Orion Russell cursed inwardly as his legs struggled to move before the monstrosity looming above him, setting a dreadful shadow that consumed his full being. Tears welled up in his eyes as he stared at the 20 meter tall monster before him, the entity that would erase his existence within a few seconds. Yet, it wasn't fear, or unwillingness he felt at that moment.
It was hate. It was unbelief. It was betrayal.
His 'friends' and lover had thrown him into the Nightmare Canyon, all for what? A treasure that would only be useful in the hands of the true geniuses of humanity. An item that would only be useful to him. That treasure had laid waste to the years of friendship and love he had built since the beginning of the Apocalypse. Years of protecting them and fighting alongside them. All reduced to dust because of one item.
Orion's hate filled eyes stared up at the monster before him and revealed a malicious smile. "I have to thank your appearance. Those bastards should still be in the range of your aura, which means they're your next targets. If it were before, I'd try everything I could to distract you and allow them escape." A hint of pain seeped into his voice as flares of crackling purple energy seeped into the air, while his veins glowed purple. "Hehe, but I guess that'd be stupid. Enjoy your meal, beast."
With that, Orion intended to blow up his insides, effectively killing him and making the beast lose interest in him.
But it was at that moment that the monster moved. Time seemed to stop as a hole suddenly appeared in the middle of his chest. Orion paused, looking a bit confused as he stared down at his body. He then looked back up at the beast before smiling while blood escaped his lips and trickled down his chin.
And just before his vision faded to a world of darkness, an imposing voice rang out in his head. "Homo interessans, epulare te ipsum in eis."
*****
Orion's body shook, prompting him to jerk as he woke up. His mind instinctively tried to summon in his Ether, trying to deploy a sensory field with which he could sense all happenings around him. But his actions merely made him stumble before he collided with a person, attracting their attention.
"You okay dude? You sure you don't need to get to the hospital?"
That familiar voice made his head ring, a slight pain stinging into his head before his vision finally cleared and he spotted four people sitting around him. He easily recognized them. How wouldn't he? They were the same four people who had sacrificed him for a chance to get their hands on his item.
Looking around, he could easily remember where they were. The day the apocalypse descended onto the world, he and his 'friends' had gone to check out an abandoned building. They had toured the place for a few hours out of fun before it happened. The apocalypse descended and the flowing Ether had empowered the little rats hiding in the building.
Orion's 'friends' had immediately hidden behind him while he fought the nerve-wracking pain awakening a class brought while battling the then 2 meter large rats that sought his and their blood.
Thinking of this, a bit of irritation surged within Orion's chest, as he wondered why in hell he had considered such hateful bastards his friends and had gone through so much for them.
"Man, you're really out of it." The only girl among them, Cindy, walked up at touched Orion's forehead, making his body twitch. It really took everything within him to not kill her then and there. "Why don't you buy some medication? I saw a store before we snuck in."
Hearing this, the other guys perked up their ears. One of them, Dylan, glanced at Orion and smiled. "While you're at it, can you buy a few snacks for us? The walk here sure left me famished."
Orion's eye twitched as he heard those words and the now noticeable look of contempt in their eyes while they ordered him as if he were a lap dog. He was. Back in the past, he had done almost everything for them. All in the name of friendship. And yet…
And yet even from this time, judging from the look his friend, Dylan, gave to his girlfriend while his hands playfully reached her backside, one could easily tell that they had instantly made the decision to rob him back then.
"You all..." Orion's calm voice rang out clearly, his rage simmering within him. "Has it been fun ordering me around like a lap dog?"
A bit of surprise appeared upon all their faces as they heard this. They couldn't understand why he was suddenly talking like this.
Apprehension appeared on Dylan's face but it was soon replaced with a sense of contempt as he realized he had nothing to be afraid of. Nothing Orion could do would change anything.
Infact, a sense of excitement welled within him as he grabbed onto Cindy's waist before drawing her towards him. He then laughed with disdain as he made sure to grab onto her bountiful chest. "The little goody two shoes finally realized? So what? You wanna fight? A pretty rich boy like you?"
Cindy simply sneered as leaned into her lover. "He can't do anything to you, a spoilt brat like him can only grovel at your feet."
