Stop... Please stop...

The pain was unbearable as I lay on the blood-stained wooden floor. The sound of my father savagely hammering down his fists across my mother’s bruised face. Did he have a bad day at his station again? Was his precious honor bruised by some low-ranking official? Who was to blame for the punishment my mother and I were receiving?

My wounds had not even healed from the nights before.

I need to stop him! Get up! Get up and stop him!

My body was completely numb and unable to perform such a miracle. USELESS! Allowing my mother to suffer this intolerable pain from a man that claims he loves her! USELESS! "Help." I cried, my voice only a whisper as my lungs were unable to fill with air.

I suddenly felt my father's hardened boot make contact with my ribs. He must not have taken well to the fact that I would defy him by calling for help. With each kick, my body contracted in pain.

Great spirits, I beg you! Help us! I am willing to offer everything for your aid! Please!

There was only silence. No heavenly light. No hero bursting through the door. No hope to be found. I started to choke from the blood filling my lungs, yet the relentless battering on my broken ribs continued. Suddenly I heard a voice inside my head.

Pure malice and joy in its words: "Everything?"

I did not hesitate to answer. "Yes! Everything is yours! Now save her!"

The voice called out again: "A deal has been struck! Now don't disappoint me."

In an instant, I felt a black rage, so sinister, so hungry, consuming my despair. As if a primal instinct took over, my arm moved and grabbed my father's ankle. I heard his annoyed grunt as he tried to break free. Still lying on the floor, my grip started to close in. Tighter and tighter, my grip became like a vice. And then that sound... The beautiful sound of bones breaking and joints dislocating.

Dropping to the floor, my father screamed in agony. I let go of his now shattered ankle and lifted myself off the ground only to see a grown man fearing for his life. I could not control the smile that twisted itself onto my face. Propping himself up, the man started to beg: "Please, forgive me. I only did it to make you strong so that you can be a better Hero one day. Plea...!"

Before he could finish his sentence, my hand wrapped around his throat. Hearing him suffocating was like music to my ears. ''You will burn for what you did," I said in a voice so horrific that it could make the dead rise.

To my surprise, I noticed my nails growing out of my fingertips like talons piercing the man's neck. Looking into his eyes, I could see the light fading out. In an instant, I ripped his throat clean out of its socket. Warm blood splattered everywhere as the body dropped. I looked up to see my mother with horror in her eyes.

She crawled to the body and screamed aloud: "What have you done!"

My face twisted with annoyance. How dare you! How dare you defend him after everything he has done! I'll kill you... No! Stop! Stop! I grabbed my hands, trying to conceal the claws that had formed." Mother, it's me, your son," I cried, my voice portraying a wolf trying to mislead a lamb to the slaughter. She started screaming as loud as her battered body allowed. Her shrill voice echoed throughout the room. I could see it was not to call for help, but fear of what was standing right in front of her.

I need to get out of here! I hesitated, then ran as fast as I could out the front door to get to the forest outside our village. The streets were empty but, while running, I noticed many of the village lights being lit. So they could hear what was happening in that house but, only when the screams were desperate enough were they willing to intervene.

Scumbags! The lot of them! Letting a twelve-year-old boy and his mother suffer when they could have stopped it! I will make them pay! every last ...'

I could feel the malice rising once again, beckoning me to level the village. I calmed my mind. Focus... Focus... Just keep moving.

I noticed the beautiful moon lighting my way. Was it always this bright? I then started to see the roots of the forest trees beneath my feet.

Wait... The forest was much further away than this. I halted just under the edge of the forest. As I looked back at the thatch buildings in the distance, my eyes widened as I realized how fast I had run. I grabbed my chest. A steady heartbeat beneath my hand. As I took my forearm to my face to wipe away the blood, I noticed not a single drop of sweat had formed. I had always been a sickly child with weak lungs but, this was something else. What's happened to me? No! Go! You don't have time for this!

I turned back, facing the depth of the forest. There is no coming back from this... I started to walk at a fast pace, taking care not to trip over the winding roots that covered the earth. Each step, I moved deeper into the forest.

Strange... The moonlight was completely obstructed by the trees, yet I could see clearly. My body felt as if it was not my own as my posture and even walking pattern had changed. Like a mountain lion, I gracefully weeded through the large roots, rocks, and trees in my way. Each step was agile and to a degree, silent. My posture seemed more opposing. No longer the shy, scared boy with his gaze to the ground.

The world seemed more colorful. Has the forest always been this beautiful? Everything felt in its place. All the roots, weaving around one another to form a collective. The thick foliage and shadows made me feel safe. Like I could just disappear. I should have been scared but, for some reason, I felt truly at peace.

This was the first time I traveled through the woods at night, as it was not allowed.

