A week has passed since David had seen the knights’ battle. He had watched them cut down monsters with effortless precision, their armor gleaming, their swords carving through flesh as if it were paper. He had seen the awe on the villagers' faces.
Knights quickly established patrols with the guards, going out and culling the monsters, searching for the predator day after day. Their efforts created a safezone of sorts around Grainwick. For the first time since that cursed night, there was a promise of safety in the air. A believable one, at least.
If there was ever a time to take a breather and let himself experience the world he had been reborn into, it was now.
Unnoticed by others, he ventured into the forest, trying to follow the thin paths made by the gatherers.
At first his footsteps were light against the mossy ground. The plants were different than he was used to, but similar. Yes, there were trees with cyan leaves and frothy bushes of various colors, but they mostly resembled 'normal' things.
The first to truly amaze him were the scents. Sweet and acrid aromas drifted from the flowers, drawing in the mosquito-looking insects. He walked as he tried to take it all in.
The annoying, coiling ivy kept trying to snare his ankles, slowing his progress significantly, but everything around him was just too breathtaking for him to care about such little things.
If only monsters didn't exist... This would be paradise. He sighed heavily.
He reached a larger clearing, and his breath caught in his throat. His eyes widened as he looked at a small herd of grazing creatures—something like deer, but with twisted, spiraling horns—moved lazily through a clearing.
In the midst of it, a larger specimen, with metallic-blue fur kept wary watch of its surroundings. Tiny sparkles of electricity traveled up and down the majestic creature.
For a while, he let himself be lost in fascination. The world for him to discover.
Then he saw them.
A group of boarlets and adults, hunched and muttering, as they approached the herd from opposite his side. The moment his eyes locked onto them, his pulse spiked.
He stumbled back, breath catching in his throat. He slipped and fell, but he wasn't the target.
A single adult threw a rock at the alpha stag while others rushed it with sharp weapons made of bone.
David watched in morbid fascination as the metallic animal charged the monsters. Its antlers started to fill with lightning as it sped up.
The boarlets, on the other hand, were uninterested in fighting the powerful-looking alpha. They scattered around the clearing, trying to attack the fawns.
The whole herd was sent into disarray as the animals tried to run for their lives. The alpha snorted angrily and raised its antlers high. The air filled with static. Electricity condensed and coiled as the tendrils of lightning weaved between the bone.
A flash. Then a booming explosion. The alpha exploded an adult boarman with a lightning bolt from its antlers... But there were too many opponents for it to suppress.
A few boarlets were already dragging away a dead fawn and another group was finishing off a foal. The rest of the herd was long gone, scattered into the forest.
As the ringing in his ears settled, David realized he was just sitting there, staring as monsters fought not 30 meters away from him.
Suddenly realizing the precariousness of his position, he stood up and ran.
He barely knew which direction he was going. Just - away. His mind raced, his heart hammering in his chest. He weaved through the thick underbrush, ducking low when he heard distant snarls. More goblins. He kept running.
His lungs burned. His legs ached. He spent what felt like an hour darting between different groups of monsters, mostly boarlets and goblins.
He was slipping between tangled ivy, circling back, trying to find his way back to the village. He realized too late how easy it was to get lost in a dense forest. It was getting darker.
No no no no... this can't be happening. How could I be so stupid? He tried to recall survival programs he had once seen. Secure water, find food... But how? Climb a tree?
He looked up, into the rickety branches going tens of meters up and shook his head. A suicide.
As he stumbled through another bush, he spotted a boarlet locked in battle with yet another unknown creature — a fox, its sleek fur deep auburn, tails twisting behind it like flickering embers. Three of them.
The boarlet fought savagely, its crude blade hacking at the fox’s flank. Blood splattered the dirt.
The boarlet was about to lunge for a final strike, but it stopped. Its eyes rolled back just briefly, but it was all the opening the fox needed.
Its fangs tore out the boarlet’s throat and a bloody gurgling filled the air as it collapsed.
David should have left.
Instead, he watched as the fox, breathing heavily, bent over the corpse and—It ate.
It devoured the boarlet in slow, careful bites, tearing sinew and muscle from bone. The sight made David’s stomach churn.
He had known, logically, that not all creatures fit into neat little categories of predator and prey. But seeing something so eerily elegant feast on something so… humanoid… unsettled him.
But The fox wasn't in a good shape. Thick blood clotted its fur around where it had been stabbed. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.
The fox stopped eating and laid down, its breathing labored.
A wounded beast. David's mind was hazy with stress, hunger and thirst. I need food.
He picked up a larger stone and slowly moved out from the bushes. The fox turned.
Its golden eyes locked onto him, and in an instant, his mind split apart.
Pain. His hand severed at the wrist. Bone splintering. His throat slashed open.
David staggered back, gasping and blinked. The wounds were… gone? Nothing happened, it was a hallucination.
He took another step forward and the fox bristled.
David rolled his shoulders and moved on. The fox tilted its head for a second... But then laid down, its beautiful eyes staring at him. Resignation. David paused. The animal felt... smart.
The whole situation was enough to sober David up. What am I even doing? He had no way to start a fire or even carve the meat. He didn't even know how to do that.
Was the plan to eat raw meat? Drink blood?
