I had never run so fast in my life.
My feet pounded against the forest floor, crashing through underbrush, my breath ragged and shallow. Behind me, the ground shook with each thunderous step of the monstrous creature. Its snarls echoed in my ears, and I could almost feel its hot breath on the back of my neck. Every instinct in my body screamed for me to keep going, but the more I ran, the more the reality of my situation sank in.
I can't outrun it.
The pain hit me before I even knew what had happened. A sharp, burning sensation ripped through my back as the creature's claws slashed at me. It wasn't deep, but it was enough to send me stumbling forward, nearly falling to the ground. I gritted my teeth, choking back a scream as the pain coursed through my body.
Is this really my fate? I thought, my vision blurring as I struggled to stay on my feet. Is this really how I'm going to die?
Memories of my past flashed before me — the accident, my parents, the years of suffering, and all the sorrow I had buried deep inside. My entire life had been a series of tragedies, one after another. Was I really going to end like this? Alone, in some unknown forest, devoured by a monster straight out of a nightmare?
The creature growled, its monstrous jaws dripping with saliva as it closed in on me. It looked ravenous, eager to tear into me, to end this chase and make me its meal.
I collapsed to my knees, unable to run any farther. My body was too weak, too battered. The pain from the gash on my back pulsed through me, my blood mixing with the dirt beneath me. I could barely keep my eyes open, my mind clouded with fear and pain. I could feel the creature's hunger, its need to devour me, its twisted anticipation.
I closed my eyes, bracing myself for the end. The monster was so close now, I could feel its presence looming over me, its hot breath washing over my skin.
But just as it seemed like all hope was lost, a voice — a faint, familiar voice — whispered through the chaos.
"Jashoo."
My eyes shot open. The voice echoed in my mind, gentle yet powerful, cutting through the fear that had gripped me. It wasn't the monster, and it wasn't my own thoughts. It was… them. The figures I had seen earlier. The ones who had warned me. The ones who looked like me.
The memory of their words hit me like a lightning bolt.
The Void… the power…
Something deep inside me stirred, a sensation I couldn't explain. It was like a flame had been lit within me, growing stronger with every second. The monster was about to strike, its jaws snapping open, but instead of terror, I felt something else rise up — a surge of energy, raw and untamed.
And then it happened.
Before I knew what was going on, I felt a force lift me off the ground. My body rose into the air, floating, as a fiery blue aura engulfed me. My eyes flashed open, and I could feel something surging from within, an immense power that I couldn't fully control, but it was there, burning, waiting to be unleashed.
I didn't know how to control it — I didn't even understand what it was — but it didn't matter. The power moved on its own, flowing through me like a raging river. My hands glowed with an intense blue light, crackling with energy that seemed to come from deep within the void itself.
The monster roared, leaping toward me, its claws outstretched. But before it could even come close, my hands moved of their own accord, and a powerful blast of energy shot from my palms. The force of it was beyond anything I could have imagined, a torrent of raw, destructive power that struck the creature head-on.
The impact was devastating.
The monstrous wolf-like creature let out a final, ear-piercing roar before it was completely obliterated, its massive body disintegrating in the brilliant blue light. The forest around us shook, the air vibrating with the force of the energy I had unleashed. In just one hit, the creature was gone, reduced to nothing but ash.
For a moment, everything was still. The fiery aura that surrounded me began to fade, and I could feel the energy inside me slowly withdrawing, receding back into the depths of my being. My feet touched the ground again, and the blue glow in my eyes dimmed.
But as the power ebbed away, my body felt heavy, weak. I could barely stand, my legs trembling beneath me. It had taken everything I had, and more. I didn't even fully understand what had just happened, only that something — something far greater than me — had controlled it.
That power... I thought, my vision starting to blur again. It wasn't just mine.
The last thing I remembered before darkness claimed me was the feeling of exhaustion washing over me, pulling me down into unconsciousness once more.
And then… nothing.