The Village elder would always say that as the sun sets, abyssal roam the forest, feasting on the flesh of man. They did this as an offering to their Demon Lords."

For my sake, I hope they were bedtime stories meant to make sure children would not get lost after dark.

More thoughts kept creeping through. "What have I done? What have I become? How could I ever face her again? I am not a monster... Am I?" I kept pushing each one to the back of my mind. I don't have time to process this. Just keep moving!

After some time, all the thoughts that were trying to surface were replaced by only one. Hunger... I could hear my stomach start to scream as the void grew. Each step got harder and harder. My sleeve, drenched from all the drool I wiped from my mouth. I was used to going hungry some nights but, what I was feeling seemed bestial.

I decided it would be best to stop for a short while and gather myself. I climbed one of the trees and positioned myself between a few branches to ensure I did not fall out.

For hours I tried to fall asleep, but it felt like I swallowed daggers. My mind was fixated by the thought of consuming. I craved the taste of meat but, raw meat. I kept changing positions to help with the pain in my stomach but, unsettling noises started to pierce my ears. The sounds of hearts beating, worms moving below the ground, and then a low growl. Wait... Am I growling?

Without warning, my body grew a will of its own. I jumped down to the ground, landing on all fours. My posture was that of a beast, ready to strike. I felt my nails starting to penetrate the soil. My clothes tightened as my muscles swelled. My jaw dislocated as huge canine teeth formed. The process was excruciatingly painful. A loud, powerful growl started to emanate from my body. The sound not of a wolf, but a demon, warning its opponent of the end to come.

I remembered the feeling of excitement, then I faded out.

When I finally awoke, my nostrils willed with the satisfying smell of fresh blood. Has the sun always been this bright? I thought as the lights streamed through the trees. It was like a white burning light. At first, I saw nothing, but as I allowed a few moments to pass, my eyes adjusted.

I looked around, only to find a deer, headless and filled with large bite wounds next to me. What happened!? This is not the same spot I was in last night. I looked at my hands and clothes. "Wait..." I said out loud. They were stained in crimson red. I swallowed to clear my throat. There was a taste of thick iron in my mouth.

I did this? How could I lose control? What if this was a person? I could hear my heart starting to race to the thought. Frantically I started to try and remove the blood from my body as if it would hide what I had done. Then I noticed something odd.

My shirt had been slightly torn and as the sunlight cascaded off my chest, a mark revealed itself. I pulled the remainder of my shirt away from my chest to investigate the mark. It looked like a black tattoo edged deep into my skin. My eyes widened.

I know this symbol... The village elder had always warned us against it.

"Demon Lords have unimaginable power. They spawn all that is evil in this world. A testament to this is the abyssal whom bare their crest. The mark of the beast, engraved on their flesh for all to see." He said after drawing the symbol on a piece of parchment.

"No no no no no no... How? How is this possible? I am a monster." I said under my breath as my head sank into my hands.

I have lost everything! No one would ever trust me again. The image of my horrified mother forced itself into my head. Against my best efforts, a door opened in my heart, and all my absent emotions flooded in. The sorrow crippled me, as my lips started to quiver, my hands trembled, and tears streamed down my face.

The beautiful image of my mother with her long dark hair and emerald green eyes, was now replaced... The woman who raised and cared for me now fears me. The despair started to consume my entire being.

All this horrid power... Given to me by the demons. Why? Why me? Why did I agree to that stupid deal!? I should have known nothing good could come from that sinister voice!

I could feel my hands shaking against my face as the anger built up. Stupid! I should have just died! At least I would have not had my soul fall into the hands of the devil's themselves! I could feel the claws slowly protruding from my fingertips and start to prick my forehead.

My father was right! I am a useless excuse for a son!

As this thought passed through my mind, a recent memory surfaced: I remembered coughing up blood most nights due to the black layer of powder covering our village. The powder was caused by the mine my father was stationed in.

I would get so sick that my mother would pray to spirits: ''Please, he is not ready to be taken! Give him strength so that he can one day serve you. Please!"

My father would then barge into the room, complaining about the noise: "If he is too frail, then it is best the spirits take him now. At least he would have some use providing some compost to the soil. At this rate, he won't survive outside these four walls if he can't handle a little bit of dust. I have been working my hands to the bone, protecting the miners from the imps in those tunnels. You don't see me crying about it!"

I then began to smile as I remembered how he begged for his life. In the end… It was worth it, seeing his pitiful face, helpless, just like he always made me feel. The only thing I regret is not savoring the moment longer. Maybe ripping his arms off first or his eyes. No! I should have ripped off his legs first so I could watch him try to crawl away from me.

Focus! I slapped my face hard, trying to stop the dark thoughts from consuming me. I knew in an instant that this power fed off my anger. If I wasn’t careful, I would lose myself again and add to my regrets.

