The days I spent wandering around the second zone brought me a strong feeling of tranquillity. The land here gave birth to so much more life, far more so than the areas around the city and the first zone. Every new day there was something to look forward to. Roaming the different areas in this enormous terrain, I never knew what I would discover next. The hilly region I spent my first night in was just the beginning. The vast plains went on for thousands and thousands of kilometres.
I followed huge herds of different creatures. Some were only the size of dogs, but others towered far above me, with necks so long you could believe they ate the clouds. The predators I watched were even more incredible. I would stay awake deep into the night, tracking them as they hunted down their prey. I grew fascinated by how they moved, how they hunted. Despite the fact that these creatures were natural born killing machines, there was a distinct beauty to their forms. Many had spines and horns growing out of their heads, or sprouting from the ends of their tails, but the bones within flowed in a sleek, streamlined way. Their bodies tore apart the air around them, giving them amazing speed; far beyond anything I had seen before.
As I stalked them I could clearly see the muscles ripple and tense, ready to pounce and rend apart the flesh of their targets. Some roamed the land in packs, but the most monstrous of these creatures hunted alone. Nothing could escape these beasts. They were simply too powerful, capable of smashing the Kingdom's armoured trucks. When I fought against one, even I had to slightly exert myself. The world I had lived in before was simply too small. I would never have been able to see these things in my old body - at least nowhere near quickly enough.
My nights were spent beneath the stars; I no longer feared any of the beasts here. I ventured into the more dangerous areas, keeping away from humans as best as I could. Seeing their groups brought me a great sense of melancholy.
"Huuuh, the same dream. I know you miss him, I miss him too, but what do I say? Everything's different now. I don't even know what I am anymore. He might not even be in the city."
I knew I was being a coward, but I couldn't help it. Sare kept pressing me, urging me to go back. I kept trying to get further away. I stared out across the field before me.
I was sitting on a ledge, legs dangling over the side. The view was spectacular. The stars glistened above, droplets of crystal sewn into a black velvet coat. The twin moons were once again full. The river still flowed through here. At night it became a moonlit path, leading me to places that only the blessed could step. Once again the hot rush ran to my head and his face filled my mind. I could barely bring myself to say his name.
"Fine, I'll make a deal with you. There's only one more place in this zone that we haven't seen yet. Once we're done, I'll go back." With that I rose and jumped off the ledge. I looked up at the stars, breaking into a light jog. I soon got my bearings and headed over to the last place.
The final area was where this river joined with the one flowing through the third zone. This was by far the most dangerous area as this intersection was right on the border between the two zones. Monsters from the third zone would often drink by the side of the river and, although most didn't swim across or use ranged attacks, there were still a few that did, and a few that could fly. There were even some aquatic creatures that hid just beneath the surface, waiting for prey to approach the bank.
The sun was rising as I caught sight of the junction. The river here flowed at an exhilarating pace, white froth spraying out as the vast quantities of water rushed against the rocks. The rapids were deadly. It was rumoured that not even Super-humans could survive them. I let out a sigh. This was a spectacular place. I ran my eyes along the banks and soon spotted a good campsite. It had an excellent view but was quite far from the river, helping to avoid sneak attacks.
By now I had a small piece of tarpaulin and a spear that I had scavenged; they made it easy to set up a tent to sleep under. With that set up, I headed down to the river.
When I saw the water rushing from afar I had known it would be quick, but standing right next to the rapids had my heart palpitating. The entire river roared as it rushed by, tumbling and churning, grinding everything in its path. It was the first time that I had heard a sound capable of isolating me from the outside. I shouted out over the water, enjoying the sensation of my voice disappearing into the cacophony.
I walked a short distance away from the worst of the rapids, trying to find a calmer section of water. I was able to find a pool of water isolated from the raw power of the surge. There was a circular, curved rock that contained this water, taking the brunt from the river. I focused my eyes, scanning the pool. I was pleasantly surprised to find my thoughts were correct. There were many fish swimming within this pool, taking a rest from their journey. I leapt high in the air, landing on a rock that blocked the surge from this pool. I gazed down and stiffened my arm, a single finger extended, its nail now a razor claw.
