"What the fuck was that all about?"
Waking up after an unknown amount of time had passed, Alex still felt sick to his stomach after what had happened, moreover, his body was still hurting all over after being exposed to direct sunlight once more. While the pain of his body slowly burning while healing itself at a pace barely enough to keep up with it were outright agonizing, Alex was more occupied with understanding why he had lost control of his new body and done the things he did. As Alex checked out the condition of his body, he found there to have been no other issues other than the aching pain he continued to endure.
"It seems like this body is affecting my mind… Fuck that."
If there was anything in the world Alex absolutely despised, it was being told what to do. That displeasure which normally would normally only extend to society norms and police forces now extended to his new body. That displeasure immediately turned to a full on dumb rage which Alex took out on the walls of his cave until the sun once more crept below the horizon.
"... Okay, I can do this."
Pumping himself up a tiny bit, Alex ran out into the night, running at high speed in a straight line for about half an hour before stopping.
(I don't even get tired of something like this, or hungry for that matter…)
Deciding to leave the mystery of how his body worked for another day, Alex went on with the goal for the night and started seeking out forest dwellers.
"I can do this."
Finding recent signs of movement, Alex subconsciously started picking up things he had not noticed before as he hunted what seemed to be some kind of fox like creature judging by the size and shape of its footprints.
(Now what are…. You?)
Preparing for the sudden burst of hate to take control of his body, Alex was extremely surprised when he put his eyes on the animal and felt nothing. Reaching the hight of his shin, the creature was indeed was some kind of forest critter, but Alex had never seen anything like it in his old world. With a thin dark fur, the creature seemed to blend in with the night, the only exception being the pair of deep purple eyes which seemed to pice trough Alex as it stared at him.
"Well… That was strange."
After locking eye contact with the critter for a few seconds it suddenly disappeared from Alex's sight and he was completely unable to find any traces of it afterward, leading him to believe that it was most likely not a normal creature like the deer he had killed. Looking around for a bit longer Alex finally found what he had been looking for and was immediately overwhelmed by a feeling of hate and anger when he looked at a group of deers drinking by a pond in the moonlight.
(Oh no you don't… THIS IS MY FUCKING BODY!)
Wrestling with self control Alex dug his feet into the ground as he while he felt himself salivating as his teeth gnawed uncontrollably. Enduring the sensation for as long as he could, Alex felt that his sudden burst of hate and bloodlust seemed to gradually calm down with time, but he figured that he would need a few more nights before he was completely used to the sensation, still, he was making progress.
-
(What the hell was that?)
One day Alex's awareness suddenly snapped into high gear when he heard a certain sound from inside his cave.
(That's… Footsteps.)
Quickly going over his available options Alex decided to wait as he retreated into the deepest and darkest corner of his tiny cave, then he waited.
(A group of 4… They're definitely heading this way.)
Under any other circumstances, Alex would be excited to meet intelligent life after spending so much time alone after he had been reborn, but he wasn't naive enough to believe that whoever was moving towards him wouldn't show hostility when they saw what he was.
(Well, I can burn that bridge when I get to it.)
Sitting tight for what felt like an eternity, Alex gradually started picking up on other sounds from the approaching group, while at the same time becoming increasingly aware of how outrageously keen his senses were when he focused them.
(The sound of metal rubbing against itself. The smell of rust and faint traces of blood… I don't think these people are here to help me.)
"It must be in here."
"Yeah, that's the impression I'm getting as well. Let's hurry up and kill it so we can get paid and hit the bar."
"What? Do you really think that the old man has enough money to pay us?"
"Well, if he doesn't we can just take some of the children from the village and sell them off."
"True."
(Nope, they are definitely not here to talk with me.)
The very second Alex picked up parts of the approaching group's conversation a part of his brain immediately switched off, now that he knew why they were looking for him, nothing else mattered. As the group of knights gradually approached the cave where they felt the most active chaos coming from their casual banter died down as they drew their weapons and went into formation.
