With my newfound resolve, I thought about my current situation. I realised that it was long past my usual feeding time. The mouth remained quiet. I sniffed the air. Ack! Big mistake! It seemed that whatever power the creature had over made me forget about what it was to be a human being. With my enhanced sense of smell, the pungent odour coming from my body was unbearably awful. I quickly left the cave, hoping the fresh air outside would help dampen the revolting smell.
Stepping into the light of the setting sun was heavenly. All my past memories of me leaving the cave had been filled with a need to hunt and kill, but now... Now I was free! The air was fresh and wove its way around my exposed skin. Even though I didn't need to, I had regained my breathing reflex.
Each breath of air was tainted with a light dusty flavour. I hadn't tasted anything that good in far too long! The soil beneath my feet was soft and spread beneath my toes, whilst the sun beamed down onto my torso. It was calm and warm, radiating off of my skin.
Raising my nose into the air, I sniffed. I caught onto the smell of damp and moss. Immediately latching onto the direction of this scent I ran straight towards it. The wind rushing past me brought me joy. There was a gap in between some rocks ahead. I looked down and listened, hearing the trickling of a stream. I soon caught sight of it in the darkness. I jumped straight down, falling for about thirty metres. The landing brought me no discomfort, the rock cracking beneath me.
I put my feet into the stream. Cool water ran over them, relieving the stress that had built up. I removed my loincloth and soaked it into the stream, scrubbing it. After a while I had scrubbed away most of the blood and filth, along with the original colour of the clothing. I used the cloth to then rub down the rest of my body, cleaning away the memories of what I had done.
Next was my hair and face. I splashed up the water and my skin felt rejuvenated. After trying to wash my hair for a while, I decided to give up. It was knotted through and through. I broke off a piece of stone and then sharpened the end against the floor. I cut off all my hair. Once I was done, I smelled much better. I sighed as I lay down next to the stream and looked up, through the gap, at the stars above. There were too many worlds to count out there. There were an infinite number of mysteries waiting to be uncovered and millions upon millions of creatures living out there.
I thought back to my graduation declaration. I would explore all those worlds. I would travel the galaxies to find out all there was to know. I would build Sare the home she desired and show her all that the worlds had to offer. But first I would show her all that this world had to offer! Rising from the ground I began the climb back out of the gap.
I re-tied the cloth around my waist, feeling embarrassed at my nakedness. The embarrassment felt excellent! I was looking forward to re-experiencing all the emotions I had felt before I had been… tainted. I returned to the cave I was staying in. I had no intention of ever spending another night there, but there was something that I couldn't leave behind. I reached down to the small bundle of cloth on the ground.
I reopened the cloth to look at the creature inside. By now the feeling of intimacy I had felt with it had faded. My body was back under my control and I wouldn't ever let that change. A deep hatred rose within me as I stared at that corpse and an idea entered my mind. Picking up the creature, I put it into my mouth and bit down on it. It was like jelly. So you like to eat do you? Now your body will be devoured by me. Ha ha! How's that for karma?!
Having dealt with the remaining issue I left without looking back and broke into a sprint, racing out into the plains. The twin moons hung high in the air, illuminating the area all around me. It gave everything a silvery tint, making this land seem mystical and precious. I aimed for the north, heading straight to the border. I was going to leave this first zone and begin my exploration. I would see as much as I could!
Arriving at the border, I dropped into a stealthier position. My excellent sense of smell and sharp night vision allowed me to easily spot the guards standing by. It wasn't too difficult to sneak out. After all, they were trying to make sure nothing broke in! As soon as I stepped into the new territory, I sensed that it was different. The heavy scent of monsters filled my nostrils, but I wasn't nervous. I knew that I would be far more powerful than any creature here. I grinned and began running once more.
...
I didn't know how long I ran for. The spring in my step brought me bounding farther and farther into this zone. As I ran, I caught sight of a few of the nocturnal monsters roaming around. I smiled as I rushed past them, leaving them far behind. Having this strength, this power, was something I never thought that I'd ever experience. Supposedly, only people taken in by organisations would be able to cope with the monsters in the second zone. I was now able to feel what they could all feel. It was an absolute sense of freedom. Freedom to take on the entire world and overcome it; freedom not to be pinned down by fear.
After running for a while, I started to look for a shelter. The events of the day had left me severely mentally exhausted; I could feel my eyes beginning to close. I stopped to yawn. When I was in the cave I had occasionally slept, but that sleep was restless, merely an hour or two to keep my body in shape. My head would become filled with nightmares about meat and gore. To finally be able to sleep properly was something I was really looking forward to.
It didn't take long before I found a suitable location to rest for the night. The landscape in this section was a lot hillier, with more cave-like areas. I found a crevice and climbed inside to sleep. Lying down on the ground, it wasn't long before I fell right into unconsciousness.
