TRANSMIGRATED

Kade woke up in the dark.

Cold stone pressed against his back. His wrists were chained to the wall. The air smelled of blood and rot.

The last thing he remembered was his lab on Earth exploding. He had been working on an illegal experiment—splicing animals together to make weapons. Then fire, pain, and nothing.

Now, his body was different. His skin was pale and thin. His hands were longer, bony. And the air here… it felt alive, like it carried magic.

A guard walked up to the cell door. “On your feet, mage. The High Priest is ready to burn what’s left of House Morvain.”

The name felt strange in his head. Memories that weren’t his told him he now lived in the body of the last heir of a family of dark mages. This body was hated. Hunted.

Perfect.

The guard opened the cell. “Move.”

Kade didn’t move. His eyes went to the corner of the room. A rat was chewing on a bone. Next to it, a crow lay dying, one wing broken, blood on its feathers.

Then he heard it. A voice inside his head.

A strange book appeared in front of him. Its cover looked like it was made of skin, locked in black iron. Symbols glowed faintly on it.

"I am a grimoire,” the voice said. “I can break the laws of life. I can fuse any thing into a new creature. Do you want my power?"

Boots clicked against the stone. A holy knight stepped into view—white-gold armor, sword glowing with light. The air around him burned against Kade’s skin.

“By the grace of Solara, you are sentenced to die,” the knight said.

Kade smiled. “Not today.”

"Say you accept," the book whispered.

“I accept.”

The world blurred. Light threads came from the rat and the crow, twisting together into one shape. Kade’s chains fell apart as his body shifted, touched by magic.

The rat and crow became one creature—four legs, black feathers along its back, wings sharp as knives, tail ending in a poisoned barb.

The knight’s eyes went wide. “Abomination—”

The fused beast launched forward, wings slicing the air. It hit the knight’s face, claws tearing, barb stabbing deep into his neck. The knight screamed. Black poison spread under his skin.

Kade grabbed the fallen sword and shoved it through the knight’s chin. The light in his eyes died instantly.

The guard at the door reached for a horn to call for help. The creature leapt at him, one wing cutting across his face. He fell without a sound.

Kade stepped out of the cell, the thick scent of rot filling his nose.

"This place stinks," he lamented.

He walked towards the tiny light, his new beast leading him, scanning for danger in front of them.

The source of the light was a door slightly open.

As he reached the door opening, he saw the holy knight patrolling there with lances and swords.

There were at least 5 holy knight there.

"Those guards from before were unprepared, if I engage with these ones, I will barely last 10 seconds," he said with a huge sigh.

"This is the fear that comes with being powerless."

He scanned the room, and saw that there was another corridor opposite where he passed.

"Let's check that place out, there might be a hidden path there."

He walked back to his cell, and commanded the rat-crow to enter a small crack there.

"If only I could find more beasts to create monsters," he said.

Use these corpses then, the book whispered into his head.

"The corpses! I can use even human corpses to create beasts," his voice boomed.

Without hesitation, he fused the both of them into a brand new holy knight.

The injuries were healed, and their holy energy burnt brighter than before.

"Kill the holy knights outside the door," he commanded as he handed the sword on the floor to him.

The holy knight knelt on one knee as if acknowledging the command.

He stepped out of the door, and without warning lunged at the holy knights patrolling the area.

Caught by surprise, they were unable to do anything before the overwhelming power of the new holy knight.

Kade stepped out, his eyes blinking unevenly as he finally saw light.

"This one is impressive, much better than I anticipated," he remarked.

"But how would having 2 more feel." 

Not enough life force,  the grimoire voice sounded when he tried to fuse them.

"Life force?" Kade echoed with surprise.

Life force is the energy required to fuse beast. The one you were using was the remaining from the previous owner, the grimoire said.

"As expected, nothing comes free not on earth nor this world."

"How do I get life force?" He asked calmly.

Absorbing energy from dead creatures.

Kade nodded calmly.

A disturbance was heard in the bush, making Kade look back with caution.

"Be at alert, it might be the high priest," he told his only warrior.

Kade heaved a sigh of relief when he saw the thing.

It was the rat-crow he had sent earlier.

It delivered a message which made him brighten up.

"A dungeon nearby, that might be a good place to farm life force," he said with a smirk.

He turned to the corpses on the ground.

"Absorb these corpses," he said to the grimoire.

Dark threads flew from the corpses, and connected with Kade's head.

You have earned 50 life force.

He smiled lightly.

"Take the valuables from them, we have some harvesting to do."