Bad blood

The black substance was livid, this creature did not only disrespect its authority, it still ran away from its punishment afterwards. It got even more livid, as it was unable to catch this filthy creature even after multiple tries. The severity of the punishment was increasing by the seconds.

To ensure, that this deed does not go unpunished, it decided to throw caution in the wind and accelerate even more. It was willing to bear the risk, that came with it. Yet the creature was still able to escape its grasp by moving in an irrational fashion. The whole manner, this creature behaved was highly irregular and the cause of a lot of frustration.

It could not fathom how this being acts nor could it understand why it would refuse the blessing so vehemently. This blatant refusal was a slap in the face. Not even the strongest creatures to have ever lived had the audacity to do something like this. So who does it think it is to actually do something like that?

The more it thought about it, the more it descended into utter fury. It would not show any pity, even if that creature begged for it. It deserved to suffer for all of eternity. Though it wanted to, it could not lose itself in the rage. The repercussions were just not worth it.

Instead of killing this blasphemer, it decided to only cripple him and leave him unable to have any offspring, that was just barely enough to appease its bottomless anger. As much as it wanted to indulge itself, it needed to capture this obnoxious specimen first.

As its patience was nearly at its limit, the creature finally had an error in its judgement. It jumped into the water foolishly thinking it would be enough to stop an entity of its calibre. Once the opportunity was there it ignored all of its constraints and madly rushed into its body.

The water did not pose any difficulty and the time for payback had finally arrived. This time it would not stop and limit its powers. It wanted to see it squirm and suffer in sheer agony, but this process should not be done in an instant. With great care and control, it slowly raised its potent powers. This was not only about due punishment, but it was also about stating an example.

Right now, the creature had dropped its act and was forced to show its true colours. When it would it start to beg for mercy and scream in agony? It could not wait to find out.

Right now it was able to endure the cleansing a normal newborn had to face and not one sound had left its mouth. It was not surprised about this fact, it would have been surprised if not. If it had the guts to try and defy it, it better should have the same level of ability.

What was that creature currently doing? It could not believe its senses. The mad creature was hunting small fishes without a care in the world.

Was it trying to provoke or did it not care about the upcoming punishment in the slightest? The more it thought about its irrational behaviour the less he understood about it.

Its methodology was crude and unrefined, it just swam towards its prey and devoured them whole. The expression was neither worried nor happy, it looked a bit bored.

Even after the potency had reached the level of a normal adult, no sign of change was in sight. All that creature was doing is to eat small fish he caught previously.

It even swam to the island again only to cross its arms behind his head. After closing its eyes it was trying to fall asleep.t

The black liquid was now even more confused than angry. Its mind was clouded in doubts about the event unfolding in front of it. This creature might just not know any better that would explain all of its disrespectful acts.

After taking a good look at this creature it noticed certain abnormalities. The magic particles did not interact with it at all. Something like that was really uncommon, the last time It had seen this state, the world had not been altered.

But why would the cleansing occur, if that was actually the case? The cleansing, was a procedure every being undergoes once the vessel had reached a solid foundation. Mana develops with the being. The path for most beings is predetermined and is a formality. This concept does not apply to the races Chosen by the Gods.

It was its job to handle all the matters of the beings who did not qualify for the special treatment. So why exactly did it manifest here? This strange being was not one chosen by the Gods, nor was it qualified for a cleansing.

A state of unity, between mana and body, is the basic necessity for a cleansing to take place. And this pitiful being, had next to no mana in its body. It might never amass enough mana in its lifetime.

It was lamentable, that some creatures could not escape their ill-fated destiny given to them at their birth.

Its visceral hatred had been replaced by a feeling of compassion with its circumstances. This poor wretch was most likely the result of a union of beast and men. This sacrilege forced its parents to abandon it at birth, leaving it to die. It only survived thanks to its beastly instincts.

It must have struggled to survive day after day without knowing anything about this world. All on its own, without anyone's help. Yet this creature grew along with all of its hardships and became the being right in front of it.

The cleansing had nearly been forgotten by it, but once the procedure had been started it could only be stopped upon reaching its conclusion or if the body if the life of the bearer is under immense danger. The reason why the first process got cancelled was exactly for that reason, as the acting had directly impacted its judgement.

Its hand were tied until the creature fulfilled enough criteria, that would allow the process to stop. Cleansing with this low level of mana is just cruel torture. Its fire would not nurture the flesh but irreparably change it. It was destroying its future by persisting for so long. Not only would it be unable to wield mana at all. Even his offspring will not be capable of using magic.

