《himera Tyrant: Oathbound to Oblivion》


 The Tyrants Metamorphosis

    "We, the Supreme Overlord, have finally achieved absolute dominion. The Seven Realms and Four Abysses now lie within Our grasp. But how shall We while away this endless immortality? Perhaps We should simply obliterate the Seven Realms and Four Abysses once more..."


    "Grooowl! Groooowl!!"


    "What cacophony is this? Who dares roar in Our presence? And why... why does utter darkness surround Us? Lama! Lama!"


    The man shouted into the pitch-black void. Seconds crawled by without response.


    "Lama! You dare ignore Our summons? Hear this! If you fail to appear within one minute, We shall exterminate your entire bloodline!"


    Still, only bestial howls reverberated through the suffocating darkness.


    "Cease this infernal noise! Who dares¡ª?"


    Abruptly, murky light pierced the gloom. Blinding rays stabbed into his eyes like countless swords. Squinting through agony, he discerned blurred humanoid shapes moving in the radiance. Beneath the animalistic growls, he now detected jubilant cheers and applause.


    "Your Holiness! The fusion is complete! We''ve successfully merged them at last!"


    "Has the corporeal vessel gained consciousness?"


    "Critical threshold achieved, Your Holiness. Awakening is imminent."


    "Then rouse it. Now."


    The man froze. That voice... it carried haunting familiarity. Before he could ponder, white-hot agony erupted through every nerve.


    "Aaaaaaaargh!!!"


    The man''s scream tore through the containment chamber. Never in his immortal existence had he endured such agony. Raised on the sacred breastmilk of the Seven Matriarchs, his flesh had been impervious to mortal steel. Pain was an abstract concept... until now.


    "Good morning, Your Majesty!"


    "What... Where is¡ª? You... La...?"


    "Indeed, Your Majesty. Lama, at your eternal service."


    The white-robed figure performed a courtly bow, knee clicking against the observation deck''s glass floor. The tyrant realized with dawning horror¡ªhis entire body below the neck was submerged in cerulean-green amniotic fluid.


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    "Lama... explain this."


    The scientist rose, his two acolytes in slightly less ornate robes scrambling to brush nonexistent dust off his sleeves.


    "By your divine command, we''ve forged the ultimate Chimera. Behold! Ferragio Dogg, Overlord of Seven Realms and Four Abysses¡ªnow merged with your most cherished conquests!"


    "What sorcery is this?!"


    The tyrant lunged, only to discover his left arm had transformed into a thrashing lion''s head with molten mane. Nemea the Mad Lion¡ªonce ruler of Flame Abyss¡ªsnarled autonomously, slamming its fanged maw against the reinforced glass.


    "Observe Your Majesty''s right arm!" Lama''s eyes glittered with madness.


    Where his right hand should be, a rhinoceros skull encased in glacial ice lay dormant. D¨¹rer the Slumbering Rhino¡ªformer lord of Frost Abyss¡ªemitted low rumbles like shifting tectonic plates.


    "Your beloved war-beasts now share your glorious flesh! Doesn''t this fusion warm your triple-chambered heart?"


    "Lamaaaaa!!!"


    Ferragio Dogg, blessed by the Pantheon since birth, had always viewed existence as his personal diorama. Conquering the Seven Realms and Four Abysses was mere child''s play for the ageless sovereign. Centuries of ennui had eroded his capacity for mortal emotions¡ªuntil this moment. Watching Lama''s convulsing laughter, the Tyrant rediscovered rage. Not mere anger, but primordial wrath that made eternal torment seem merciful.


    The Chimera-King roared, slamming his hybrid skull toward the glass. The lion-headed left arm joined the assault, its molten fangs scoring glowing trails on the transparent barrier. Yet when his forehead came within parchment''s breadth of impact, an invisible force yanked his spinal column backward.


    Lama''s maniacal cackle echoed through the laboratory as he pressed his contorted face against the incubation chamber''s glass. "Why struggle, Majesty? This binding force is your own masterpiece¡ªthe Gleipnir Thread woven from Yggdrasil''s roots. ''Not even Myself could break it,'' weren''t those your exact words when you bound Fenrir?"


    Dogg''s rhinoceros-arm stirred, glacial vapors frosting the containment field. The Mad Lion''s head tore chunks from its own metallic flesh in desperation. Yet the translucent prison remained immaculate, reflecting the Tyrant''s grotesque metamorphosis like a cursed mirror.


