[Six thousand years later]
Pain.
Misery.
Yet…a slight spark of hope.
Was it remotely possible to feel all this abstract emotions at once?
Absurd as it seemed, it was happening now.
Beads of cold sweats rolled down the arched chin fof the running teen, as he sped past tall building, their outlines building a sharp contrast to the blackened sky.
Spikes pierced repeatedly into his mind, all in a bid to make him lose consciousness.
But all in futility. Infact, he could still think rationally.
That could only be called a wonder. Or better still, a miracle.
But he didn't believe in miracles, so it couldn't be.
As his mind ruminated on this absurdity, he began to suddenly hear heavy padding footsteps behind him, and alongside he could also hear depraved panting.
His imagination couldn't deceive him less…
Something was after him now. He was certain of that fact.
He paused in his thinking, surely not his pace. If something only began to chase after him, then why had he been running since?
His mind presented no reply. Naturally, it was befuddled too. What did he expect?
His awe widened still that he still had a fully functioning mind, in spite of all the myriads of impossibilities happening all around him.
Now he could think, he had to seize this opportunity to check out what rational reason for this…invasion. At least, before he would lose control of his mind too.
Alright. He woke up this morning to find his sisters ripped from limb to limb. And he was mysteriously spared. But why?
As to that, he had no absolute idea. And then, why were these strange humongous humanoids here?
No existing myths could even define them. As a lad, he read about all the mythologies he could get his hands on, and surely none defined any beasts with this sort of appearance.
All his mind seemed to tell him was to run…
Run…
Nonstop…
Just keep running. That's the only way to ensure survival.
He didn't even want to decipher the mystery of the invaders. He could feel his pursuer gaining on him, and he tried his possible best to keep on going.
But his body seemed to be betraying him…
It seemed like his very muscles were on fire. Panic replaced adrenaline in his blood vessels and he began to slow down.
At long last, he slumped, landing on the stony floor with a dull thud.
The pursuing creature also stopped too, and began to approach menacingly, saliva dripping from its mouth in anticipation of its meal; him.
No…this was never his ideal way to die. He always pictured something more heroic, probably witnessed by loads of people.
But then he remembered that he might just be the only survivor in his whole planet.
Now that he pondered on it, he hadn't seen any remains or half eaten leftovers of human flesh throughout his marathon.
His head throbbed rhythmically, as he tried to get to his feet.
His body felt like an unresponsive bag of stones he was trying to hoist up. His very nerves disrupted his own orders and hence, his body inadvertently refused to move anymore.
He could hear panting behind him, and a shadow fell on him.
Finally…so this is how I died?
At last, his body began to move. He scrambled away, aware of the futility of that action. All that monster needed was a short lung to reach him.
There was no need to keep fighting. After all, all humans like him had already been devoured.
He couldn't live alone in solitude.
Despair flooded his heart and he reluctantly gave up.
Perhaps he was destined to die like this after all.
He fell back feebly and the monster approached him with a twisted grin of glee. It raised its clawed paw and swiped at him.
The pain the hopeless teen felt dragged him back to reality, sparking mobility back into his bones. He couldn't die like this. He had to move on.
He scrambled to his feet, and began to run again. He had thought on giving up hope, but the prospect of death this way was too painful.
If I escape this monster, I'll commit suicide. Much peaceful, and at least I'd leave a body behind.
Much better than to rot as carcass.
He ran on, the building blurring as he hurtled past them. He dived sideways into an alley, and jumped over the short fence there, climbed the small iron mesh barricade and crouching behind an overlarge trash bin, all in a bid to lose the monster.
For a split second, he thought his plan has worked. But a slow rageful panting drawing nearer, told him that he has just made a huge mistake.
Simply locking himself in a secluded area, making it much easier for the monster to get him.
I mustn't give up so easily!
With a sneaky pose, he grabbed a rusty steel rod, and crept cautiously towards the iron mesh barricade.
From his angle, he couldn't see the monster, but he knew it was there, somewhere close to the entrance to the alley.
He scaled the short fence again, with much difficulty this time because of his intention to avoid making much noise and also his sonorous weapon.
He climbed the mesh, and leapt down with a catlike jump, careful not to alert the monster.
He couldn't face the monster one off, so his best hope was a sneak attack.
He tiptoed towards it, raising the steel rod and taking a deep breath.
With a loud yell, he ran towards it and took a great running leap.
The monster having heard the yell turned and glanced for the source of the sound. By the time it located him, it was too late.
Or so he thought.
The monster swung a heavy arm at him with a speed far too unimaginable for it's size, dazing him into unconsciousness.
When he opened his eyes a few seconds later, he could see a brightly moonlit sky, a complete contrast to the stygian night moments ago. He smiled as a thought fluttered into his clustered head.
