I See One Second Into The Future: Loner In The Apocalypse

It was a strange sensation to feel someone else's will attempting to one's own. However, Kairos was somewhat familiar with it. Though it was only when he started to try and dig through his own memories, that what was happening wasn't exactly as it seemed.

There was no foreign will trying to overtake his mind, but rather another part of his own will that was attempting to take over. One that cared for little more than surviving, regardless of the cost.

It was his instincts, though it had blown up to become far more exaggerated and desperate than normal.

In reality, it wasn't all that different from how Kairos was normally, though nuances could still make large apparent changes. Nuances such as rationality and intelligence. Ones that Kairos was desperately trying to hold onto.

He cried out in pain, though it wasn't a voice that sounded like his own, but rather deep and guttural.

Most of his features were mutating. No, his features were disappearing, the things that defined him. Though it was a problem he couldn't worry about right now, not that he was even aware of it in the first place.

Kairos sank deep into his own consciousness, digging deep into his memories.

And what he recalled was him simply lying down on his bed, doing nothing. Perhaps a normal person would've thought this was a meaningless and random memory, wanting to hurry to think of something else defining.

However, Kairos couldn't even lie to himself if he wanted to.

It wasn't a particularly unique memory, but it was one when he had the most thoughts. He had a complete lack of ambition. There was nothing he truly desired to do, nor was there even some hobby he ever looked forward to doing.

There was practically no future in his sight. Perhaps he could envision his life a day, or maybe even a month ahead. However, if it was a year, then he had absolutely no idea. In ten years, it might as well be an entirely different person.

Quite ironic for a person who could literally see the future, albeit only for a few seconds under most circumstances.

Even when his friend Edward had become quite frazzled and afraid of him, he did very little to repair that relationship. Simply watching as the bridge continued to weather until eventually it was too much and it snapped. He didn't even reach out, not even symbolically as he watched it leave.

Whether or not the apocalypse had even happened would hardly even affect him, given he would always let things happen to him, not truly resisting it in a meaningful sense. Kairos recognized this, that he was pathetic. 

Unable to even make a way forward for himself, irrespective of whether or not it would work out.

He accepted this, not in a depressing way. Just understanding that it was a fact about himself, for better or for worse.

The animalistic side of his mind was continuing to grow in power, and while he wasn't able to suppress it, at the very least he was also holding firm to have a place within it as well. While this wouldn't solve the problem by any means, it was definitely a good start.

So he continued to think about himself, what defined him.

While that was happening, the vines had gradually lost their power. An overwhelming force had come out of them, but the withering effect was simply too strong for them to retain any sort of force for an extended period of time.

As such, the warlock-like monk was finally freed, though it would still have to make its way through a pile of dead plant stalks. From the looks of things, he was in a very big rush. While his facial expression was still neutral, he was showing anxiousness through his movements, hurried and careless.

On the other hand, Kairos had just about completely transformed into a giant monster, reaching several times above his original height. His appearance was vastly different from both the things walking on the surface along the beings dwelling down here.

For the most part, his flesh was red, like the monsters originating from excess evolution energy. But instead of being humanoid, he appeared to be in the shape of a hound, with strangely slim body parts compared to the normally overly muscular ones.

On top of that, Black flesh appeared to coat most of his body, attached to him as though it were some sort of mesh. But from the black veins that bulged from his body, it was more than just something that was layered on top of him.

At first, he had been writhing around, but after the transformation finished, he quickly calmed down. The warlock-like monk noticed this too and stopped rushing so fast, instead slowing down to a walk.

For a brief moment, the two of them looked at each other and almost seemed like friends.

Then, Kairos let out a deep roar and lunged forward, swiping a claw at him. The man responded with a swift deflection using the side of his arm before taking a large step forward and slamming his palm into the side of Kairos' head.

A shockwave resounded quickly followed by a boom.

The palm had landed squarely, forcing Kairos to tilt his head to the side awkwardly. But that was about it. He turned back to face the man before roaring and rushing at him once more.

At this point, the warlock-like monk simply turned and ran, not bothering to deal with the situation anymore. With a ferocious roar, Kairos chased after him on all fours. Yet after rounding a corner, the man had disappeared almost like he was never there in the first place.

Like that he fled, clearly caring little for whether or not it was considered cowardly or the confident words he had declared before the fight. Though a shameless opponent was something to be afraid of for entirely different reasons.

Confused, Kairos looked around for a little before letting out an angered roar.

Nyoka and the others watched this with confusion. Although it wasn't exactly strange for them to see people transform into large amalgamations and monsters, it was clear that Kairos' transformation was not so simple.

Not to mention, Jeff was still struggling, coughing as he hurriedly breathed, convulsing the entire time.

Nyoka narrowed his eyes while looking at Kairos' figure far off in the distance.

"Is he... still sane?"

Sara looked with a tad bit of concern.

"That... He has precognitive powers, so surely he would avoid any kind of scenario that greatly hampers him."

Despite saying that, it didn't sound like she even believed her own words.

Nyoka looked down at Jeff, who was clutching his chest like he was desperately trying to rip his heart out from his body. He frowned, completely clueless as to what he could possibly do to restore Jeff's condition.

His eyes drifted to the roaring monstrosity across from him, realizing that it was very likely for him to know something about whatever this energy was. Whether or not he could get an answer was a whole other question.

As for whatever Kairos had become, after throwing a tantrum for losing his prey, he had turned around to look at the others in the distance. For a short while, he stared silently. Nyoka took a few steps forward before calling out to him.

"Hey! You still in control of yourself?"

Kairos did not respond, instead continuing to stare at him for a while. Then, he broke out in a full sprint, chasing after them.

Nyoka clicked his tongue, scooped up Jeff once more and began running. However, in his current form, Kairos was much faster. After furrowing her brows, Sara transformed into an eagle and lifted both Jeff and Nyoka each with one claw.

She did not bother trying to go particularly quick, instead focusing on soaring into the air.

When Kairos did end up reaching them, he only growled while under them, not understanding how to get up. Realistically, he could've jumped off from the walls given the relatively narrow hallway. But this was not a fact he realized, fortunately for Nyoka and the others.

He lingered for a while, quite stubborn. But Sara simply leisurely flew around, making sure not to exhaust her strength by much.

Only after an entire hour passed did Kairos lose patience, running off once more.

While aimlessly wandering, he had come across many of the monsters lurking in the dungeon. He took that opportunity to rip them apart, venting his anger, and eating their flesh.

His actions had devolved to that of a wild animal.

It was an incredibly strong wild animal that easily ripped apart many of the normally threatening monsters.

But it was a wild animal nonetheless.

Kairos was completely unaware of this, still trying to retain his self. Unfortunately, it was already too late to recover what fragile relationship he had with the few friendly people in this place.