Legacy of the Sabretooth

The moment Victor's sharp teeth were about to sink into Clyde's neck, tearing his throat to shreds, the chains binding him suddenly stretched to their limit. Though the force of Victor's leap strained the chains taut, it wasn't enough to break the iron. Otherwise, Victor would have already escaped.

Since the chains held, and everyone knows force works both ways, Victor was yanked back by the chains' recoil, helpless. Then came a hard punch to his face from Mr. Clyde, followed by a series of brutal blows from the enraged father.

As the saying goes, "Hitting your wife might feel satisfying in the moment, but chasing her afterward is like walking into a crematorium." But beating a son carried no such risk, especially a son who couldn't die. So Clyde used all his strength to thrash the boy he believed was possessed by a demon, while inwardly wondering: Why isn't the demon fighting back today?

Though Victor had memories of many similar beatings—memories where he always resisted (though unsuccessfully)—the difference between memory and reality is that reality hurts. For Victor, this was the first time he truly felt the pain. He was utterly stunned by the onslaught, and by the time he recovered, there was no chance to retaliate.

He curled up, shielding his head with his hands to minimize the impact area and protect his vital points.

"You cursed demon! You already cost me one son! Now you want to take the other and hurt my wife too? Today, I'll show you what I'm made of!"

Clyde roared as he pummeled his son, hoping to drive the demon from Victor's body. Victor wanted to explain, but he knew it was futile. The searing pain nearly drove him mad.

Though continuously injured, his healing factor trapped him in an agonizing cycle: injured, healed, injured again—never passing out. It forced him to endure the pain without respite.

Finally, Clyde, exhausted, left the basement satisfied. Victor, bloodied but with no serious wounds, lay on the stone bed, unable to move. He eventually blacked out—not from injuries, but from the relentless, overwhelming pain, something he'd never experienced in his past life.

When Victor awoke, his body had been cleaned and his clothes changed. The old clothes had been reduced to rags during the beating. The chains still bound his hands, and a lone candle burned beside a plate of food. Mrs. Clyde had visited while he was unconscious.

The food wasn't his favorite—just toast—but it was better than nothing. As he ate, Victor studied the basement more carefully. Though he had memories of the place, he'd never truly examined it. Before being locked here, he rarely visited the basement. After imprisonment, he spent most of his time in a rage or lost in his own world, oblivious to his surroundings.

The wooden door completely sealed off the outside world. No light, sound, or anything else could pass through. The room was barely 10 feet in height and length, and even narrower in width. Such a cramped, dark space would drive even a claustrophobe mad. Victor felt himself teetering on the edge of insanity. If this continued for years, he'd either become a beast like the former Victor or lose his mind entirely.

Of course, there was the possibility of becoming a steel-nerved superhero determined to save all suffering mutants—but that didn't fit the tone of this story.

As a child with an adult's mind, Victor quickly shook off self-pity and began strategizing about his abilities and escape.

"I can't let that violent father keep beating me, or I'll end up the joke of 'he's just a kid—kill him fast.'"

"But the name Victor Clyde and rapid healing feel so familiar… Sharp teeth and claws… Wolverine? No, Wolverine's Logan. It's Sabretooth!"

As a lifelong Marvel comics fan in his past life, Victor soon realized who he'd become. While he couldn't be certain, the circumstances matched the comic's villain, Wolverine's archnemesis: Sabretooth.

Based on his current experiences, the X-Men origin stories he'd read, his accelerated healing, and increasingly sharp teeth and nails, it was almost certain he was Sabretooth. That meant he'd eventually escape—otherwise, the adult Sabretooth would never exist.

But the adult Sabretooth was clearly unhinged. His glee in indiscriminate killing and hurting those he supposedly loved wasn't normal behavior, even for a beast. Victor refused to become that.

While being wild and unrestrained seemed freeing, it meant losing life's simple joys. The idea of his mind and behavior twisting that way was unacceptable.

But how to escape and avoid becoming the future Sabretooth? Victor had no clue. In the comics, Sabretooth escaped in his second year of confinement by snapping a chain and biting off his own hand. His first act after escaping was to kill his father, Clyde. He also attacked his mother but, depending on the source, either spared her or cared for her until her death.

"Damn Marvel! Why do the villains' stories have to be so convoluted and underdeveloped?!"

No closer to answers, Victor drifted into sleep amid chaotic thoughts. Even sleep offered no peace. Memories of his past life as Wei Ke, an ordinary young worker, merged with Victor's—the teen who'd murdered his brother with a bloodstained grin for Mrs. Clyde.

The chaotic dream didn't last. Victor soon awoke to searing pain. His violent father, Clyde, had arrived for the daily tooth extraction. But first, Clyde kicked Victor's stomach as a "good morning." Before Victor could react, a hammer struck the back of his skull, knocking him out again.

When he regained consciousness, Clyde was yanking his canines with pliers. Seizing the moment his father hadn't noticed he was awake, Victor lunged at Clyde's neck with his claws. A direct hit could sever the carotid artery.

But Clyde was a war veteran. His instincts screamed danger, and he hurled Victor against the wall, tearing out another tooth. Victor spat blood but didn't stay passive this time. He retaliated, leaving a claw mark on Clyde's arm.

Enraged, Clyde beat Victor until he couldn't move, then ripped out the remaining teeth. Victor's despair was indescribable.

"Definitely Sabretooth's father. Even as a regular human, he's strong as a gorilla with razor-sharp instincts. He even sensed an ambush."

As Victor pondered Clyde's brutality, Mrs. Clyde entered the basement. She wiped the blood from his face and mouth, her eyes filled with fear, pain, and guilt. Victor wanted to speak but stayed silent, letting his mother change his clothes and clean the blood.

"Mom… I'm sorry…"