Chapter Eight

Two beasts stared deeply at Alem. The latter was a little worried, yet not scared. He also didn't have any plans on fighting the beasts, what was the point? They were both stronger and faster than him, it would be a one-way slaughter.

He slowly got off the ground with a sigh. He wanted to draw more, but his nerves wouldn't let him. He wasn't afraid of death, but that didn't mean he would be nonchalant when facing it. A tiny bit of anxiousness would be hidden in his heart. "Hey you two…" He smiled bitterly at the two beasts. Lifting his sketchbook, he decided to talk to the two beasts before he died. It would be an interesting way to die in his opinion. "What do you guys think?" He pointed at the various sketches he drew. They were black and white, but very detailed. In the past, he could be considered a good artist, but after his change, he was in the ranks of professionals.

The wolf beast suddenly sat down like a dog and looked closely, while the ape also sat cross legged. Alem was shocked by this scene.

'Are they interested?' It was a weird notion, but if his guess was right then that was much better. He could live another day! Walking closer, slowly, he found a spot where both the beasts could see his drawings a little better. "Alright, so this is the scene of you two fighting just now… I also drew something like this…" He showed the small and big sketches he made. He was only able to get a few done, not too much. "This one is you…" He pointed at the wolf with a smile. ",,, and this one is you." Next he looked at the ape.

The wolf came closer and looked at the sketches closely. Of the three tails, one of them suddenly swiped the book and picked it up, yet this action made the ape growl. The wolf quickly put it back down, and then looked at Alem.

"You like these, do you?" He asked. As one of his few passions, Alem loved talking about his drawings. "Look, I have so much more drawings." Flipping through the sketch book, he began to show all of his sketches. The beasts looked on with interest. He suddenly opened up a black page and stood straight in front of the wolf beast. "Here, let me draw a sketch of you. If you like it, I will give it to you." With that, he began to draw with a smile. This was a situation he never expected, yet it was wonderful. He could draw without any problems and his life was also safe, atleast for now.

He moved his hands quickly, drawing a beautiful scene. The wolf sat like how it was in front of a large moon, with small black spots floating around it. It's three tails were on the ground while a couple of bones and skulls laid on the ground in front of it. The scene wasn't creepy, it was just unique. Tearing the page, he pushed it towards the wolf.

"What do you think?" The wolf used one it's tails to pick up the sheet. It looked at it carefully before it's mouth opened up slightly and it's tongue fell out. When Alem saw this, he couldn't help but think back to the dogs on Earth. "It's yours then." Alem smiled. The page was extremely tiny, but there wasn't much else Alem could do.

GRRR

As Alem felt prideful of his work, the ape growled lightly. It's arms were crossed over it's large chest. It was glaring at Alem, yet when the wolf saw this, it's body slowly walked in front of Alem. It's eyes sharpened as it bore it's fangs at the ape.

"Relax, you want a sketch too?" Alem walked around the large wolf and looked at the ape with a smile. The ape nodded it's head a little, it's three eyes blinking quickly. "No problem, I'll make one for you too." Alem began to draw once again on an empty page.

The sketch was a little different this time. It was sitting with it's three eyes shut, leaning against a large banana which was stabbed into the ground. On the ground were banana peels and many small trees. One of its hands held onto a wooden bowl which had a banana peel hanging from the side, while it's other arm held onto a wooden spoon. The last two arms were casually placed behind it's head. "So, how is it?" He was excited with this type of drawing too. It was a more comedic drawing, yet it was still very unique and amazing. He didn't draw these types usually since he could never imagine it properly, but now it wasn't that hard. Plus, his ideas were everywhere.

Using one of it's large hands, the ape picked up the tiny paper and placed it on it's palm, looking at it slowly.

GRRRAA

It suddenly stood up and began to scream in a weird way. Alem could tell it was because of excitement. "Well, thank you for liking my sketches." Alem sat down and smiled. 'Weird, back on Earth, I had only one friend who liked my books and sketches, but even then, he liked them, and others would just ignore it. But these two, they seem to like it a lot. Maybe only animals will appreciate my skills?' He smirked at the thought. Still, it wasn't anything bad. Animal or not, atleast someone liked his work.

As he watched the two beasts look at the drawings with excitement, Alem felt calm, he didn't know why, but the watching them made him feel somewhat tranquil. 'Maybe I was always an animal person?'

Suddenly, the two beasts turned around and sprinted off into an unknown direction, yet Alem was frozen in his spot, his eyes were open, yet they were narrow. The egg that disappeared suddenly appeared once again. It began to circle him with high speed, yet Alem didn't notice, nor anything that was happening around him. The grass around him, which was swaying with the wind, froze. The leaves, the branching, everything, suddenly came to a sudden stop, as if the world was frozen in time. The only things still moving were Alem and the egg.

Time passed slowly in this state, the two beasts came back the next day, and saw the scene, yet were physically unaffected by it. They could still move, but their faces showed fear as they watched Alem. Their bodies sat and they closely watched Alem, waiting. Waiting for what? Only the beasts could know.

The bright sun set and raised many times. The beasts stayed awake the whole time, their gaze concentrating on Alem the whole time. They ignored the egg spinning around Alem, which was bigger than a few weeks ago, yet only slightly.

