Eye of the Blessed

A scream split the air, raw and feral, a sound not of man but of some cornered, desperate beast. The knights froze mid-chase, confusion flickering in their eyes. At first, they'd assumed it was merely a cry of pain—Amael's final despairing shout as the arrow lodged in his calf shredded through muscle. But as the wail twisted, growing louder, darker, they felt something chilling stir beneath its pitch.

Wrong. Terribly wrong.

The lead knight slowed, his sword hand tightening reflexively, the metal's cool weight giving scant comfort. "Hold up," he muttered, eyes narrowed, scanning the figure stumbling ahead. "Something's… not right."

A faint hum emerged, a vibration at first barely perceptible, then steadily rising, filling the space around them.

[System Online]

[There has been a deviation from the Plot of Fate.]

[User has attained an unknown ability.]

Amael's hands clutched his temples as a searing pain exploded within him, agony ripping through his head like a blade. It was more than just flesh—it clawed deep, a torment that fractured his very soul. He staggered, his vision swimming, a fiery pulse beating under his skin, stirring some primal force that had been chained for eons.

[Attempting to erase all that is not recorded in the Plot of Fate...]

[Error.]

[System encountered an error during the process.]

He convulsed, muscles spasming as if they no longer belonged to him. His skin blazed, flushed and feverish, the heat so intense that threads of smoke rose from his clothes. His veins surged beneath his flesh, aglow as if molten iron ran through him.

"What in the world is happening to him?" one of the knights whispered, his voice trembling as fear gnawed at his bravado.

"I don't know…" another replied, unconsciously taking a step back.

Amael's breaths came in short, ragged gasps. His heart pounded faster and faster, each beat thundering until it seemed his chest would shatter from the force.

[It has been determined that the ability obtained by the User has attached itself to the User's soul.]

[Ding!]

[System encountered a problem.]

[Unable to stabilize User's emotions.]

Something ancient and malevolent writhed within him, clawing its way to the surface. A door had cracked open in the depths of his being, one that should never have been unlocked, a gate hiding a power that was never meant to be unleashed.

[Rage detected.]

[Unable to stabilize emotion.]

[System attempting to force-shutdown User...]

[Error.]

[Rage 30%.]

[Error.]

[Rage 40%.]

[Error.]

[Rage 50%.]

[Error.]

[Rage 55%.]

[Error.]

[Rage 65%.]

[Error.]

[Rage 70%.]

"AAAGGGGHHHHH!" Amael's scream pierced the silence, no longer a man's cry but a guttural, animalistic roar. His fingers dug into his scalp, his nails drawing blood, desperate to claw away the searing pain, but it only deepened.

Every nerve blazed, every cell seemed to ignite, tearing him apart from within. His flesh burned, cracking open as waves of heat rolled off him, distorting the air. His eyes glowed with an unnatural light, one that no longer held a shred of humanity.

The knights stared, terror-stricken, at the spectacle unfolding before them. They had known pain; they had seen death. But this—this was something beyond. It was power, wild and unbridled, erupting from Amael like a force of nature ripping through the very seams of reality.

And then—abruptly, as if the very world held its breath—it ceased.

Amael's form hung in eerie stillness, his frame scorched and smoking. His head was bowed, his shoulders heaving as he dragged in ragged breaths. For an instant, it seemed he might have been consumed, a shell left empty by the force that had nearly devoured him.

"What… what happened?" one knight whispered, barely audible. "Is he… dead?"

"I don't think—" another began, but a sudden, invisible force silenced him, hurling him backward like a ragdoll. His body struck a nearby wall with a sickening crunch before collapsing in a heap.

The remaining knights froze, eyes wide with horror.

[An ability has been detected from the Unknown.]

Amael's head lifted slowly, a dark grin creeping across his lips—a smile that sent ice down their spines. His left eye gleamed with a strange, unsettling light, the sort of glow that promised no mercy.

"Hehehe…" A low, twisted laugh escaped him, more sinister than any sound he'd made before. He stepped forward, each movement deliberate, savoring the terror radiating from the knights.

They could feel it—a heavy, oppressive force rolling off him, dark and malevolent, far beyond anything they'd encountered before.

His gaze bored into them, that cursed eye's glow intensifying.

[Eye of the Blessed: Activated.]

In that moment, they knew. There was no escape.

Their fates had been sealed.