Chapter 13: First Kill𝘙𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘮𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦. He began to steadily apply pressure, sweat was beginning to pour down his brows behind the gas mask, and he had to rapidly blink to stop them entering his eyes, his strength Stat was just too weak. 𝘖𝘩, 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘳𝘮, 𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘤𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘺𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘰𝘸. Around the neck of the purple wolf, a faint cold mist encircled it, and slowly the chill began to penetrate it, causing the flesh to squeeze and crackle beneath the blades. 𝘖𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘺 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘵𝘩. 𝘈 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴. 𝘒𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘭 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘳 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘥𝘶𝘦. The fur became stiff and soon turned to purple dust, and the shears bit into the Demon's neck, the blood that flowed was black, and was thick like tar, it did not freeze like Rowan expected but flowed and pooled on the Magitite Stone. 𝘕𝘰. 𝘏𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘺 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘪𝘦𝘴. 𝘏𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘸𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘰 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘦. Rowan knew his strength had reached the limit, so he beckoned Maeve with his head, knowing what she was to do, she stood behind Rowan and wrapped her hands around his, and began to apply pressure, the blades began to bite deeper, cutting through the muscle, it stopped at the spine. 𝘏𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥. 𝘠𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘶𝘱. 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘪𝘴c𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩. Rowan frowned and gestured for Maeve to apply more pressure, Maeve paused, she would rather not apply more pressure that could surpass the stress limit of the Heavy Runic Gloves, she was a little confused why her master did not allow her to personally kill the cursed creature, nevertheless her duty was to obey him in all things. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘢𝘺! Maeve stood behind Rowan and felt how frail he was. The laws of power were harsh, and her heart ached at the suffering he must have endured. She did not ask him what happened, knowing he would tell her in his time. What she could do was to support him, but she needed clarifications from him, she would loathe to add to his suffering, "Are you sure master, It is remarkable enough you can withstand the amount of force I am placing on your hands. I can hear the bones in your hands cracking, anymore and they would be crushed!" Rowan lips were fixed in a stubborn snarl, "Continue Maeve, you can stop when I tell you to." "By your will… master." Clearly displeased Maeve began to apply more pressure incrementally, Rowan locked his jaws, his bones were beginning to pulverize, and the pain was shocking and intense, but he had eyes only for the Demon. The shear began to cut through the bones, and with a final wet snap, the head was sliced off. Through all these the Demon did not make a sound, its eyes just stared at Rowan, and he could have sworn its eyes held amusement. Rowan left it to its foul pleasures. He had no desires to understand what was happening inside the head of this creature. "Step back Maeve, and whatever happens next, do not interrupt me!" Rowan gingerly removed the gloves from his hands, setting it aside, he placed his hands on the stomach of the demon. His eyes were closed in concentration. Maeve watched with concern, and she clasped and unclasped her hand, she was ready for any unexpected events. Rowan called up the Primordial Record, and scrolled to Soul Seizer, and he activated the Record. When Rowan first opened the Primordial Record, a set of instructions were embedded deep into his consciousness and when he needed them, they floated back into his mind. The knowledge of how to utilize Records is one of them. Rowan had placed his hopes on Activating the Two Omnipotent Records he had. Soul Seizer was the obvious choice. He needed to harvest souls to upgrade his Records to get more lifespan. Omnipotent Records were powerful, and he hoped his healing factor would bear the strain of even Activating the Record. Well, he was going to find out now. Rowan felt a piercing pain all through his body, his eyes snapped open in shock as his torso folded in half just underneath his chest as if a giant picked and folded him, the back of his head touching his buttocks, his mouth was opened in a silent scream, for his lungs were squished inside his chest. He slowly collapsed on the floor, Maeve wanted to step forward, but she remembered the instructions Rowan gave her, and also his frightening healing abilities. She gritted her teeth and stood fast, her anxiety rising with every breath. From Roman's back a row of bones pierced through, they were clearly his ribs, and also a part of his spine popped out, his neck twisted like a snake, with a sickening crack his bones were pulled away from his body in a gory spray of blood and floated in the air, in a while new bones were regrown and the macabre event continued, Rowan laid on the floor, a low moan now and then the only indication that he was fully awake, and experiencing all the pain. The bones that were stained with his blood, began to reassemble in the air, it slowly formed in the shape of a ring, with seven elongated spikes that resembled horns surrounding the ring of bone, Arcane symbols were burned into the bones, and they pulsed with Rowan breathing. They pulsed red, akin to the glow of embers. Rowan, in his pain, remembered words he felt he heard in a distant dream, " I thought I was a man....." Rowan found himself repeating the words, as he rose from the ground, the ring of bones rotated and floated behind him, creating a grim majestic figure that inspired awe and horror from anyone who beheld the sight," But I am nothing but chars and cinders!"𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺 Maeve found herself kneeling, tears streaked down her face, she bowed and placed her face on the floor. At that moment this picture could be of a mortal worshiping her god. This was the Level zero of Soul Seizer, it was called, Jaws Of Dagon! ●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●● On the Continent of Khoranth, deep inside the dark mountains where the light of the sun has not shone since the dawn of this world, there lay a series of mountain range that covered the horizon, and a particular mountain stood out, unlike the other mountains rooted in this forsaken land of despair, this mountain rooted itself in a field of bones. The bones were of all creatures that have ever walked on this world, and some that had not. Wails of pain and sorrow surrounded the fields of bone, and the air bled pus, the clouds were yellow and diseased. Indistinct shapes roam the dark lands, and their laughter resembled the cries of infants. The color of the mountain was pale as maggots, and it shivered and squirmed in a sickening manner like a Corpse riddled with countless vermin, the mountain was filled with pale fleshy sacks that trembled and pulsed, and one of the sacks became very lively, it began to vibrate intensely. The silhouette of a figure pressed against that fleshy sack, the figure was that of a wolf, there was a sound of biting and tearing and slowly a tear was made on the sack, a rheumy red eyes looked through the opening, and suddenly the eyes were filled with panic, "What is happening? This is not right, Lord…" Its cries were cut off midway, and the mountain fell into silence. ●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●● Rowan felt a faint pulsation beneath his hand, like the final beats of a dying heart, and with an ephemeral sounds waves of purple mist, in the vague form of a wolf, was drawn into his body. The mist circled his body and was rapidly drawn into the hovering ring of bones, and it was absorbed, in a short while, an invisible aura poured into Rowan, and he cried out in pleasure.