Apocalyse: Marked by Chaos-Chapter 26 - Transformation

Diana wiped her tears. Her expression hardened. "We need to move. Grab all the cores you can find."

She glanced toward the collapsed cave. A narrow opening remained, barely intact. "It's not fully destroyed. We can shelter there."

They took the unconscious bodies inside. Henrik formed a protective barrier around them.

Diana cast one last glance at the broken cliffside. The world outside was ruined, the land was filled with ashes, bones. It was like hell itself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Olivia felt an overwhelming pain tearing through her skull. The scent of damp earth invaded her nostrils. Her body felt heavy, as if she had been crushed under a mountain of exhaustion.

Slowly, her eyelids fluttered open.

A canopy of thick, twisted branches stretched above her, blocking out most of the sky. Faint beams of light filtered through, casting eerie shadows on the ground.

She tried to move, but an intense pain shot through her ribs, forcing a sharp gasp from her lips.

Then, the memories of last night came rushing back. The battle. The flames. The fall.

Her heart slammed against her ribs as she jolted upright. "Little White... "

She turned sharply, searching the ground around her. Her breath caught in her throat.

Little White lay beside her, motionless. He had returned to his snake form. His small, delicate body was curled up, his scales dull and lifeless. There was no sign of him breathing, not even a movement of his chest.

"No... no, no, no," Olivia choked, scrambling toward him, ignoring the pain shoring through her body. Fear gripping her already arching heart.

She gently gathered him into her arms, cradling him against her chest. His body was cold, far too cold for a living being.

Tears welled in her eyes, her throat burning. "Come on, you stubborn little thing... wake up," she whispered desperately. "You're supposed to be stronger than this."

She shook him gently. No response.

A single tear slipped down her cheek, landing on his body.

Then... A surge of blinding light erupted from Little White's body.

Olivia gasped as she stumbled back, shielding her eyes. The air crackled with raw energy, sending a shockwave through the ground.

Little White's small form stretched, transforming, his once delicate frame growing taller, his limbs lengthening into a lean, well built body of a man. His arms strong, his features sharpened, undeniably striking. His soft scales gradually replaced by smooth, pale skin.

The light dimmed, and Olivia's breath hitched. A man was lying in front of her.

He looked around twenty, his long silver-white hair cascading down his back. His eyes closed.

For a moment, Olivia couldn't move. He was... Ethereal.

She felt the world tilt.

Little White... had changed.

Her hand curiously poked at his cheek. She quickly retracted her hand back as if it was skaded by fire.

His skin felt warm and soft. She poked his cheek again, tears streamed down her face, both in relief and in shock.

This 𝓬ontent is taken from fгeewebnovёl.co𝙢.

If she hadn't seen it, she wouldn't have believed it was real. He was a human? But how was it possible? And she wasn't sure if it was just his appearance.

[ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ]

[ Warning: You have chosen the path of Chaos. ]

[ Consequences: Loss of Humanity. Shortened Lifespan. ]

[ Irreversible. ]

"What?" Olivia's heart sank in her chest.

[You consumed an SS level core. Your body was too weak to contain its power, so you have regress back to level 1]

Olivia's blood ran cold. Blood drained from her face, she could not believe it.

Her humanity... her lifespan...? Her Level?

She clenched her fists. Her body trembled, not just from pain, but from the weight of those words.

"Are you telling me I'm going to die faster? And that I have gone back to Level 1, the very beginning?" she whispered, a bitter laugh escaped her lips.

The system remained silent.

If she had gone back to Level 1... that meant she was weaker than before. She was now vulnerable, open for anyone to trample over again. Her hands clenched so tightly her nails dug into her palms. No. She refused to go back to being that weak, helpless girl.

A rustling noise snapped her out of her thoughts.

Little White stirred.

His breathing deepened, his fingers twitching against the ground. Olivia tensed as his eyelids fluttered open, revealing his grey, aloof eyes. A sharpness that hadn't been there before.

His gaze met hers.

For a long moment, neither of them spoke.

Then his lips parted, his voice rough, foreign, yet somehow still familiar.

"...Olivia?" His deep voice held uncertainty. He couldn't exactly remember what had happened, but he knew her face, her name and her... scent.

Her breath caught. The way he said her name, it sent a shiver down her spine.

He sat up slowly, his muscles flexing as he shifted. His body was lean but strong, his movements elegant, controlled. He wasn't just human, he was something more

Little White flexed his fingers, his brows furrowing slightly as if confused by the movement. He lifted his hand, staring at it, then clenched his fingers into a fist, testing the strength in them. It was... strange. His senses felt sharper, his body felt unfamiliar. He glanced at Olivia again, his grey eyes flickering with something unreadable.

Olivia swallowed hard, suddenly unsure of what to say. Should she ask if he was okay? Should she demand an explanation?

Before she could decide, Little White moved closer. His hand reached toward her face, his fingers instinctively brushing against her cheek, wiping away the trail of tears. His gaze darkened.

"You're crying." He curiously asked, his brow furrowed.

Olivia stiffened. She hadn't even realized the tears were still there, clinging to her lashes. She jerked back, swiping her arm across her face.

"I'm not crying," she snapped, her eyes avoiding his gaze, her voice harsher than she intended.

Little White tilted his head, studying her with the same unreadable intensity he had, when he was a snake.

"Liar," he murmured.

She barely had the strength to lift her head, but when she did, her breath caught.

He was staring at her, his grey sharp eyes, possessive.

"You saved me," she murmured.

His grip on her tightened. "No," he said softly. "You saved me first."

Silence stretched between them. Olivia could hear the sound of her throat moving up and down, she nervously fidgeted with her hand.

'So he was a human all this while? Hot and handsome human.?" A pink hue embraces her cheeks.

Then, reality crashed down on her all at once. She jerked back, panic flooding her veins.

"W-We're naked!" she blurted out, scrambling backward. Her hand instinctively reached for something, anything to cover herself, but all she managed to grab was a handful of leaves.

Little White blinked. Then, to her absolute horror, his lips curved into a small smirk.

"...So we are." He mused completely unbothered.

She threw the leaf at his face. "Cover yourself, you pervert!"

He caught it effortlessly, but instead of using it, he smirked. "You were staring."