Varia

Kain continued down the darkened parking lot, the echoes of Belmont and Doc’s voices his only company. As he walked, he could feel the remnants of the wendigo’s power settling within him, like a shadow in his blood. The creature’s abilities were raw, primal, instinctual. Kain could feel them fusing with his own, becoming a part of him.

His head throbbed, a pulse of pain that echoed the creature’s fading growl, and he could feel his body resisting the change—a thousand tiny shocks as his cells adapted, twisted, shifted. Every power he absorbed made him stronger, but he knew it was carving pieces out of him too. The constant pull was exhausting, the sensation of losing small parts of himself unsettling, even if he didn’t let it show.

He focused, letting his mind delve into the fragments of wendigo memories. The creature’s life was a blur of darkness and hunger, driven by an endless need to consume. It had once been human, he realized, before it had been twisted by some foul magic, transformed into a being of shadows and fury.

From the memories, he gleaned something useful: Shadowstep. The wendigo had used it to slip through darkness, merging with the shadows to become nearly invisible. Kain closed his eyes, feeling the energy pulse within him, testing the new ability. With a thought, he slipped into the shadows, his body merging with the darkness around him, like he was becoming one with the night.

He reappeared a few steps away, exhilarated, but a wave of dizziness followed, his cells still protesting the new power. He winced, shaking off the sensation. “Oh, I can definitely use this,” he murmured, a grin spreading across his face. He felt his balance returning, the excitement of mastering the ability momentarily distracting him from the pain.

But there was more. The wendigo’s Nightmarish Roar had been a howl that invoked fear, an unsettling cry that shook the bones of its enemies. Kain didn’t need that particular power to intimidate, but it might come in handy for crowd control. He took a deep breath and let out a low, resonant growl, feeling the vibrations ripple through the air. The sound was guttural, primal, and it carried with it a faint echo of fear, like a whisper in the dark. A tool, nothing more.

He was getting stronger. Each new power he absorbed layered onto the abilities he already possessed, enhancing his capabilities, expanding his options. And with his self-mastery, he could sense the delicate balance of power within him, each ability woven together like threads in a tapestry, forming a singular, unified whole.

But with every new thread, he felt his old self slipping, buried beneath the weight of stolen memories. He wondered how much longer he’d recognize his own face—or if he’d eventually become nothing but a mirror for the lives he’d taken. Is this worth it? he thought briefly, a flash of doubt passing through him before he could stamp it out.

As he continued walking, the familiar voices echoed in his mind.

“You’re adapting quickly,” Belmont remarked, his tone approving. “Most would lose themselves, become overwhelmed by the power, but you’re holding it together.”

Doc snickered. “For now, anyway. Don’t get too comfortable, kid. The hunger’s only going to grow. You’re barely scratching the surface.”

Kain clenched his fists, the hunger pulsing beneath his skin like a living thing. He could feel it—a constant pull, a temptation to consume, to absorb more and more. But he’d learned to control it, to keep it in check. Belmont and Doc had drilled him relentlessly, teaching him to wield his powers without succumbing to them.

“Yeah, I know,” he muttered. “Doesn’t mean I’m about to let it win.”

Belmont’s voice softened, a hint of respect in his tone. “Remember, Kain, power without purpose is nothing. You’ve got the strength, but you need to decide what you’re fighting for.”

Doc snorted. “What he’s fighting for is survival. Everything else is just window dressing.”

Kain smirked, feeling the familiar banter between the two in his mind. They were both right, in their own way. He was fighting to survive, to master the powers he’d gained, to avoid becoming a monster like the creatures he hunted. But there was more to it than that. He wasn’t just fighting for himself. He was fighting for something… now he just had to figure out what that something was.

As Kain swung his leg over his bike, ready to leave the quiet desert outpost behind, a sudden prickling sensation at the back of his neck stopped him. His instincts flared—someone was watching him. He cast a glance over his shoulder, subtly scanning the small, run-down diner he’d just passed. The dim lights flickered, casting long shadows over the few patrons still inside. One of the men at a table had just stood up, his movement abrupt, eyes wide with recognition.

Kain’s heart skipped a beat. The man was staring right at him, not with casual curiosity but with something far deeper. A memory tugged at the edges of Kain’s mind, the familiarity of the face striking him like a blow.

Damn!

Kain cursed under his breath, realizing the problem. He wasn’t Seth, the persona he had crafted to navigate the shadows unnoticed. His form had shifted back to its original appearance—the real Kain—and in the chaos of the hunt, the battle, and the intensity of the moments that followed, he’d forgotten to change back. Now, standing in front of him, was someone from his past, someone who knew him before the shadows and the powers, before he became entangled in this dark world.

