Am I Dead?

It was like an astronomical arena, overflowing with little distant glowing objects that twinkled. In front of him were sparkling chains that majestically danced their way away from his line of view.

The void had seemingly transformed into a dream filled with weirdly looking and shaped objects.

He looked back at the eyes, that put on a mask of amusement. He could tell by the odd shape the ominous red eyes took that it was overjoyed by the scenery.

In a matter of seconds, an oval-shaped item erupted into bright red sparks filling the sky. The sky was now a tapestry of stars that darted it and a mixture of dark and bright hues of red.

Although the sky was ablaze, fiercely streaming beams of light in all directions, Akira still felt an ominous and eerie chill just standing amidst the void.

He was still embarking on his race, to meet the eyes which receded with every step he took.

But even after minutes of an endless race, he didn't give up.

The once-erupted egg presented itself once more, well-rounded and smooth. He stared at the weird object while attempting an escape from the region it resided.

It was when his glares continued, enough to make a person uncomfortable, that it began morphing.

He immediately pushed his head away and covered his eyes with his palm. He muttered, regretting his actions.

"Dang! Why'd I choose to look at that weird thing, now it's morphing. I'm not ready to deal with another creature."

Suddenly dark gases were purged out from the egg, and a thick material enveloped it. Akira ceased his race, to observe the egg.

Slowly, it changed, from an extruding head to legs that formed from its shell. Strange viscous liquids flowed out while clinging to the morphed figure.

The metamorphosis continued until only the lower part of the egg was left. The figure was now a mixture of a dragon and a Goblin.

Its eyes sent ominous chills and uncomfortable emotions to those who dared stare at it. They looked like a pair of dragon eyes, reddish with a spark of fire enclosed in them.

Its torso was shapeless and enunciated, with thin, short spikes slowly emerging from its back.

Its lower body was irritating, an eyesore. It is comprised of a pair of incomplete legs, with red carvings coupled with a long tail resembling a serpent directly attached to the legs.

It stretched out from both legs and was combined at a distance away from its body. With, Akira's skill still activated, the creature failed to dent his bravery.

Although its existence wasn't for fear - in fact, it had nothing to do with implanting fear.

It approached Akira at a speed slightly faster than a tortoise. It acted like a predator slowly observing its prey before an attack.

After little deviations from Akira, the creature fixed its stares at him and suddenly paced towards him.

The speed of the serpent-like creature had increased drastically, throwing Akira into a state of thought.

"Wait, what exactly is this? What am I facing?"

He eventually began running, evading any attacks of the creature. Akira was ignorant of its strength, effects, or even weaknesses, and so, decided to shield himself from the unknown entity.

He was now in an unfavorable situation, phased with two unknown entities.

The being groaned and chased him furiously. Its ferocious claws stretched out, only scratching Akira's hair that flowed behind his head.

Akira turned towards the red eyes, that were levitating at a distance. Its eyes were ablaze, filled with amusement and enjoyment.

It blended perfectly in the dark void, making its 2-dimensional appearance move between the three dimensions of space.

As soon as the weirdly shaped eyes ceased their movement as though it was fire, Akira immediately redirected his sight.

"Man, what am I doing? My eyes are gonna kill me one day, just like it made the egg hatch," he muttered, still running at full speed.

Soon, he began wondering about the level of his fatigue, and as such, he felt a sudden surge in tiredness. He slowly tapped his head continuously, panting and reducing in speed.

With a clear advantage in speed against the creature, he turned back and sighted the figure far behind his current location.

[Fatigue: 60!

Refill: It will take approximately an hour (0.75) to return to a fully reduced state at 0]

He crouched, attempting to catch his breath while observant of the strange creature that tried attacking him.

He turned back and saw its large tongue that extended from its mouth. Its tail ran along the floor, eventually ending at a remarkable distance away from the creature. Its legs spread across the ground, retaining its stamina, and firmly holding the ground with the claws that extended from its feet.

As seconds flew by, he began hearing the slow, and weird exhale of the creature, and the ominous feeling pressing upon him.

Suddenly, the wind gushed past Akira, slowly rubbing his skin. He heard a calm voice talking in a foreign language. He turned around, amazed by the scenery.

The light once visible, began fading, and the area seemed more eerie.

"Wh-wha-what!! What's going on?"

He snapped, and his actions became irrational, filled with unpredictable movements and thoughts. The slow and steady breaths of the creature kept resounding.

The voice kept echoing.

The winds kept flowing.

And his heart kept pounding.

Suddenly, time stopped and instantly resumed, only to feel warm winds in his palms. He slowly raised his head and saw the creature directly in front of him.

He stepped back, distancing himself from the odd figure. The area darkened to a shade of black that foils any attempt at vision.

With the sudden darkness, Akira began hyperventilating, panicking, and running aimlessly.

"What about the skill? I've lost my confidence," he thought.

With a slight touch, a sharp pain emerged. His hand bled of dark red blood. A bloody scar appeared on his hand, and following it were numerous slashes attempted on Akira.

Akira could feel consciousness slowly fading, his eyes getting heavy and slowly closing, and his limbs weakening. He could feel his life force being reduced with every damage he took.

And, with a final sharp sound of a swishing cutting-edge blade, silence overcame, and he fell to the ground with only a single thought in mind,

"Am I dead?"