The chubby looking male of the remaining two named Paul laughed. "Damn, not gonna lie bro, I'm gonna miss your scurry ass running around like a slave for us."
The kid with the glasses, Kenneth, snorted and pointed at Dylan beside him. "You should be happy Dylan took a liking to that girlfriend of yours. Cindy doesn't deserve a wuss like you."
"Is that it?" Orion's eyes widened in disbelief as he heard their words. "What? Simply because I had more money, money that I fucking worked for? Because I had a nice girlfriend?"
He finally understood that the four of them had simply been jealous. Jealous of him before the apocalypse and even more after he awakened such a powerful class. That jealousy was what had allowed them murder him so easily in the future.
And this thought was enough to allow the rage burning within him break past the flood gates, turning his eyes bloodshot as he looked at the four. "What good years, wasted on trash like you."
At that point, the same imposing voice rang out in his head. "Homo interessans, epulare te ipsum in eis."
A primal roar left Orion's lips after that. His muscles bulged and expanded while his height shot to a towering 2 meter height, his hair growing out in a patch of fur. His fingers elongated, releasing a sharpened glint as they transformed into claws while his teeth became fangs.
Cindy screamed in fear looking at the monster before her. Yet this very scream attracted its attention.
The crazed Orion leaned in slightly, his now digitigrade legs dug into the floor before he dashed forward. His towering figure appeared in front of the panic stricken girl before his claws swiped down.
She finally came to her senses seeing this and didn't hesitate to drag Dylan before her, allowing the claws to dig into his stomach. The momentum pushed the two back, their figures only coming to a stop when they smashed onto the wall behind them.
Dylan's eyes widened as he stared down at his stomach, watching as his intestines threatened to spill onto the floor. Anger flared in his eyes as he realized that Cindy had sacrificed him to save herself, unfortunately the loss of blood soon got to him, making him lose consciousness.
Cindy, on the other hand, was trying her best to push his body off hers. Unfortunately, Orion didn't give her that time, his hands stretched forward before grabbing her head and exerting force, thoroughly crushing her head while splattering brain matter and blood all over the dirtied floor.
"Fuck! Run!" The remaining two of Orion's 'friends' broke out into a sprint, trying their utmost best to reach the exit of the building that confined them along with the monster hunting them.
But of course, Orion, even in his crazed state, would never leave anyone unattended. His body moved like a blur, punching out immediately once he caught up to them, driving his fist into the body of his slightly chubby 'friend', Paul.
The last boy named Kenneth screamed out in fear upon seeing this. Tripping before falling to his butt while he stared terrifyingly at Orion, a pool of water forming at his nether region. "Orion… please. I can…"
Orion's blood red eyes didn't even flicker as he swiped his clawed arm, separating the boy's head from his body. Looking at the four dead bodies, the next expression that appeared on his transformed face was that of hunger before he moved, gathering their bodies together in a pile before digging in, sounds of breaking bones and the tearing of flesh echoing in the empty building for the next few minutes.
Soon only a few bones and splattered blood were left of the 4 teens. Resting against the wall was a now normal looking Orion who stared at the blood on the floor with a calm look.
He of course remembered all that had transpired in the last 10 minutes, hell, he could still taste the flesh and blood on his tongue. His body had returned to his original state, allowing his normal icy blue eyes gaze calmly at the floor before him.
It was at the moment when he had returned to his senses that he understood the meaning of the spoken words resounding in his head when he transformed.
"Interesting human, feast upon them yourself."
These words were most definitely spoken by the monster that had killed him at the point of his betrayal. Which meant it was also responsible for his coming back in time to before the apocalypse occurred.
He didn't care how or why it had done that. It didn't matter to Orion. All he knew was that he'd never allow himself show any weakness before any other being before him. He would stand above them all.
As for the betrayers he had killed? He had forgotten all about them the moment his gaze left the ground. There was no disgust in his mind at what he had done, they had all deserved it anyways.
Orion glanced at up at the roof of the building as if his eyes could pierce through it and spoke. "Come, apocalypse. I'm ready for you."
A second later, a holographic panel appeared before his eyes, causing an emotionless smile appear across his face. "Let's begin."
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Humans, welcome to the Ether Cycle.
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