As the sun sank in the west, lights began to shine across the town.
Lude flexed his fingers, feeling the new power he had gained. The three people in the room, however, were still struggling in agony, as if trapped in some nightmare. Their expressions looked suffocating.
Lude frowned and pinched his chin, feeling a little restless.
In Lude's view, Silverback's extraordinary giant frame, Crow's nearly imperceptible presence, and Sally's skin, from which any scar quickly peeled away and faded, should all have been manifestations of supernatural talents.
With enough talent, fervent desire, and powerful conviction, their awakenings should have gone smoothly.
But Lude couldn't be sure. He had little experience, after all. This was his first time helping someone burn their soul, and he had chosen a rather difficult ritual for his first attempt.
"Ah—!!!"
Just then, Silverback let out a loud, furious roar, drawing Lude's attention.
Lude saw Silverback's already bulging, heavily muscled body swell even larger.
His spine bent with a series of cracks. A broken, wheezing sound came from his throat, and his thick neck swelled until it was as wide as his head. His head then grew long and massive.
Black bristles as sharp as steel needles burst from every pore, covering his bronze-colored skin.
The transformation of Silverback's hands was even more striking. Several fingers twisted and thickened, growing larger as his nails rapidly thickened, darkened, and curled into enormous, iron-black hooves with a metallic sheen. With a clunk, they plunged effortlessly into the stone floor.
Two tusks the color of forged steel jutted from his mouth, gleaming with the cold shine of blades.
Silverback had now become a colossal beast with a high-arched back. His already enormous body had grown to five meters long and two meters tall.
Iron-colored bristles covered his entire