm, a cold lucidity where emotions wouldn't cloud my judgment. It felt weird, artificial, but right now... it was necessary. I accepted the calm.
More stealthily, I continued down. The sounds grew louder, closer. Finally, the ramp opened into a wider space. And there it was. A giant rat, two meters long, just like the ones I saw on the bridge. It had its back to me, hunched over... something. As I approached, the light from my crown revealed it was a human arm, severed and bloody. Nausea hit me, but the state of balance kept it at bay, replacing it with cold determination.
I crept up from behind, step by step, holding my breath. I was only a meter away, raising my hand with the Dark Drill ready for a surprise attack, when the creature stopped. It whipped its head around, its small red eyes meeting mine. It let out a sharp, deafening shriek that echoed in the cavern, and spun completely, revealing its drooling, bloodied jaws.
There it was. Facing the species that had taken everything from me. Rage tried to resurface, the desire to tear it limb from limb, but the forced calm held. Not now. This wasn't the time to lose control.
With speed born of adrenaline and newfound energy, I thrust my right arm forward. The Dark Drill spun violently. The rat, perhaps surprised by the lack of hesitation in my eyes, didn't react in time.
The impact was brutal. I felt the resistance of its thick hide, then the crunch of ribs and the wet, horrible sensation of tearing flesh as the drill penetrated deep into its chest. A sharp squeal cut off abruptly. The creature convulsed violently on the end of my arm. And then, a strange, dark, intoxicating sensation coursed through me. Satisfaction. A wave of savage pleasure seeing the life drain from its red eyes, its body going limp. A twisted, alien smile formed on my face. I felt... alive.
I was so absorbed in that disturbing sensation, in the sight of the dead monster at my feet, that I almost didn't hear the new sounds: more squeals, the scraping of claws on stone, approaching rapidly from the deeper darkness of the cavern.
More rats.
My eyes focused. I quickly counted the emerging silhouettes: ten. Ten giant rats, identical to the first, their red eyes glowing with fury and hunger.
I pulled my hand from the first rat's mangled chest with a sickening squelch. My heart pounded, a mix of fear and that strange, dark euphoria. I want to feel it again, a part of me thought. That satisfaction, that life I felt when I killed. Even if it cost me my own life, I had to feel it again.
I firmed the Dark Drill in my right hand and, abandoning all caution, lunged towards the approaching horde.
The first rat leaped, jaws open. I met it head-on. My drill struck its face directly with devastating force. I felt its skull crunch, the pulverization of bone and teeth. The same wave of dark satisfaction washed over me, more intense this time.
I withdrew my hand quickly, just in time to see the second rat launching itself at me. Confident, I repeated the attack, aiming for its head. But this one was smarter, or faster. It ducked at the last second, dodging the drill by millimeters, and leaped towards my chest, jaws open to bite me.
Shit! Panic flooded me. I had no time to react. I closed my eyes, bracing for pain, but instead, I heard a loud metallic CLANG!, as if something had struck a steel plate. I opened my eyes. The chessboard, which had been floating inertly beside me, had interposed itself between the rat and me, momentarily expanded like an improvised shield, blocking the bite. The rat recoiled, confused and pained by the impact against the hard surface.
The board... protected me? Or was it me? There was no time to analyze it. Surprised but relieved, an idea struck. Defense! Concentrating, I willed the board to move behind me, protecting my back from surprise attacks. It obeyed, hovering just behind my shoulders.
The other eight rats were now pouncing from all angles. I was surrounded. The Dark Drill in my hand wouldn't be enough. I needed something more. Bigger. Faster. I remembered the initial vortex around my hand. What if I expanded it? Around my entire body?
It was a desperate, probably stupid idea. But the image of my parents, the rage, and that dark need for destruction spurred me on. I poured energy into the drill, a huge amount of energy, feeling my internal reserve deplete at an alarming rate. 50%! The drill expanded violently, no longer confined to my arm. Dark energy surged from my entire body, forming a black, howling whirlwind around me, a maelstrom of wind and cutting power spinning at incredible speed.
The air whistled and screamed. I heard shrieks of pain and surprise cut short abruptly, the wet sound of flesh being torn, dull thuds of bodies hitting the cave walls. Fragments of stone and dust flew everywhere. I could barely see through the dark vortex I myself had created, feeling the vibrations of the impacts, struggling to maintain control, not to be consumed by my own power.
It lasted only a few seconds, but felt like an eternity. As quickly as it began, the energy ran out. The vortex dissipated with a final sigh of wind. Panting, my body trembling from the exertion and the sudden energy loss, I found myself in the middle of a circle of destruction.
The ten rats were dead. Some mangled, others split in half, others splattered against the walls at grotesque angles. Blood covered the floor and walls. The metallic smell was overwhelming.
It worked. I was surprised how easy it had been to kill them... at least with that last desperate attack. To think these same creatures had finished off so many people, my family... But here I was, surrounded by their corpses.
The adrenaline began to fade, replaced by deep exhaustion. My internal energy was dangerously low. 30%? I needed to rest. But the thought of sitting on the filthy, blood-soaked ground disgusted me. I looked at the chessboard, still floating protectively behind me. I remembered seeing characters in anime using floating objects to move. Maybe...
With an effort of will, I ordered the board to expand, to grow until it was about two meters in diameter, and to position itself under my knees. It worked. I let myself fall onto it. I expected a hard, rigid surface, but was surprised by a firm yet moldable texture, like dense, cool rubber. It was... strangely comfortable.
I sat there, floating half a meter above the bloodied ground, catching my breath, the black and white crown still glowing above my head. What now? Continue down that dark ramp? Would there be more rats? Worse things? Where did they come from? I didn't know. But I knew I couldn't stay here.
I closed my eyes, ignoring the carnage around me, and focused inward, on that small flame of energy that remained. I felt a slight tingle, a minuscule indication that the energy was beginning to regenerate, very, very slowly. I let out a long sigh. I was alone, in an unknown place, with a strange power and surrounded by death. But I was alive. And that, for now, had to be enough.