[Your presence has become steady]
[Last requirement fulfilled…]
Those were the last words Ray heard before his eyes went wide and his whole body began to spasm.
Soon, the pain exploded beyond anything Ray had ever known. It was as if his very essence was being unmade, his flesh stripped from his bones in layer after layer, each nerve exposed and set ablaze. It wasn't just pain - it was something deeper, something worse. It was the agony of being unraveled at the seams, of being torn apart on a level that went beyond the physical.
His body convulsed violently, his muscles locking up so tightly that he thought they would snap. His veins felt as though they had been filled with molten metal, searing their way through his flesh. His bones ached with a deep, marrow-deep pressure, as if they were being compressed, twisted, reshaped into something they were never meant to be.
He screamed.
It was raw and ragged, the sound of a man pushed far beyond his limits. His throat tore with the effort, but the pain didn't stop - it only got worse. His skin bubbled and split open, blood welling from his pores in thick rivulets. The wooden floor beneath him was already slick with crimson, his fingers clawing at the boards so desperately that his nails cracked, peeled away, and left nothing but raw, exposed flesh.
Outside, Nephis and Effie stood frozen, their eyes locked onto the door as Ray's tortured screams filled the air.
Effie took a sharp breath. "Neph, I swear, I'm going in there-"
"No," Nephis cut in sharply, grabbing Effie's arm before she could move.
Effie wrenched free. "Are you insane?! Listen to him! That's not normal pain, that's-"
"I know," Nephis said, her voice tight, controlled - but her hands had curled into fists at her sides.
Another scream tore through the air, more desperate than the last. It wasn't just agony anymore - it was something deeper. Something broken.
Effie's eyes darkened with frustration. "This isn't right. What if-"
"He told us not to go in. No matter what."
Effie clenched her jaw, anger and worry warring inside her. Another wet, sickening sound came from inside. A sound of tearing flesh.
"What if he dies?" Effie's voice was quieter this time.
Nephis didn't answer right away. Her silver eyes remained fixed on the door, unreadable. Finally, after a long moment, she spoke.
"Then that marks his end, nothing more."
Effie swore under her breath but didn't move any closer.
Inside, after a while, Ray's screams had begun to die down - not because the pain had stopped, but because his body no longer had the strength to make a sound. His throat was raw, his breaths coming in ragged gasps. The pain was eating away at his mind, tearing his sanity apart, until there was barely anything left of him.
His vision swam. His thoughts blurred.
The pain wasn't just in his body anymore - it was in his soul. His very existence felt like it was cracking, splitting open. Something deep inside him, something old and unknowable, was stirring.
His body jerked again, every muscle spasming. His bones popped in and out of place. His skin felt as if it was boiling, peeling away, reshaping itself. The pain reached a fever pitch - so unbearable that his mind prepared to shut itself down entirely.
And then, all at once - everything changed.
A wave of pleasure crashed into him, so sudden and overwhelming that it stole the breath from his lungs. It wasn't just relief - it was something deeper, more profound. The pain, which had been consuming him entirely, vanished in an instant, replaced by a bliss so intense it almost felt unreal.
His nerves, once screaming, now pulsed with euphoria. His blood, once boiling, now flowed like liquid fire, but without pain - only raw, electrifying sensation. The agony of being torn apart had been replaced with the ecstasy of being put back together, stronger, sharper, different.
His body, still trembling, slumped forward onto the blood-soaked floor. His mind, barely clinging to the last shreds of consciousness, finally gave in.
Darkness swallowed him whole.
---
10 minutes later.
"It has been quite for a while now. Not even muffled noises or anything… can we look now?" Effie asked, unable to just stand outside here any longer.
"…he said under no circumstances. But there really hasn't been a sign of life for the last minutes…. So yes.
"Finally!" saying this Effie immediately turned to the door and nearly ripped it completely off, before storming inside, Nephis close behind.
Inside, they were greeted by an eerie and metallic smell even before they could lay eyes on Ray.
He just lay there, on the ground, in a huge puddle of blood. On his face was a look they could not understand. A bright smile, so radiant it seemed as if he had just fulfilled his life's purpose.
The two had grim looks on their faces. Effie's gaze turned hazy and empty, Nephis while also frowning deeply stepped closer, stretching her fingers out, to feel his pulse, just to make sure.
A few seconds later, her eyes snapped wide open, and her hands began to immediately shine with a radiant white.
"Wha- What are you doing?" Effie, not entirely familiar with Nephis' Aspect asked, snapping out of her thoughts.
"He's alive. I'm healing him."
"How- How can anyone survive this?" responded Effie, gesturing around them, focusing on the big puddle of blood they were standing in.
"I don't know, but I don't care. Ray is alive; therefore, I'm healing him," Nephis said, matter of factly.
Ray also still had his armor on, a detail they had missed earlier, as it would have been a direct sign of him being still alive. Regardless, right now it was good that it was on, as the sight below could have alerted the two girls.
Below his Armor, Ray's body seemed to suddenly disappear in some places, only to appear again and repeat this process on different parts of his body.
The two didn't know, and neither did Ray, but this day, this moment would bring a great change with it. But one couldn't say, if that would become a good thing, or something disastrous… no one knew, or did someone?
———————————————
Okay, before we start with the real changes in the next chapter, remember, this is a fan fiction, therefore not fully accurate or parallel to the original plot. It will follow the story of the original - obviously with my tweaks and changes included - but there will inevitably be moments where some things wouldn't work in the original.
Hell, the whole concept of this fan fiction shouldn't work, with what the name implies and all. If you don't like it I'm sorry. Either think of it as an AU - as it technically is one - or drop it.
I just wanted to remind you all of this again.
Thank you all for reading my fan fiction :)