"AUOBE" Chapter 62. Reunion

"In the past, I feared the Night. I feared the all-compassing darkness and the havoc it unleashed upon the world. But you know what? This fear, with time, faded away, and instead, only pure, undiluted excitement remained. I barely could wait for the sweet embrace of the Night so that I could once more taste the blood of those who call themselves Nightmares.

I understand... You may call me mad, deranged even. Yet, the truth remains that those who flee from the Night will never conquer what truly lies within the Void.

So go out there, my friend, go and face the unknown. Show those puny creatures who the true Nightmare is."

~Blade of the Abyss, the final day of the 45th Outbreak

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I will be waiting.

Just like during the evolution, those words boomed inside Leo's head. They went straight through his soul, pulling a shudder from him and a muted growl of anticipation from the instincts that now lurked in the back of his mind. Honestly... if this was to continue, he should probably find a better way to describe the representation of the beast he had become than just 'instincts.'

Nevermind. Leo sighed, averting his gaze from the last rays of the disappearing sun. Accepting what I've become is a necessity if I want to reach my potential. But giving 'it' a name? Yeah... That's a step beyond the level of madness I can handle for now.

Although the fact that Leo already accepted this much of this new reality maybe was a good indication of his mental stability... or just of what the System was truly capable of. Additionally, not even a week had passed since the beginning of the Outbreak, so one could really wonder what insanity awaited him in the coming days.

Guess I will find out soon. Leo snorted, his eyes settling on one building on the other side of the road. Or, in particular, on an entrance barricaded by a large shelf. This is gonna be an interesting reunion…

Using a good old tree to slide down and then drop onto an unsuspecting Voidling, Leo once more found himself among the tall, unnatural grass. In a matter of seconds, the now-dead beast turned to dust, and he sped across the street, right toward his target.

Well, this is it... I just either lost the only allies I had, or this Outbreak truly made people mad. Chuckling, Leo slid next to the barricaded door and raised his clawed hand, knuckles at the ready. Now or never. If this fails, I must quickly find a place to wait out the Night.

With a single tug at his Essence, the protective layer of True Stealth collapsed, and Leo knocked once, then twice. At the same time, his monstrous mouth opened, the demonic voice once more spilling out of his throat.

"Dylan, Tyler, Laura!" He called out, just loud enough for his words to travel through the wall. "I might not sound like I used to, but it's me, Leo... You could say that things didn't go as planned, and I had to improvise.”

Almost immediately, Leo's ears picked up some hushed voices and the scraping of feet against the floor. Someone was getting closer, and the moment those footsteps stopped right on the other side of the barricade, Leo quickly bellowed again.

"Before you say anything or try to move this bloody thing out of the way, I have to warn you... I'm no longer human, at least not in appearance. Like, I said, shit happened, and I had to evolve..."

For now, it was probably better not to mention that his appearance was far from the only thing that changed about him. Leo could already imagine how other people would react if they knew about everything that came with his evolution.

Let them get used to my appearance first. I can worry about the rest later... Who knows how long I will even be in their company anyway. Leo reasoned as a muffled voice came from within the building.

"Leo?! Bloody hell, mate! We've been worried, thinkin' you wouldn't show up by now. It's nearly dark," Dylan called out and added after a moment of silence. "What happened? And what d'you mean by not lookin' like a human?"

Before Leo could answer, another person — Tyler — cut in, his voice firm. "Hold on a sec... Leo, as thrilled as I am to hear you made it, we need to be certain it's really you. I hope you understand."

And how do you suppose we do that? We barely know each other, and if some monster managed to consume me and take my memories, then you guys are fucked anyway. Leo grumbled internally but didn't voice his thoughts. No reason to make them even more suspicious than they probably already were.

"Shit..." He muttered instead before clearing his throat. "With how I sound and look now, that might be difficult. Besides, guys, not to burst your bubble, but we all know that this bookshelf wouldn't stop me if I really wanted to get inside. Especially not after my evolution."

"He's got a point, Tyler," Leo caught Dylan's harsh whisper.

The younger man quickly muttered something back to the mage. However, not even Leo's improved senses could pick up more than one or two words spoken between the two. Evidently, the warrior was quick to remind Dylan of the meaning of subtlety.

"Alright, alright," Tyler shouted in the end, voice raising with each word. "Just tell us what we talked about before you took off."

Thank the Void... Leo sighed. That they were giving him a chance was a good sign in itself. Now he just had to give them what they wanted and hope for the best.

"The three of you were neighbors," he began. "While Dylan lived alone, you and Laura had to leave everything and everyone behind. Also, your cousin got infected by a Voidling. Something I might be able to fully help with now."

Leo paused at that, letting the two men process his words. Pointing out that he could probably heal Laura now was a blatant attempt at manipulation, but he hardly cared. Anything to make this conversation as smooth as possible.

"And why did you have to leave?" Tyler finally replied, and Leo grinned lightly at the slightly less guarded tone of his voice.

Bingo…

"I wanted to find my brother and his family to bring them here," Leo answered instantly, the grin slipping from his face and his voice growing distant. "I only found Nick, but..."

He didn't continue; there was no need to. Anyone with a single brain cell could understand what exactly happened to his brother. After all, if Nick wasn't with him, then there was only one other possibility.

