The plan was simple: I would gear up and mount on my horse. I would wear extremely thick and baggy clothing to cover up my mutations. I would then follow the map to the point. After I arrived at the point, I would enter, find the cure, drink it, and return home. It was simple, almost too simple. I had forgotten one thing, and forgetting this one thing is what made it so simple. I had forgotten to find out what the dungeon was and where exactly it was located (underground, upon a mountain, in the ocean, etc). What a foolish and simple mistake it was but it caused so much turmoil and trouble, too much turmoil and trouble. If not for my mutations, I would've died. Heh, look at that. Something that I thought would destroy and ruin my life, actually saved my life from destruction and ruin. I suppose life is unexpected. Always expect the unexpected.
Anyway, I had finished packing and planning everything and I had finally set out. I had set out at midnight just in case my wings decided to reincarnate. I had reached the same cliff or hill where my leg or foot had become that of a cockroach, and my first mutation of the journey had finally happened. Both my legs transformed into those of a cheetah. I underwent that excruciating process once more but I believe the result was worth it. 2 majestic, thick yet skinny legs that go immense speeds. Cheetahs' are fast yet they cannot sweat which means they can't utilize their speed for a long distance. However, I could sweat and I'm sure you understand my point. It was hard trying to control them at first but then I figured it out. It was quite easy, to be honest. I then started sprinting. I was going very, VERY fast. Must be faster than a modern-day horse carriage and I lasted at that speed for a whole 2 minutes! In those 2 minutes, I had traveled over 2 whole miles. It was quite a feat as it took an average carriage roughly about 2 whole hours to travel 2 miles but I had done so in 2 minutes! Anyhow, I stopped to take a rest for about 20 minutes and went again for another 4 miles in 4 minutes. I then stopped again and took a rest and my legs returned to normal. I was devastated and tired and I thought the legs would last me the whole journey so I left my carriage at home! I was hopeless. I had thought that suicide would have been best at that moment. I punched the grass and kicked the tree yet nothing seemed to calm me down. I was angry with myself and my foolish arrogance, I was angry at myself! It was no one's fault for my foolishness. I was the one who was proud enough to leave my carriage and rely all on myself. I guess humans can't just rely on themselves for everything; we must accept help. We must open up our shut-up hearts and allow others to explore it and heal it. We can't always do everything by ourselves.
Dawn had come and there I was, alone. 'This feels no different from home' I thought to myself. I sat there, lying on a tree with the hand of a frog. The tree was large and it was in a beautiful, green grass field with frequent trees scattered around it. The tree had vines wrapping from the bottom to the tip of every root and it had leaves that were so giant that it blocked sunlight from passing through. The tree had a fresh smell; one of purity, one of freshness, one of youth and happiness. It felt smooth and wet due to the morning dew and it was very thick. The tree had sap leaking through the frequent holes that it had inside and there was also a bee nest near the top left. I wanted to grab my blade and end it all, to slash my throat but then a little kid appeared in front of me. Where was he from? Where were his parents? How did he even there? I still ask myself these questions because I saw no home and no village anywhere. I only saw a light dirt path meant for single horses but it was dawn and no traveler or merchant had woken up yet.
"Child!" I yelled. No response. "Child!" I shouted again yet no response. I covered my frog hand further to not arouse suspicion but then as soon as I had done so, the child fell on its knees and started crying. He was dressed in leopard skin and wore nothing upon his feet. She had blonde, long, scruffy hair with brown, cat-like eyes. Her lips were thin and dry, as though she was dehydrated, and her nose was snotty. Her skin was yellow and her eyes too. The child continued crying and looked me in the eyes.
"Why won't you accept me!?" The child screamed. "Why do you live with me!?" It added. To say I was confused was to say that the grass was green.
"Accept you?" I asked, "Who are you!?" I added before grabbing the child. The child's eyes then turned pitch black and so did its hair and its body formed into that of a dog. The dog then walked off. 'What the...' I thought to myself. Suddenly, as I looked down, I noticed my sword was gone! It was in the dog's mouth! I arose and chased after the dog though I was tired. I caught the dog and then woke up. 'A dream?' I thought to myself, but it wasn't a dream. No, it must've been something more mystical. I say so as it stopped me from killing myself so it had to be mystical. Luckily, my sword was there. However, my carriage was not there. I was still stranded. I started walking slowly. I walked for what seemed eternity but it was only 10 minutes. And lo and behold! A village was there. If I had just walked for an additional 10 minutes earlier then I wouldn't have had to suffer the whole night. Nonetheless, I reached the village and so did the villagers. They looked like any other Roman; light hair, light eyes, and a fit body. I saw a fountain and sprinted to it as my water supply was lost when I was sprinting with the cheetah's legs. I ran to the fountain pulled back a whole bucket and drank. I threw water on my face and embraced its coolness. Doesn't that just feel great? After a long and tiring day, drinking water seems like heaven; but when we have access to it, it seems unimportant. But isn't that human nature? If we have more availability of something, its worth goes down. But if we have less availability of something, its value grows. I guess it's true what they say: Absence makes the heart grow fonder.
