The shadow within
#9 of Muscle growth
Nayar Leng manages to escape the imprisoning his friends and teachers put him in, just to find that his school, with everyone inside, is severely damaged. When he finds the perpetrators: a feline magician and a Shoggoth, his wrath is so big that he decides to set free his darkest part, one that he always kept hidden from everyone.
This was meant to be for a light novel I want to write about my fursona, so the names of the friends as well as some other aspects might change in the future, yet the idea will be the same. I hope you enjoy this piece of fantasy work, mixed with some cosmic horror, corruption and muscle growth.
The Éirean Magic Academy was in total chaos when Nayar Leng arrived. Windows were smashed, tables and chairs were scattered over the floor, and the walls showed evidence of significant impacts, not to mention the bodies of his colleagues. They were heavily injured, but they appeared to still be alive, just unconscious. Nayar Leng regretted for not coming earlier. However, he had been trapped by his friends and professors who knew that some people were after him. It took him some time to break free from all the imprisoning spells.
He was amazed by the extent of the destruction that remained. By examining the tracts on the walls and floors, he deduced that this was made by a Shoggoth. He was aware that those creatures were strong, but this was the best magic academy in the world. Teachers or even some students should be enough to subdue it, especially after watching the tournament.
The wolf-dragon hybrid continued walking through the school. Hall after hall, door after door, he kept moving, guided by the magical and ominous aura, as well as the sticky substance, that the abomination left behind. Anger was burning inside him; he definitely wanted to make it pay for what it did.
The trail stopped at the inner stadium where most of the ceremonies were carried out. The scene he beheld froze him. There laid the bodies of his most trusted friends: Theo, the white tiger; Lao, the blue dragon; Alex, the bear; Brigette, the Labrador; Lucy, the white rabbit. All of them were almost dead. Only Theo seemed to be in a slightly better situation, but even he was on the verge of fading away.
"And finally, the son of the stars arrives!" a melodic voice sang from the other side of the stadium. Nayar Leng turned around to face that man, eyes injected in blood. The man in question was a slender yellow cat. Beside him, there crawled a repulsive mass of semi-solid fluids with numerous eyes that continuously appeared and disappeared. It was nearly as tall as the ceiling.
"Don't call me like that ever again" Nayar Leng declared. His chest moved up and down with his heavy breathing, fists were strongly closed.
"But that's what you are" the feline stated "You are the grandson of..."
"I said, 'don't call me like that!'" Nayar Leng roared. It was so aloud that the cat stopped frozen for an instant, even Theo managed to came out of the sopor he was falling into.
"Well, I'm here to pick you up" the cat recovered his speech "So be a good kid and follow me. As you can see, you have no chances against us."
Nayar Leng did not move a single muscle of his body, he just threw a cold face to the feline. He was filled with wrath; he just wanted to end the lives of those monsters. Yet he was not sure if he had the strengths to stand against them, even though he possessed the biggest amount of magical power in the school. Yet there was another way, one he would not accept under normal circumstances, but this situation was extraordinary in every sense.
He walked down the steps of his mind, into the deepest regions of himself, where he kept hidden what he did not wish to remember, what he hid from the world, his darkest secrets, the most terrible memories and nightmares. He descended into the subconscious slowly, as shadows began to envelope him. Air was oppressive, yet he did not stop or retreat. He knew that he must continue until he reached the deepest part, where a door stood monolithically.
It was as big as a house, the leaves were made of solid rock, eroded by time, but the mystical symbols engraved on them were still visible. A design similar to the birth mark he had on his chest divided both leaves. It consisted on a central ax from where eight branches split to both sides, two pairs of them ended with geometrical patterns: one had three enbibed circles, another, just two, another had a triangle, the last one, a square, while the rest lacked of any. The door was also adorned with peculiar runes that clearly did not belong to that world. There was also a twisted pentagram encircling an eye on the top of the door.
Nayar Leng walked steadily toward that door. It emanated a maleficent aura, not to say it began to vibrate when he was about to touch it. Certainly, the entity that lied behind that door was fully awake and eager to come out.
"You have finally come" a voice escaped from those walls. It was low, menacing, and creepy.
"Don't get false hopes," Nayar Leng said, showing no signs of intimidation.
"Then why are you here, after almost an entire lifetime since your last visit?" the entity inquired.
"There's an issue upstairs that is beyond my hands, but I'm positive it'd be a piece of cake for you" Nayar Leng explained, his voice was cold.
"Oh, then are you gonna give me some fun?" the voice asked rhetorically. "I suppose it's a significant challenge, even for some of the most skilled mortals out there."
"Don't play a fool with me" Nayar Leng replied, his voice was still cold, but some hints of exasperation could be perceived "I'm leaving you out just to kill those bastards, not because I have sympathy for you."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever, just open the door" the voice sounded as it had understood and remained silent after that. Nayar Leng then pulled the leaves of the door open, revealing a void blacker than the darkness that surrounded him. Two pairs of gooey tentacles came out of it and tied him from his wrists and ancles, dragging him inside slowly, while the rest of the darkness, that was just locked some seconds ago, crawled its way up the stairs to the conscious regions of his mind.
