Bound By Fury:The Forced Path

He sneers his fingers clamp down.

"I know I've seen you before."

"Does the name…Eri sound familiar?"

The mention of her name sets something off in Akira, an anger so immense he feels something primordial and combustible courses through his veins.

His face twists, and his mask of calm shatters into something lethal, something menacing.

Akira (in a hushed, dangerous tone):

"Here I was making a fool of myself, willing to let you live…"

He wastes not a single moment and actives his Soul Infusion.

The air around him crackles and vibrates as a wave of power courses through his body.

His eyes flash pure brilliant white, unsympathetic, and the next thing he knows, lightning courses along his arms in a fierce, blindingly white energy from his fingertips in jagged arcs.

The agents stumble backward, shields of arrogance falling to pure terror as the unrestrained power envelops Akira.

First Agent:

"Retreat!"

He screams in despair, stumbling backward, his face twisted in panic.

But it's too late.

Akira charges at the agents in his rage, blinded.

A white arc of lightning lances from his hand into the second agent amidst the crackling of energy. The agent's body seizes up as his mouth opens in a silent scream, and Akira's Panthoblade follows through to cut his throat in one swift, merciless motion.

Blood sprays and the agent drops to the ground, lifeless.

The first agent stands frozen his face pale as he realizes he is alone with this walking storm of wrath. He stumbles backward, his voice shaking.

First Agent:

"How… how are you still alive?!"

"Didn't they kill you...they told us they were sure you died!"

Akira takes a step closer, his white lightning dancing around him with the aura of revenge.

His gaze pins the agent in place, and a wicked smirk tugs across his face as he tilts his head, a terrifying glint in his eyes.

Akira:

"If they killed me would i be still standing here now??"

In a single, swift movement, Akira raises his hand; pure white lightning crackles upon his fingers.

The agent's eyes go wide as Akira closes the distance between them, his last words hanging in the air like a death sentence.

Akira:

"You brought this to yourselves."

In the next instant, the lightning surges from Akira's fingertips, engulfing the agent's body.

His agonized scream is swallowed by the crackling energy as his body convulses, and with a flash, he collapses breathless.

Akira stands in that posture for a while, his body surrounded by the aftermath of his actions and rage.

Akira stands over the lifeless bodies of the two agents, their stillness testifying to the fury he had released. He feels a flicker of something unfamiliar, part satisfaction and part shock; his mind reels from the weight of what he had just pulled off.

After all he took the first human life

His status window flickers before him in ghostly text, almost to mock him:

[The user took his first step towards revenge.]

[Congratulations]

[+3 to all stats will be given]

A small smirk tugs his lips as he read it.

Akira:

"Even the system… wants me to go down this path."

"But still now i feel like shit" - He mutters, his voice dark.

The bodies caught his gaze, and the weight settled in his chest.

He had killed monsters, slain creatures in dungeons, but it was different this time.

It was personal.

A line had been crossed, and there was no going back. He steeled himself, knowing he'd chosen his path, carved out by vengeance into his destiny.

Akira:

"This was your route of choice, Akira."

"No regrets."

"If I can't bring this one down now, I'll never bring down the rest."

He clenched his fists, bucking himself up silently as he stared to the horizon, envisioning every person who had betrayed him and harmed his family.

They would all meet the same fate-and worse.

Those who set it up would suffer, far more than these agents had.

He feels a cold trickle down his spine as he shakes himself loose from the binding moment. He looks at the bodies-the sight itself made him have an urge to eradicate all signs of this act.

"How should i deal with the bodies?!"

"I can bury them but that would leave traces which one way or another may be found can't take that risk"

A dangerous thought strikes him.

"Then i have no other choice"

He sighs loudly and lifts his hand, focusing his new ability.

White lightning crackles to life around him, casting an unforgiving glow across the clearing as it builds, swirling with lethal intent.

"White Lightning… Engage."

He extends his arm, allowing the white lightnings to shoot into their bodies.

"BAM!! BAM!! BAM!! BAM!! BAM!!"

Flashing strokes of electricity fell, charring the bodies with a merciless ferocity the flames scorched everything-flesh and bone-and scorched until everything began to dissolve under the merciless attack.

The scorched ground blackened as the lightnings arced through, leaving nothing but scattered ashes that blew in the wind.

Still, he watched silently until even a speck was no longer visible.

Akira:

"That will do it," - He mutters, but a feeling of disquiet remains in his chest.

This hadn't been the last time he's had to do this. He gave one last look at the smoldering earth as he turned and walked away; his feet were in a regular, lulling rhythm, carrying him toward his secret house, his mind already honing, ready for the battles ahead.

The first step had been taken.

And there was no turning back now.

Akira stumbles through the door of his small, concealed home, feeling depleted and exhausted.

The weight of the day's events weighs heavily upon him, like some heavy blanket, the reverberations of his rage and new will swirl in his mind.

