Mutant awakening: My evolution knows no bounds

"I… I never thought it would go this far. He… he should have died after I stabbed him, but somehow, he…" Sensei Josh's voice trailed off, his sentence unfinished as his horrified eyes widened. The rock he had been hiding behind was lifted effortlessly into the air, tossed aside like it weighed nothing.

"Found you," Silas's voice was cold and unfeeling, each syllable carrying the weight of finality. He stood over Josh, his eyes glowing with a malevolent light, his expression twisted into something dark and menacing.

The aura surrounding him was almost suffocating, a mixture of bloodlust and eerie calm that made Josh's heart hammer against his ribs. A shiver raced down Josh's spine, an instinctive reaction to the predator standing over him.

Sensei Josh's throat felt tight as he swallowed, instinctively trying to scramble backward, his hands pressing into the dirt as he attempted to crawl away. But Silas matched his every move, taking slow, calculated steps forward. With a sudden motion, Silas reached down, grabbing a fistful of Josh's hair and yanking him to his feet.

"AHH!" Josh cried out, his scalp burning as Silas's iron grip forced him upright. He struggled weakly, but his body felt drained, the illusionary energy he had expended leaving him on the verge of collapse. Silas's strength was overwhelming.

"You brought me out here to kill me, didn't you?" Silas's voice was low, filled with cold contempt. He tightened his grip on Josh's hair, the pain making Josh's vision blur.

"Then why are you crawling away like a scared dog instead of fighting back?"

Josh's breath hitched, his face paling as he tried to break free, but it was hopeless. Silas's grip was unrelenting. The sinister grin on Silas's face only deepened as he spoke, "Seems you're out of stamina. You've got nothing left. But me? I could do this all day."

With that, Silas released Josh's hair, allowing him to fall to the ground. Just as Josh was about to catch his breath, Silas's fist came swinging towards him with deadly precision.

*BAM!*

The punch connected with brutal force, sending a shockwave through the air. Josh's nose shattered instantly, a sickening crunch filling the silence as his face twisted from the impact. The force behind Silas's punch sent Josh flying backward, his body skidding across the sandy ground until he crashed into a nearby rock. Blood poured from his broken nose, staining the ground beneath him.

Gasping, Sensei Josh tried to push himself up, his hands slipping on the blood-slicked sand. But before he could gather himself, Silas was already there, looming over him, grabbing him by the hair once more.

"You really thought this would end differently, didn't you?" Silas hissed, his voice dripping with disdain. "Your son… that pathetic excuse for a human being was nothing but a waste of space. I did the world a favor by getting rid of him. And now, I'll do the world another favor by taking you out too!"

Silas released Josh's hair only to deliver another powerful punch, this one aimed squarely at his face.

*BAM!*

The impact sent a shockwave that rippled through the ground, causing nearby stones to tremble and dust to rise. Josh was flung through the air again, slamming against a second rock before crumpling to the ground, his body battered and broken. He lay there, barely able to breathe, his vision swimming with darkness. Yet even in his pain-ridden haze, he felt the cold hand of fear grip him as Silas approached once more, his footsteps slow and deliberate.

"Just… do it already!" Josh spat, blood dribbling down his chin. His voice was thick with pain and anger. "Kill me if you have to! Just know… the academy will hunt you down. You'll end up joining me soon enough!"

Silas chuckled, an unsettling sound that sent another wave of dread through Josh. "Funny," he said, tilting his head. "If I remember correctly, you said something about 'what happens in a realm, stays in a realm,' right? Especially when there are no witnesses. And right now… there are no witnesses."

Josh's eyes widened in horror as the full meaning of Silas's words sank in. He had used the realm's isolation as a pretext to kill Silas without consequence, but now, it was he who faced the brutal reality of that isolation.

"You planned this whole ambush thinking you'd get away with murder," Silas continued, his tone mocking. "But looks like you miscalculated. Now I'll be the one getting away with it." A wicked grin spread across Silas's face as he tightened his fist, a faint blue aura beginning to glow around it.

Before Josh could even process what was happening, Silas's glowing fist came crashing down against his face once more, sending him stumbling backward. But Silas didn't let up. He pressed forward, his fists a relentless storm of fury.

*BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!*

BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!

Each punch landed with bone-crushing force, the impacts echoing through the desolate training ground.

Josh's face became a bloody mess, his nose and cheekbones shattered, his skin bruised and swollen, each hit pushing him closer to the edge of consciousness. Silas's punches didn't slow, didn't weaken. He was unrelenting, a force of nature. Blood splattered across the ground, staining the sand beneath them.

With a final, brutal uppercut, Silas lifted Josh off his feet, sending him sprawling across the ground. Josh's battered body hit the sand, and he lay there, his breaths shallow, his body trembling. Silas's eyes gleamed with satisfaction as he stretched out his hand, beckoning Josh's lifeless form toward him.

[Active Skill: Soul Control Activated]

A force, invisible but overwhelming, gripped Josh's limp body and began to drag him across the ground, pulling him towards Silas. He was helpless, his body drained of any will to resist, his consciousness slipping as Silas stood over him, staring down with cold, merciless eyes.

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"This is the end." Silas's voice was barely above a whisper, but the weight of his words was crushing. "You hear me? This is the end for you."

He grabbed Josh's head, his fingers digging into his scalp, pulling him closer. Black claws extended from Silas's fingertips, sharp and deadly. With a final, ruthless movement, he plunged the claws into Josh's skull, feeling the resistance give way as he began to drain the very essence of his soul.

A glowing, ethereal aura began to pour from Josh's body, drawn into Silas like a river of energy.

*[Soul Points: 150/200]*

*[Soul Points: 190/200]*

*[Soul Points: 200/200]*

The system notifications kept popping up as his soul points replenished, his strength returning with each passing second. But the drain continued, the extra soul energy beginning to fill his reserve.

*[Soul Reserve: 50/100]*

*[Soul Reserve: 70/100]*

*[Soul Reserve: 100/100]*

Once his reserves were full, Silas pressed his claws deeper into Josh's skull, a sickening pop echoing through the silence as Josh's head split open. There was no blood, no sign of life left in the husk that had once been Sensei Josh. His body was nothing more than a petrified shell, his soul fully absorbed.

*DING!*

The system notification flashed in front of Silas's eyes.

*[Congratulations, host has completed the compulsory quest. Rewards: +10 attribute points]*

Silas read the message, a faint scowl forming on his face. "Really? That's it? After all of that… just ten points?" he muttered, feeling a bitter edge of disappointment.

Before he could dwell on it further, a loud rumbling from behind caught his attention. The realm began to shake, rocks tumbling as the ground began to collapse. Dust filled the air, obscuring his vision as the landcape crumbled.

"Ah, that's right..the realm is collapsing. Time to get out of here," Silas mused, a slight smirk on his face as he turned away, his steps quickening as he dashed through the collapsing realm, leaving the remains of Sensei Josh behind in the dust.

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A/N: Vote with your Golden Tickets and Power Stones!