The Hidden Realm

Chapter 38 – TRANSFORMATION

ELEAND cursed hard when he leaned on a rock near the river. He crawled and struggled until he finally reached this spot.

He repeated the spell he did for Unaeth, but it was ineffective, maybe because he was too weak. Alva warned him about this drawback of healing. He could not wield it if heavily injured and with his mana nearly drained.

Eleand calmed himself. If he panicked, he wouldn’t be thinking straight. He had to stay focused. He attempted to call his friends, but no one came. Maybe they were all busy. There had to be other ways to survive.

After learning the basics of Erdeterra, he was pretty confident in his magic skills, especially that he somehow mastered the fire and wind magic. But how come that he was still weak? He only encountered one enemy, yet he was about to meet his demise.

He shook his head and gritted his teeth. The blood continued to spill from his deep wound. If he couldn’t act fast, he would surely die.

You need to shift.

He heard a familiar female voice in his head. But nobody was around.

It wasn’t Winzi’s. Whoever this presumptuous creature, she gave him an idea. But in his current condition, he doubted if he could do it. Shapeshifting would need a lot of mana to be successful.

Trust yourself. You can do it.

The voice sounded encouraging.

If he could shift into his faerie form, the healing might be quick. Right, that was the only way to escape his inevitable death. He prayed his strength would not betray him. He felt that the voice he heard could be trusted.

Eleand swallowed hard before he carefully chanted the ancient spells for shapeshifting. He released the remaining kernel of his energy without reservation. This would be his last chance.

The black fire started to surround his body along with the combination of a black and white magic circle. He sensed the slight burning, but it didn’t harm him while he continued the incantations until his body trembled. His whole being went numb from excruciating pain. The discomfort was unbearable when the shifting started.

Eleand imagined himself in his pink dragonfly wings, and he did not mind at all as long as he survived this torment. He screamed in despair when he felt his back was sliced and bones were coming out, his frail body endured the shivering, and he vomited blood.

Eleand shrieked in agony and gasped for air. The load from his back was heavy. It was not like the first time he shifted. He was hyperventilating and somehow thankful that the pain slowly subsided.

The trembling stopped, and his senses became more sensitive, especially his hearing. He sensed something changed in his vision. His eyes were clearer now, compared to his faerie sight before.

He knew he shifted. It took him a while to see his wound slowly healing. He tried to stand up, but his knees wouldn’t cooperate.

His drying throat made him crawl to the flowing river and drank until he was fully satisfied. Until he was transfixed upon observing his reflection in the water, he drew his head closer to make sure he did not imagine things.

The face in the reflection was entirely different—shoulder-length black hair and pointed ears, longer than a usual faerie. The color of his eyes was gold! And his wings—not a dragonfly that glittered in pink, but it was something huge—black with a touch of gold, it looked sturdy and eccentric.

With one light movement, his wings flapped in the air. The first time he witnessed this kind of wings, it wasn’t even similar to any faeries he had encountered—not of a bird or butterfly. It was something unique and powerful.

No, impossible! When he finally realized what his wings were made of, his eyes widened—a dragon’s wings!

Eleand couldn’t bear the weight on his back that his body fell beside the river.

A smile painted in his mouth when the soft light of the sun touched his face before he lost his consciousness.

He found peace.

But those nightmares still haunted his exhausted mind.

BLOODBATH was everywhere, and the Faerie Queen kept unleashing hell. She was unstoppable even after she slaughtered an entire armada.

Eleand recognized the place. It was Argia.

The gore was unbearable to handle. The Ancient Queen was mercilessly killing everyone. And he couldn’t do anything to stop her.

The queen slowly looked in his direction and held out her hand. He gently reached her, and she flashed her wicked smile. This time, he could see her beautiful face…

“Eleand, open your eyes!” said a voice in panic.

He slowly opened his eyes. Winzi’s worried face looked at him. She sat beside his bed and gently tapped his cheek. They were inside his room in the temple of Alva.

“Princess…” he smiled, “Those nightmares haunted me again,” his body felt heavy but not painful.

“You’ve been asleep for three days,” she seated straight.

“Really?” He exhaled sharply. He never thought that the effect of his shapeshifting would be like this. But it saved his life.

“You were drained. An ordinary mortal could not survive having a weak body. We’ve found you unconscious beside the river. What happened?”

Eleand got up and leaned hid back on the headboard. He studied himself and touched his back and stomach. His wounds were gone, and even his wings.

“I fought with a Shadow. That thing almost killed Unaeth…” he told her the story of his encounter.

Winzi was silent as she listened.

“Your clothes were shredded when we found you. I was on my way to Aderawiel to send a message to Alva. I found her upset because you were missing. We couldn’t pick your scent, and your mind was perfectly sealed. I couldn’t get in. Ahldrin tracked you down after a few hours.”

Eleand took a deep breath. He was still contemplating whether he should tell her about his new form.

“I shifted…” he whispered.

Winzi’s eyes broadened. “Shifted to what form?”

“Faerie form,” he silently swallowed. How could he explain about the monster inside him waiting to be unleashed? He knew it was powerful. What if he couldn’t control the ability he possessed?

“How is that even possible?” Her face was in awe.

“Because they said I’m a mortal with faerie blood.”

“Oh,” she gently nodded.

Eleand held her hands and gazed at her straight in her eyes.

“I’m afraid I’m slowly turning into a monster. If the time comes that I couldn’t control myself anymore, I want you to kill me before I unleash havoc into this realm.”

Winzi smiled. “I trust in you, Eleand. You can control your power. Always remember, I will fight along with you.”

Eleand nodded and simply ignored the intense energy pulsating inside his body; his nerves throbbed with so much power, and it was dark. He was afraid of its consequences.

Almost all the faeries he met pledge their loyalty to fight along with him. What if he was the threat?

He trained with different magic for over three months, and he wasn’t the same person compared before. Slowly, he began to doubt his humanity because he was transforming into a monster.

“I’ve talked with Alva. When you finally recovered, you can go back to the Golden Palace. Your friends are waiting.”

“Yeah, I need to see Ahldrin as well. I want to practice my combat skills. Enemies are everywhere. I want to help everybody.”

Winzi smiled. “We’ll fight together.”

Eleand gave him a sure nod as a reply. But what if he would be the one to bring death among his friends?

He refused to acknowledge the idea. With his newly acquired power, he would surely use it to help Erganiv.