The villagers looked at me with disgust. 'What is this animal doing!' 'Who does this person think he is!?' 'Filthy!' Was what the villagers screaming at me, but I cared not. At that moment, all I cared for was water, only water. I didn't care if the people saw my mutations or if they thought I was strange, I only cared about water. After I was saturated, I started walking and the villagers were screaming swear words at me; but once again, I didn't care. I wanted to find a horse, no. I needed to find a horse. I stumbled my way and found nothing. I went left, right and center yet no luck. I was desperate. I became agitated and angry. Suddenly, my left arm transformed into a snake. It was strange, snakes have no limbs but my arm transformed into a snake itself. I tried covering it up but it was hissing and crying to be let out. Instantaneously, a villager came to me and screamed 'Wizard!' I got angry and let the snake loose. The snake wrapped itself around his throat and bit him and choked him. The man quickly died. I was enraged and didn't care. I ran as fast as I could with my hood and a mask up. I finally found someone riding a horse and had the snake bite him off. He too died. I got on the horse and started riding; using the snake as a whip. Strangely, the snake was submissive to me and bit only who I wanted him to bite. I rode as quick as I humanly could and the snake, surprisingly, didn't get in the way. I luckily exited the village with my face being seen by no one. This time, I hadn't forgotten my water and I filled up every container I had and rode with it in between my laps. When I was away and safe, I stopped strapped everything together, and started riding at a safe speed.
Later on, I arrived at this small town. It was full of rich people. Perhaps, the richest in all of Italia. I was riding throughout the village with my snake arm covered up and all I could sense were their eyes fixated on me. As though, I was an intruder or an alien; but one thing I had noticed about these people was that everything that they did was synthetic. Their love, their kisses, their handshakes and hugs, their tears and smiles, their anger and peace, it was all fake. Behind those empty golden cases was nothing. All of those people were hollow. They were nothing but an empty and hollow, golden casket. All that money and gold that was won was too pyrrhic and pointless. They had money but for what? To spend on lavish furniture? But they already had lavish furniture! To spend on fancy meals? They had already eaten fancy meals. They made money that was enough for them yet they kept working. They slaved away thinking they would achieve freedom yet it only led to even more slavery. Years turned into decades and decades turned into centuries. They worked for centuries and achieved wealth that could sustain generations. They could've taken a break and enjoyed their fruit and be free. But no, like a foolish farmer, they kept planting when they had already filled up the barn. They have no use for that money anyway, so why not donate it to the poor? Oh, but they would rather die than do so. How dare they use their pretty, little hands to help out the poor. They might stain their life fortune worth jacket whilst bending over to feed them; so why not just ignore the poor? Oh wretched fortune and those who bear it, may that fortune eat you up and show you no mercy. You don't even want to spare a single penny for the poor yet you continue to slave away for this pyrrhic money.
As I was riding throughout the town, I saw an old woman selling tomatoes, potatoes, cucumbers, and apples. I dismounted and walked over to her. My hood covered my face and my thick cloth guarded my snake from the burning daylight. I asked the woman for a succulent tomato and a glass of water. She looked up at my huge body (I was quite tall compared to everyone) and smiled at me. The only person to smile at me in the whole town was a petite, little, septuagenarian, and longevous woman. Perhaps even a woman. By the look of her clothes and aura, she was poor. However, she was richer than any other person in that whole town. Did she have money? No, not much anyway. Did she have a big home? Never. Did she have happiness and freedom? Yes indeed. But why was she selling? To meet new people. She simply gave me the basket of what I ordered without charging me a dime and all the meanwhile, she was smiling at me and giving small talk. She was such a pleasant old woman. She was skinny yet thankful, poor yet rich. Sadness was carved out in her soul but happiness filled it instead. Whilst the rich were meant to be the happy ones, she was the actual happy one. She was the one who had succeeded in life. Happiness and freedom are the true accomplishments that every man, woman, and child should aim for. Money will come and burn, gold will be lost, and clothes will be eaten up but happiness lasts forever when it is extracted from the right source. In this case, her happiness was extracted from simply existing. We should all be likewise. Happy to exist.