For a short moment, no one spoke, and only the distant screeches and growls of Voidlings filled the silence. Dylan and Tyler had the ball in their court, and what happened next depended wholly on them. Although that didn't mean Leo was idle. No, his gaze was already jumping from building to building, scanning them for a safe place to hide during the Night.

Thankfully the search didn't last long as Dylan's voice came from the other side, his tone somber. "We're sorry to hear that, lad... We will let you in now. Just please take a few steps back so we can get a proper look at ya."

Leo nodded to himself and backed off from the entrance. "Just remember what I told you, and don't attack me on sight. My new form isn't exactly what you would call friendly."

As the massive wooden shelf groaned, Essence surged into Leo's body, grasped tightly by a phantom hand. While he didn't plan to attack, having Reinforcement at the ready was an obvious decision. No one could know how the duo would react to his new appearance after all. Hearing about it was one thing; seeing his monstrous form with their own eyes was a completely different kind of 'special.'

Inch by inch, the barrier disappeared, revealing the two familiar men. The moment their gaze fell on his body, their eyes widened, and the shelf stopped moving. Even the rifle held tightly in Tyler's hand lowered slightly, no longer directed at Leo's torso.

"Fucking hell," Dylan muttered, blinking repeatedly. "Not friendly ain't cuttin' it here, mate... Is this really you?"

Leo chuckled, the bitter and rough sound finally breaking Tyler out of his trance. The younger man quickly righted his aim, but his fingers stayed clear of the trigger.

Good choice. Leo almost smirked and spoke up. "In the flesh, even if a slightly different one," he finished with a grin, his razor-sharp teeth pulling the duo's gaze.

"Slightly different, he says," Dylan grumbled, shoving the shelf all the way aside. "Mate, you look like you just escaped from the latest horror flick in Hollywood... And trust me, it ain't no compliment... Bloody hell."

Leo snorted, glad that at least one of them was trying to act nonchalantly about his appearance. He could, of course, still see Dylan's slightly widened eyes and the trembling of his fingers as the man scanned Leo's form, but at least the mage wasn't as obvious as Tyler. The youngest man still gripped his rifle tightly, frozen in spot, with eyes glued to the beast before him.

Leo moved to speak, to somehow break the warrior out of his shock, but Dylan beat him to the punch. "Oi, lad! Snap out of it," he nudged Tyler. "Go inside and fill Laura in on what's goin' on. We'll join you in a sec."

Tyler grimaced as his eyes jumped between Leo and a man that probably had his complete trust. Dylan had to give the warrior another nudge before he nodded stiffly and slowly retreated deeper inside the house. However, he never turned his back to them.

This might become a problem if they don't start trusting me soon. Leo tsked, ignoring the sudden burst of bloodlust from his inner beast. No, I'm not killing them…

The monster inside whined in response, and Leo rolled his eyes lightly, approaching Dylan, who waved his hand.

"Come in, mate. The Night is coming, so we better block this hole up," the older man said, stepping aside.

Leo nodded, and after entering the familiar corridor, he waited for the mage to barricade the door once more. Damn, I'm now taller than him. He noted after straightening for a moment. Really, the wonders of evolution…

"This is gonna take some gettin' used to..." He suddenly heard Dylan mutter as the man turned to fully face him, his previous task finished.

Leo snorted, "Oh, trust me. It's an ongoing process for me too." He motioned to the tails trailing behind him while thinking of the instincts lurking at the edge of his mind.

"Aye, I can see that," Dylan chuckled awkwardly, giving him another once over. "Now, I know our reactions may say otherwise, but I'm really glad you didn't die out there, lad. With the Night closing in, we were losin' hope."

Now, while Leo highly doubted they wanted him to die while searching for Nick, they probably wouldn't even risk letting him in if it wasn't for Laura. That girl needed help, and if Dylan and Tyler didn't want to unnecessarily risk her life, then Leo was their best option. A necessary evil, as some people say. This was also likely why Tyler kept his mouth shut after seeing Leo's new body.

Nevertheless, Leo just shrugged. "I knew this would happen the moment I chose this evolution. That's why I wanted to evolve with someone familiar close by... Would have made this whole mess much simpler."

"So why didn't you wait?" Dylan questioned, his guarded stance slowly relaxing. "Did somethin' happen when you..."

As the man trailed off, Leo shook his head, knowing well what the man meant. "No. It was after that, when I took a small detour." He explained and shot the mage a look. "Did you hear anything coming from the town square?"

"Aye," Dylan nodded. "Scared the hell out of us."

Leo grimaced. "Right... That was me, at least partially."

The older man's eyes widened again. "You? Bloody hell, lad. I'm gonna need the whole story, start to finish."

Somehow I knew you would say that...

A/N: Welcome back after the short break. I'm still not fully recovered and need to limit my time before the screen, but I managed to slowly write this chapter during the week. Anyway, I would also like to say that by the end of this week, the Akirian tier (10$) will see its first chapters. For now, it will be 5 more than Awakened (so 10 total), but this number will probably rise in the coming weeks/months.

Apart from that, soon, I will be posting a prologue/first chapter for my other project. I finished the world-building during the last week, so I would like to know what you guys think about that idea. It will be free for everyone.