Serum Inside The Rat

The furry cloak dropped down on the floor like a fire truck, his eyes swirled deep and crimson, his lips husky and dry. His simple gaze could pierce the coldest man, unable to return his sharpness without a leg or two shaking. A man scarier than any monster, and more disgusting than any corpse, that's how Crim would describe it.

 Long ago, he taught himself to remember no person was scarier than the world, but this man radiated such a presence that told the world to sit in the corner. 

As he used faint steps to pressure the young man, he couldn't help but step back, unable to speak or scream. 

"Oh, a lovely soul you have." The man grinned, his look resembling a certain clown, "For such a young man to be categorized by such traits! I hit the jackpot."

The man mumbled nonsense onto himself, amused.

The devil raised his hand, and a corpse that had been colder than an icebergy snatched Crim's leg and pulled, the young man couldn't overpower the dead man and tripped into the cold bloody pool. His Gray eyes had turned white and his hair had lost color.

His mind wouldn't think, and his body had been prohibited from movement. 

The man in front of him simply leaned and smiled, a smile that showed he was not in the right state of mind. He reached out to Crim's cheek, caressing it, somehow that made the boy feel at ease. Enough to utter quiet words, "Jac-k-pott?" 

His enchantments had been dispelled again, and the windows had been closed by themselves afraid of the monster in the horrific room resided in. The young man felt completely different from what he first appeared like something had been shattered by the man.

"Get up." The man commanded, and the young man's limbs complied.

"Who are you?" Crim asked.

The man chuckled like he had heard a toddler give him a compliment or the opposite. "I wonder, too." The man replied, rusty and clear. There was only silence for a moment, as Crim got imbued in the darkness.

The man snapped his fingers, and an ocean of darkness dropped on the closed-down abandoned shack, the dark waters stuck onto the walls and refused to let go, it left only darkness in its path to consume any light. 

Crim only heard his deep breaths, his ears that were drowned with timbers of the woods and the squaches of the corpses had dissipated. So did the man. 

"Confused?" Something whispered into the young man's ear.

The boy snatched his cloak and turned around, he threw his favorite accessory to be left in the darkness and was unable to catch the hidden man by surprise. He chanted out a fireball from his palm, but the light did not last long.

Every spell he tried had been neutralized. Crim's Paranoia had started emerging, as he would fumble his fingers and roll his head around the room like a man late for a business meeting.

'He's toying with me.' The boy figured. His mind visualized a rat facing a wall as the group of cats pawed toward him. It was a useless effort, but even a cornered animal will adapt.

An Idea popped up in his mind. 

'If this works I might die, but, it is better than dying by an old man that smells worse than the back alleys of the 3rd rate towns.' Crim clicked his tongue, 'If I escape this, I'm gonna strangle that weirdass man If I get the chance.'

With the guiding energy of the man, the young boy's confidence surged back.

 He closed his eyes, temporarily blinding himself, and took a deep breath, focusing on the streams of energy within him, known as Mana Streams, especially the one that flowed from his ear to his nose. With concentration, he envisioned a golden hand grasping these streams, making his head feel heavier.

"Now, the final step," he whispered to himself. Commanding the golden hand, it transformed into a radiant ring, blocking the flow of energy to his senses as it encircled the vessels.

Bringing his hands together, he chanted, "Wia No Sen."

Suddenly, the once-dark room was bathed in bright highlights, revealing every shape within its range. Crim quickly scanned the room, searching for a human silhouette. On the right side, a red outline of a man emerged.

He opened his eyes and lunged forward like an unstoppable force. Crim threw a somewhat clumsy right hook, neglecting proper footwork. The shadowy figure effortlessly twisted his foot, countering with a simple slap that sent the young man off balance, providing the figure an opening for a counterattack. 

The man laughed, he mocked the naive youngling.

Crim went back for the second strike, with somewhat acceptable power and technique. But the man saw through each single detail, easily. He knelt, avoiding the mage's attack. This time, he countered with proper technique, unlike the rugrat-boy, a beautiful uppercut had been thrown.

The young man clenched his jaw, he had lost his cool, he threw a barrage of sheepish attacks and hoped one would hit. But, there was no such thing as luck when it came to the strongest, The man continued to laugh, he avoided each attack with such grace, that one would think he was a dancer.

"Now, now. I just want to talk." The darkness slowly melted away like the earlier illusion. 

"Talk?!?" Crim shouted, throwing an unsuccessful jab at the man. 

The man lowered the boy's hand that he had caught like a baseball player, Crim admitted defeat in his mind, as he cursed the one who sent him this target. 

"What do you want?" The young man gave in.

The man dissipated into smoke and conjured back into pieces behind him.

"Have a good sleep," The man produced a syringe from his coat and injected Crim's neck, causing the boy's eyes to roll back. He felt an army of sensations crawling over his skin, as if thousands of tiny hands were exploring him, and a horde of fiery goblins ignited a wild storm within his veins.

'Why the hell did I let my guard down? This motherfu-' Before he could finish his sentence, the pain he bore became too much, for such a fragile body to handle.