A light shockwave rolled through the forest, the leaves rustled, and the ground vibrated for a moment as it reached two figures walking on a small path barely wide enough for a single person. They stopped and hesitated for a moment, not just from the vibration but also from the fain, almost imperceptible hum that seemed to linger in the air for a moment longer, making the hairs on Vito's arms prickle.
"There it is again."
The figure in the front said, turning around to him. It was a young man in his early twenties with a cleanly shaven face, his eyes perfectly matching the wood brown hair, a hunting rifle slung across his right shoulder. Vito nodded, looking past the solid statue of his brother in the direction where the strange shockwave came from. He stayed silent for a moment, contemplating
'No engine noise. Not logging. No explosions. That hum … feels like static electricity'
He looked back at Akko. He still could not comprehend how his younger brother had not only ended up taller, but also so much more muscular than him. Likewise, he himself was certainly not a small man and hauling trees for work had left an effect, but not to that extent.
"What could this even be"
Vito mused aloud, more to himself.
"No sounds… Military testing way out here? Seems unlikely, right?"
He raised an eyebrow at his brother.
"Nah… I definitely not."
Akko dismissed quickly.
"Nearest base in that direction is clicks away."
He added, turning back and gesturing vaguely in the direction they were headed. Scanned the treeline again, a prickle of unease, sharp and unwelcome, traced a path down his spine. He glanced around, finding nothing.
"Anyways, I don't think we're too far away now, so let's find out what this shit is."
Vito nodded, but before following his brother, he took a moment to just enjoy the beauty of the forest. Now that it was the height of spring, he was surrounded by the deep green of the new leaves and plants shooting from every possible place, while the birds and insects were busy doing whatever they were doing. They seemed energetic today, almost frantic. A deep breath revealed the usual scent of damp earth and pine, but with an undercurrent of something else… metallic, almost like ozone after a lightning strike, faint and fleeting. He frowned.
'Weird.'
He shook his head and pulled himself out of the moment and started to walk down the tiny path, carved out by the animals roaming the forest. Before he could even finish his third step, however, another shockwave shook the forest. Confused, he stopped as he was being pushed back. This was strange. The previous ones were all separated by at least a couple of minutes and not nearly as strong.
"Huh? What the fu.."
His head exploded with pain, stars and streams of all possible colours flooded his vision as the back of his head suddenly hit the grass floor of the forest. Before he had any time even form a single thought, the excruciating feeling of his skin melting sucked the air out of his lungs, his hands shooting up to try and get off whatever it was that was burning him alive.
Reeling in pain and clawing the right side of his face, an inhuman scream escaped his mouth. He could feel the skin under his hands move, and his eye had seemingly turned into a ball of fire, embedded into his face and drilling further into his skull with myriads of small needles whose single purpose was nothing but to induce pain.
But the physical agony was almost secondary to the violation within - images flashed across his mind, strange voices whispered in his ears, and the pressure on his mind felt like the universe was crashing down on him, trying to burn both his body and mind equally.
Another wave of pain twisted his body and reality dissolved. He was not in the forest any more. The physical pain disappeared as quickly as it had surged. Panic flared, however, as his limbs refused his commands, acting on their own. They felt strange, as if not belonging to him - even his thoughts felt sluggish, distant, drowned out by a rising tide.
'No, not drowned out. Replaced.'
Ebony smoke flowed around his feet, stretching out to his sides, forming an ever-changing landscape of sharp black hills and valleys. To his left, the shadows rose dozens of meters, while to his left human like shadow figures slowly moved through the terrain.
Having lost control of his body, he could do nothing but observe in panic as his own mind, his feelings and thoughts were taken over, and he became a prisoner in his own skull.
Vito watched in horror as his own legs carried him against his will in the same direction, leading the group. He stopped and raised his shadowy hand, leading the others to do the same, before he spun around and a wave of foreign emotions - duty, urgency, then sharp otherworldly fear - washed over him, belonging to the entity now wearing his mind like an ill-fitting cloak.
'How did I fail to sense it?!'
The deep, growling voice, questioned. Despite not being his own thought, the fear felt sickeningly real. He was forced to observe through the entity's eyes as - no, he was not observing, he was becoming
'Narog, I am Narog'
The voice thundered. As it invaded Vito's self, ripping out chunks and replacing it with itself. He watched with Narogs… his eyes, as a gigantic six legged creatures crawled over the edge of the cliff they had just passed. Holding on with its claws deeply buried in the shadows, it lifted its spike filled head and opened its jaws, revealing rows of razor sharp fangs. Shadows seemed to leak from various spots on of its body as its body stretched, and a radiant glow appeared deep inside the beasts' maw. Narog's hands snapped up to snatch the hilts of his two war hammers stuck to his back while already moving his feet to the nearest boulder.
