Shadow slave: In The Eye of The Beholder

chaos. Silas rocketed toward his uncle, the mad strength of his [Frenzy] propelling his frail body beyond its limits, into the realm of the awakened. His uncle launched himself forward, muscles coiling as he prepared to strike, his fist a hammer ready to fall.

Silas reached his uncle, driven by fury as he swung outwards. The grey blur of [Mad Cow's Canine] sliced through the air, but his uncle's quick footwork allowed him to duck under the attack, the giant moving with surprising agility. He retaliated instantly, his jab like a cannon shot aimed at Silas's core.

Silas barely dodged the devastating fist, his body twisting upside down from the momentum. But he didn't waste a second—he hooked his legs around his uncle's arm, using the movement to swing [Mad Cow's Canine] back, aiming to sever the giant's arm from his shoulder.

Silas's uncle quickly gauged his shoulder, then with all his might, swung Silas from his arm. The frenzied boy seized the opportunity, [Mad Cow's Canine] lashing out. The dull grey blade traced across the giant's skin, its edges slicing through flesh, but never fully piercing the mass of muscle beneath.

the deranged boy being launched from the force of the swing, the hunger already driving him mad screaming in anger as it was launched from its prey, the true mind of Silas only seeing the spectacle through the blurry fog of Conscious, everything in him was being consumed, it was hard to even form a thought when the sense of it would fade away, the identity of reason being consumed by the hunger. 

His mind sparked back to life as his back slammed through a stone wall, creating a new entrance to the next room. The pain from the impact surged and then quickly faded, swallowed by the relentless hunger.

"'This isn't what I thought it would be... Hell, let me out! I'll kill him myself, just give me the strength... Not this... I'm so starving. Let me eat! Let me eat! LET ME FEAST!' Silas rambled, his voice a frantic, rambling a desperate plea before being overtaken by the madness. 

His mouth salivating and mixing with his blood as he continued to bite down on his own flesh, trying to satiate the hunger consuming his very being, the horrible yet cleansing feeling of his existence being consumed, his memory's fading into as the vile frenzy feasted on its contents, the feeling felt cleansing, yet at the same time the most horrific thing he had ever experienced. 

All that was left its wake, was the clawing at his mind, the sensation of oblivion, and the hunger, for more. 

Silas bestial form, scrambling across the rubble, jolting back at the uncle, the vile [Frenzy] being the only thing in control of the boy, the pure hunger and desperation driving his sword back and forth, an absurd frenzy of slashes at his uncle, who in return took slight steps barley avoiding or being grazed by the rabid assault, using the time to throw punches, kicks and counters to put down the beast. 

But Silas's newfound speed and strength made him a formidable opponent. His agility allowed him to dodge attacks with ease, and his relentless assault left his uncle struggling to keep up. Every time his uncle lashed out, Silas was already a step ahead, his form blurring in and out of reach.

The only thing driving the semblance of an aspirant into combat was the hunger, once it was over, the awakened enchantment of [Frenzy] would consume his mundane existence one there was nothing else to feast on.

The figures of the two combatants dancing in a torrent of attacks across the stone room, each one constantly switching between attack and defiance in the mortal choreography, the cacophony of clashes and crushing of stone under there heel filling the symphony that filled the space. 

Silas had the winning hand in the exchanges, his agility and reach allowed him to avoid the assaults, while dealing multiple cuts to the giant, although they were shallow, he was doing far better than the man, who struggled with any attempt to stomp the life out of the rabid boy. 

Silas driven by the frenzied strength aimed for the kill every time, hopping in and out of the melee, his form continually blurring under and over the punches and kicks, his shirt by this point abandoning his body, the pale skin and frail form reviling itself, his body looked so weak.

Yet under the assault, the giant of a man could not find any pity for him, only suspense and terror at the beast assaulting him, his anger rising, gritting his teeth, desperate to land an attack, his eyes constantly darting and trying to keep his eyes on the boy. 

His usually strong body felt weak, the slashes and cuts, along with bruises from his escape with the terror was catching up with him, the strength in his muscles dipping every time he lashed out, the attempts being futile against Silas agility. 

In the torrent of combat, Silas felt like he was watching from the side lines, his control over his body fading deeper and deeper, his mind and vision being thrown around the Frenzy's erratic movement, like a pinball in the machine, constantly stopping and starting. 

Silas's plea echoed in the fading recesses of his consciousness; a desperate cry lost to the cacophony of chaos. The world around him blurred into a whirlwind of disjointed sights and muffled sounds, each moment stretching into eternity, then snapping back to a fleeting instant. He felt himself slipping further away, the control over his body lost to the relentless hunger of the [Frenzy].

And then, everything went black.

