THE RISE OF WHITE CONQUEROR

Chapter 81: Reconstruction

"Cawwww!"

The sharp and familiar cry resounded through the darkness.

"Cough...cough...cough... Crow..."

Kelly jerked upright, his body convulsing as he gasped for air. He didn’t know how, or from where, but at the exact moment he was about to lose himself, he had heard it, that familiar caw. Like a final parting gift, a voice that should no longer exist, yet did. That single sound dragged him back to clarity. The suffocating hatred loosened its grip, the whispers fading into distant echoes as the storm of negative emotions slowly receded. His burning senses cooled, his thoughts piecing themselves back together one by one. But Kelly realized, even as he steadied his breathing This wasn’t the end. It was only the beginning of the ordeal he would have to face.

Just as Kelly became aware of his surroundings, a faint itch bloomed in his chest. He ignored it and tried to stand, but the moment he did, that small itch exploded into something that could only be described as a heart attack. His hands flew to his chest as agony tore through him. The pain had only just begun. Kelly collapsed onto all fours, his vision shaking. He could hear his heart drumming violently inside his chest, could feel his blood surging there as if trying to burst free. He wanted to scream, but no sound came out. Instinctively, he tried to take a deep breath to force oxygen into his lungs, but again his body refused to obey.

The pain spread outward, crawling from his heart to every part of him, locking his muscles in place and paralyzing him completely. As his thoughts blurred, only one bitter realization surfaced in his mind,

’i don’t remember the last time I was not in pain’

Alas, for Kelly, things were only just beginning. Sweat poured from his body in torrents as his vision blurred. Warm streaks ran from his eyes and ears blood. His skull felt like it was being crushed from the inside, his brain squeezed by an invisible vice. He could feel his blood boiling, rushing violently through his veins as if it were about to tear him apart. His muscles began to spasm uncontrollably, every fibre straining to its limit. Even his fingers and toenails throbbed with pain. His organs screamed in protest, his gut twisting and churning as though his body was trying to vomit out its own insides, rejecting them as unworthy. Kelly desperately wanted to lose consciousness to escape, even for a moment, but his body denied him even that mercy. He lay there, helpless, every nerve screaming, his entire form locked in what felt like a never-ending seizure, undergoing a process he couldn’t understand. And then came the worst part.

His bones began to shatter one by one. It started with his ribcage, as if it could no longer contain the violently pounding heart within it. Cracks spread, then came his hips, splintering under their own weight followed by his legs, then his arms. One after another, everything broke. There was no rhythm, no mercy, only destruction cascading through his body.

And then came what he feared the most. He felt his skull begin to fracture. A sharp, unmistakable sensation spread across his head as invisible fissures crawled through bone. Almost immediately after, his blood vessels started to burst. Warmth flooded places that should never feel warm. At that point, Kelly no longer understood how he was still alive or what was even keeping him that way. His body lost all sense of structure, as if it were melting, turning into something shapeless and formless. The pain surpassed pain itself. It became meaningless, overwhelming, absolute. And then... his mind simply stopped.

"Agh...uhhh...wahhh"

The only sounds escaping his mouth were broken, animalistic noises, even as his teeth began to fall one by one. After what felt like an eternity to Kelly, the destruction finally reversed. His bones began to rebuild slowly at first, then decisively. They reformed denser, longer, and far more robust than before, each piece locking into place with a strength that surpassed their previous versions entirely. It was no longer simple repair, it was reconstruction.

Then his blood vessels followed. They stitched themselves together and surged with renewed force, pumping blood at more than twice their former capacity. The blood itself changed thicker, faster, richer carrying oxygen with terrifying efficiency, drawing more from a single breath than his body ever could before.

"Uhhhhh..."

Air finally rushed into his lungs. For the first time since the pain began, he could breathe properly. And with that breath came a scream raw, unrestrained, filled with agony and rebirth.

"AHHHHHHHHH!"

For the first time, Kelly genuinely felt that dying would have been kinder than enduring this agony, pain so absolute he never wanted to experience anything like it again. But, as always, no one listened to his deepest wishes. The newly transformed blood surged into his organs, and a terrifying burst of pain followed. One by one, they began to rebuild, forced to strengthen themselves just to endure the new quality of blood flowing through them. His agony continued unabated, pushing deeper until it reached his core his heart. It began to beat like a raging engine, dragging the blood along with unstoppable force, and the process of reconstruction pressed on.

What followed was the most astonishing part, the changes on the outside. Kelly lay there as the injuries he had sustained in battle began to heal. The deep gash on his back sealed itself as if it had never existed. His broken shoulder slowly repaired, bone and muscle aligning perfectly. The violent transformations happening within him started to reflect outwardly. His nails hardened and lengthened, becoming almost claw-like. As his bones restructured, his body stretched, his height increasing until it finally settled at six feet tall. His organs and blood were cleansed, and his skin turned pale almost unnaturally white yet faintly glowing. His hair lost its colour, turning snow-white as it grew longer, falling to his shoulders in soft strands. Then his eyes changed. His irises shifted from black, to brown, to red, before finally settling into a clear, icy blue. Snow-white lashes framed them, matching his hair perfectly. Even his body was reshaped, excess fat vanished, leaving behind a lean, chiselled physique, sculpted as if meant to be displayed. Kelly Kamimura was no longer the same.

It looked like a master craftsman’s finest work. As Kelly’s body completed its transformation, the clothes he wore began to tear apart under the strain. The fabric split along his broadening back, his shirt ripping open as defined muscles shifted beneath his skin. Veins stood out along his hands and forearms, pulsing faintly with residual energy. His calves tightened and flexed unconsciously, and his toenails grew sharp enough to tear straight through his shoes.

Every inch of him looked forged rather than born refined, hardened, and rebuilt with terrifying precision. Even his posture had changed, carrying a quiet, instinctive dominance he had never possessed before. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Kelly lost consciousness. Darkness claimed him gently, granting him relief from the suffering he had endured. Yet unnoticed by him, a raven-shaped tattoo slowly formed at the centre of his back, just below his neck dark, intricate, and unmistakably alive, as if silently declaring, I have your back.

However, there were still many changes Kelly had yet to notice, some subtle, some profound and others that would reveal themselves far sooner than he could ever expect.