"Disperse!"
He yelled, not that it was necessary. His warriors are all experienced and were already dashing into different directions trying to find shelter as the air heated up, and the shadows seemed to be sucked towards the abomination standing atop the cliff. He had failed. It did not matter that no one else had sensed the beast either. He was the leader, and it was his duty to ensure they did not get into situations exactly like this. But he was too careless, he should not have been so sure it had fled, he should have …
'Enough… Get your men out of this.'
He had to remain calm, letting his emotions control him would help nobody. He threw a glance over his shoulder at the 3 soldiers closest to the creature, still far away from the rock there were heading for.
'Not enough time.'
Burn the gods, he cursed in his thoughts. His feet slid across obsidian pebbles as he slammed to a halt and planted his feet into the ground, throwing his right arm back and tensed his muscles before yanking his arm forward and sending one of his hammers towards the creature. The body of the towering beast rocked from the powerful throw. Strong enough to pulverise entire buildings, however that thing, apart from being a bit shaken up, seemed to be almost completely unaffected. Its burning red eyes locked on to Narog as it released a maelstrom of radiant fire from its maw headed straight in his direction. He turned to the boulder, but he knew that there was no way he would make it in time. At least he bought his men some time… not that it would redeem is utter failure.
Then, out of nowhere a shadow rammed into his side, forcefully slamming him into against the giant stone. He felt one of his rips crack, and pain shot throughout his body as the air was sucked out of his lungs. A wave of radiant fire crashed against the boulder, flames creeping around its edges, and burning heat licked the right side of his face before a pair of hands dragged him further behind the stone.
The smell of burned flesh rushed through his nose alongside unimaginable pain, the unnatural fire eating away his skin. Biting his teeth and letting out a suppressed scream, he tried orienting himself and as the bright light of the flames died down a finally got a chance to look at the person who had saved him.
The shadowy figure towered above him, its exact shape and size obscured by dense obsidian smoke, 4 burning eyes drilling into the depths of his soul as it raised its left hand, containing an abnormal amount of fingers and grabbed his face, causing another wave of pain as his vision dimmed, and the world once again dissolved into darkness. Only moments later they started taking shape and Narog looked down at two figures laying down, happiness and excitement circulating his body, as he stretched out his arms towards the small figure and a deep sense of protectiveness emerged.
'Get out of my head!'
Vito's mind roared as he pushed back against the overwhelming force that was suppressing his thoughts and emotions. Holding tight and using his sense of self as an anchor, the shadows lost its shape and the foreign memories fractured as he finally regained some of his consciousness. But the respite was brief. The pressure surged again, crashing down stronger than before, and he was once again driven back as the alien voice screamed in agony and rage as it dragged it back under. The black smoke became flowed to reshape itself into a wide landscape.
Narog found himself kneeling, his hands chained behind his back, and looking down the ground. Next to him, in front of him, everywhere around of him kneeled his brothers and sisters, in the same position as him.
He raised his head, over the hundreds of people in front of him, towards a wide platform. Rows and rows of soldiers stood silently as a handful of shadows parted to reveal a strange figure, chained to the ground, with four burning eyes. Volumes of emotions flooded Narog and he gritted his teeth
'This is all our fau…'
'NO! This is NOT ME!'
Vito's desperation and anger strengthening his determination. His fury, his terror, his sheer refusal to be erased, finally gave him purchase. He clawed his way back, climbing from the depths, cutting through the suffocating weight of Narog's existence.
The shadows disappeared as bright light blinded Vito as he finally regained control of his body and mind as the pressure subsided, the voice was pushed back into the depths, and he pulled himself back into reality.
He felt two hands shaking him, as a distant voice shouting in distress before he slowly started regaining his vision. Gasping for air and wheezingly sucking in a year's supply of oxygen, he laid there, trying to collect his thoughts. His brother's face appeared in front of him, panic written all over his face
"Vito! The fuck is going on? What happened? Are you alright? Talk to me!"
Vito blinked, the shock still rattling his thoughts. Taking desperate breaths, he was finally able to form coherent thoughts again, and as he tried comprehending the visions he had just witnessed. The searing pain in his face still persisted and forced him to focus. Barely able to speak, he removed his hands from his face
"My face?" he croaked, the words barely audible, "What… happened…?"