"He definitely knows we're here. Jax?"
"It feels like a creature of shadow, it won't come out while the sun is shining."
"Then we need to enter its lair, be ready for anything."
With one of the knights remaining outside the cave, 3 of them gradually inched closer with swords drawn as they expected an immediate attack, something which didn't come even as they entered the dark cave.
"Look at these claw marks all over the walls…"
"... It's a spectre."
Recognizing the claw marks as he examined them in closer detail, the knight sighed before sharing the information with his comrades.
"A spectre? That old fart brought us all the way out here for something like that?... Let's do him over when we return, that-"
Right as his opponents let down their guard, Alex jumped them. Closing the range in an instant he let his claws slide across the surface of the closest knight, slicing right through his plate armour and through the majority of his carotid arteries without feeling any kind of resistance.
(Dead, next.)
Looking at the knight's confused eyes as he passed him, Alex immediately evaluated the wound he had inflicted as a lethal one while continuing on to the next knight where he buried a few of his spike like fingers into the head of, before slicing the entirety of the head off and throwing it at the last knight that looked like he was doing something dangerous.
"What th!-"
But alas the knight was too confused to do anything before Alex reached him and even as he tried to hide behind his shield, Alex just ripped right through it.
"Shit…"
Outside the cave, the last knight was starting to get nervous as he raised his crossbow and aimed it at the cave's entrance. While there wasn't a single sound emerging from the cave indicating that something had gone wrong, the knight also couldn't hear the sound of fighting, or his allies calling out that they had killed the monster for that matter.
(That was way too quick… Are they dead? In that case, I need to retreat and report this to the core.)
While he could investigate what had happened to his comrades, the knight instantly put his own life above theirs, he knew they would do the same if it came to it. Steadily starting to inch away from the cave as he kept his crossbow aimed at it, the knight felt the influence of chaos slowly emanating from it.
"Fuck!"
Noticing a quick flash of light, the knight fired his crossbow without hesitation as he dodged to the side at the same time while flinging the crossbow away. Tumbling on the ground the knight just managed to spot one of his friend's bloody sword pass right overhead, making him bite down on his lip as he realized that the worst scenario had happened. Sliding along the ground the knight placed his one palm on his forearm and pointed it at the cave while enduring the sudden pain which set in as he paid his toll. In exchange for his payment, the bounding forces of creation offered a gift in exchange, a phenomenon known as chaos. Commonly believed to have been the first force which had created everything, it's power were endless, but it always came at a cost.
(Please don't let this be my limit!...)
As the toll was paid in full and accepted, the knight briefly bent the rules of the world as the air molecules in front of his outstretched palm changed, creating a force which travelled out towards the cave.
"Ha! Fuck yo-"
But in victory, the knight was the most overconfident, because of that he hardly managed to notice anything before he died.
"... What a fucking fool."
After confirming that the knight had died from the dagger he had thrown into his head, Alex breathed a deep sigh and started wondering why he would suddenly have abandoned his weapon and pointed his open palm towards him.
"Well, whatever floats your boa-"
While scoffing at the knight's final moments, Alex turned around to return to the dark void of his cave, only to notice a single massive claw mark reaching deep into the solid looking stone right above his head.
"... Okay, that's not normal."
Feeling a metaphorical bead of sweat run down his back, Alex once more remembered to never underestimate his opponents, especially not in this unknown world. After examining the corpses inside the cave in closer detail Alex came multiple conclusions. Firstly whatever form he now had was something which was hunted down and killed in this world. Secondly, some kind of strange power existed in this world, a power he should not underestimate, and finally:
"These people were part of some organization… I need to get away from this place, and fast."
There was without a doubt someone who would notice that the people who he had just killed hadn't returned, and when they did, Alex should be any other place than where they had died.
"The real issue here is the sunlight… Fuck, this is going to hurt."