Chapter 6: A World of Monsters
The wind whipped violently as Airen's body plummeted through the air, heart racing. His mind spun, but despite the chaos, he forced himself to focus.
"Think, Airen! Come on! You can shapeshift!"
His muscles tensed as he imagined something—anything—that could stop his fall. A bird? No, too slow. His brain raced faster than the ground below. Then, in a split second, a vision flashed in his mind.
"Something strong... something fast!"
In the blink of an eye, his form shifted. Bones cracked, his skin rippled, feathers sprouted, then hardened into black steel. His body morphed into a gigantic, dark-winged creature—part eagle, part armored beast—built for survival. With a powerful flap of his wings, Airen pulled up, narrowly avoiding smashing into the ground.
"Jesus..." he muttered, his voice distorted through the beak-like helmet covering his face. His wings sliced through the air as he glided downward, scanning the landscape for a safe landing. The forest spread below him like a patchwork of shadows and light, but something wasn't right.
This place felt wrong.
He landed with a heavy thud, his claws digging into the earth as his form shifted back into his human body. His heart was still pounding, but there was no time to rest. The hairs on the back of his neck prickled as he sensed something watching him.
"Alphonse," he growled, "any intel on where the hell I just landed?"
[Processing...] the system responded, its robotic voice calm. [Warning: Hostile lifeforms detected in the vicinity.]
"Of course there are," Airen muttered, wiping the sweat from his brow. "Just once, I'd like a peaceful landing."
He crouched low, his eyes narrowing as he scanned the thick trees around him. Dark shapes moved just beyond his vision, lurking in the shadows. They were closing in.
"Not again."
The creatures emerged from the darkness—twisted, grotesque beings with misshapen bodies and gnarled limbs. Their eyes glowed faintly, like embers burning with a deep, primal hunger. Airen's jaw clenched. He had seen plenty of monsters since arriving here, but these... these were different. They were faster, more intelligent.
He could feel it.
The largest of the creatures stepped forward, its body towering above the others, its elongated claws dripping with some kind of black ooze. It snarled, a low, guttural sound that sent a chill down Airen's spine.
"Alright, Alphonse, give me the rundown. What am I dealing with?"
[Species unknown. Physical analysis suggests heightened strength and speed. Highly aggressive.]
"Fantastic," Airen muttered. "I've had enough of this shit."
He could feel the fear creeping in, but he pushed it back, locking his eyes on the alpha. His body was itching to shift again, to tap into that power, but he needed to stay smart.
Suddenly, the alpha lunged, its claws aimed straight for Airen's throat. Instinct kicked in, and before he could think, Airen's body shifted once more. His muscles bulged, his skin hardening into thick, plated armor. He barely felt the impact as the creature's claws glanced off his now-metallic body.
"Nice try, asshole," Airen growled, his voice deeper, more monstrous.
Without hesitation, he charged forward, his form blurring as he shifted into something faster, deadlier. His body twisted into a sleek, jaguar-like predator, black as night, moving in fluid bursts of speed. His claws tore into the alpha's side, sending it crashing to the ground with a yelp.
The other creatures hesitated, clearly not expecting this level of resistance. Airen bared his fangs, his eyes glowing with a predatory gleam. His breath came out in sharp, controlled bursts, and he could feel his heartbeat slowing as his Calm Mind skill kicked in, steadying his nerves.
He was in control now.
But as the pack began to circle him, he realized this was only the beginning.
"Alphonse," he muttered, keeping his eyes on the creatures, "any chance these things can be reasoned with?"
[Unlikely. They appear to operate purely on instinct.]
"Great. Guess we're doing this the hard way."
The alpha, bleeding but not beaten, rose to its feet, snarling. It charged again, faster this time, its claws aimed at Airen's face. But Airen was ready. His body shifted once more, this time into something massive—an enormous bear-like beast with thick, armored hide and a pair of vicious, serrated tusks.
He met the alpha's charge head-on, their bodies colliding with a sickening crunch. Airen's tusks sank deep into the creature's chest, and with a powerful twist, he threw it aside like a ragdoll. The alpha crashed into a tree, its body limp and broken.
The rest of the pack scattered into the woods, their courage gone.
Airen stood there for a moment, panting, blood dripping from his tusks. Slowly, his body morphed back to human form. He wiped the blood from his face, shaking off the adrenaline that still coursed through his veins.
"Is that it?" he asked, half-expecting more trouble. But the forest was silent now, the only sound the wind rustling through the leaves.
[Hostile lifeforms neutralized. Threat level decreased.]
Airen sighed, his shoulders sagging. "Yeah, until the next nightmare shows up."
He glanced at the broken body of the alpha, its blood pooling around it. There was something unsettling about these creatures, something deeper than just mindless beasts. He could feel it in the air—the way the shadows moved, the way the very ground seemed to pulse with dark energy.
Whatever this place was, it was getting worse.
And as he looked up at the towering mountains in the distance, Airen couldn't shake the feeling that something far more dangerous was waiting for him up there.
Something he wasn't ready for.
"Guess I'm heading to the mountains," he muttered, turning away from the carnage. "What's the worst that could happen?"
Alphonse's voice echoed in his mind, cold and calculating. [Calculating odds of survival: Low.]
Airen chuckled darkly, shaking his head. "Yeah, thanks for the pep talk."
With one last glance at the dead alpha, Airen set off toward the looming mountains, his body already tensing for the next fight.