The Animal

I tried to see what was around me, but everything was black. It was a dark place with absolutely no light. I decided to stay put until I could see something.

Few minutes later, I started to see things. Rocks, plants, corpses and bones. I was inside a cave.

My eyes observed the room and the moment they fell on my body, I screamed and jumped away, but they followed after me. Of course they would. They were my legs.

My legs had become Chimpanzee legs. I looked at my hands which have grown significantly. They were much larger compared to my small legs.

"What is going on?" I wondered, but things were too crazy for me. Instead of thinking about what I had become, I decided to focus on surviving.

I looked around for water, but there was no stream or even a wet ground. It was all a rocky surface. As I walked forward, I kept my footsteps as silent as possible.

Even so, something jumped at me. I managed to see it even though it came from behind. Without even realizing it, I was holding it in my hand.

My hand was tightly grabbing a snake. It tried to slither away from me, but the grip on my hand did not loosen even for a second. It surprised me how I did such a thing unconsciously.

I was in the process of thinking what to do next, when my other hand automatically moved to the snake's head and snapped the thing in half.

An irresistible feeling rushed through my brain. I had no willpower whatsoever to resist the feeling. I looked at the blue colored blood dripping on my hands. Without even thinking, I put the snake in my mouth and started crunching. It was tasteless but it sated my hunger.

I walked further. I merely wished to find a water source. While this dark place should have scared me, I had an inner feeling that I could overcome any threat. My body felt lighter and stronger than ever. I knew I had something in me.

A white cloak entered my view. On closer speculation, it seemed more like a deer, only that its skin was pure white with obsidian horns that looked lethal. Unbothered by my appearance, it kept devouring a corpse.

That creature was definitely not an animal. It was a monster. I could feel it. I just wanted a better look, so I walked closer. Suddenly, it dashed at me, pointing the fierce horns at my chest.

I jumped sideways and avoided an attack that could've killed me. This monster was different from the snake before. While the snake felt dangerous, it posed no threat to me. This creature on the other hand, could kill me.

The deer turned around and walked toward me. It must have realized that charging blindly at me wouldn't have worked.

I grinned with anticipation. I really shouldn't but my body had other plans. It seemed to follow commands of its own.

Without waiting, I jumped at the monster, grabbing its horns. My plan was to slam it onto the ground, but it was much heavier than I expected. It shook its head, trying to get rid of me.

I released it and the force made me fly away. I landed perfectly on the ground. Before I could regain balance, the monster's horns pierced through my shoulder. A sharp pain rang across my body.

The monster slammed me through many boulders as I was pinned on its head. For the first time, I saw my own blood. As expected, it was dark red. It made me happy for some reason.

The irresistible feeling resurfaced. It was just like before.

Both my hands grabbed the horns, disregarding the pain on my shoulders, and I pulled myself out of them, still in the air, crashing through boulders. I did not let go of the horns this time.

The moment I was free, I touched the ground and with the fierce momentum the monster had gained, spun it above my head and slammed it onto the ground, creating a crater.

My sight got redder. I was breathing heavily and I couldn't stop shaking. My mouth had formed into a grin that I didn't intend. I slowly looked to the left, where the monster was getting up.

The feeling that had been growing within me, had become exponentially stronger than before. I did not know what I could do to satisfy the hunger. The last time, I ate a snake. The only thing before me was a deer monster.

My legs moved with my hands raising up. I jumped and brought down my hands on the monster's head, splattering away my own blood from hitting the horns. My hands did not stop. They kept attacking the monster that was backing away.

The moment it saw me getting up, it had been acting strange. It looked as if it had seen a devil. Before long, I completely lost to my urges. I had beat the thing to a bloody pulp. The monster was still alive, but my hunger had grown too strong. I started eating it.

Within a few minutes, I had eaten its insides, but the monster seemed to be still clinging to its life. A grin appeared on my face. As usual, I did not intend for it. The monster did seem to be suffering. It was not my fault that I was enjoying the view.

I got up. The logical action would've been to eat the whole monster. I was hungry after all, but my body moved away, watching the monster twitch in agony. I watched the monster die. It took a long time for that to happen, but I managed to resist the hunger until then.

Once it was dead, I finished the meal. I closed my eyes, wondering what I was turning into. I tried to not think such pointless things. I never cared about my life on earth, so what's the point now? Even so, I used to have a moral compass which seemed to be slowly fading away from me. For some reason, it made me happy. I slowly drifted away into a sleep.

…

In the Versia Kingdom, there was a royal mage who was well known for his foresight. He had predicted many important incidents with accuracy that no other mage could match.

With a jolt of pain on his head, he woke up. His whole body was sweating and his heartbeat was much faster.

"What was that?" He murmured. He turned his head around, almost hesitantly and saw the time. It was midnight. Not a second later or sooner. He gulped, putting the pieces together.

With great haste, he entered the royal palace, heading straight for the king's chambers. The guards allowed him to enter.

"My lord, there is terrible news." He said while kneeling before the king.

"Huh! Relax Bahren. Tell me what you saw." The king said in a calm tone. He observed Bahren and already came to a conclusion that something bad was about to happen, but as the king, he had to be calm in all situations.

"My lord, I saw a great calamity. It was a sign. A sign that I hoped to never see."

Bahren took a deep breath before continuing.

"It was midnight when I saw it." He said, almost tearing up.

"Midnight you say? It is the sign of a great calamity indeed."

"My," Bahren stopped to catch another breath, "my lord, I think we'll encounter a primordial animal!"

"A what? Primordial animal? Not a monster?" The king was almost disappointed.

"No my lord."

"Then, how is this a problem? If this animal is strong, we could send a hunter, right?" Bahren chuckled hearing the king's suggestion. He looked down before he started to explain. He knew it was going to take a while.

"For a long time, we've been fighting millions of monsters. Almost every monster is stronger than animals such as us. Yes, in the end, we're animals too. Before monsters arrived, it was animals that ruled this world."

"You mean, us, humans right?" The king was starting to understand where the conversation was heading.

"No. Not humans. It was them; primordial beings. While they have been given many names since they left, the most prominent one is," Bahren lifted up his head, "gods!"

The king's eyes widened with surprise. He had never heard of this story before. It was almost like a fairy tale.

"I know what you're thinking my lord, but this is no myth. It is the truth. The animals that were at the top of the food chain, also known as gods, left our world. They were the last or should I say, the first animals of this world."

"So, you've seen them coming back?"

"Just one."

"One?" King asked, puzzled by his reply.

Bahren pointed his finger and said, "Just one is enough to be a calamity for the whole world, my lord." His hoarse voice made the king shiver in fear.

"What should we do, Bahren?"

"Assuming it's still growing, let's send whoever is closer to the Forthland caves. A knight should be able to kill a fetus."

"A fetus? What could happen if it had already grown?"

"Let's not assume that, my lord. There's a reason why a fetus of a primordial animal can walk on two legs, eating whatever is on its path while growing exponentially stronger."