Evolution of the Ruined Heir

Chapter 349: Change

“Can you form nodes in those limbs?”

Renlo took a moment to ponder those words.

“I-I think so.”

“You think so?” Malakai narrowed his eyes. “Is that a yes, or no.”

When Renlo didn’t respond, Malakai sighed. “Alright, try to see if you can direct vita through the limbs. Start with your right hand.”

Renlo nodded and focused. He felt the vita moving through his body, floating through the air. He inhaled, drawing in vita from the air. Then he began channeling it towards his right arm.

Renlo felt it all converge on one spot and a smile blossomed on his face before he knew it. He turned to Malakai, whose eyes looked like he already knew. His eyes always looked like that.

“I can.” Renlo said.

“That’s good then.” Malakai nodded with a smile, “it means you can get stronger and faster than this.”

Renlo felt a surge of excitement hit him despite his constant gloom.

‘I can get stronger.’ In the past, this was all that mattered to him. To get stronger, and be in an equal position right next to Malakai. To be of help to him.

However, now, Renlo had discovered his sentiments changed. Scenes of the past flickered through his mind.

Renlo had awakened three days after the incident at Sylvastein. He had met Nyx, who, quite bluntly, explained the whole situation to him.

It had taken Renlo a couple of minutes to fully grasp the sheer magnitude of the event. Everything that had happened. The fact that millions had died. That they had almost died.

Then, due to the headache that threatened to split his skull, Renlo had intended on placing a palm on his forehead for support, only to feel a rough hardened palm instead.

He froze, staring in utter bewilderment at his raised arm. He brought the other one and was surprised to see the same thing.

“What the hell!” Renlo had panicked, constantly poking it to make sure it was real. When he saw that it was, he swept his blankets only to freeze again. His legs were also the same.

Before he could go through an existential crisis, Nyx had quickly calmed him down and explained what had occurred to the best of her abilities. Unfortunately she hadn’t been there, but knew the situation.

But her explanation did nothing to calm him. Renlo had screamed, unable to believe her words. His limbs had been cut up and replaced with this…?

He tried to get off from the bed, only to lose control and fall. Still, Renlo dragged himself to the body-sized mirror, and it was only after seeing the full reflection of his body that he calmed.

Somehow, every shock and panic vanished. His eyes were wide open, and he just sat there in front of the mirror, simply staring.

That night, after Nyx had left, Renlo had broken into tears and cried himself into the night. He didn’t sleep.

It was when morning came that Nyx told him about Malakai being unconscious for days now. Renlo had forced himself to stop crying. He crawled to Malakai’s room and saw his friend lying in bed, unconscious.

Renlo had broken into another fit of tears. Afterwards, when he had finished crying, he began staring at Malakai. Soon different thoughts began to slip into his mind. And of all of them, only one stuck.

A day had passed since he woke up. If it had been Malakai, who found out all he did, what would he have done?

‘Train.’

That single thought brought a smile to Renlo’s face. Malakai wouldn’t have wasted time crying like he did, he would have dealt with it, and began training like nothing else mattered.

But Renlo only burst into tears the next moment. He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t just forget everything and continue like nothing else mattered.

Though he got off his feet that afternoon, he still didn’t go to train. He went to the kitchen to do the one thing that set him at ease. Cook.

Cooking, though Renlo would hate to admit, was hard. His newly acquired limbs had been difficult to get used to. After getting the hang of the hell that was walking, his arms were another thing entirely.

Renlo had always heard the term iron grip. However, he had never thought it literal before.

His grip, the first time, had been just that. Iron. Door handles had bent, plates shattered. Even the knife he held was compressed.

After painstakingly conditioning himself, Renlo cooked, cooked and cooked, until the table was full.

Then he just stared at the table filled with food, unable to take even a single bite. Instead, he threw up.

Renlo had cried once more as he began throwing away all of the food. He had been a mess, even he knew it.

Regardless, after that day, while Malakai slept, Renlo went through different states. He couldn’t eat. Nightmares plagued his sleep.

No matter how much he tried, he couldn’t force himself to train. To access his changes and determine the next course of action.

He began to fear himself. Then as though it had been waiting, memories of what happened began surging back.

The torture he went through in that underground base. Renlo had watched his limbs get torn off one by one. He had felt every inch of the pain.

Once more, he threw up.

Afterwards, as he stood by the mirror, Renlo realized that something within him had shattered and might never be repaired.

His life continued like that for two weeks. Then Malakai woke up.

Renlo had coincidentally been cooking when he heard his friend call his name. As he turned towards him, Renlo felt a maelstrom of emotion.

Relief, that he was okay. Guilt that he hadn’t been able to do anything to help. Then shame.

Intense, overwhelming shame had engulfed him. The moment he saw Malakai, he felt his worries vanish. He felt the instinctive urge to lay all his problems down on Malakai.

He was Malakai, if anyone could help him, it was Malakai. However, a thought slithered into his mind.

He had been awake for more than a week now, yet, all he had been feeling was gloom. He lived as though his life was over.

However, he had only seen Malakai for moments, yet all his worries had suddenly vanished.

‘I rely on him too much.’

His friend had woken up after so long, and the first thing he wanted to do was lay his burdens on him. Shame.

Yet, when Malakai asked him to come train, Renlo couldn’t bring himself to refuse.

However, as he stood across from his only friend, one thought burned in his mind. He wanted power. He needed it.

However, it wasn’t because he wanted to prove something. It wasn’t simply because he wanted to be of use to Malakai.

Now, Renlo needed power for himself. So that the horror he went through in Sylvastein would never repeat itself again.

He would become strong… so that he would never be treated in such an inhumane way again.

He would train and gain power for himself.

This was why as Malakai gave the go-ahead to attack, Renlo blasted forward with all he had, fist raining like bullets.

Both of them blurred around the space, Renlo attacking relentlessly, Malakai easily evading.

Each second of their spar gave Renlo more and more information. His control became tighter, his movements more refined.

Regardless, a single thought still burned in his gaze.

‘He’s a monster.’

Renlo was currently moving at a speed he had never achieved before. Yet, Malakai evaded every single one without fail, his expression never once changing.

Renlo knew Malakai could end the battle at any moment if he wanted.

Renlo found himself smiling. At least the fact that Malakai was an absolute monster didn’t change.

Soon enough, when it seemed Malakai was satisfied with the progress, he stopped their fight.

“You’re improving.”

“Still can’t land a hit on you though.” Renlo said with a wry smile.

“Eventually. As long as you keep training.”

Renlo chuckled and muttered. “Yeah, I doubt that.”

Afterwards, Malakai sent Renlo to the balance course. There was no better place for him to learn how to control his limbs than going on the course.

As Renlo began his plight, Malakai decided to use this time to focus on himself.

For now, he decided to leave his newly acquired muscle ability and focus on other aspects. Specifically, the vita.

‘My awareness has improved.’

He focused, and the area around him began lighting up like a canvas. Malakai watched it calmly as it stretched past the fifty meter mark, and even the 150 meters. It reached 200 meters, before finally stopping.

‘And this is in all directions.’

He had learnt a cool new trick back in the underground base. Rather than spreading his perception, he focused it in one direction, then…

Malakai’s eyes tore wide.

‘600 meters!’

It was so insane that Malakai didn’t want to believe it. Being able to feel the vita and everything in that radius was beyond useful.

Still, Malakai dampened his emotions and focused. He reached out to the vita in the air then raised his arm.

In the next moment, a disk made of vita formed, hovering over his palm.

‘I don’t need to make contact with the vita anymore to manipulate it.’