The Primal Blood Demonic Dragon

A low hum buzzed in the silence of his’s mind, vibrating like a faint chime struck in the depths of still water. Darkness enveloped his consciousness since world of memory broke apart like a broken glass. Thick, warm and endless. His consciousness floated in some unknown void, uncertain of time or space, only vaguely conscious of a what happened before he came to be in this state.

Then pain. A sharp, stabbing sensation like icy needles pricking through flesh and soul alike.

He winced at least, he thought he did. His eyelids, heavy as iron gates, refused to budge no matter how many times he tried to will them open. The simple act of moving his facial muscles felt like dragging a mountain. His body if it could still be called that ached with a deep soreness, as if his entire being had been disassembled and put back together by careless hands.

A breath shuddered through him. The air was cold, foreign, carrying with it the faint tang of scorched earth and scent of blood. Yet even that small act of inhaling seemed to echo painfully through every fiber of him. There was something off, something fundamentally altered.

He lay still for a time, his consciousness teetering on the edge of clarity and oblivion. But slowly, very slowly, the fog began to thin. His awareness sharpened, focusing inward despite the darkness still clinging stubbornly to his closed eyes. He could feel the ground beneath him now, rough and broken, the scent of disturbed soil clinging to it. Whatever had happened... it had left a mark on more than just him.

With eyes still shut, Gin tried to move again—gently, cautiously but his limbs refused to obey. Frustration flared briefly, before fading into concern. Where am I? What happened...? The last memory was hazy flashes of that man in chaotic current.

He needed to know more. To understand.

So, instinctively, he reached out not with his body, but with his soul. Not sure why he did it but it felt right at the moment with body refuse to answer to him.

A quiet spark answered.

Then it flared.

His spiritual sense surged outward in a sudden wave, like ripples across a pond. The world bloomed into sharp, vivid clarity, not through sight, but yet through like eyes of his soul. Every blade of grass, every broken stone, every blood-stained patch of earth showed its presence to him. He wasn’t seeing in the conventional sense he knew. It was like projection of surroundings scanned with his soul.

He marveled at the sensation. The range wasn’t too far, no more than a thousand meters but it was enough. More than enough.

Then he spotted them.

At the far edge of his spiritual sense, he felt the familiar energy of Lucy cool, composed, and plan ahead. She sat cross-legged near a pile of mangled beast corpses, sketchbook balanced on her knees. Her brush danced across the page with practiced elegance, capturing what seemed to be diagrams of mutated anatomy, labeling traits, measurements, even energy residues. Occasionally, she glanced up, her eyes narrowing slightly as she examined the remains of the corrupted beasts around her. Her composure was like an anchor amid chaos. She was the strategist, the one who guided with insight rather than brute strength. Or rather unable to use force so had to take the root of a brainy individual.

Gin’s focus shifted.

Not far from Lucy stood another figure one who caused a subtle shift in his spiritual pulse. Saira. Or rather... Mira. That was her true name, which only he knew so far. She was alert, gaze darting through the surroundings as if expecting danger at any moment. Her stance was firm, balanced, her muscles coiled like a spring ready to snap. Water energy curled softly around her a ripple beneath stillness. She hadn’t spoken but Gin could feel her readiness. She was the sentinel here, the silent guardian. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

A little farther, near a shattered tree, he found Xingning.

He couldn’t hear her voice from this distance nor of others, not through conventional means but the way she gestured, her face contorted in a scowl, one hand waving angrily at the air he knew she was cursing something. Possibly everything. Her lips moved rapidly, her body language agitated. Whether it was a complaint about the fight, the terrain, or someone’s behavior, he couldn’t be sure. But it was classic Xingning passionate, animated a whirlwind of emotion barely restrained when not with him.

The wild cat. His wild cat.

Gin smiled inwardly, the smallest flicker of warmth amid his confusion.

But then... Alice.

She was near the remnants of what once had been a grove, her posture rigid, her face filled with emotions he could barely process—excitement, knowledgeable ... confusion. The normally silent and uninterested Alice now emanated a storm of feelings, each clashing against the next. Her fingers clutched something a book? It was hard to tell from the angle but her hands trembled slightly and she looked toward him. Whatever she just experienced at the moment had shaken her deeply. This wasn’t the same Alice from before. Something had changed within her. And he felt she looking at his direction as if right into his eyes.

Well possible since they are connected but he couldn’t feel their connection at the moment, nor of others.

And beside her...

Gin paused.

A new presence one unfamiliar.

It wasn’t primal. It wasn’t beast either. Plant-like, yes but intelligent, woven from elemental energy and nature itself. The creature had tendrils like vines, glowing faintly dark green. It pulsed softly, not with aggression but with curiosity. It moved close to Alice, as if sensing her thoughts. Gin frowned inwardly. He didn’t know this being. Was it friend? Foe? Something in between?

He held his spiritual sense steady, but the strain was beginning to show. Maintaining such an extended field, especially in his current condition, was exhausting. He could feel his energy thinning, slipping through his grasp like water through sand.

Reluctantly, Gin drew it back shrinking the radius of his soul eyws, pulling it inward until only the immediate area around him remained illuminated.

It was time to assess his own condition.

The moment he did, everything stopped.

Gin stared no, perceived his own form through his spiritual sense. But....

What he saw made his mind reel.

Four limbs not arms and legs but paws. Covered in silver-blue fur that shimmered like moonlight over water. His reflection, caught faintly in a pool of blood nearby, confirmed it. His once primal body was gone. In its place was the sleek, big form of a wolf. But not just any wolf.

He was majestic, ethereal his fur seemed almost alive, rippling with subtle waves of blue light. His eyes though still closed in the physical sense, glowed faintly with a silver hue. Energy coursed through him not wood elemental energy like before nor water element. Yet also not the other two very rarely used but something different. Something destructive, yet mixed.

What... happened to me?

He didn’t panic not yet. But shock rooted him in place.

He moved a paw watched the ripples through his spiritual sense. It obeyed. Smoothly. Powerfully. His body felt strong, despite the earlier pain. Even the soreness seemed to be fading now that he had stabilized.

Gin slowly sat up, his limbs trembling slightly but steadying under his weight. The silver-blue fur shifted with him, brushing against rocks and grass. His tail twitched. His ears perked. Every movement sent fresh information into his mind. Yet he controlled them smoothly as if he is the actual owner of the body but yet he is not.

There was a strange elegance to it all. But it wasn’t him. Or was it now?

’Is this a curse? A transformation? have i reincarnation again?’

He couldn’t feel the other elements within him, ’Are they gone...

well they are suppose to be.’

He needed answers. But first, he needed to be seen. To be recognized.

Would they know him?

Would they trust him?

He remembered Lucy’s sharp eyes. Mira’s guarded nature, Xingning’s temper, Alice’s shattered calm. Would any of them believe that the silver-blue wolf was Gin?

Could he even speak?

He opened his mouth, tried to form a word, a sound but what came out was a low growl, rough but not threatening. He felt the vocal cords shift, but the mechanics were all wrong. His spiritual energy still worked, maybe that would be his voice now. Maybe...

Or maybe he was alone in this new form.

Gin stood still, letting the wind carry the scent of the bloodied forest across his fur, letting his mind accept this strange, surreal truth.

He was alive.

Changed.

But alive.

For now, that would be enough.

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To Be Continued.