Anyhow, I grabbed the basket and mounted it back onto my horse. I blessed the woman and continued the journey. As I was reaching the town center, my arm had finally returned, and with it came that extraordinary pain. I tried not to scream, I tried not to cause a scene yet to no avail. I fell off my horse and screamed. The basket fell too and I watched as my only souvenir from this town had been spoiled and trampled on. The people around me cared not and just started walking around me. They cared more for their expensive coats than a suffering man. The metamorphosis of reverse metamorphosis finished and I painfully mounted back onto the horse. I then continued riding and exited the town. I was now back on the rural road. It was so beautiful. The birds chirped and the sunlight shone onto me as though God himself was looking at me. The mountains were like nature's giants which protect them from aliens and intruders. The morning dew was still scattered upon the lightly trimmed grass and its greenness was magnificent. The way the trees blocked the sunlight for a second and let it shine at its full potential at another made the journey feel heavenly. I picked up the pace and was going fast with the horse. I felt as if the wind pushed back my hair just as my first love played with my hair whilst I was on her lap. I felt as if the forced tears were coming due to the strong wind and I felt as if my face was refreshed. The rain started to be sprinkled from the atmosphere, as a chef would sprinkle freshly cooked steak with salt. It felt exhilarating. I felt as though nothing would stop me ever; until something did. Out of nowhere, my wings returned. That cool, refreshing, and pleasant feeling turned to agony and heat as my arms dissolved. Two eagle-like wings grew from them. I lost balance and fell off and landed on the grass. Luckily, I had attached a rope to my waist for situations like this and when I had fallen off, I dragged the horse with me. He then stood back up and started running which dragged me across the floor. I arose and my wings started flapping by themselves as hard as they could. It held back the horse and it lifted me in the sky. I looked down and saw that my leg was all bruised and cut up but because of my adrenaline, I felt nothing. I tried to lie down but my wings kept on pulling me back up. I begged the wings to go away so I could go on my journey but I didn't get lucky. I put my faith in my horse rather than myself, but it was justifiable! My horse never disappeared randomly as my cheetah legs did, my horse didn't leave me for dead as my legs did. But don't we all deserve second chances? I suppose that's what my strange mutation thought as it did not let me mount on my horse. I had forgotten to unwrap the rope from my waist and I started flying. Before I could even realize it, my horse was already in the sky and my stupid human instincts immediately unwrapped the rope which made him fall and die. Coincidentally, I started to descend. I ran to my horse but he was already dead. I was enraged. I pulled out my sword slashed the wings off and started screaming with rage mingled with pain, like poison mingled with wine; never a good combination. I fell sideways and continued crying. I then grabbed the blade and slashed my neck. I had killed myself. I was there, with blood spilling from my neck like a hose. Suddenly, I snapped back and stared down at my blade,
"This blade I see before me, shall it end me, or shall I end it?!" I asked myself. My wings then regrew and my rage came with it. I decided to let it be and I accepted my fate. Suddenly, I had control over the wings, again. Was it acceptance? Was that the key to control? Perhaps. Anyway, I remembered how to operate them and I picked up my blade, my water source and wrapped it all around my waist and I started to fly. I looked down as I was in the sky and I saw my horse's corpse and lying next to it was a basket, a basket of a single tomato, and a glass of water. I kept my cool as I knew that if I lost faith in the wings, I would lose control.
I was flying much faster than I was going with the horse. I was going almost the same speed I was with the cheetah legs. I felt like goddamn Zeus flying like that; one arm pointing forward and my legs in a thunder-like shape. As I kept flying, I felt as if a light smile was bred upon my lips. I was happy, but for what? I am yet to understand why I was happy but perhaps it was just my instincts like it was like last time. I flew at great speeds and I was getting closer and closer to the dungeon. Suddenly, as I was 2 miles away from the dungeon, my wings went away and I fell on the floor. I landed on some wet grass which mildly broke my fall. I broke my leg landing and my left arm and I was in a lot of pain. I was too hurt to even scream or whine so I just stood there and looked up at the sky.
"This is it for me," I said with a light, raspy tone, "This is the end for Lazarius Renovatus..." I then passed out and essentially died. In death, I was greeted by a beast. To say this beast was peculiar was an understatement. It was constantly morphing into different beasts yet it had the body of a man. It had the eyes of a woman and the height of an elderly man yet it was still morphing into different beasts. It had a bright aura that was illuminated by the thunder and electricity that was surrounding it and engulfing it. Its footsteps were loud even though the beast was small. The beast made its way towards me and stared at me. It then grabbed a blade and cut me straight through the middle. I felt as if my intestines and organelles slipped out and I couldn't do anything about it. I then saw how the beast picked these intestines up, blessed them, and put them back in their place. It then shot some sort of beam through its eyes and patched the gaping hole in my stomach.
There was a bright flash in my eyes, 'Where am I?' I asked myself. The flashing went away and I noticed that I was still on the wet grass. I was a bit dazed out yet I still knew the mission. I looked down and noticed that my cheetah legs were back and I looked up and thanked the God who did this. I wasted no time and went on my way.
I arrived at the dungeon and it was not what I expected at all.