Reincarnated As A Lion In Another World-Chapter 312: Gold Mine

"In time, you shall realize that you can only count on specials like you to have your back. As Primordials, to survive this harsh waste of a universe, we must stick together..."

Marcus looked down in thought while his aura kept getting stronger. The tree behind him began to wither away.

Leaves turned pale yellow and fell lifelessly to the ground. The bark of the tree began to shrink inward as if a fire were burning it from within. The branches bent slightly and small cracks began to appear all over the body of the tree.

A low groaning sound was heard as the tree bent backward slightly. It was losing life very fast. The integrity and strength of the tree were weakening, causing it to almost collapse on itself.

Marcus took in a deep breath as he closed his white ringed black eyes. He wanted to calm himself down, he wasn’t yet good at controlling these powers of his.

That breath he took in was a subconscious effort to reel his powers and aura back in. He had been doing so well at controlling his aura and preventing anyone from seeing him as a threat. But Sherone’s words had made his mind slip and his emotions to momentarily take control.

His sharp talons sank into the soil effortlessly as he gripped the earth beneath him.

But despite this, Sherone did not stop talking.

"... You’ve seen it haven’t you?" Sherone asked with a maddening smile on his zebra face. His body bristled with powers as it tried to resist the deathly powers that had tried to invade it.

"You’ve seen the way they treat you, you’ve seen the conditional love they give you, you’ve heard their demands, you’ve heard the cost of their friendship.

The only reason you tolerate such rubbish is because you have no one else to turn to! You’re surrounded by people who claim to care about you, but deep down...you’re lonely!

Tell me if I’m wrong!"

Sherone was now directly in front of Marcus, his head just a few inches from Marcus’s.

This was intentional. Marcus’s mind was too strong for the spirit energy within Sherone to influence him. It was practically impossible to control the mind of this Primordial Vulture as he was incredibly powerful and also possessed Spirit-related powers.

But being close enough, Sherone wasn’t trying to perform any underhanded tricks. The mind within him was genuinely interested in this vulture, just that the interest was not pure and twisted.

With the distance between them being mere inches, Sherone could stir some memories within Marcus, those that he was trying to shut out. He could make them more vivid.

Marcus shut his eyes, holding his breath. No matter what he did, he still saw those memories. He knew that all this was Sherone’s doing, in fact, he could just move away or stop it by himself.

But he didn’t, he wasn’t ready to let Sherone go, he wasn’t ready to feel lost again.

Marcus remembered particular memories of his birth mother, whom he had imprinted on, showing increasing fear and worry whenever she was close to him.

She was one of the vultures whom he had accidentally killed when his powers were growing too strong.

At the end of the day, Marcus was not like Kael. He had no past life, no memories, and probably no powerful civilization to turn to.

Even if he were born on another planet, would his life have been better than this?

Most of the things Sherone spoke of, he had actually experienced it. Sherone was like an empath at the moment, reading any surface emotion he could scrape by and using it to fuel Marcus’s current state.

Yes, the other vultures treat him differently. They act hostile or detached when they have nothing to do with him but become sycophants the moment he offers them something.

Whenever he is surrounded by other vultures, he feels like he is being watched and protected for what he is, not who he is.

It always felt like they were keeping an eye on their source of wealth. He never felt like a leader, never even thought about taking charge, they wouldn’t let him have such power.

The only reason he was here now, alone, was because he demanded free time for himself. Naturally, they didn’t want to anger him too much so they had no choice but to listen.

They would be back soon, to make sure their benefactor was alright and not thinking what he shouldn’t...

Marcus frowned when his thoughts trailed into this part. That thought was being dragged out by Sherone but it was also true.

They would soon come back to check on their assets. They were like gold diggers and he was the gold mine.

Normally, a gold mine had nothing to fear from the gold diggers. The gold mine offered them gold and the gold diggers offered their company and attention.

But what happens when the gold mine ever runs out of gold, would it still be a gold mine? A gold-less mine cannot keep gold diggers, talk less of attracting them.

So, what if he ran out of gold, what if something happened one day and he wasn’t able to provide the benefits he was providing now?

Marcus’s heart which beat with the rhythm of death and decay went cold. He knew the answer, they would all leave him.

Sherone seemed to catch on to this and pressed on, seemingly becoming emotional himself.

"Look at you! You are a Primordial! You and I are the darlings of this heartless universe. You deserve more than what they have made you feel.

Imagine if I had not met you today? No, just imagine it. Would you go on with your life as they used you?

Yes!

But I came to show you that you don’t need to do all that anymore. You don’t need to fear being an outcast when you have me as your support.

Your fellow Primordial, I understand you. And I know you understand me!"

Although what Sherone was saying was very provocative, Marcus still didn’t budge. His wings twitched slightly but he still hesitated. It was clear that he knew what to do and when to do it, but he was afraid of being alone.

Then, Sherone, having built the momentum needed, performed his final act.

"It pains me that I cannot be with you to help you do what you need to do. But I can definitely guide you and give you the drive you need.

Do you want it?" Sherone asked.

Marcus still had his eyes closed and his breath was still held, he didn’t seem to be in bed if oxygen at all.

"What will happen if you give it to me?" He asked telepathically.

Sherone smiled, "You’ll become a better version of yourself for a brief moment. You’d become my friend. You’d become stronger, you’d never need to depend on anyone for emotional stability anymore."

Marcus paused for a while before finally responding, "Give it to me," It came out as a whisper, but Kael heard it and responded with full generosity.

Sherone suddenly took a step back and raised his head to the sky. He opened his mouth and...

*ROAAAR!*

Marcus opened his eyes wide when he heard that roar. He had never seen or heard a zebra roar before, What was this?

Sherone’s body began to shake, trembling due to the power that was being transmitted into him.

Golden strands of light began to emerge from his body and his muscles began to swell.

Marcus subconsciously leaned back as he felt a foreign aura, an aura that spoke of oppression and tyranny, one that made him want to bow his head.

He was still surprised by the roaring zebra and the golden strings of light coming from his body when these golden strings of light suddenly shot into Marcus’s body.

Marcus didn’t have the time to react as they moved too fast. Some strings entered his head and some passed through his chest. It was painless, but he felt it.

Marcus’s eyes opened wider than ever and he began to shiver.

Sherone stopped roaring, he looked down to see that Marcus was shaking terribly on the spot he was standing on.

The Conquering Essence invaded every space of his body, introducing functions that Marcus never knew he could feel.

A growing desire for violence and to crush all those who oppressed him was starting to form and it was showing in his change of expression. His hairless brows were becoming more firm and his demeanor was changing.

His heart raced, his blood rushed, his wings twitched.

Clarity.

Marcus felt clarity.

He felt like a conqueror, like a prince whose throne had been taken away from him. Conquerors did not need to fear loneliness, they embraced it.

Loneliness was evidence that they were doing the right thing. It was his mistake for expecting anyone other than a Primordial like him to understand him or care about him.

Now, all he wanted to do was set things ’right’ for himself.

The Conquering Essence influenced and Marcus released the pent-up energy. The breath he was holding in all this while was released all at once in a deafening scream.

Death essence erupted.