Rampage

Adrian Falter's scream tore through the ruins like a force of nature—raw, primal, and unrelenting. The once-magnificent throne room of Breles, once a place of majesty and order, now bore the scars of annihilation. Broken marble lay strewn across the floor, banners smoldered into ash, and the bodies of soldiers—Alliance and demon alike—were scattered, lifeless and twisted.

His sword hummed in his trembling hand, slick with blood. The crimson energy radiating from his body churned and writhed like a storm, tendrils of shadow coiling and snapping. The world around him seemed to shrink, consumed by the torrent of emotions surging through his soul.

And amidst it all, tears streamed down his face.

Adrian stumbled forward, breathing ragged, his vision blurring as if the very air rejected him. But it wasn't the pain from battle that wracked him—it was the faces in his mind, glowing so vividly that they cut deeper than any blade.

He saw Seraphina, her healer's robes disheveled as she waved a wooden spoon in mock fury.

- "You'll eat everything I put on this plate, Adrian. Otherwise, I'll heal you just to make you eat it!"

A quiet sob escaped him as he saw Kael perched on a stump, twirling an arrow between his fingers with that cocky grin.

- "You take the hits, I take the shots—that's the deal, you stubborn mule."

Then Kiera, sitting with wildflowers in her lap, tossing petals into the wind and laughing.

- "When this is all over, we'll drink until Mohan dances. That's a promise."

And finally, Mohan, sitting by the campfire, his gruff voice cutting through the night.

- "You fight for your friends, Adrian. That's your strength. Don't lose it."

Adrian dropped to his knees, clutching at his head as the screams of his fallen comrades mingled with the roars of demons and soldiers. "WHY?! WHY DID YOU TAKE THEM FROM ME?!"

His voice reverberated through the shattered chamber, trembling the very walls.

A sudden noise snapped Adrian's attention upward—footsteps. The scrape of steel against stone. Alliance soldiers entered cautiously, their faces a mix of fear and grim determination. The leading officer, clad in crimson armor, raised his sword.

"There! The demon in human skin!" the officer barked, his voice quivering despite his bravado. "Kill him, and end this nightmare!"

Adrian didn't move. His gaze was hollow, locked on the soldiers as they approached. A low growl escaped his lips, his tears still streaking down his pale face.

"You took everything," Adrian whispered, his voice almost too quiet to hear.

The officer hesitated, his eyes narrowing. "What?"

"You took everything!" Adrian's voice exploded into a roar as the shadows around him erupted. "[Shadow Spiral]!"

Dark tendrils burst from the ground, faster than the eye could follow, ensnaring the soldiers. One by one, their screams cut short as the shadows crushed and ripped them apart, leaving nothing but torn armor and blood-stained stone.

The crimson-clad officer stumbled backward, his sword clattering to the floor. "W-what is this…? What are you?!"

Adrian's red eyes flared, his expression contorted with grief and fury. "I'm the one you made me."

The officer turned to run, but Adrian was faster. In a flash, he stood before the man, his sword already cutting through the air. "[Infernal Cataclysm!]"

A wave of black energy exploded outward, reducing the officer to nothing more than ash. The blast roared through the room, toppling pillars and sending debris raining down.

Adrian's breathing grew ragged as the last of the soldiers fell silent. Around him, the throne room lay in ruin—cracks split the ground, ash hung thick in the air, and only the faint sound of crackling flames remained.

But even surrounded by death and destruction, Adrian's tears wouldn't stop.

He dropped his sword, the weapon clattering lifelessly to the ground, and fell to his knees. The dark energy around him flickered, sputtering like a dying flame.

"It's over," he whispered, his voice breaking. "It's all over…"

His shoulders shook, his hands clutching the empty air as if trying to grasp at something that was no longer there. Memories of laughter, of camaraderie, of nights around a crackling fire tormented him.

"I promised to protect you," he choked out. "I promised…"

As Adrian sat amidst the carnage, the remnants of his shattered humanity grappled with the monstrous power that now defined him. His grief, his despair, his fury—they coalesced into something primal. Dark energy surged through him once more, swirling in the air like a hurricane.

And then he felt it.

A pull. Like an invisible cord being drawn tight.

Adrian's red eyes widened as the bodies of the fallen—both soldier and demon—began to shimmer with a faint, unnatural light. Streams of dark energy seeped from their broken forms, drifting toward him like moths to a flame.

Adrian's body tensed as the energy struck him, filling him with a cold, electric power that flooded his veins. It wasn't the kind warmth of healing magic—this was something else. Something darker. He could feel their life force, their essence, pouring into him.

"[Drain]," Adrian whispered, the name of the skill echoing in his mind.

The shadows surged, consuming the energy faster and faster until the bodies crumbled to ash. The pain in his muscles ebbed, his wounds knitted closed, and his exhaustion evaporated.

But with it came a sickening weight in his chest, like he had swallowed something he could never expel.

The heavy silence was broken by a faint, familiar voice.

"Adrian…?"

Adrian turned slowly, his crimson eyes locking onto the doorway where Lucas stood. Lucas's face was pale, his expression one of utter shock and horror as he took in the destruction.

The broken bodies. The crumbled walls. And Adrian—standing in the center of it all, dark energy still radiating from his form.

"Adrian," Lucas said again, his voice cracking. "What… What did you do?"

Adrian stared at him, his expression blank as his tears continued to fall. "They're gone, Lucas. All of them. Mohan… Kael… Kiera… Seraphina…"

Lucas took a step forward, shaking his head. "This isn't you, Adrian. Look at what's happening to you. Look at what you've become!"

Adrian's hands trembled as he looked down at himself—at the black veins that pulsed under his pale skin, at the dark markings that now marred his arms.

"I didn't ask for this," Adrian whispered, his voice hollow. "I didn't want this."

Lucas approached slowly, his voice softer now. "Then stop. Please, Adrian. Before it's too late."

Adrian looked up at his old friend, his red eyes filled with anguish. "It's already too late."