Collapsing onto the bed, he stares up at the ceiling as his breathing gradually stabilizes.

"I just… need to sleep."

"Forget about all of it, even if just for tonight."

Exhaustion sets heavier in his bones; his eyes grow heavy.

Closing them, he lets the rare comfort of sleep take him, hoping his mind will not bother him for a few hours.

When he wakes, the dawn light filters softly through the window.

He sits up and feels strange renewal wash over the memory of everything he has done. He goes out silently, with a determination etched in his face.

Day after day, he plunges into dungeons who are near Seoul and are possible to reserve in StarNet-again and again, deeper with each foray, harder with each fight.

The days turn into weeks, and weeks turn into months, as he whets himself against every monster coming his way, keeping his presence concealed from the world.

TWO MONTHS PASSED

He stands in front of his house door once more,his hand hovering on the handle before he actually opens it.

The air is dead inside, not disturbed. He steps inside and closes the door behind him, releasing a long sigh as he examines his image in the mirror veiled with dust.

His figure has filled out, his shoulders broader, his hair a bit longer, framing his face. The eyes are still bright but firmer, not quite stubborn, yet containing a steely resolve, with a hint of something far darker in their depth, yet focused. Dropping the magic stones he had collected beside the door, he sits onto the ratty, armchair in the corner.

Akira opens his status window, scanning the numbers.

Status Window:

[Name: Akira Shoto ]

[Level: 44]

[Attributes: Lighting]

[Strength: 68]

[Stamina: 68]

[Agility: 68]

[Endurance: 68]

[Intelligence: 68]

[Quest: The Path of Vengeance: A Legacy of Blood and Fire]

Purpose: Seek out those who have hurt you and marshal the will to exact vengeance. On this path, will and strength are forced upon you perhaps against your will, through trials that shape your fate.

Reward: Increased power with clarity of purpose.

[Added Active Skill:]

[White Lighting]

Description: This allows the user to summon white lightning and control it at their will, molding it into whatever forms they find more suitable.

[Soul Infusion]

Description: Temporarily infuse the body with residual energy of the soul, greatly increasing physical strength and speed, as well as magical energies.

It will also provide stamina and fast regeneration while active.

Duration: 10 minutes

Cooldown: 30 minutes

Passive Skills Added:

Rapid Growth

Description: Your growth rate is higher compared to the other STARS and enables you to gain experience from combat and challenges more quickly.

Effect: Gain 200% more experience rate from all the combat and challenges you face.

Perfected Symmetry

This passive skill balances your stats as you grow to make sure no stat has grown too weak. As the growth of your overall power, this skill spreads experience more evenly across all attributes so you have no drastic weaknesses.

"It's really great"

Effect: Passive equalization of all attribute points so that no stat is considerably behind-assuring well-rounded growth and avoiding any critical deficiency in battle.

This skill is dormant and will only awaken under the right circumstances. The nature of this ability, as well as its full potential, is a mystery for now, but in time, it will reveal itself to give new abilities or enhancements.

Skill Name:????

Condition: Locked

"My growth rate really fell" - He says to himself, scratching his chin,

"Guess that's what I get for sticking with the D-rank dungeons, all because that fake ID capped me."

"I'm going to need to get around that somehow if I want to really want to grow more."

He closes the window, rolling his shoulders and stretching out the knots from countless battles. He'd gathered a good amount of magic stones in the last two months-enough that Hiroshi should be able to get him a decent payout.

Akira:

"Right."

"First, I got to send these to Hiroshi, then get some new clothes… And maybe a haircut."

He chuckles, running his hand through his hair, which for the most part now falls messily around his face.

"Can't be showing up looking like some kind of wild beast."

His grandmother flashes into his mind then, and the smile is gone.

"She must be worried sick… that i just disappeared like that."

"I have to see her," he growls low, his face setting into a determined hardness.

For two months, I've gotten used to this lifestyle—fighting, leveling, honing my abilities. No one's been there to see it, to measure my growth, but I can feel it. There's a difference in my stance, in the way I feel. I'm stronger. Way way more stronger than I was before. The D-Rank Dungeons aren't even a challenge anymore. But I still haven't tested myself against another awakened in a real fight. That'll come soon enough.

Later, having send the magical stones to Hiroshi, Akira pockets his money and disappears along the quiet alleys, casing town for a decent tailor. He comes upon a humble shop; the smell of fresh fabric greets him as he enters. Picking out simple black clothes—a dark shirt, loose pants, and a light jacket—he threw them over his shoulder, slipping into a barber's shop next. He watched himself in the mirror as the barber worked shears through the long strands, literally and figuratively feeling the weight of the past two months fall away with every lock.

He steps out onto the street, feeling refreshed yet somehow not changed, his new clothes comfortably fitting on him as he began making his way to his grandmother's town.