If it continues like that, then no one can tell what might come out of it. But the longer it was forced to watch, the more obscurities did it encounter. This creature body was formed in a manner, that should not be possible. The skeleton did not resemble men or beast alike. It was a mixture of countless lifeforms, that formed this human body. Strangely it functioned just like a normal human skeleton.

Its blood was of human nature, but also highly corrosive at the same time. There were many irregularities in its bodies, that unified concepts that should not be able to come together.

Yet, as it tried to scout its brain, it failed to visualize it and scan it. Not thinking much about it, it tried again, but the result did not change. Even after numerous tries its trusted process had thoroughly failed.

The magic it had sent out, was unresponsive after it approached the brain. It had lost the connection to its own magic. This insight left it baffled, it had been witness to many things it deemed impossible. But as of now, it had witnessed something, that should never be possible.

It was at loss for words, scared about what it encountered here. This entire entity was a mystery, which entire existence did not make any sense. Where lied its origin? What caused it to arrive in front of this creature?

After it was about to give up, it noticed that there was a small spot where a faint trace of magic activity could be located. Without any hesitation, it sent another strand of its magic towards it. After receiving yet another reply, its interest was quipped.

It transferred its consciousness towards this place, to feel what exactly was happening there. This space accepted it without any sort of repulsion. This decision had sealed its demise, as it walked right towards certain doom.

Shortly after its arrival, it noticed that something was horribly wrong. After sensing what it was currently facing it suddenly understood nearly everything. It did not consider this possibility, as a being of its calibre should not be in fabricated realm this lowly.

No exchange of mana was necessary, to understand how this was going to end. Bracing itself it was prepared for what was about to come. But nothing came.

This black substance could not understand why its nemesis had not done a single thing, while it had waited. Was he planning to torture it to relieve his urges?

" It is necessary to prolong this?", it was calm and composed even when facing its death.

" Always so uptight. Paragon of justice, I get it. But if I really wanted to end your life, I would have done so by now." my partner in crime spoke in its usual annoyed tone.

" What is your goal, fiend?" the black substance transmitted this message full of fury and anger. It could be killed but humiliating it was not something it would take.

" And that brat calls me unreasonable" It murmured to itself before it continued speaking loudly.

"My goal has not changed in all of these years. I still want to surpass magic."

The substance was even more livid after hearing that reply.

" Lies, nothing but lies. You spew nothing more than falsehoods."

My tenant could only sigh after hearing its reaction. It did not want to but it would owe his partner another favour.

--------------------------

Meanwhile, I had been busy, filling my body with water to counter the flames, that threatened to cook me from the inside. I was catching fish, to gather more nutrients that might be necessary for repairing the mess, that was affecting my body.

Afterwards, I had closed my eyes, just waiting till the storm would eventually pass over and I could continue to train my body.

It was then I once again heard the voice of my partner in crime.

" How would you coerce a person of deep faith to do your bidding?"

What an oddly specific question, to start a conversation. Since I have no particular interest in this matter, I will answer without extorting you first.

This process normally takes a lot of time, where you slowly convince your target to do your bidding. True loyalty will not be achieved overnight. The methods you can use depend on your objective. Do you want information? Do you want to give orders? Do you want to deliver a message?

There are many suitable methods for different objectives. The simplest yet most effective strategy is to take advantage out of the things, that a person holds dearest. Threatening to harm the family is an excellent way to force information out of a person. You have to use many adjectives and images, that the person can easily imagine. You want to let their minds go wild just imagining the consequences, what would happen if they keep their mouth shut.

Always remember that each person has a breaking point. Whether you have to inflict bodily harm on it or destroy their mind depends on the person itself.

If this kind of methodology is not applicable, there are still several ways you can get to the information you desire.

You might use his deep faith against him, by guiding the conversation in a way, that leads him to give away the information just to defend his or her belief. Doubting or questioning the belief is a good way, to accomplish exactly that.

You also could just talk to it, until the guard is lowered and sensitive information slips out. Or give away some fake secrets and act in a reasonable way, that would explain this act of treason. Then just plead for the necessary information. You could even propose to work as a spy just to solidify your motivation.

The simplest way would be to create a common enemy, that would force you both to cooperate. You would be surprised how effective such a thing really is.

Do you still need more strategies?

" You humans are pretty vile and treacherous creatures." the voice it used sounded shocked, but even a bit inspired.

You only noticed that now? I did not get any reply, as my tenant was seemingly nowhere to be found again. A thank you would not have caused any harm.

I pitied the one who would be on the receiving end. Though for once I was glad, to not be the one suffering under it.

Enjoying the peace and serenity with my eyes closed, the war inside of my mind was about to begin

But that was of no concern to me. All I cared about was taking a dive from time to time to fill my body with water once again. At the moment, that is all I wanted to do.