He cursed his panicked decision making as his fingers slacked. The stone fell to the ground.
David started to walk away, until he heard a whimper.
He turned around and he saw yet another vision. Himself standing over the fox's dead body. It evoked... pity? Did the animal just ask him for help?
David hesitated, but curiosity made him linger. Another hallucination, but this time there was no vision, just a pure intent, injected straight into his brain. A pleading. The fox was afraid.
Might as well befriend a mythical creature before boarmen gut me. What was the worst that could happen? He was lost, and he had no better ideas.
Slowly, carefully, he approached the animal, eyes flicking to the fox for any sign of aggression. It watched him, wary, but did not move away.
He reached into his satchel, pulled out a strip of cloth and a healing tincture Aura gave him. He worked quickly, wrapping the wound, applying the medicine to slowly close the wound.
The fox tensed beneath his touch but allowed it. When David finished, he sat back.
The fox sniffed at the wound, then started licking it.
"Stop that! You'll get rid of the healing tincture!" David said, keeping a little distance, too afraid to touch the fox again.
The animal paused and tilted its head again at David. Their eyes met. Another vision.
A golden light, the sun hanging lazily in a blue sky. A field stretching into the horizon. A group of foxes running around a large grassland, playing together. A pulse of warmth filled David’s heart. A show of gratitude?
David exhaled shakily. He had no words. He reached out and petted the fox softly. The animal, while reluctant, allowed it.
He sat there, hand resting against the fox’s soft fur, but even such a fantastical situation couldn't stave off the despair for long. He was still lost. The boarlet's corpse would surely draw in more monsters soon.
Then the world changed. A thick mist rolled in, swallowing the trees, the air, the ground itself.
David’s breath hitched. Everything was pale white, and all sounds disappeared. Even the fox next to him seemed like a distant mirage. What's happening?
A shadow moved through the fog, enormous, prowling. It emerged like a phantom, slowly becoming visible. A giant fox the size of a pickup truck, its form shifting. It had nine tails swirling behind it like storm clouds. David had never felt smaller.
The prismatic eyes looked at him and the world shattered.
He saw Aura and Bert, extending their hands towards him. He felt their bodies grow cold, crumbling into dust as they screamed. He looked around and saw Marie at his feet, blood pooling beneath her.
He fell to his knees. His body trembled; his mind fractured as the visions kept coming. Glinting scythes. A gun shot point blank. He was losing consciousness. His soul was dying.
Then, just as quickly, the visions stopped.
He gasped for air, feeling an insane weight crush him. Tears were freely streaming from his eyes as he looked up. The beast's paw was pinning him to the ground as it towered over him. Watching him with those timeless eyes. One move of its claws would have ended his life instantly.
It gently bit the smaller fox by the scruff of its neck. It slowly lifted its paw, releasing David, and turned to leave.
He was rattled. The nightmares he had just lived through still bounced around through his head.
But a single fear overpowered everything else. A fear of a slow death as he starved or was hunted. Scared beyond belief, he did the only thing that made sense.
He shouted, scrambling to his feet. "Wait!"
And the beast paused. It glanced back at him and snarled, but the visions didn't come just yet.
He withered under the gaze. " I'm l-lost. Please—help me.” He was crying, breaking up. “I-I healed your pup! "
It turned its head slightly, enough to bring the smaller animal fully into his vision. Then it scoffed—a sound like wind through hollow trees.
The bandage he had tied turned to dust and fell to the ground. The wound was gone in an instant.
David hung his head. "Never mind." He said, despair creeping into his voice.
In the corner of his vision, he saw the giant beast flick its paw. Another vision crashing into him. Maybe it would put him out of his misery. Agony... David was fully prepared to die in that moment. It never happened.
What filled his mind was... different
He saw himself, small and insignificant from above, a bird’s-eye view of his position, the path winding back to the village, every twist, every turn. A map. It etched itself into his mind.
Then—silence. When he opened his eyes, the foxes were gone, and the mists were dissipating.
A whisper echoed through his mind, like many voices, young and old, merged into one. “Psi Losken Naoznaen, Odolio.”
The ancient language. What did he just encounter? One of the monster kings? David’s breath caught and he shuddered. A god?
He knew he would never forget those words, even if he couldn’t understand them yet. One day he would decipher them.
He stood there, shaking, trying to collect himself until a pack of goblins entered the clearing. He was too shocked to even react.
They crouched around the corpse and started to pick at it as he stared at them.
He was just a few steps away, yet they ignored him. He looked down. His body was... translucent. He was shrouded in fog.
He exhaled and slowly started walking. Along the mental map he received. Back home.
Still in complete shock. His carelessness, the stag, the monsters and finally the beast so powerful it could erase him with a snap.
It was all too much for him. Those visions… He shuddered.
Just thinking about it all threatened to break his mind.
He just wanted to leave it all behind. To go and train. Train until exhaustion and pain shut his brain off.
Maybe i should let Bert know? Or ask Aura about it?
He remembered the massive stature of the fox. The overwhelming visions.
No need. If that monster wanted them dead, they'd have no say in the matter. Better not give them any ideas.
How naïve he had been to simply walk into the forest just because a few knights waved their swords around.