Chapter 4 – The Awakening of the Devourer

The scent of blood clung to the air, thick and suffocating. Shadows flickered along the stone walls, cast by the dim torchlight. The guards hesitated, their wary gazes shifting between one another, yet none dared to take the first step.

At the center of the chamber, Raizen stood—his tattered prison robes barely covering the scars that marred his body. His golden eyes, once dulled by despair, now held an unnerving stillness.

Control.

Something stirred deep within his soul, an awakening far more profound than mere vengeance.

One of the guards, a tall man with a jagged scar across his cheek, sneered. "So, this is the great son of a noble house? A traitor, a worm who thought he could—"

"Tell me," Raizen interrupted, his voice unnervingly calm. "What do you think will happen after today?"

The guard frowned, gripping his sword. "What?"

"Do you think your masters will reward you? That after you kill me, you'll be hailed as heroes?" Raizen took a slow step forward, the cold stone pressing against his bare feet. "You serve men who discard pawns the moment they lose their usefulness. When they no longer need you, you'll be executed just like me."

The scarred guard spat on the ground. "Shut your mouth."

Raizen smirked. He saw the hesitation.

"I wonder… how many of you have families? A wife? Children?" His gaze swept across the room, watching the flicker of doubt creep into their eyes. Good.

"You think loyalty will protect them? That the nobles care about your wives, your sons, your daughters? No." His voice was quiet but cutting, each word sinking deep. "They are nothing more than leverage to keep you obedient. And when you have outlived your usefulness…"

He let the silence finish the sentence for him.

A younger soldier shifted uncomfortably. "He's lying… right?"

But the doubt had already taken root.

Raizen took another step forward, his voice smooth, steady. "What if I told you that you don't have to die here?"

The scarred guard growled. "Enough!" He raised his sword, the torchlight glinting off the steel. "You talk too much."

Raizen sighed. "I was hoping at least one of you would see reason."

His expression turned blank.

And then—the world shifted.

A whisper.

Not a voice, not in the way humans spoke.

Something older. Something that had always been watching.

"Devour… or be devoured."

The air twisted. The torches dimmed as an unseen force coiled around Raizen, suffocating yet exhilarating.

His chains crumbled into dust. The ground beneath him cracked. Black tendrils slithered from the abyss, coiling hungrily toward him.

One of the guards stepped back. His breath came in short gasps.

"He's not human anymore…"

Raizen exhaled slowly. Power surged through his veins—ancient, insatiable, intoxicating.

His lips curled into a smile. "Correct."

Then, he moved.

One moment he stood still. The next, he was in front of the nearest soldier.

A single strike—his hand pierced through the man's chest like a blade.

Blood splattered across the floor.

The soldier didn't even have time to scream.

The others froze.

"What… what is this…?"

Raizen turned his head, golden eyes gleaming. "I told you. You should've listened."

Another soldier tried to run.

A mistake.

Raizen raised a finger.

The shadows obeyed.

Dark tendrils lunged forward, wrapping around the man's leg, dragging him screaming into the abyss.

The sickening crack of snapped bones echoed through the chamber.

The remaining guards panicked.

"D-Don't let him escape! Kill him!"

They charged.

Raizen… laughed.

It was not the laugh of a man. It was the laugh of something else.

A guard swung his sword.

Raizen caught it. With his bare hand.

The steel shattered like brittle glass.

The soldier's face twisted in horror.

Raizen placed a hand on his shoulder. "Good effort."

Then—he crushed his skull.

At present....

The room fell silent.

The scent of blood was thick—coppery, suffocating. The bodies lay scattered, limbs twisted unnaturally.

Raizen exhaled.

For the first time… he felt alive.

The taste of blood. The scent of fear. The rush of a life stolen.

It was intoxicating.

The door to the chamber creaked open.

Raizen's eyes narrowed.

A figure stood at the entrance, his presence suffocating.

A slow, amused chuckle echoed through the chamber.

"Well, well… I knew you wouldn't die so easily."

A man stepped forward, clad in regal armor, his gaze sharp as a dagger.

Raizen recognized him instantly.

One of the men responsible for his family's slaughter.

His true enemy.

His next target.

To be continued…