"Now that I am here. When can we start?" Aldred asked.
The plan was to lure the xenomorph out and gather them in one place before pretending to activate the eclipse. This would make them reveal their true color, and Commander Gaius Vallon would have strong reason to come to this planet and exterminate the aliens.
"Soon. Our brethren will come out of hiding and perform the ritual."
Aldred nodded. He wanted to finish this quick and search for the Chronicles of Ascendria to increase his power.
Meanwhile, within a meeting room, a dozen hooded figures gathered on a round table.
"Is he really the chosen one? Our informer told us that they come from outside this planet."
"We cannot rule out the possibility that the chosen one couldn't come from outside this planet."
"I have read about the ship he boarded. It was the Stellar Serenity Cruise Ship. The data said that the ship was infiltrated by a standard xenomorph queen but the security guards they hired manage to fight back, but the one who manage to kill the queen was none other than Aldred himself. That man isn't the chosen one!"
"You fool! How can you tell if he isn't the chosen one? You haven't even met him yet while I did. I sensed a strange power from him. At first, I smelled human, but then it was overpowered by something else. Something wicked, something bloodthirsty. Like hunger. Just like us but also something else entirely. I have never met a chosen one before, but I am pretty sure it's him."
Hans Farcross gritted his teeth. He still could not believe that the man was the chosen one. "Our numbers are not enough to activate the Eclipse."
"It doesn't matter. If the chosen one is here, then it is the right time to call for the ritual. A chosen one could take over 1000 years to appear. We cannot wait that long with the Imperium's growing ambition."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Hans slammed his fist on the table. "All of you are fooled! Do whatever you want, but remember I never agreed to this."
He then stood up from his seat and left the room. A cold glint flashed past his eyes.
As the cult prepared for the ritual, a sense of foreboding spread on Aldred's team.
"Aldred, are you sure everything is going to plan?" Salamander asked.
Aldred nodded before he activated his godly eyes and scanned the room. There were more details presented to him today, meaning his godly eyes slowly regaining their power back.
Soon enough, he would be able to unveil every secret with a single glance again.
He scanned the room until he confirmed that no one was watching. "Everything will go to plan. Apparently, the cult has some sort of guardian making sure the Eclipse is going to happen."
Shuzib frowned in thought. "I've read about that before. But their presence are very secretive so not much about them is known. What are they like?"
"I don't know. They are formless. I feel like I can see them, but it's not my eyes that 'see' them, instead, it felt like my mind constructed some sort of astral form as it communicated with me."
"What did it say?"
"It's too long, but in short, he said there is no problem and the Eclipse will start soon."
"That's a relief. Our pla—"
"Hush!" Aldred signaled.
Suddenly, the door clicked open, and a female servant bowed to them. "Master, you and your friends are invited by the elder for lunch."
Aldred gave his friends a short glance before nodding. "Guide us there."
The servant did as ordered and guided them through the maze-like pathways.
As Aldred and his friends followed the servant through the intricate pathways of the cult's hideout, they were relaxed. Days before, they might be wary because they didn't know what the cult would do to them.
But now that Aldred had confirmed that the guardian was on their side, that meant the cult wouldn't harm them in any way.
Eventually, they arrived at a grand chamber where the elder, a frail-looking but sharp-eyed man, awaited them. The room was adorned with mysterious symbols and artifacts, creating an eerie atmosphere. The elder gestured for them to sit, and they obliged, arranging themselves around a stone table.
"Welcome, chosen one," the elder said, his voice echoing through the chamber. "I am Hans, one of the elder."
"Where are the others?" Aldred asked.
"Oh, it's just me this time."
Aldred exchanged a glance with his companions. The situation was becoming increasingly surreal, and he couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to this cult and their plans than met the eye.
Aldred's senses tingled with suspicion. He couldn't ignore the unease in the room, and the absence of the other elders only intensified his feeling of foreboding.
"Is something wrong?" Aldred asked, trying to keep his voice steady.
Hans smiled, a cold, calculating grin that would sent shivers down a man's spine. "Oh, nothing's wrong, chosen one. In fact, everything is going exactly as planned."
