Dark Magus Returns

The feeling of familiarity was strange for Murkel. It wasn't because he was back in the world of Pagna, but because he was back in the dimension filled with deadly beasts in every corner.

He had only regained control of his real body for a few seconds in Pagna before it had been taken over by the beast and he had been shoved into the back of its mind.

However, now that Murkel was back in his body, he was also back with a body filled with injuries. The pain was soaring through his body; just moving a small part sent shockwaves through the inside of his body.

He knew, though, that staying in such a place, staying still, was a dangerous idea. Walking slowly, placing one foot after the other, Murkel could hear the sounds of beasts up in the trees. He could feel their presence following him, but the moment he looked at them, they would quickly scurry away. Eventually, Murkel found himself at the base of a cave right by a large cliffside.

It was a place where he would often hide, away from beasts before, but there was just one issue with the place.

"RAGHHH!"

Right at the cave entrance, it didn't take long for an almighty, orange-furred bear with large fangs that twisted upward nearly towards its back to come out.

It was a type of beast that Murkel had fought many times during his time here and during his rest. It was strong, but one he was confident in beating if he was in good condition.

"Please just don't bother me now; I don't have time… I need to rest," Murkel thought.

His Dark Qi was lingering out of his body, but it could only form so much and so far. With Murkel now in control of the body, his control over his own Qi and the condensation of the Qi was better than the Hybrid's.

However, the Hybrid was far stronger in many ways than this, and although it wasn't able to utilize the Qi in Murkel's body the same way as him, it was still able to utilize it.

The beast looked into Murkel's eyes for a moment, and then it quickly turned its head away, its back, and headed inside the cave.

"What the… that's a first," Murkel thought.

The beast had walked away, and Murkel was thinking about doing the same. If the beast was inside, it wasn't exactly a safe place for him to be anymore.

One thing Murkel did learn, though, was to never turn his back on a beast.

Beasts were strange creatures; for one, they were territorial, so anyone, including other beasts that weren't the same kind as them that entered, was considered a threat.

The strangest thing about them, though, was their alluredness toward the portals that would open up—their wish to escape from their world, and when they enter the world of Pagna, to eliminate humans.

Murkel could feel some of the Hybrid's feelings when he was in this space. Humans—they scared the beasts, which caused them to lash out and attack any human on sight.

While thinking about what to do, the beast's head could be seen coming back out from the cave. For a moment, Murkel wondered if it had changed its mind and he would be in the fight for his life after all.

That was until the beast opened its mouth and out from it, a bunch of power stones, from dead beasts, had fallen onto the ground—all of different levels and various grades.

"What is this?"

The beast didn't do anything but just turned around and went heading back inside again.

Something was drawing Murkel's body toward the power stones that had been left on the ground. He moved forward and forward until he had grabbed onto one of the crystals.

Before he knew it, a crystal was being placed in his mouth, and he had bit down, crunching it.

Power stones were unable to be consumed raw. If done so, and not having been turned into a Qi pill, there was a good chance it could harm the warrior's body, even leading to death.

Yet Murkel knew he would be okay; he just had a feeling. As he consumed all of the crystals, over fifty of them, he could feel his body regaining its strength and starting to heal.

It was healing at a rate that was unheard of for a warrior, a rate he was unable to heal at before. This was more so the healing of the Hybrid, and not him.

Having regained his strength, Murkel had decided to head into the cave. If the beast tried to attack him, he now was confident he could best it in a fight.

Yet for some reason, he thought the beast wouldn't attempt to do anything, and that's when he realized since he had entered the dimension again, none of the beasts had acted at all.

Entering deep into the cave, he could see the beast open one eye and then quickly close it when it saw who it was.

"So you completely trust me now, or is it that you trust what's inside me?" Murkel thought.

Sitting down in the cave, he needed to gather his thoughts because he was still at a loss for everything that had happened. The fact that he wasn't even in control of his own body for a large amount of time, and now he was back here.

"The Hybrid that was talking to me, the beast I fought from this dimension—it seemed to be the leader of some kind. It attached to my body, and I became a Hybrid.

"But that beast had completely taken over my mind and body. So where is it now? The fact that my body feels this way, and I was able to eat those power stones. I'm sure it means that I'm still a Hybrid, but right now, my mind is in charge.

"Was it the fight with all the Clan Heads? Is that what subdued the Hybrid? There was a good chance that right now it was just in a slumber."

"Whatever the reason, I need to figure out two things: how to stop the Hybrid if it tries to come back... and how to get out of this place," Murkel thought.

Gripping his fist, Murkel felt such strength. He was a new person, far stronger than before, and if he was let out into the world of Pagna like this, no doubt he would be considered the strongest in all of Pagna and the closest to reaching the Divine realm.

Little did he know, just like before, he would be trapped for a very long time in the dimension, with the world of Pagna changing once more. Unknown to him, there were several large forces with their own intent doing what they could behind the scenes.

And an event would occur that would even bring Murkel to hate the world of Pagna and the warriors within.