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He awoke—or perhaps, he never did. Silas found himself sitting on an endless, monotone floor, a bright, ethereal white void stretching out in all directions. The silence here was deafening, broken only by the soft rustling of fog creeping across the ground, thick and oppressive. As he looked closer, he noticed something unsettling: dark spots, like ink bleeding into water, slowly spreading through the fog, corrupting the purity of the space.

Silas started at the sight, the faint sense of semblance appearing in him, with the fog and eternal ethereal white appeared familiar despite its absurdity.

"I'm in my own mind, I've been banished to reside here" Silas sadly scoffed, he glanced down at his battered legs and pale skin, his bangs falling down and clouding further, the abyssal black consuming the space further, getting closer and closer to his feet. 

He turned back, wondering for the sight of corruption behind him, only to be to be met with deep purple eyes staring back.

Beside him was the girl, her brown hair wavered in the space, their eyes not parting once, she was sitting right behind him, suddenly older than the last time he saw here, her graceful silk covered form resting on his back, the touch should have alerted some feeling was absent. 

Silas just couldn't heed his glance, his shock simply overpowering him, any attempt to look away from the violet irises proved futile, both of them just lay beside each other in silence, her mutual expression finally faltering as a delicate smile graced her face.

"Are you really going to perish here? prove the insignificant dog they all thought you to be?" her elegant yet strong voice filled the space, she brought her pale hands and cupped his stunned face, not allowing him to reply and stared once again into his very soul.

"That not the Silas I know, so go ahead, break free it, curse this world and start again." her grin parting further, 

Silas's mind swirled with a mix of emotions—fear, despair, and a flicker of hope that refused to be extinguished, he had never expected to see her again, only to see her in his mind, at the end. 

She released his face but used her hand to gently push Silas head away from here, and to stare into the corruption, Silas not realising it, but the black ink had surrounded them both. the abyssal corruption rumbling before its depths started to form something new. 

A giant maw, Teeth decorating each square inch of the mouth, the head forming to be the same bovine that he had once slain, the abominations mouth shadowing the duo, its jaws dripping with the black corruption ready to crush the between its fangs.

With the aspiration drawing closer and closer, she spoke again, her sooth voice whispering into his ear. 

"After all, you owe me" The quite whisper quieting, as the girl beside him faded away into the abyss, her figure, Silence ringing in her absence. 

Even before the monster about to consume him, he only looked at where the girl had faded, the small white of the space that she had occupied being consumed by the black tendrils.

Silas's gaze remained fixed on the spot where the girl had faded, her absence leaving a hollow ache in his chest. The corruption's tendrils crept closer, the monstrous maw looming above him, its jagged teeth ready to devour.

His heart pounded in his ears, drowning out the silence that had fallen over the void. He could feel the weight of the darkness pressing in, the cold tendrils brushing against his skin like the whisper of death.

Yet, even in the face of such terror, a part of him clung to the memory of her touch, her words. After all, you owe me. He could only star deep at his hands, the bloodied palm reminded him, he was weak, he was always weak, the strength had alluded him for all of his life, no matter how much he chased after it.

The monstrous jaw encapsulating him, the dreadful teeth mere inches away from him, the pitch-black teeth and haunting mouth, his very destiny being placated before him, he was to be consumed by the [Frenzy] and be left hollow.

The beast shut its jaws in a quick motion, the teeth slamming down onto the boy, the horrific crunch expected to be heard in the corrupted abyss did not sound out. 

Instead, Silas was found between the teeth, his hands gripping at the spaces between the canines, his form struggling to hold the beast jaws back from crushing him, the madness began biting harder to eviscerate the prey it its mouth.

Yet Silas still held on from the overwhelming strength, his body faltering and shaking but still resisting, his hollow grey eyes showing sparks of the hope and defiance that was once there, his life of struggles had not just been for nothing, his desire to reach for more was not just some morsal for the madness to consume.

"The world has come to crush me over and over again." he mumbled.

Silas's muscles burned with the strain, his arms trembling as he held the beast's jaws at bay. Every fibre of his being screamed in agony, the weight of the darkness pressing down on him like a crushing wave. But he refused to let go. He couldn't. Not now.

His thoughts swirled with memories of all the times he had been beaten down, all the moments when strength had eluded him. But those memories also carried the seeds of defiance, the sparks of hope that had kept him going.

"I won't be consumed, he thought, gritting his teeth against the pain. I won't be devoured."

He looked to the putrid black tongue and proclaimed, his will and determination being [Empowered] his essence manifesting in faint blue flames that started to blaze from his body.

"Your no different, just another stepping stone, another obstacle for greatness." The strength in his body pushing back the beasts attempts to bite down, the blue flames erupting from him as he yelled out, to the world, to the gods, or to even the beholder. 

"So..." 

"WATCH ME TRIAMPH!!!" Silas screamed the air escaping his lungs as the blue flames erupted from him, the blaze sparking and expanding indefinitely from himself, eviscerating the famished corruption, racing along its pitch black and burning it away, the white void returning, the fog that has once present his mind being blown away by the intense heat of desire, the fire although burning away the darkness, felt ever cool and soothing to Silas. 