I need to fix this! Maybe if I could find a cleric that could use a divine blessing to remove the curse? A healer of that capability would only reside in the capital. I immediately looked up at the sky. My mother had taught me how to use the sun’s movement to find some sort of direction. She had done so that I would always be able to find my way home if I got lost.

Let’s see. Ah there! Okay so if that is east then that should be North! Perfect. That should be the direction to the capital. I still had far to go as the capital was a month worth of travel on foot. At least I would have some time to think of a plan to convince the clerics to cure me.

It then hit me!

If I am a product of the Demon Lords, then Abyssal do exist…. That would mean what the elders had said might be true that there were some roaming these forests.

I would need to be careful as the forests stretched as far as the eye could see. I would be trapped here for the next few days of traveling. How would I protect myself and more importantly, how would I obtain food? If my inner beast could take such control due to my hunger then, I would have to make sure I stay fed.

Control… The first step to answering all my questions. If I can gain some control of this curse, then I would not need to constantly fear accidentally losing control and killing someone. Hell, maybe I could even use it to hunt some food. It is decided!

While traveling North, I would learn how to use this dark power to the best of my ability. Now having a plan, I set off leaving the bloody scene behind me. Each day I would practice how to use my unwanted power. I came to realize by allowing my anger to flood my mind I was able to change shape. The first time I was able to get my claws to form, even for only a few brief moments. The second time I tried delving deeper and woke up with a dead rat stuck in my mouth. This made me panic as not only did I lose control and possibly a day's worth of memory. I had just tasted what rat meat tasted like and was disgusted by the prospect. After that, I became more patient in my study for control. Over the next 7 days, I tried to change my shape as frequently as possible, even though it was just my muscles expanding for a few seconds. My body had become naturally far greater than the average person but, expanding my muscles gave me superhuman capabilities. Running at blinding speeds my body was as light as a feather. My reflexes felt fast enough to dodge a lightning strike. Lifting large rocks with ease and even my body felt more robust.

I also learned how to focus my heightened hearing and smell to locate the animals around me. Then I used this increased speed to catch deer and my newfound strength to crush their heads in one blow. I would then proceed to eat them… Raw.

The experience as a whole was awful but the taste was surprisingly amazing. Unfortunately, I didn't have any means of preserving the meat so I had to repeat the process daily.

I felt less guilty with each kill as I kept telling myself: "If I didn’t eat, then I might hurt someone. A chance I could not take."

Fresh water was more difficult to find. I could smell small amounts of moisture in the air but, when I finally located the water source, it would be a small puddle. It was barely enough to drink, let alone clean myself. An issue that was getting more and more pressing as the new layers of blood would dry and irritate my skin.

At night I would try to sleep in the tree tops to evade any predators. Getting up in the tree was the easy part. Falling asleep was almost impossible, as I was more alive than ever. It was as if I was trying to go against my very nature. Nonetheless, I did my best to do so.

Carrying on with this trend I was eventually able to understand how to trigger the transformation without the need for anger. The Malice had a distinct pressure deep inside me. I could release it into my body. The slower I did so the better control I had. First, the muscles would expand then the claws would form. As I went even deeper, I could feel my jaw dislocate. At this point, I would stop as the pain would become too unbearable.

Like a child learning to walk, the time I could hold my transformations grew longer and longer with each day passing. On the tenth day as I was stalking my next meal, a large amount of moisture entered my nose.

Water! I pulled the scent even deeper. It's not far from here. Without realizing it, I followed the smell like a bloodhound, sniffing the air rapidly. My legs sped up. Each step, faster than the previous. The earth buckled beneath my bare feet. I haven't felt this excited for anything in my whole life!

The scent eventually led me down the mountain face. The terrain was rough but I managed to leap across the rocks with ease. Each jump was a precise calculation. There! I can see it! The sun that was starting to rise glared off a lake. It was large with many smaller streams that fed into it with beautiful trees surrounding the area. It was like a lush paradise.

I landed right on the bank and then dropped on my knees, staring at the still, clear water. My reflection, looking back at me. My green eyes, barely visible under all the layers of blood and dirt. My black hair and clothes were stained by the dried blood. I then got up off the ground and proceeded to walk into the water, it was surprisingly warm as I waded slowly into the lake. I did my best to scrub my face and body, trying to remove all evidence. When I was finally satisfied, I laid back into the water, allowing it to carry me.

The water was like a small ray of hope as I drifted on the surface, locking my eyes with the blue sky. My ears were submerged under the water, drowning out all the noises. Slowly, I could feel my anxiety melting away. I could also feel small fish brushing up against my feet and it made me smile from ear to ear. Losing track of time, I took a deep breath and released it with new vigor.