7 years ago
The sun had just set. Haku could be seen sitting on the shoulder of a human as they ventured through a forest with trees carrying different fruits, heading towards a giant tree with white leaves and black branches in that could be seen in the distance.
The human held a spear in his right hand and a small wooden wand in the other. He was on guard, sweat trickling down his face.
He spoke in an elegant voice, barely audible. "Haku... is this truly the right place?"
Haku squinted, staring at something through the thick bushes and tree branches.
"Yes. I can see the tree in the distance. Just be patient."
The man sighed deeply, dropping his shoulders. Relief filled his face.
"Thank goodness." He slid the wand into his pocket. "I thought we would die in this forest. It's called 'The Forest of Survival' for a reason."
"I mean... do you know how many people died here?! This is truly a dangerous place. That reminds me—one time I traveled through..."
Haku sighed with a faint smile.
I guess it's that time... I knew the silence wouldn't last.
The man was an adventurer Haku had met aimlessly wandering around the forest, searching for a tree called Silver Haven—which was also the thing he sought. At first, the human was scared of the talking bird, as he knew only a King-ranked monster had the ability to talk. He and Haku decided to travel together for a while, and although they were first afraid of each other, they slowly started to trust one another. Haku also discovered one thing—the human's habit of rambling on about past experiences.
"...and that's why I got this scar on my cheek. Now that we're on the topic of scars, one time I—"
As the man continued his usual talks, Haku sensed the air change. A heavy atmosphere fell over them, and whispering could be heard somewhere.
He warned the man while keeping his gaze on the area where he sensed movement.
"Quiet! There's something here," Haku whispered.
The man reached for his wand.
"Where?!"
He struggled to see in the darkness, unlike Haku, who could make out the silhouette of a child—or something a bit taller than that.
It moved closer to them until it rustled through the bushes, its figure now visible. Haku immediately knew what that creature was—a Troll.
It parted its lips, but before it could let out even the slightest sound, the human used magic.
"Fire Call, Firefall!"
Droplets of fire formed above the troll's head, all honing in on him before he went up in flames, his body burning to a crisp as it screamed unrecognizable words.
For a moment, Haku and the human felt relieved, but soon after, their eyes widened with fear. Hundreds of flaming orbs were floating above them.
The human glanced over at the frightened Haku, trembling on his shoulder.
He dropped his spear.
"Haku, I don't think I can save us both," he said, his quivering voice barely above a whisper.
The words "us both" rang in Haku's mind. He turned to look at the human, tears in his eyes.
"No! What ar—"
With a flick of his wand and the words "Sleeping, Slumber, Stop"
The human cast a spell over Haku, causing an unnatural drowsiness to come over him.
"No! What... ha... ve..." Haku struggled to keep his eyes open as the human grabbed him and threw him to the side—away from him.
Before Haku's eyes fully shut, he saw the flames fall from the sky, pelting the human's body like hail. His companion wailed in agony as his body burned. His eyes shut closed—this image, the nightmare he would forever remember.
Since that day, Haku swore to get revenge on the one who killed his friend. And that thing now stood in front of him, saying his name with its filthy mouth, using the spell his companion had used—the spell that had also killed him.
The only thing Haku could think of was killing this shaman. His mind went blank, rage the only thing filling it. He let out a deafening screech and flew toward the shaman as soon as its spell wore off.
Like a flash cutting through the sky, he readied his talons to cleanly rip off the shaman's head. But a second before he reached it, the shaman took out a small wand before speaking the words.
"Fire Call, Firefall."
Double the amount of flames from earlier started forming above in the ice shards before heading Haku's way—yet he didn't care. He continued to attack.
He had completely forgotten—or perhaps his enraged state made him forget—the shaman's Shadow Life skill.
Like a shadow, the shaman's body faded as Haku's talons swiped through it like a razor blade cutting through the air.
Haku turned around, preparing for another attack, but the flames locked onto him. He dodged a few, but one hit his wing, causing him to lose control and crash into the ground, hurting his other wing.
Despite the pain, his eyes burned with an untamed fury.
Only one word ran through his head. "Kill." Like a raging tornado trying to swallow up his existence.
The shaman walked up to Haku, staring down at his pitiful state.
"Did you really think you were the only one who knew about us? We had our sights set on you too, High King-ranked Haku. I'll devour you and evolve to the next stage!" he said, his voice conveying his excitement as he spread his arms, the wand in his left hand glinting in Haku's eye.
At that moment, something snapped. He completely lost every other emotion—except hate. Pure, burning hate, hotter than the fiercest flames, burned him up from the inside. His body began to ignite, the grass beneath him turning to ash.
Even the shaman flinched and jumped backward, a frightened expression crossing his face as he felt the heat—hotter than fire—radiating from Haku's body.
He quickly let go of his staff, which was also scorched by the heat. As it fell to the ground, it burned the grass where it landed.
He frowned, shaking his head in disbelief. He was witnessing a being evolve into a Tyrant-ranked monster.
With him as the trigger.
Haku had completely forgotten everything else—his plan with Ryusei, his own body, his emotions.
Except for one.
Hate.
The world and his own existence started to revolve around that one emotion.
True selfishness—the moment you cast aside everything for your goal, becoming a tyrant to your own existence.
That was the requirement to evolve into a Tyrant-ranked humanoid and Haku was starting to undergo his new change.