Seeing the thorns behind him, Nazurak was petrified. Its length was indefinite to the eyes as they stretched as far as he could see. The thorns towered around the height of the trees and their reach doubled that, making them capable of grabbing above the tree lines.
The thorns varied in size and bristled with numerous spikes that ran up and down their quick-moving stems. Equally menacing were the mouths that dotted the parasite, each capable of biting down independently and seizing any prey ensnared by the thorns.
It was a terrifying abomination.
Nazurak didn't have time to scan it, let alone think about how he should act.
The thorns found their way beneath his feet, swiftly coiling around his thighs and slicing through his muscles with ease. But their attack didn't end there; their sharp mouths clamped down on his legs, injecting a venom that quickly drained the color from his skin.
Nazurak let out a blood-curdling scream, trying to pull off the thorns with his hands then tried with his bayonet. He knew nothing was going to get them off him, his body just moved out of instinct.
Other thorns slithered past him, intent on pursuing the swarm of parasites ahead, paying no attention to the human who would soon be dead.
As his breaths became shallower, his vision began to blur and duplicate, until a bright light engulfed his senses, transporting him to what seemed like another world.
In an instant, he found himself inside a cozy house, illuminated by the warm sunlight that streamed in through the windows, creating a welcoming and serene atmosphere.
He looked around at the familiar interior before a familiar voice called out to him.
"Nazurak, come eat your food before it gets cold"
His eyes opened a bit wider when he heard the woman's voice.
"...Mom?" He whispered.
Walking downstairs he took his time looking at all the photos that hung on the wall before sitting down at the table with slight confusion.
His father sat at the table reading a newspaper while casually munching on an apple, soft strains of music provided a gentle background as the sounds of children playing outside drifted through the window.
A strange sensation tugged at his heart.
Nazurak reached for his spoon and then stopped when he saw his hands, they were small.
'were my hands always this tiny?' he questioned, glancing around the dining room.
The clock ticked rhythmically, birds chirped outside, and dust particles danced in the air, everything appearing seemingly normal. Yet, despite being in the comfort and safety of his own home, an unsettling feeling kept tugging at his heart.
A strong urge stirred within him, whispering that the answers he sought lay beyond the confines of his home. He rose from his seat and gazed towards the door leading to the driveway, contemplating the unknown that awaited him outside.
His mother looked at him with a smile.
"Where are you going honey?"
As he fixed his gaze upon his parents, a complex swirl of emotions brewed within him, a potent blend of sadness and rage.
Then, a sudden voice echoed in his head.
'...wake...up....wake up human..'
An icy blue apparition of a human began to materialize before him, slowly taking shape near the door and pointing toward it.
Nazurak quickly caught on as the weird sensation continuously deepened in his core, memories filled the void where they belonged as he glared at his parents with anger.
He was overwhelmed with a torrent of emotions and words begging to be spoken, but he was aware that the thorn's venom was deceiving him, causing him to see these hallucinations, and time was running out.
He walked to the door and grabbed the knob, casting a conflicted glance back over his shoulder one last time.
As he opened the door, a blinding light flooded his vision, yanking him back to reality. It took a few moments for the searing pain to hit him, and when it did, Nazurak unleashed a bone-chilling scream unlike any he had uttered before.
The thorns had crept up to his hip, steadily inching toward his torso. Blood flowed from his wounds into the mouths that bit into him.
Feeling the thorn's grip tighten significantly, he let out another agonizing scream as his legs cracked under the pressure. Nazurak's face turned pale, whether from the blood loss or the venom, he couldn't tell. But as the pain grew, anger started to take over, and at that moment, he felt something stir deep within him.
Having always been attuned to the flow of life essence and the ability to transfer it at will, Nazurak had grown intimately familiar with its pure, warm, white hue - a symbol of its vitality and serenity. Although he had never actually seen essence before, he was fairly certain that this was its color. So when he sensed a new energy, one that he could manipulate just like life essence, he was surprised by its presence and was eager to explore its properties.
The energy he sensed felt like a deep, dark red - a painful, hate-filled, vicious, and chaotic force that could easily taint a person if they let it take control. Unlike the pure and serene white of life essence that Nazurak was accustomed to, this energy exuded negativity and danger, prompting caution and concern in him
Despite his curiosity about the new energy, Nazurak knew there was no time to waste. He promptly expelled it into the vines, feeling an urgent need to rid himself of it. It just felt so right to release the negative force, and he didn't want to risk holding onto it any longer
The thorns abruptly jerked, recoiling back down to his ankle, lifting him and hurtling him towards a tree with curved branches that sat above a cave entrance. The impact was brutal, knocking both the wind and blood out of him, making his mind go blank for a split second. He gritted his teeth to stay awake, unaware the impact had dislocated his left shoulder.
With little consciousness left, or perhaps relying purely on survival instincts, he crawled into the cave. While doing so, the sounds of thorns attempting to make their way inside caught his ears, something appeared to be fending them off. As for what could have been delivering equal vicious blows back to it, Nazurak didn't know, he was too exhausted to care, or perhaps he simply couldn't, he just wanted to escape.
***
Some amount of time passed, Nazurak laid on the cool solid stone of the cave in a puddle of blood, awakened by a voice resonating inside his head.
'wake...up...rise...human'
He opened his almost lifeless eyes and attempted to look around, but had no energy to move his head.
The mysterious voice echoed again.
'do you...wish to...live? Make a contract...with me'
***
On Earth, numerous individuals sat before computer screens that spanned the length of colossal displays, while in the center of the room, a man stood atop a slightly elevated platform.
A slam from his fist made the room silent with tension.
"Damn it! That's another one gone!" The man said looking at the large displays in front of him.
He turned to Griffin with a furious stare.
"I told you to warn them when the thorns are miles before them!
Griffin lowered his head slightly to avoid eye contact.
"Sir, we were unaware of their advancing as they were concealed beneath the trees." Griffin said with respect.
The screens showed a map of Loctus along with all the platoons 1, 2, 3, and 4. However, that wasn't what they were looking at, one of the giant screens displayed a certain group of three. Their names were Dylan, Sora, and Nazurak.
Both Dylan's and Sora's indicators were blinking red with the words injured and alive. While the last one, Nazurak, had been greyed out labeled as dead.
The man gripped his phone then threw it to Griffin.
"This is your fault, you deliver the news! Call General Pike and tell him the threshold he requested won't be met."