The nightmare was over. He could now meet his sisters.
But, why am I lying in some dark alley?
Fuck!!!
He was wrong about one thing after all; the nightmare just took a bright turn, but wasn't over yet.
His nightmare personified, lurked somewhere on the edge of the line of his vision, staring around inconspicuously for something.
He tried to get up, blinking blood and stars out of his eyes. The monster scooped him up in his hands and began to bound away.
"No!", the petrified human cried, banging his fists against the inner walls of the monster's palm. "If you're gonna eat me, you've to do it alone. I can't stand being shared!"
Of course, the monster didn't hear him, because it couldn't. Only a tiny sliver of moonlight sliced into the closed palm, lighting up the distressed face.
Think, boy. Think!
He could feel his body's reflexes dulling, as he tried to push out. His organs began to slow down, and the human began to succumb to that unfightable feeling.
No!....I can't die like this…
What kind of miracle could he use to force himself out of a gigantic fisted hand?
Just faith.
The teen looked around for the source of the voice. Maybe, his despair was leading him into insanity.
The voice sounded right inside his head. Then, he decided to play along.
"Faith huh? How?"
"Wait, who are you?"
"What the hell is wrong with you? I'm Mori of course!"
"No, you're not. You're Dael…"
The teen hesitated for a moment before nodding dully. Then, he looked at his hands and caressed his chest, now visible from his ripped clothing, with an appraising gaze.
"Well, it's not as bad as I thought…I still have to get it in shape though…" the teen who called himself Mori said, still examining his own body.
The air of fear was gone. Also was the palpable feeling of despair. Mori looked perfectly at ease now.
Nice name, I think I'll keep it.
"Now, what did this young lady get himself into right before his death?"
Mori glanced around in the enclosed palm then at the moon through the tiny crevices.
"Why, this puny human's despair infected me for a moment, then I acted disgracefully. But now, I'm me."
Mori tensed up as he felt an influx of memories belonging to 'Mori' crashing into his mind, rapping sharply against the walls of his mind.
It was still a bit lazy, trying to boot up after thousands of years of inactivity.
"Well, time to get out of this shit…"
Mori paused again inadvertently. The original Mori's memories also affected his vocabulary.
Well, he'd get used to it. Hopefully, with time.
"Hạsu."[1]
A great roar reverberated through the ruined city and the monster opened his palm. Mori leapt out calmly, looking back.
The monster knelt behind him, clutching his palm, which now dripped with something awfully looking like blood. It's hand now resembled a skeletal fossil and it whimpered, it's face imploring.
"Well, you did all these," Mori gestured around at the eeriely quiet town, "Sorry, I can't forgive you."
He stretched out his hand, remembering how he did this six thousand years ago, to kill a much depraved demon than this.
"All of you still deserve death. You're all the same, just different calibers. If you had that kind of power, you'd have probably used it more than he did."
The monster just moped at him, still making deep pleading grunts.
"Occidere."[2]
The monster fell without another word, just caught in some kind of mid sentence. At least, that was what Mori imagined.
He knew, even without checking, that they were more of creatures like this marauding around, goading more humans. He had to end this now.
"So much for being a god…at least my spell worked…"
He raised up his hand skyward, and thought calmly.
"What one should I use…" As he deliberated, a ball of light lit up in his hand, glowing through the darkness like some beacon.
His memory was still as perfect as it was, during his death six thousand years ago.
"Found it… Now let's see what true power is…"
He glanced around, subconsciously. He frowned at this, but probably it was a habit the original Mori formed.
'Durlabh."[3]
A wave of power blew out from his hand, spreading radially, shaking the town as they travelled.
He could hear heavy thuds and pain filled roars all around him as monsters collapsed.
But then, he felt his own eyes closing.
"What's going on?", then his eyeballs widened slightly in realization, "I never did considered that aspect…this human body is not as compatible as my godly one, so it can't carry –"
He didn't finish that statement, as exhaustion overcame him, mingled with severe pain, which he was quite used to.
Not just him, but the vessel he was in too.
He fell down, crashing on a half eaten human, rolling down to hit the monster's carcass.
Moments later, a helicopter flashed it's beam light on him, and a paratrooper leapt down from it. As soon as he touched ground, he ran to Mori and turned him over.
"Are you okay?"
He saw that the Mori's eyes were closed, so he waved a frantic hand at the helicopter, flagging them down. Then, he dragged Mori and hoisted him over his shoulder.
As he did so, he caught sight of Mori's hands, then his eyes travelled down along them. He saw the slender fingers, then the nails.
Then, he collapsed without a word, right next the person he was meant to rescue.
[1] Latin for Pain.
[2] Latin for Kill.
[3] Latin for Extinct.