Back in the real world, black flames began to envelope the body of the wolf-dragon hybrid, then, they exploded into a burst of dark energy that spined around his body.
"What the hell is going on?" asked the feline, a little taken back by the impression. This question was also formulated in the minds of the few friends who were gradually regaining consciousness. Yet the answer did not come, for Nayar Leng was in a of trance.
His fur color gradually changed, darkening to a nearly pitch-black shade. Horns elongated until they reached almost twice their original length, while also developing additional branches and sharpening their tips. His facial features twisted and honed, becoming more sinister, resembling a devil wolf rather than his usual soft and kind ones. The fur of his jaw grew longer, wilder and thicker, so did his hair, which got reed of its band and waved with the wind.
His claws grew longer, resembling daggers. The ones in his toes pierced through his shoes, causing his growing paw-like feet to tear them off. A similar fate befell his uniform, as his already athletic body not only gained more muscles but also increased in height. With each breath he took one centimeter was added, each time getting closer to the ceiling over his head, until he nearly reached the impressive height of 1.90m. His muscles pulsated at the rhythm of his breathing, gaining more size with each pulsation, tendons also thickened like iron wires, turning hands, feet and shinbones meatier. Calves tripled their size, as did his thighs, which burst with raw power.
The growth expanded to his upper body as well, causing his back to shatter the fabric of his clothes. This exposed the thick shell of deep valleys, surrounded by tall hills of muscles that rippled with each breath he took. His shoulder width increased threefold, with his shoulders becoming round and muscular, and the muscles spreading to the rest of his arms. His biceps were vying for space with the already expanding pectorals, which were adapting to the increased size of the torso. Underneath it, the trail of abs was highlighted even further, transforming into three sets of bricks sturdy enough to withstand any impact upon them.
The beast that Nayar Leng had transformed into opened a pair of red eyes as two sets of black tentacles sprouted from his back. A devious smirk appeared on his face, a smirk that sent shivers to the spines down of all those who dared to see that monster. There were no traces of kindness in those eyes, only a lust for killing and injuring others, to create chaos and destruction.
Everyone in the room froze when that monster laughed out loud. It was something they had never heard before, something that came out of their most horrible nightmares or even beyond. It was something out of that world, of that realm, something belonging to the farthest places of the void that lies in the cosmos, where no mortal soul should dare to go, not even think about it.
"What are you?" the feline stammered, beads of sweat forming on his front.
"Your doom" that voice was as sharp as a knife and as cold as an iceberg, it lacked any empathy any warmth, it was as dark as the deepness of Tartarus.
"Go over him, kill him!" the cat ordered to the semisolid giant slime next to him, he cried that order with terror.
Despite its monolithic size, the Shoggoth slid across the floor at an astonishing speed. Yet Nayar Leng avoided him as easily as breathing.
"Let's just warm up before the real fun" claimed the dark been with a smile that showed the row of pointy teeth inside his mouth.
The two beings moved around the hall relentlessly. No matter what the Shoggoth did, Nayar Leng always managed to avoid him, with a devilish smirk on his face. He avoided the giant mass of semisolid matter with bubbling eyes with no effort, sliding from one side to another, jumping to the air when the creature protruded a tentacle upon him to slam him.
"Ok, I think that was enough" Nayar Leng laughed with that creepy voice "Time to get serious."
He just finished speaking those words and lunged towards the Shoggoth. Its countless eyes were not enough to anticipate his moves, so he collided with the creature, which flung him in the opposite direction, nearly crashing into one of the walls.
"Is that everything you've got?" Nayar Leng asked as he walked slowly towards the monster. "Damn, I thought I would have fun with you, big guy."
The Shoggoth emitted a bubbling sound, making it difficult to determine whether it was complaining or enraged.
"I can't understand a shit, but I'll take it as a 'let's fight, motherfucker'" replied Nayar.
He extended his tentacles across the room and restrained the monster, which attempted to exploit its amorphous nature to slip between the tentacles, but for some unknown reason, it was unable to do so. So, Nayar Leng constricted it and then threw it against the floor, making the entire room quake from the impact. Then, using his tentacles like an elastic band, he propelled himself towards the monster and delivered a powerful punch, causing it to expel some gelatinous fluids from its body.
Nayar Leng did not stop there. He jumped once again into the air, extended his tentacles, and continuously whipped them over the Shoggoth. The creature attempted to move away, but the hybrid prevented it. The jelly liquid came out of the monster endlessly, staining the floor with its indiscernibly color.
On the other hand, the rest of the people in the room watched the scene with amazement, particularly his friends. They experienced of how the creature effortlessly eliminated of every student and even some professors, while this version of Nayar subdued it without effort, moreover, with that evil smirk. They knew from the tournament that he was strong, perhaps the strongest student in the academy, but this exceeded their expectations.