As I slept, I began to dream. At first the dream was mired and wispy, like paint in water, but slowly the images started to flow together, forming a picture.
There was a gorgeous woman sitting in front of me. The cabin we were in was small, but had been lavishly decorated. I had never seen technology like this before. The seats were made from leather and the tables gleamed with a metallic tint. There was a holographic screen projecting out from the wall, showing a vast planet. Line after line of data was running down the side of the image, detailing the various habitats and monsters that inhabited the planet. I turned my head away from the beauty and looked at a small box on top of the table between us.
The box had a single panel on the top with the word "LOCKED" written on it.
"What do you think it is?" The woman asked me. Her voice was soft and velvety. She had full lips and flawless skin, as pale as ice.
"I don't know," I sighed. "It's something that has never been found before. To be honest it was complete luck for me to have found and captured it."
The woman was obviously surprised by this.
"It was lucky for you to have caught it? Why? It's so small; such a thing should have been very easy for you to catch."
"I found it inside an unknown Mutant variant. Another creature I'd never seen before." The man shuddered thinking about it. "This creature crawled out of the brain once I'd finally managed to split its head apart. I had a feeling that it was special, so I captured it."
"The Nessus World truly never fails to surprise us!" The woman huffed. "For something to make even you shudder, Azmah. It seems that we'll have a lot of work to do."
"Yes. For a monster like that to be found already. Once we head past the ravine it's likely that many of us will die."
A sliver of fear glinted in her eye.
"Can I take a look at it?" she asked.
"Sure," the man replied casually.
He reached over and pressed a button on the top of the box. Instantly the box became clear. Inside was the creature that I had pulled out of my neck. It was currently curled up into a ball.
"Eww!" The woman exclaimed. "What kingdom does it come from?"
"That's another mystery as well. The monster it was inside seemed to have abilities that shouldn't have belonged together. There's a chance that this creature is the first Domain creature that we've discovered!"
"This is incredible! This could change the future of the entire human race!"
"Still, it's only a theory for now. We'll have to run a few tests back at the labs before we can confirm anything."
"What's it doing now?" The woman asked.
It was too late. The creature had already burrowed through the bottom of the cage.
"Quick get it!" The man reached out to the creature, scales appearing on his hands. He knocked the cage aside, smashing it against the wall. I could feel heat radiating through skin. It held an immense amount of power. Two fingers fired forwards, faster than lightning, nails now inch-long razor blades, striving to pierce through the creature.
The creature, however, was even faster. Having gained its freedom, it was determined never to go back to that cage. It leapt upwards and landed on the man's hand. He shook it fiercely, desperately trying to shake the creature free, but its head had already burrowed underneath his skin, latching firmly in place. The man was decisive, drawing out the machete at his waist and hacking at his forearm. The cut was clean, separating his hand from his body. Blood only sprayed at the initial cut, stopping soon afterwards, as a new limb started to grow.
"Step away from it!" he shouted. "Whatever you do, don't let it get inside you!"
"What the hell is that monster?" The woman was terrified. "How on earth did it manage to get out the cage?"
The severed limb was now lying still in the middle of the cabin. The man and woman had their backs pressed against the walls opposite each other. The woman began to shake and contort. A layer of fine fur grew out from her skin. Only her face remained relatively clear. Her clothing fell to the ground, revealing a thin layer of body armour underneath. The man's vision changed and he could see in far more detail than before. He blinked, but his eyes closed sideways. He stuck out his tongue and I could sense the temperatures in the room. The arm was still warm.
"Hang on!" He said. "Something's happening. Go to a full transformation."
The woman didn't hesitate. Her face contorted, forming a snout filled with hundreds of needle-like teeth. A pair of ears grew on her head, cocked and ready to catch any sounds. Seven tails sprouted out from behind her, each shaped like the head of a thick paint brush. She snarled. The arm on the ground suddenly started to move. Cracking noises could be heard as the fingers split apart and then came back together. They had reformed to prop up the rest of the forearm, allowing it to move. The forearm had now split, forming a mouth across it.
"Attack!" The man gave the command. I rushed forwards, machete swinging, completely focused on slicing the creature apart. The fox lady was even faster. She darted at the arm, becoming nothing more than a blur, even to my super enhanced vision. She twisted as she arrived, sending her tails lashing out with full power. The power caused a sonic boom that blew the chairs apart.
It wasn't enough. The arm jumped, catching onto the tails and borrowing their momentum to fling itself straight at my face. The mouth bit hard into my forehead. I could hear scales crunch. Then there was a blinding pain as it burrowed through my skull, leaving my brain defenceless.
I shook myself awake before I was exposed to the rest of the horror that had occurred on that veloplane.
.