    "Your Majesty, keep struggling! In precisely two hours, your personality will be completely erased. From then on, the Tyrant Dogg will no longer exist in this world¡ªonly a Chimera that obeys my every command!"


    Lama burst into uncontrollable laughter once more.


    "Calm down!"


    "Who said that?!"


    Dogg suddenly heard a voice other than Lama''s. He glanced around but saw only Lama and several white-robed figures. No one else was speaking to him.


    "Listen to me calmly!"


    "Who is this?! Who''s speaking?!"


    Dogg roared toward the empty air. Lama froze, startled by Dogg''s outburst.


    "Seems Your Majesty''s mind is finally crumbling! Very well¡ªI''ll return once you''ve fully transformed into a beast. Farewell... no,farewell forever, Your Majesty!"


    Lama exchanged brief instructions with his subordinates and left.


    "Stay calm. I''m communicating directly with your brain. Others cannot hear this. If you wish to escape, listen carefully."


    Having ruled the Seven Realms and Four Abysses as the Tyrant for over four centuries, Dogg had mastered most knowledge in the world. Upon hearing "direct brain communication," he instantly grasped the situation.


    "Who are you? Why use telepathy on me?"


    "Worthy of the Tyrant¡ªyou understood quickly. I am Nemea!"


    Dogg attempted to converse with the voice mentally. When he heard the name "Nemea," he stared in shock at the frenzied lion head thrashing on his arm¡ªthe very creature bearing that name.


    "You are the Mad Lion Nemea?"


    "Correct, yet incomplete. I am Nemea''s twin brother. Though he devoured me moments after birth, our souls merged. I have named myself¡ªSphinx!"

 Chapter 2: Breakout

    Dogg showed no surprise at Sphinx''s introduction. What he truly wanted now was the escape method Sphinx had hinted at.


    "Enough. I don¡¯t care about your origins¡ªjust tell me how to escape this place!"


    "Refreshing to work with someone rational, unlike my gluttonous brother..."


    "Stop wasting time! The clock¡¯s ticking! Tell me now!!"


    "To escape, we must sever the Gleipnir binding you."


    "Useless! I forged that rope myself¡ªeven my full strength couldn¡¯t break it."


    Dogg¡¯s brief hope shattered, his anger flared anew.


    In his mind, Sphinx¡¯s voice suddenly amplified:


    "Patience! Hey Diule¡ªquit pretending to sleep!"


    The mental shout struck Dogg like a hammer, leaving his skull ringing. As the echoes faded, a sluggish voice rumbled:


    "Never thought the Mad Lion had a twin."


    The speaker was Dogg¡¯s right-arm rhino head¡ªDiule, the Frost Emperor of Flamefrost Abyss.


    "Only Diule can break Gleipnir in this world."


    "Him?"


    "Me?"


    Dogg and Diule spoke simultaneously, the rhino¡¯s own disbelief mirroring the Tyrant¡¯s.


    "Four hundred years ago, I captured Diule effortlessly. How could such a weakling break Gleipnir?"


    Dogg¡¯s disdain dripped from every word. Diule remained silent, offering no rebuttal.


    "Raw strength alone? None can rival Your Majesty. But Diule wields the rarest power¡ªfrost generation."


    "You suggest freezing Gleipnir with ice? Ridiculous! That rope defies all natural forces!"


    "True..."


    Even Diule admitted the impossibility.


    "Gleipnir resists all earthly harm. But do you know of the ?true freezing threshold?"


    "The true freezing threshold?"


    Dogg¡¯s eidetic memory recalled the concept from a forbidden text. His mind sifted through centuries of accumulated wisdom.


    "Ah! Now I grasp your meaning!"


    "What¡¯s this ¡®true freezing threshold¡¯?"


    Diule¡¯s curiosity finally surfaced.


    "All matter possesses a cold limit. Beyond it¡ªeven the sturdiest bonds between essence and form will shatter."


    "You want my frost to push Gleipnir past that brink?"


    "Precisely!"


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    Sphinx¡¯s explanation drew a sigh from Diule.


    "Impossible. My deepest cold merely grazes that boundary. To breach it... no being in creation can achieve this."


    Dogg¡¯s renewed hope dissolved. He knew Diule¡¯s limits better than any.


    "Alone, you could never reach that threshold. But merged with the Tyrant Dogg and Nemea, channeling our essence will amplify your frost tenfold."