"Time to slice you into pieces!" exclaimed Nayar Leng, his tentacles then sharpened their edges and fell upon the creature, clean cuts were open and more of that nauseous liquid came out of it. The creature was certainly weakening; its movements were slower. Fewer eyes popped into existence, while more exploded into oblivion. Nayar Leng pounced on the monster, using his own claws and fangs inflicting further damage to the wounded creature, all the while laughing with a psychopathic glee.
Few minutes later the Shoggoth was completely slayed, nothing but an amorphic mass was left of it. Nayar Leng was completely covered with the substances that made its body.
"Well, you're next" he turned his face towards the feline that was commanding the Shoggoth, who was now petrified with horror "You came here to take me with you, didn't you? Come here then!"
The feline tried to formulate a spell, but it was difficult for him. Instead of casting, he found himself stammering. However, the dark magic within him began to materialize into a magical circle before him, aiming at the other monster.
"Hmmm, so this is how we are gonna play?" Nayar Leng showed again his pointy fangs. Soon after, magic began to gather around him, which surprised everyone.
"What the hell is he doing" Theo, the tiger, mutter to himself "Is he, is he bending the magic web of the world to use his spells?"
Magic users employed the magic reservoir inside them, which size could vary among users. These reservoirs tend to depleted after long periods of usage or when casting powerful spells, so the users must wait some time to refill it from the magic web around the world. But Nayar Leng was not using his own reservations, which were enormous, he was actually using the magic energy around him, sucking it into his body, this technically meant he could use magic endlessly.
A shot of magic energy was spelled from the feline, yet Nayar Leng easily blocked it with a defending spell. Soon after, a series of black magic circles came into existence around Nayar Leng, then they shotted countless rays of energy upon his enemy, who barely manage to avoid most of them, just to face another spell from the hybrid immediately: a wall of darkness was slid across the floor and then stroke the feline, throwing to the opposite end of the room. He could not even stand up when four shadow tentacles continuously struck him to the floor.
"Eh, where did he go?" The feline suddenly disappeared from Nayar Leng's sight, while still on the floor. Soon after, a sword of light materialized behind him. It attempted to slice him from the shoulder to the hip, but instead, he disintegrated into smoke. In an instant, he reappeared in a different location.
"Heh, not bad, dude" Nayar Leng admitted "But you're gonna do something else if you really wanna defeat me"
Desperation was written all over the face of his enemy. Beads of sweat covered his forhead, his breaths were fast, eyes were wide open, ears were folded.
"Already terrified?" Nayar Leng asked as he walked closer to the feline, who stood frozen in place. "Come on, I haven't even started yet?"
The feline cast several magic rays in attempt to restrain the menace that was Nayar Leng, but they were effortlessly blocked.
"Please, let me leave," the feline pleaded. "I'm sorry for everything that happened. I was just following orders."
"I know, but I don't care," Nayar Leng said. "Maybe my other half would have listened to you. But me? That is not gonna happen."
"Please, I beg you, spare my life," he was already crying. "You will never see me again."
"Ha, that's for sure, because you're gonna die right now," Nayar Leng laughed. A dark flame covered his hands, along with a magic circle. When he was close enough to even touch the feline, he gently stroked his head with his hands. To his surprise, the feline immediately began to cry louder than he had anticipated.
"Sweet dreams, kitty," Nayar Leng smiled. "Your mind is gonna have the best scenario to enjoy hell: being there."
The feline howled, his cry was so horrifying that it sent shivers down the spine, even causing a momentary paralysis of breath.
"I wonder what nightmare you are watching right now, my dear friend," Nayar Leng whispered into his ears. However the feline did not notice; he only screamed in horror and twisted in pain.
As minutes went by, the feline continued with his torment, hands covered his head as he rolled endlessly on the floor. He yelled begging for mercy and pleaded with Nayar to end his suffering. But that entity only watched with delight.
"It will only end when your mind breaks down into pieces," explained Nayar Leng. "You're suffering the Sea of Nightmares."
Even with all that that guy did to them and to the school, Theo could not avoid to feel pity for him.
"Can you make it stop" Theo asked Nayar Leng shyly.
"Why should I?"
"I think that's enough" Theo tried to convince him.
"You mortals are so fragile" Nayar Leng replied coldly "Don't worry, it'll be over soon."
"But..."
The feline stopped howling and his body fell heavily on the floor and did not move. He was dead.
"Well, it's done" Nayar Leng smiled "Well I'm gonna enjoy this freedom a little..." he could not end the sentence, for a sudden headache hit him.
"Wait... I still..."
"I said it was going to be until you end with those bastards" the true Nayar Leng spoke from the deepest regions of his mind "Now it's time for you to go back to your cell."
"No, wait, just..." the beast tried to resist.
"I told you to go back!" Nayar Leng ordered, pushing open the doors and leaping out of the dark void. He swiftly tossed his dark part cloak inside with a single motion before closing the doors behind him. On the other side, in the real world, his body gradually turned back to his primitive form. Nayar Leng fell to the floor, exhausted. Theo stood up slowly, still hesitating.
"What are you?" Theo stammered a question.
"An abomination that should not have been born" Nayar Leng replied, eyes locked on the floor.
Nayar Leng