DAMN! DAMN! DAMN!
I stumbled over my own legs to run, hurtling through branches and dodging random graves. Quick breaths escaped my lips in succession, and a cold sweat dripped down onto my lip. It tasted salty. My heart thumped in panic and fear as I pushed onward through the Red Forest of Thorns and Graves.
We should've let sleeping dogs lie, and we shouldn't have poked our noses where they didn't belong. I messed up!
These useless thoughts raced through my head, while I sprinted with reckless abandon. I ran without things like grace or elegance, no- my run was one of panic and fear. It was the result of death being hot on my heels.
I hate this place. I hate this place. Nothing ever makes sense!
Huffing and puffing I turned around, it was still after me! I wanted to scream in rage and fear! Wide red feathered demonic wings flapped pitifully, barely able to keep the large half-formed Cult Beast afloat. Still, it was more than enough to keep up with me, I had to sprint with everything I had to simply stay ahead. Its face was covered by a pale white skin hood that was torn at the edges making it look like old ripped fabric. The hood revealed only red gums and white jagged teeth, having no lips made it look skeletal. It opened its mouth in a large scream that made me wanna claw out my ears. But I couldn't afford to slow down, not even for a second! On its head keeping the skin hood from flying back was a crown of red thorns. Its pale white porous skin was gaunt, and covered its large body more like robes than skin, letting red tissue and muscle be exposed at certain spots. Its upper half was human-like but much larger, its lower half however hadn't fully formed. The legs looked skeletal and flimsy, I doubted it could really use them to walk at all. We interrupted it, so it hadn't finished its evolution to a Martyr and thus was only half-baked. Angelic and monstrous, but mostly monstrous.
What do I do! I can't run forever! I'm just wasting time!
I wanted to get away, to leave the horrible creature behind, desperation brought my legs to life. Urging them to push harder, go faster, I dodged and weaved branches and graves. The plan was so simple! We would dig around find some history books and objects of importance, then leave without ever even seeing a Cult beast. I wondered what part of it went wrong, as I vaulted over a grave haphazardly. We staked out the place! We knew that Cult Beasts were avoiding it because a stronger beast was there.
We should've taken the hint!—why didn't we take the hint!?
Ducking under a branch, I kept my eyes in front of me trying to avoid sentencing myself to death by tripping. The beast was mid-evolution and should've been practically impossible to wake up! Mid-evolution was when beasts were most vulnerable. We weren't treasure hunters, were just explorers trying to piece together the history of this place to find a way home.
Greed! That's where we went wrong!
An ear-piercing screech made my skin crawl, It was my fault! I saw the divine fragment in the weird fleshy gross cocoon, and I pointed it out to the investigation team. The light hit the cocoon just right, and I saw the divine fragment inside the cocoon, within the creature. It wasn't surprising they used them to evolve like we did but. My team just had to get a closer look! My breath ran ragged as I began to lose energy in my legs. I don't blame them, for an unawakened, divine fragment was hope, prosperity, and a way home. A way out of this damnable hell we found ourselves in! When we got closer, I touched the cocoon. The beast reacted, it began to move and tear itself out of the cocoon. When the other scattered like flies, I froze and I watched as it tore free from the cocoon and laid eyes on me. As it turned its head, I tore off in a sprint. I've been running since!
No, don't stop! Dammit! Keep moving! Please!
Tired and breath running ragged my legs began to fail me. My body refused to press on, not even the sound of wings getting closer could make me move faster. Death was near, and dammit I didn't wanna die! I wanted to rage to throw things, but I knew it would be pointless. Turning on my heels I pulled out a sad excuse of a knife I had been hiding. It was rusty and old, something I had found by chance in rubble. But it was one of the few weapons that wasn't a relic, a weapon that an unawakened like me could use. Shaking I tried to gather whatever I had left inside me and lowered my stance. The beast came quickly crashing through the thorn-like branches of the trees, it crashed landed knocking over trees and breaking graves.
What the hell am I gonna do?
I panted watching in disgust I watched the beast prop itself using its long skeletal arms. The beast roared again looking at me, the sound nearly popping my eardrums. My body acted reflectively as I began to shake, If I wasn't too tired I would probably scream and yell at how unfair this was. A cold chill went down my spine, and everything else faded away. I could only watch as the giant beast brought itself closer. My jaw tensed, and my breaths became shallow. The trees became like walls closing in on us. There was no escape.
Damn, I really didn't think I'd go like this, a shivering coward.
Gritting my teeth—No I didn't want to die like a coward! Or like a hero, I didn't want to die at all! I would live! I'd find a way! Clenching my fingers around the knife I charged to meet the creature. I couldn't stop myself, frustration had built up pushing me to fight back with everything I had. I would cut, claw, and bite until I had found a way to live through this. The beast opened its unnaturally wide, blood drooling out of its mouth.
"I hope you choke!" I roared and flipped the bird, its jaw cracked. Instantly in a blur, I was in its grotesque mouth. The damn thing was trying to eat me whole, I felt its teeth dig into my lower back trying to crush me. But it bit off more than it could chew and was struggling. I swiped wildly with the knife cutting anything I could reach.
"You Psycho! You're seriously trying to eat me!?" The words swelled inside me, I wasn't gonna let it! Slowly it lifted its head and gravity began pushing me further down. Eventually, I felt myself be swallowed.
Gross. Just—gross.
It was a pitch-black warm and slimy abyss, the creature was still only half-formed and was struggling greatly. I was gonna get crushed before I even got digested, searching for the knife I realized I had lost it. My bones began to feel the pressure, I really would die here. Tears began to swell, dammit! I wasn't ready! The defiance I felt began to wane, I didn't want to lose hope, but I felt it begin to slip without my control.
There must still be a way!
Getting crushed, my mouth opened to scream for help, but nothing came out. My rational mind knew it was useless, it was simply too much effort. Wanting to curl up, I tried to move with great difficulty, till I hugged myself. I waited like that for a moment for something to happen, for anything to end this. Not sure I was still actually alive, I began to let the resistance I was putting up fade. Suffocating, endless, only the heartbeat of the beast, and the stench of rot. Sitting there I watch the darkness, unable to do anything but wait and suffocate. That was when I caught a glimpse, a glow like a candlelight underneath skin, illuminated the darkness barely.
The divine fragment!
It's not over! Pushing through tissue I reached and reached for the fragment, stretching my arm out as far as possible. My arm felt like it would break from the pressure, mustering up everything I had, embracing the pain, and grabbing the fragment. The divine fragment had a bony surface, my arm was on fire from touching it. It hurt worse than anything I had ever experienced, I exhaled, tearing up. I swallowed the fragment, and the burning only got bigger! Like something inside me had woken up. It felt like my body couldn't contain it and was melting, a second felt like an eternity. Writing in pain I screamed, the burn slowly moved up my arm and began to condense around them. Wanting the pain to stop I tore my way through the cult beast. With surprising ease, I craved my way out. I felt the creature thrash about from the agony I was causing it.
Make it stop!
I burst from the beast, standing as the beast let loose a dying scream. Not able to enjoy it I fell into the mud, with great effort I heaved myself to my feet covered in blood and grime. Covering my burning hands, was a pair of red and black gauntlets. Tears of pain began flowing as I cried, everything felt like it was melting. The beast twitched once, then stopped. The gauntlet's pain began to subside, soon only a pulse was left, they throbbed with the same rhythm of a heart beat. As if they were breathing, in a panic I tried to tear them off. But I couldn't, it felt like I was tearing off skin.