After that violent confrontation with Natalia on the rooftop, Alastair was driven to a nearby hospital. He did receive a life-threatening injury at the hands of Natalia, and he was immediately worked on when going to the hospital. He suffered internal bleeding and was going in and out of consciousness. He had a broken wrist, with cracked ribs. Also, with Alastair’s skull almost broken wide open, he was losing the battle of his life.

Miraculously, he pulled through, making a speedy recovery. He was indeed a medical miracle as his wounds began to heal at an accelerated rate. Although he does have accelerated healing due to the powers of the Nether, he should have died. Or was it something else…?

Without a doubt, Alastair was at the lowest point in his life. He didn’t know what to do. I’ll start feeling like everything that ever worked for was ripped from right under him again. Days went by as he spent most the time sleeping and staring up at the ceiling.

One day in his hospital room, Alastair and made a foregone conclusion that someone was hiding under his bed after he woke up from his nap, “you can come out now...” Speaking in a low, garbled voice.

He guessed correctly as a small yet busty woman in a stolen maid uniform, being wrapped a white bandanna around her head to conceal her hair. Streaming out the wrinkles from her stolen nurse uniform.

She, too, felt awkward while putting on a nervous smile, “H-hello… Sorry about that…”

“Don’t be,” Alastair reasserted, while still staring out the window. “None of this was your fault… Then again, you knew this would happen, didn’t you?”

Not the one to probe into personal affairs, she couldn’t help herself, “what about your career? Do you really mean to resign from the syndicate?”

Alastair didn’t answer, still staring out the window.

“While you were here, your sister took care of some things. Straightened up the house. Swept the floor. Your friend wanted to come here to see you. But they have their own set of problems...”

Alastair didn’t even respond.

She knew this was a tough decision for him to walk away from something that he knew pretty much all his life. This was all he ever had known.

But in her heart, she had to take care of him and do what was right to support him, “I hope you like stuffed bell peppers. Since that’s today’s lunch… You wait here and get some rest.”

As she began to leave the room, Alastair answered her, “Tsubaki Camellia.”

She slowly spun around to respond, “yes, Alastair.”

Tsubaki Camellia is a human with nephalem heritage. Tsubaki is a vampyr, a type of nephalem who subsists by feeding on the life essences of the living. She is Daemon Princess, who serves as one of the minority leaders of the Royal Nephalem Order under her regal codename, Saboten.

Then, Alastair turned around and saw her face-to-face with his bloodshot eyes, still puffy from crying. Still physically sore from the altercation with Natalia days ago. Handsomely, Alastair rewarded Tsubaki by giving her a vague yet understandable question, “why are you here?”

Aurora Rose closes the door and locks it. She sprinted towards Alastair again and took the seat beside him as she pulled out a big bag of snacks under the bed. She lays the bag on her lap and starts ruffling through the goodies.

She pulled out a bag of candy handed it to him, but could help his dominant left arm from shaking…

Tsubaki then was reminded of his condition, “fuck me… I should know better…”

She then opens the bag up herself and feeds him a piece of organic banana taffy. She hesitantly accepted the offer as this cheered up Tsubaki.

“I know that you and I haven’t been introduced formally. You are probably wondering why I am here. The thing is… You are right. You are right about everything…”

Alastair then looked into royal ruby-colored eyes, trying to find some sincerity, “Are you going to kill me?” Alastair tearfully wondered.

This got a chuckle from Tsubaki, “Right, you stepped on my toes a couple times, and now you are supposedly at my mercy? No, not at all. You see, I’ve never wanted this to happen... Nice guys like you are pretty much cancer to society. Toxic and stunted.”

Alastair grumbled as he laid back on his bed, hoping Tsubaki would get it over with and kill him.

But Tsubaki was not finished with him, “Yeah, remind me never to take on a guy who is way too nice for his own good. Women like Natalia don’t last very long in this world either. Yeah, they are popular enough because of what they offer to roughnecks like Xerxes. I understand, and I commend you on what you have accomplished. She undermined your authority, and you smacked her around. And in return, she bashed your brains in. Even to someone like me, that is coldhearted,” she summarized.

“Is there a point to all of this?” Alastair becoming impatient.

Tsubaki just shrugged her shoulders, “I’m just curious about who you are and what you look like now.” She then pulled off the covers revealing his new big and muscular body. “I have to say I never really impressed. But my heart belongs to another. He is just like you.”

Alastair then scrambled to cover himself up, but Tsubaki yanked the covers away, threw them on the ground. This made Alastair set up, with his hospital gown becoming a bit too tight for him to maneuver around in.

Tsubaki marveled at his transformation, “The Daemonia Shift. It is something that usually we go through when we finally unlock our true natures with those who have blood of a Nephalem. It all depends what type of Nephalem you are. In this case, you have a blood a behemoth coursing through your veins.” Tsubaki smiled.

But this scared Alastair even more, as he took off his bandages. The wounds on his hands, ribs and his head are gone. Even his platinum blonde hair grew out and became longer. His long silky hair came down to his back. He still had a headache and some general malaise, but in time it will go away. He couldn’t believe it himself as he now possessed the body of a Greek God.