    "An intriguing proposal, Sphinx. Survive this, and you¡¯ll be rewarded."


    Dogg voiced approval while Diule hesitated.


    "But... is this truly feasible?"


    "Silence, beast! Receiving my essence is an honor beyond your lineage¡¯s wildest dreams!"


    After a prolonged pause, Diule relented: "Proceed."


    "Then let us begin¡ª"


    "Wait!"


    "What now?!"


    Dogg surged with gathered essence, only to be halted by Sphinx¡¯s warning:


    "We have three minutes to freeze Gleipnir. As a soul without essence, I must control Nemea¡¯s spiritual form to channel his power. But that mad lion tolerates no commands¡ªI can dominate his form for three minutes at most. If he breaks free sooner, the essence flow ceases."


    "Ha! A mere lion¡¯s essence matters not. Mine alone suffices!"


    Dogg began gathering essence, yet only faint wisps coalesced.


    "What¡¯s happening? Why can¡¯t I concentrate essence?"


    "Did you think Lama¡ªthe man who trapped you¡ªwould rely solely on glass and Gleipnir?" Sphinx¡¯s voice sharpened. "This liquid disperses your essence. Fortunately, Abyssal beasts like Nemea and Diule retain theirs. Especially you, Diule¡ªpretending to sleep while stockpiling power."


    Diule coldly retorted, "No wonder a mad lion ruled Flame Abyss for four millennia."


    "Still," Sphinx conceded, "to amass this much essence so soon after awakening... truly worthy of the Seven Realms¡¯ ruler."


    "This is less than a tenth of my usual reserves..."


    "My calculations show our combined essence may reach the true freezing threshold."


    "Then proceed!"


    As Dogg strained to gather essence, skull-splitting agony erupted.


    "They¡¯ve begun erasing your personality! No time left¡ªchannel everything to Diule! I¡¯ll control Nemea!"


    The thrashing lion head stilled instantly, eyelids sealing like Diule¡¯s.


    "Focus all essence into Diule¡¯s head¡ªnow!"


    Dogg¡¯s essence surged toward his right arm. Diule¡¯s eyes snapped open¡ªcrimson gems blazing with primal fury that dwarfed even Nemea¡¯s madness.


    The rhino head twisted 180 degrees, bending Dogg¡¯s arm impossibly backward. Jagged teeth clamped onto the Gleipnir binding his neck. Frost cascaded from its maw, encasing the divine rope in crystalline layers.


    "More! Channel more essence!"


    Frost permeated the chamber, coating surfaces in rime. Researchers huddled near malfunctioning climate controls, oblivious to the true source of cold.


    "Diule! Focus the frost on the rope!"


    "Shut your jaws! This essence torrent¡ªI can¡¯t¡ªarghhh!!"


    "Hold! The rope¡¯s fully frozen! Just a bit more to the threshold... No¡ª"


    Sphinx¡¯s controlled lion head resumed its mindless thrashing.


    "Nemea reclaimed his spiritual form! The essence flow fades!"


    "Useless! Couldn¡¯t last three minutes?!"


    Dogg¡¯s temple veins bulged as he roared at the convulsing lion head:


    "Silence, wretched cat!"


    His teeth sank into Nemea¡¯s right ear. Purple blood sprayed as the lion howled.


    "Now!"


    Sphinx seized control again, resuming essence transfer. Diule channeled the combined essence into frost. A faint snap echoed behind Dogg¡¯s skull¡ªgrowing clearer with each passing second.


    Clang!


    The Gleipnir¡¯s grip vanished.


    "Alert! The Gleipnir¡ª"


    A white-coated researcher pressed against the glass, witnessing the severed rope.


    "Yes... alert."


    Dogg¡¯s bloodshot eyes locked onto the man, violet essence-blood dripping from his lips. He whipped his head back like a drawn bowstring¡ª


    Crash!


    The researcher stumbled backward as Dogg¡¯s skull struck the glass. Relief flooded him seeing the barrier intact¡ªuntil fissures spiderwebbed across the surface. Green preservation fluid oozed toward his shoes.


    "D-D-Do..."


    His stutter drowned in exploding glass. Colleagues turned to witness:


    A bisected body¡ªlegs mangled in lion jaws, torso frozen crimson in rhino teeth. Diule crunched the frozen remains like crystalline shards.


    But true terror radiated from the naked tyrant. His gaze swept the room, dismissive as one viewing insects.


    "Hungry."