The man—wiry and weathered by time but unmistakable—took a step closer, his face a mix of disbelief and shock. “Koala?” His voice cracked slightly, as if he couldn’t quite believe what he was seeing.

As Kain was about to pull away, the man’s voice rang out again, louder this time. “Koala? Is that really you, Koala?!”

Kain froze, the old nickname hitting him like a punch in the gut. Koala. He hadn’t heard that in years, and he almost cringed at the sound of it now. He glanced back, spotting the man standing outside the diner, staring at him with wide eyes, disbelief written all over his face.

Before Kain could react, the man—Jesse—started walking toward him. “Man, I can’t believe it’s you! Kain, the Koala! We thought you were gone! Where the hell have you been?” Jesse stopped a few feet away, his grin broad, though his eyes were searching, like he was trying to figure out if this was real or some kind of mirage.

Kain clenched his jaw, his hands tightening on the handlebars. “Jesse…” He hadn’t seen him in what, ten years? It felt like another lifetime ago. “What are you doing here, man.”

Jesse waved the comment away. “What am I doing here? Dude, where have you been? We thought something happened to you. You just disappeared. I mean, you were always the quiet one, but come on, this is a little extreme, even for you.”

Kain stayed silent, hoping Jesse would take the hint, but it wasn’t going to be that easy.

Jesse shook his head, the disbelief still fresh on his face. “Man, remember the wrestling team? You were unstoppable back then. Coach always said if you stuck with it, you’d be state champ. I swear, you made it look easy.” He let out a short laugh, but his eyes were still wide with the kind of surprise that only old friends could show. “And you were always into martial arts too. You’d talk about it nonstop during practice. We’d all be talking game plans, and there you were, going on about some new technique you’d learned.”

Kain could barely manage a smirk, the memories swirling around him. He’d loved martial arts back then, sure. It had been his outlet, the one thing that gave him focus. But those days felt so far away now, like they belonged to someone else.

“And speaking of…” Jesse continued, scratching the back of his head. “You remember Ben, right? That guy’s a professor now. Teaches science at some big-shot university—can’t remember which one. Anyway, I ran into him last year, and he asked about you. Said you’d helped him with his research papers more than anyone else. He always said you were the brain of the group, always smarter than the rest of us. He thought you were off becoming some genius or something.” Jesse laughed, but the sound faded quickly. “I guess he’d be shocked to see you back here in the middle of nowhere.”

Kain winced slightly, the memories stinging more than he’d expected. He remembered Ben, the nights they’d spent cramming for finals, Kain practically rewriting his buddy’s papers so they made sense. He’d been good at that stuff—research, problem-solving. But that part of his life had died a long time ago, buried with everything else he’d left behind.

“I’m not that person anymore,” Kain muttered, his voice cold, but Jesse either didn’t hear it or refused to believe it.

“You were going places, man,” Jesse continued, his tone softening a little. “We all thought you were gonna do something big, you know? We never thought you’d just… vanish.”

Kain’s chest tightened, the weight of his old life pressing in on him from every angle. He didn’t want to hear it. Not now. Not ever.

“Look, Jesse,” Kain said, finally cutting him off, his voice sharper than he’d intended. “That life? It’s over. I’m not that kid anymore. Things changed.”

Jesse blinked, the confusion returning to his face. “What are you talking about? Koala, come on—”

“Don’t call me that,” Kain snapped, his frustration boiling over. He could feel the tension in his muscles, the hunger stirring beneath his skin. He didn’t want to hurt Jesse, but he needed to end this before it got any worse.

Jesse hesitated, finally sensing something darker behind Kain’s words. “Kain, man, what’s going on? Seriously, you’ve been gone for years. Everyone was worried. Now I see you out here, looking like you’ve been through hell… what happened?”

Kain sighed, running a hand through his hair. He could feel the distance between his old life and his new one widening with every second. Jesse didn’t belong in this world, not the one Kain had been dragged into. There was no point in trying to explain.

“Listen,” Kain said, forcing his voice to steady. “Forget about me, alright? You don’t want to know what I’ve been through. And you sure as hell don’t want to be a part of it.”

Jesse’s face twisted with confusion and concern. “You can’t just say that, man. You were one of us. We’re your friends.”

Kain revved the engine, the roar of his bike cutting through the night. He glanced back at Jesse one last time, his expression hard. “Not anymore.”

And with that, he sped off into the darkness, leaving Jesse standing there, the memories of his old life fading into the desert behind him.

The wind whipped past him, and the ache in his chest grew sharper. The past had a way of creeping up on him, but he couldn’t let it pull him back. He had a different life now, and people like Jesse didn’t fit into it anymore.

Still, as he rode further into the night, Kain couldn’t shake the feeling that part of him had been left behind in that conversation, a piece of his old self that he’d never fully let go of.