Before anyone could react, Hans raised his hand, and the room was engulfed in blinding light. When the light subsided, Aldred and his friends found themselves restrained, unable to move. They were surrounded by a group of hooded figures, their faces obscured in shadows.
"What is the meaning of this?" Salamander demanded, his voice filled with anger and defiance.
Hans stepped forward, his eyes burning with an unholy fervor. "You see, I never believed that you are the chosen one! You have the stench of those monkeys! And I can't hold it any longer! If you truly are the chosen one, show me your true form!"
Hans then slowly transformed. His bones cracked and snapped as his form ballooned. Tentacles, barnacles, horns, and spikes jolted out of his body as his skin turned greenish-yellow.
Aldred and his companions watched in horror as Hans underwent a grotesque transformation, his body contorting into a nightmarish creature unlike anything they had ever seen. The room seemed to pulse with an eerie energy as Hans revealed his true form, a monstrous hybrid of alien and human features.
This form looked completely different than the alien they had seen in the cruise ship.
Hans, now unrecognizable, let out a guttural, otherworldly growl. "Now! Show me your true form or I will devour you whole!"
Aldred looked down and stayed silent.
"What's the matter! Show me! Are you really the chosen one?!"
Salamander and the others were prepared to fight.
Shinari moved her fingers, shadow secretly moved around the binding that trapped her hand, ready to release her at any time.
Salamander's drones etched on the back of his power armor were also ready to be deployed.
"So I was right after all," Hans said. "You are a fake! Before I devour you. I will start with your friend!"
The monster rushed towards Elralya. "Let me start with you elf!"
Suddenly, a loud roar came from the side, and another massive monster slammed against Hans.
"What!"
Everyone was shocked down to their core.
Even Hans was shocked. "This is impossible!"
The new monster was much fiercer than Hans, both in appearance and ferocity. The monster had hundreds of eyes with dozens of tentacles covered in sharp bone-spikes. It had two massive crab-like claws that pinched onto Hans as the tentacles began stabbing him repeatedly from every direction.
The sudden appearance of the new monstrous entity took everyone by surprise. Its attacks were relentless, and Hans, now caught off guard, struggled to defend himself. The room echoed with the sounds of battle, a cacophony of roars, clashes, and cries of pain.
"Who is that?" Cellaeth asked.
"That's… that's Aldred," Salamander replied in disbelief.
The monstrous form that had slammed into Hans was indeed Aldred, but transformed into a nightmarish creature, a fusion of his divine powers and the xenomorph essence he had absorbed during his encounter on the Stellar Serenity Cruise Ship. He had tapped into this dark power, embracing the xenomorph traits to gain strength, speed, and resilience beyond human limits.
This was all possible because of his ability—Shape shifting.
Aldred was able to shape-shift to any creature he had eaten. During the cruise ship infiltration, he had secretly ate an alien meat just to see if he could shape-shift again.
For a while nothing happened, and he didn't think much of it, but as time passed, he felt like his shape-shifting ability returned again, and now was the perfect time to use it.
His eyes glowed with an otherworldly light as he fought Hans, each strike calculated and fierce. The room trembled with the force of their battle, artifacts and symbols falling from the walls as the clash between the two monstrous beings intensified.
Aldred, now the amalgamation of man and xenomorph, was a terrifying sight to behold. His body was a blend of sleek xenomorph exoskeleton and the remnants of his human form. His hands ended in razor-sharp claws, capable of tearing through metal as if it were paper. His tail lashed out, striking Hans with deadly precision, while his elongated jaw revealed rows of xenomorph-like teeth, dripping with acidic saliva.
Hans, in his own monstrous form, fought back ferociously. Tentacles and spikes extended from his body, and his roars reverberated through the chamber. He was a formidable adversary, but Aldred's newfound powers gave him the upper hand.
The cultists, once frozen in fear, now watched in awe and terror as their chosen one battled the rogue elder. Salamander, Shuzib, Shinari, and Elralya stood back, giving Aldred the space he needed to fight. They knew that this was a battle that only he could finish.
Time passed and Hans kept on getting beat up. He could not believe what he was seeing. This immense power was something he had never felt before.
Aldred lashed out for a final attack that pierced through Hans' chest.
Hans spat out a mouthful of blood. "You… You truly are the chosen one."