Silas's scream echoed through the void, his voice merging with the roar of the blue flames. The darkness recoiled, writhing and hissing as it was devoured by the blaze. The pitch-black tongue and monstrous jaws disintegrated, the flames racing across the corrupted space, leaving nothing but pure, ethereal white in their wake.

As the last traces of the darkness were burned away, Silas found himself standing alone in the vast, empty void. The cool, soothing flames danced around him, He felt their warmth, not as a searing heat, but as a comforting embrace, wrapping around his weary form.

He looked above to the never ending hights of his mind and smiled, the tug on his mind grew stronger, as his form vanished from the space, his vision fading back to black, and returning to where he had left of from, in his own body in the first nightmare.

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His uncle on the other hand, had been dealing with the completely mad Silas attacking him, the boy seeming to finally lose any sense of self or humanity still within him, only now attacking him like a mad beast, the sword in his hand being used as if it were a long claw on his hand rather than a sword, with Silas even trying to bite his way through his flesh.

He had kept up for long, but found his body start to rebel against the ongoing clash, a spark of hope in his eye once he realised that Silas started to slow down, the assault stopping for just a moment, with the aspirant now suddenly standing still, the madness suddenly being absent. 

The rage palpable and boiling emerged from his uncle, finally he had a chance to smash the nephew under his fist.

"Why don't you just, DIE!" The usually composed man finally breaking, his rage powering a right hook directly at Silas, the fist seemed to reverberate as the blow came hurtling towards him.

The boy tilted his head, revealing ashen eyes that glowed with faint blue sparks—the same determination that had vanquished the frenzy now simmering in silent defiance.

The giant noticed the shift in Silas's demeanor but maintained the strength of his punch. The blow was only inches from Silas's head when, at the last second, he tilted his neck. The giant's fist grazed his cheek as Silas slipped past the punch, moving closer to the giant, who was unable to pull back in time.

The giant tried to twist his wrist to strike Silas again, but every movement he made, Silas mirrored. Silas dodged under the blow, closing the distance between them. As the giant looked down at Silas's calm eyes, he saw a burning desire within them, a focus so intense it was almost distracting in its beauty. Despite his body screaming to flee, the giant found himself frozen, captivated by the dance of the sparks.

The sound of silence was shattered by a sharp, resonating echo that cut through the emptiness.

A cold, foreign object entered through the giant's chest. He looked down at the intrusion and recognized the [Mad Cow's Canine] plunged into his heart. The blade sank through his muscles and flesh with a cold, metallic finality. His eyes widened as he watched his blood soak his shirt, the vitality that once flowed through him quickly diminishing.

Pain erupted through his soul, but his anger faded into a mellow acceptance.

Despite what the Beholder had said, it seemed his long, repeating life would finally end here, at the hands of an aspirant—the same people he had deceived for centuries.

Silas stood firm, his hand steady on the hilt as the giant's life force began to drain away. The dull white blade glimmered with a faint, eerie light, as if it was feeding on the very essence of its victim. The giant's massive form shuddered, a guttural gasp escaping his lips as his strength ebbed away.

The giant's body wavered, the strength that once held him towering above all else now reduced to a fleeting memory. His knees buckled, the weight of his massive frame forcing the cracked stones beneath him to groan under the strain.

Slowly, almost reluctantly, his legs gave way, sending him crashing to the ground with a resounding thud that echoed through the desolate space. Dust and debris erupted around him like a final breath. The once imposing figure now lay broken.

His eyes, once filled with unyielding intent to kill, now stared vacantly at the sky above, the light within them flickering out. A final shudder ran through his form, and then he was still.

the familiar voice speaking to him.

[You have slain awakened human, Karn of the fields] 

[You have received a memory!]

[.... received a memory: Ashen Veil] 

Silas glancing towards the new corpse, gripping the handle of [Mad Cows Canine] will the leftover strength he had, with frenzy being gone, and his [Empowerment] fading into the background, he felt weaker than ever. 

He released his tight grip on the sword, pulling it out of the corpse, the noise of the flesh being cut once again as the blood drenched blade faded, being pulled back into his soul, Silas bent down to the body's level, and spoke with solemn.

"Well, it seems I've lied, instead of the throat I aimed for your heart, no complaints though, I was not in the right state of mind" Silas sombrely chuckled beside the corpse, his eyes baggy once again, the final remnants of strength fading as he collapsed on the wall next to the giant's body.

From combating the mad cow, to walking to the bloody castle, to witness a deity and then escape the wrath of a terror down the side of a castle, only to avoid falling boulders, kill three mindless, and then his own uncle. 

Silas was more tired than he had ever been, his consensuses fading despite the circumstances above him.

The sweet release of sleep drifting him away from the chaos.