Blacklight Virus

For days, the boy stayed hidden deep within the forest, his body bruised and battered from his frantic escape. His breathing was heavy, his mind a whirl of confusion. The once peaceful sounds of rustling leaves and chirping birds felt oppressive now, the weight of the power inside him lingering beneath his skin. He didn't know what to do with it, or how to control it, but the memory of ripping Madame Rose apart still lingered, fresh and raw in his mind.

He had killed her.

He couldn't deny the satisfaction it had brought him, the power coursing through his veins. But there was something terrifying about it, something uncontrollable. Whenever he thought about that night, the feeling of the tendrils warping his body returned—the sharp claws, the biomass writhing like a second skin. It was as if he wasn't entirely human anymore.

"No, shouldn't think like that, even if they were the cause of my pain, they werr still living, breathing people and I...killed them"

In the days that followed, he tried to call the power back, but it never came on command. It was as if it had a mind of its own, rising only when his emotions spiked. He spent hours alone in the forest, away from the prying eyes of townsfolk and travelers, trying to trigger the transformation. He would clench his fists, focusing hard, trying to relive the rage and fear of that night, but all that happened was his hands would shake with frustration.

The boy stood in a small clearing one afternoon, exhausted from his efforts. His hands were cut and bruised from hours of punching tree trunks, hoping the pain would spark something inside him. But nothing came—no claws, no tendrils, just the cold, quiet reality of his human body.

"Why can't I control this?" he muttered, his voice bitter. "Why did it only come when I killed her?"

The weight of his frustration grew heavier with each failed attempt. He needed answers. He needed to understand what was happening to him.

He collapsed against a tree, catching his breath as he stared up at the sky through the canopy of leaves. A memory from his past life flickered in his mind—something familiar about this feeling of power, the tendrils, the transformation. It reminded him of something… something from before.

Blacklight Virus.

The name snapped him out of his thoughts. Prototype. That was it. He had played the game in his old life, a life that felt so distant now. The protagonist, Alex Mercer, had been infected with a virus that granted him godlike powers—shapeshifting, enhanced strength, the ability to absorb others and take their memories. The Blacklight Virus. The boy's eyes widened in realization. Was that what was inside him now?

"It's the same," he whispered to himself, a chill running down his spine. "This power… it's the Blacklight Virus."

The implications made his head spin. In Prototype, Alex Mercer had become something more than human, but also something monstrous. The virus had granted him control over his body at a cellular level, reshaping his flesh into weapons, consuming others to gain strength. Was that what he had? Was he like Mercer now?

The thought both thrilled and terrified him.

If he had the same power, then he could become unstoppable, just like Alex Mercer. But if he couldn't control it, if it consumed him, he would be no different from the monsters in this world. The titans. He would become just like Alex Mercer. A living, breathing virus.

The boy clenched his fists, staring down at them. The power had only surfaced when he was in danger, when he was pushed to his limits. But now, sitting in the quiet of the forest, it refused to respond.

"So it's triggered by extreme emotion…" narrowing his eyes. Rage, fear, desperation. That's what had brought it out before.

Standing up slowly, he looked around the clearing, trying to steady his breath. If the Blacklight Virus had awakened in him, he needed to learn how to use it before it destroyed him—or before the titans came and tore him apart. He couldn't afford to be weak in this world, not with the chaos that was coming.

He tried again. This time, he focused on the memory of Rose's twisted face as she carved into his skin, the searing pain, the helplessness. He let the emotions build, his frustration, his anger, and soon, that familiar burning sensation sparked deep within his chest.

Suddenly, his arms tingled, and dark tendrils began to slither from his skin, wrapping around his hands and wrists. His breathing quickened, his heart pounding. This was it. The power was responding. He gritted his teeth, focusing on keeping it contained, but the more he concentrated, the more the tendrils seemed to lash out on their own, coiling wildly around him.

He tried to pull them back, to regain control, but the harder he struggled, the more violent the transformation became. His hands warped into sharp, jagged claws, his skin burning as the biomass twisted and shifted.

"No. No.. No..."

"Stop!" he gasped, his voice strained.

But the virus didn't listen.

It was like trying to tame a wild beast, and he was losing. The tendrils whipped out, striking the trees around him, leaving deep gashes in the bark. The ground trembled under his feet as his body convulsed with the power, and a surge of panic shot through him.

He was going to lose control.

"Fuck!" he shouted, dropping to his knees. "Come on!"

His heart pounded, the virus pushing against his skin, begging to break free, but with a final, desperate cry, he forced it back. The tendrils recoiled, sinking back into his skin, and he collapsed onto the forest floor, gasping for air.

The clearing was silent again, save for the sound of his ragged breathing. He lay there, staring up at the sky, his body trembling. The power was still there, waiting, lurking beneath the surface. But he had managed to stop it, if only barely.

"I need to figure this out," he whispered to himself, his voice weak. "If I don't learn to control it… it's going to kill me."

The boy closed his eyes, feeling the weight of the Virus inside him. He had a long way to go before he could master this power. But he had no choice. If he wanted to survive in this world—if he wanted to live long enough to see the titans fall—he had to learn.

And deep down, he knew that the Blacklight Virus wasn't just a curse. It was a gift.

He just had to tame it... Before it tamed him.