The Serpent Inside (A Karmagisa Fanfiction)

64: Forever

It was ten times worse than what Karma could've ever imagined. He was used to pain, after his delinquent days, used to knuckles feeling like they were on fire after throwing punches, but this was excruciating. His heartbeat was deafening in his ears, his senses panicking at the overload, screaming at him that something was wrong. Then came another wave of pain, this time feeling like molten lava coursed through his veins, setting every nerve on edge. He couldn't breathe like he had broken his ribs over and over again. His eyes were closing by themselves, all measly effort of keeping them open feeble against the strength of whatever was contained in the vial. He didn't know how long it was if he screamed or not, and his eyes finally shut, trapping him in darkness.

Nagisa said his changes were physical. He could tell that from the moment the serum entered his body, and how it reached into the recesses of his bloodstream, changing his very DNA. His teeth and eyes were sharper, his hair mimicked the structure of wolf fur, his sense of smell expanded, and muscles took on a slightly more buff structure. Nagisa liked to claim that this specific change he disliked the most, but Karma knew he was lying.

All of the rest of this fire was in Karma's mind, and he wasn't sure how to think about that.

The next few days passed in a blur, full of blood, tears, confusion, and heartfelt conversations. Karma was glad Iyuka seemed to think his sudden changes were interesting and cool like she thought Nagisa's when he showed his scales for the first time. The first time she touched his hair she exclaimed that it was like petting a big puppy.

Protective instincts flared up when people came too close--whispers in his mind of "mate" and "pack" screaming at Karma to keep his family and friends safe. He submitted to the instincts many times before Nagisa slowly began to train him.

Miki looked to Karma with a sense of pity one time--they did not do it twice.

Life was slow, for the next few months. Zamakane turned up dead, and Karma decided not to question who had done it this time. Too many things happened all at once, and at the same time, nothing was happening.

Karma wasn't sure why that finally felt so right.

They settled into a routine after a while, going to work, taking their daughter to school, having family nights on Sundays when everything was just a little too quiet outside. Years went by, Iyuka grew, but she never really lost the spark she had in her eyes after finally finding a family.

Nagisa was content, for the first time in his life. Looking around at his family, their eyes transfixed on the movie playing on the TV, he smiled. He never had a family growing up, he could say that much with certainty. But he found one--he made one. And he had to say, maybe none of this would have happened if not for his father injecting that god awful serum into him, but that was a question with far too many possibilities and answers for one person.

Nagisa turned his own eyes to the movie and curled into Karma's side.

He liked this life.

Note from the editor:

Hey, there wonderful readers! Thank you so much for being on this journey with us. This is officially the end of TSI but we hope that we were able to make the end not so abrupt and bring actual resolution to the story. Thank you for your support and love for the story once more.

~The Author and their editors

On another, more personal note, this is Aiko, the author, speaking directly to you guys. It's been a long time since I updated, and I won't lie--When chapter 63 went out, I had more plans for the arc and the story, but then I went into a really hard year in terms of academia and mental health, and sadly this story is one of the many things I have left behind.

If, for some reason, you want to rewrite the ending, please do so! If you want to write more, and take the story, you may continue it. If you want to make any changes in your work based on mine, please send me a DM or join our discord server and text me there, I'll listen, and it's unlikely I'll say no, I just like the heads up. Secondly, the discord server is still around, if anyone wants to join.

Thank you for staying around for so long.

I love you guys.