593 A Night of Hellish Pain, The Unexpected Process of Marks Mutation (2/2)

A voice echoed inside Mark's mind.

Suddenly, Mark was forced out of his delirious state, and the pain surged once more.

'These voices again.'

Mark complained in his mind.

'Still, thank you. I'm completely awake now.'

Mark was awake, yet, he started to close his eyes.

And then, red light covered his veins. At the same time, Miasma started to envelop his body.

'Breathe as deep as I can! Contain everything inside!'

Mark screamed inside.

And there, a change finally appeared.

The black-colored Miasma started to mix into the surges of electricity around his body.

It was unexpected considering how Miasma was supposed to do the opposite. Miasma should have absorbed the electricity instead, as it was a form of energy.

And then, it finally dawned on Mark what was happening.

Mark's body contained Miasma and lightning was a form of energy. Thus, the ability to control lightning that was supposed to enter his body could not and continued to surge outside, harming him instead.

But when he released Miasma, the surges of electricity that covered his body started to absorb it and take on its properties.

It did not take long. The surges of electricity, the streaks of lightning, started to lose its bright glow.

Seeing that, Mark smiled slightly, despite the pain he was still experiencing.

'Black Lightning... It does suit me better.'

That was right, the streaks of lightning that were supposed to be a convergence of light was now tainted black. Nevertheless, it felt closer to Mark's heart and mind compared to the usual lightning he knew.

And then...

BOOOOM!!!

The Earth and Sky rumbled.

Black streaks of lightning flew towards the sky like black dragons in the night. And then, flew back to Mark, entering his body.

THROB!!!

Mark froze. His body started to feel like it was pulsating at the same rhythm as his heartbeat.

”ARGH!!!”

A surge of unimaginable pain caused Mark to roar.

And the cause of it was the final adjustment of his body.

And there, like what happened to Mei, his body started to transform uncontrollably.

Mark's bones grew and changed shape as it tore through his skin.

Thin sheets of metal-like calcium growth covered his body, starting from his arms and legs. Unexpectedly, the bone armor had similar properties as his [Blood Metal]. Reddish black in color, metal-like instead of bones-like, and it had a sinister appearance.

Mark gasped as his transformation finished.

Slowly, he stood up. His whole body was still numb from pain, but the pain had already subsided.

Mark stood up and almost fell. He was still unsteady. As he lost balance, he could only rely on the rocky wall that was in front of him. He then dragged his body and sit down, leaning his back on that rock wall.

He could not help but look around and felt lucky. It seemed that he crashed at the rocky part of the mountain and not in the middle of the forest. If the latter actually happened, everything would be on fire now.

Mark looked at the armor covering his body.

”This looks nice.”

He smiled.

It was a painful experience. No, hellish to be exact.

But it seemed that the result was worth it.

Mark opened his palm covered with his new armor.

CRACKLE!

Sparks of electricity appeared. It was black.

As he willed, it formed into a crackling black ball and he stretched his arm with his palm facing a huge rock nearby.

RUMBLE!

The roar of thunder echoed as the black ball of lightning shot towards the rock. It left a foot-diameter scorched Mark on the face of the rock, with cracks at the center.

”It's weaker, huh.”

Mark mumbled. However, it was within his expectations. After all, he was supposed to be unable to use any Psychic abilities at all after absorbing a new one.

”The crystal Bathala gave worked properly, it seemed.”

Mark could not confirm if that crystal actually worked by just feeling it. It was because he could not feel any changes in his body that it could have caused aside from being able to use Psychic Abilities right after he succeeded in absorbing the crystal.

While Mark was contemplating, he suddenly squinted his eyes. That was when he noticed as he looked up in the sky.

”The sun is already rising, huh...”

Because of the painful experience, Mark did not notice that he was in that state for the latter half of the night.

Mark wanted to return already, but his body was still numb.

That was when someone appeared.

”Y-YOU!!! What did you do?!!!”

Of course, there was only one person that Mark knew that could appear suddenly like a mushroom.

It was no other than Fourth, who seemed to have rushed here from somewhere far.