“Now, I don’t want you to take this the wrong way because I usually listen to rumors. And if they are true, I thought those who had one testicle couldn’t have children anymore,” Tsubaki ribbed.

He wanted to reach down to check, but he could tell he had two testicles now… And everything about him was enlarged.

Alastair looked away in disbelief, “If you are not going to kill me, then why are you even here…?”

Tsubaki leaned in as she spoke to him, sincerely, “Look, you did what was natural to you. They all stripped to you bear of something that you worked for all of your life, and from that day forward you are free to do pretty much everything you’ve always wanted to do. You see, what really bothers me in the news I might add that people are so bloodthirsty. Yes, they care about peace and order and tranquility. Yet, many people start a war all because of what they believe in. Even when their beliefs are just as worthless as the person sitting next to them. It’s in our nature to celebrate heinous behavior.”

Tsubaki leaned back in her chair as she ate a piece of candy herself, “Like a president of some country declares war on another country because they actually pray to their God facing East instead of West or any military dictator who just want to prove to everybody that he is not really overcompensating for something, other than his crippling insecurities of having the smallest dick in the room. And we don’t need to talk about abortion clinics getting blown to smithereens because of the somebody holier than thou beliefs or a black guy getting shot by a white cop while nobody cares. They don’t want to admit it. Everybody enjoys it because it’s the same thing that everybody wants to do. Deep down, we all want to see despair in others from a safe distance.”

Hearing this macabre statement made Alastair look at Tsubaki with complete disgust.

“But let’s just flip the script when everyone is tolerant of everyone’s beliefs, and when a millionaire helps out the unfortunate by giving underprivileged kids a chance to go to school, nobody gives two squirts of piss about that!” Tsubaki concluded.

Afterward, she tossed the bag of candy aside and rose out of the chair. She then sat beside Alastair on the bed as she wrapped her arm around his waist the best she could, giving him a hug. He was indeed more prominent and thicker now, so it was kind of hard to do.

She then tilted Alastair’s head so she can look into his reddened eyes, “Only to realize there is no side. There are no lines to cross, and everyone is just a sack of meat that has little to no value to this world. By stripping bare such self-indulgent moralities that we call being civilized, we become what we are meant to be. And to answer your thousands of questions, you have cycled to your head right now all at once; nature will always be stronger than God. Why? Because at least nature is brave enough to let itself become visible.”

Tsubaki always had a macabre way of thinking. Definitely more than others. Yet this time, Alastair believed what she was saying. Maybe because he too understood. Perhaps he was just angry at everything and everyone, especially to those who have ruined his life and career for the second time.

“I was never meant to be anything but a lamb. And as a beast, I will walk upright and lead them ALL to the slaughter!” Alastair growled.

This put a devilish grin on the face of Tsubaki, “You are my kind of man.” She climbed out of bed and headed towards the door. “But these are just words that I speak of. If you really want to know what it truly feels like to be a beast, then I’ll be waiting outside…”

“Why?” Alastair questioned.

Tsubaki exhaled out of frustration “because I’m not asking for much, Alastair. If that’s your real name. You have been living a lie for so many years because you are afraid of what people might think of you-- the real you. I’m only here to tell you that your little world that you were so fond of being accustomed to is not worth saving and protecting. Sometimes, you have to burn it to the ground. Sometimes, you have to hurt others. Sometimes, revenge is the answer. Your uncle thinks so.”

Alastair’s ears shifted out of frustration, “wait, my uncle?”

“Yes, we’ll meet him. But if and only if you decide to leave this world behind and come with me?”

Then, Alastair tries to second-guess himself yet again, “But my sister… My friends… They--”

“You know better than that,” Tsubaki interrupted. “They feel just as passionate about this as you think. You’re the only one who is having second thoughts. Like I said: I’ll be outside…”

Alastair could let her go. But for what reason? There is really nothing left for him. Of course, that’s what he thinks now. But there is some undeniable reason for him to stay in that hospital room, he would have.

He made his choice as he climbed out of bed and took his first steps in his newly transformed buff body. He was also taller now, standing seven feet tall. This made Tsubaki smile, knowing he made the right choice.

However, he had another challenge: maneuvering in his very tight hospital gown as he makes his way to his closet to get his clothing. Only to discover his clothing several sizes smaller now.

“DAMMIT!” Alastair roared.

Again, this was an oversight Tsubaki had missed, “Fuck me… Clothes! We should give you some new clothes that fit you-- I knew that!” Trying to save face while leaving the room.

What do you know? Alastair thought.

This isn’t what Alastair wanted, but this what he really needs. But here of all people to come to moment of comfort was indeed unsettling. What did she really want from him, and why all the change of heart all sudden?

At that moment, he remembered Daemon Knight Oedipus. Another beta being used as a doormat as he was. He promised to meet up with him after he was done with his mission. He asked for a phone to call him, but no one could reach him.

Just what the hell happened to him?