"Ready. Ready, come on now, just a bit closer... Hah!" I shot my arm down, piecing straight through one of the fish. I hooked it and pulled it up. The fish wriggled and squirmed, slapping against my arm and chest. The water had distorted my vision, making me assume that this fish was only the size of my thigh, but it was much larger, about the size of my entire leg! If my finger wasn't hooked under its ribs it would have wriggled free long ago. I pulled it to my chest and then squeezed it in a bear-like hug, pinning it and crushing the rest of its ribs.
Satisfied, I jumped back to the shore and returned to my camp. My breakfast was absolutely delicious. The fish was the best thing that I had eaten in my entire time out of the city. I sliced up the flesh with a sharp stone and then rolled the pieces together into little rolls. Cool and refreshing, the flavor burst in my mouth as I bit into the rolls. I decided then that I would stay here for at least a few days. I knew I was continuing to put off returning to Hope, but the food was good enough to repress the guilt.
At night the river banks would come to life. From out of the rapids great reptilian beasts would clamber out, each six meters long and armoured in scales. They had enormous mouths, taking up a third of their bodies, and long, spiked tails. Their limbs were gangly and long. They seemed to be filled with cartilage, giving them great flexibility. I followed their tracks in the morning to spot them in the water. They would hook themselves to the rocks by the rapids and wait there, looking like the rocks themselves. As soon as another monster drifted by the beasts sprang forwards, mouths open to consume their prey whole!
Further downstream the herds from the plains would gather together to drink, wary of the predators lurking around. When the day was clear I could catch sight of the other side of the river. Through the spraying foam I saw even more beasts. There were thousands of black dots scattered across the banks. These creatures were much bigger than the ones on this side, each the size of a house. They also looked like they had some kind of plating around their heads and necks. They were like giant armoured warhorses.
On the sixth day that I spent at that camp, I arrived back with my morning meal. I bit down into the flesh, enjoying the refreshing taste washing through my mouth, smiling to myself. I swallowed the piece, feeling in run down my throat and disappear. But this time I felt it hit something. "Ahh!" I screamed out, feeling as if my body had caught fire. The pain was unbearable, as if I had been hollowed out and filled with molten lead. My bones turned to jelly, leaving me sprawled out on the ground, writhing and flailing about. With a burst, the pain increased and I passed out.
When I awoke it was dark. My body now felt perfectly fine, rejuvenated even, but my mind was still haunted by the phantom flames that had burnt me from the inside. I tentatively raised my arm. It was strange, my arm moved quicker than it had before. I rose to my feet, looking at my body. It looked fine, there was no fire, no burning. My bones were fixed in place, not jelly as they were before. I clenched my fist. It worked fine.
I felt a hunger pang ripple through me. It was like I was empty inside, devoid of any substance. I dashed down to the river bank, intent on hunting the large-mouthed monsters. As I moved, I felt the same weird feeling. The wind was heavier. I stopped to stand still. As I felt the breeze pass by, I was touched by a glimmer of an idea of what might be different. I jumped into the air.
Air surged past my face as I launched myself upwards. I flew up into the night sky, way higher than I had ever been before, almost gaining an aerial view of the river intersection. "Woohooo!" I yelled out into the air. I reached the peak of my jump and then started to fall. I looked down and saw the ground rushing up to meet me. Oh no! "Waaaah!" I screamed as I fell, closing my eyes before I hit the ground. I braced my legs. I slowly opened one eye. And then the other. Hah! I was fine, the landing was fine! I was just crouched on the ground, completely intact.
Adrenaline coursed through my body, bringing heat to my face. Grinning, I jumped forwards again, rising high in the air, bounding closer to the bank.
This night was dark. Only the stars provided illumination for the creatures below. I honed in on my target and then folded my arms and pointed my toes, drastically increasing the speed that I was falling at. Like a guided missile, I slammed straight down onto the large-mouthed monster. I crushed its back completely on impact. I quickly picked it up and then jumped away, making a clean getaway.
I could still carry the creature easily and so I raced back to my camp. In my hunger I threw off my top and fed it straight to the mouth on my chest. The sound of its scales and bones crunching was immensely satisfying. Having finally filled the cravings, I lay down on my back and thought about what had just happened. I had no idea why the pain had started or how it had managed to change me, but I had a sense of well-being from the change. Somehow the experience made me feel more complete. It was as if I had just seen my purpose. As I started to drift off to sleep, a sound suddenly grabbed my attention.
It was a scream for help.