Another many weeks passed like this, the green grass, the large leaves, and the thick branches, remained frozen. Small critters did make their way over, yet they were also affected and became frozen. Only the two large beasts could move their bodies, yet it was getting noticeably harder for them.

Alem's were completely shut at this moment, with a small beard growing on his face.

AOOOOO

Suddenly, as if feeling something, the wolf began to howl. Right at that moment, Alem's eyes began to slowly open up. His right pupil remained a dark purple, yet his left eye, it was instead a pale pink. The two beasts looked at the pink pupil with a bit of fear, yet amiability was present in their eyes.

"Didn't you guys leave, when did you get back?" He looked at them with a bit of confusion. Didn't they just leave, did something happen? "Do you want me to draw something more for you?"

The beasts shook their heads. Instead, they nodded their heads at him before sprinting off once more. Alem scratched his head but still got up from his spot. The egg that was spinning around him disappeared before he woke up as well, so he was alone, surrounded by a few critters. "When did these guys appear?"

He walked to the large field, ignoring the weird happenings around him. The field was huge, with a great view. Although the ground was a little damaged because of the two fighting, it was still very good.

Walking around the area a little more, he couldn't help but be shocked by how large it was. It would take him many hours just to walk from one end to the other, let alone circling the perimeter. He could also see a few mountains in the distance, yet he couldn't tell how big they were. He couldn't see the peaks even though he was so far away. 'They're probably not any smaller than the ones in the ocean. This world is humungous.' He began to calculate how long it would take for a plane to circle the whole planet, but if the words of Shameless were true, then passengers would die of old age before even making it a hundredth of the way. "Did I learn all that physics for nothing? For all of those laws to be turned upside down just because of essence? What would all those professors say when they hear about this?" He snickered a little as he walked around, thinking about various things. Little did he know that he was being trailed by small creatures. Some in the sky, some under the ground, and some were even right behind him, yet he didn't notice them. "This place, can it be turned into a small town?" He concentrated a little and thought about it. The place was large enough to even become a city, compared to small sized cities back on Earth. "Sadly, I'm not skilled in this, so I need good people to do it for me. Shameless won't help me and it would be a shitty reward to ask after training, maybe I should try and get some people from Earth to come here? Is that even possible?"

The seed inside of him appeared in his mind. His seed was unique, since it not only isolated essence from Earth, it had some unknown features that he didn't know about, but Shameless kept saying it was special. But, what if he could get a seed which would only do one thing, isolate essence from Earth? That shouldn't be too difficult for Shameless since the old man could literally create life. 'Maybe I should ask him about this. Even if I can only have a few, or even the method of creation, that would be fine. It will get boring if I'm here for so long.' He sighed and turned around, wanting to walk back from where he came from. 'What the hell?' Seeing the small critters looking at him intensely surprised him. He got onto the ground and beckoned a rabbit over. "Why are you following me?" Although a little taken aback, he had seen too much to be shocked anymore.

The rabbit just twitched it's nose, yet made no other motion. Alem shook his head and got up. "Whatever, it's not like it matters really." He carefully walked through the small crowd of creatures and slowly made him way back to the stone platform. He took his time getting there, looking around with a slight smile, taking in all the scenery. The critters followed him until he reached the platform. They halted there and didn't move a single step forward, Alem ignored this and walked towards his little him. He began to strip, and pulled out a pair of shorts from the ring. Walking towards his man-made bed, he lazily laid on top. "Might as well sleep, not much to do really. This is going to be a boring year." Without Shameless there, and the lack of skill he had, there wasn't much he could do. He had his sketchbooks and so much more, but that wasn't something he could do all the time, it would bore him. He shut his eyes soon after and began to fall into a deep sleep.

The sleep lasted more than a full day, rather, it took about three days before he woke up.

"What time is it?" Getting up from his bed, he looked around with slightly puffy eyes. "Well, who cares now?" He got up slowly and left his little house, walking towards the ocean. "I can use this to wash up, right?" He didn't know if the water was salt water or not, after all, it wasn't Earth anymore. "It should be clean." As he got to the edge, he sat down, dipping his legs into the water. Reaching over, he picked up a handful of water, splashing it on his face. He did it many times before deciding to just dive in. 'Luckily I brought lots of soap and shampoo, and even conditioner.' He hadn't taken a proper shower in a very long time, and it felt weird to him.

Slowly, he began to clean himself, causing soap bubbles to appear on the surface of the water. After about ten or so minutes of washing, he got out and dried himself with a towel from his ring. "Refreshing." He smiled and began to roam around the platform in only his shorts. He noticed that his vision seemed slightly better and that even his sense of smell was better than before. 'Maybe a bit more traveling today?' There wasn't much else he could.

More than half a year passed with this bland routine. He would sleep for a few days, without knowing of course, and then he would go traveling for a while. He didn't see any strange things during the travels. No fighting beasts, or really any sort of beasts. Occasionally he would sit under a tree and draw. Sometimes he would write, sometimes just doze off. It was the laziest he had been, yet he didn't really care. The constant walking, climbing, and running, was already enough exercise for him, so doing nothing was no big deal.

One thing he did do was build upon his house a bit more, making it more comfortable. He found that drawing things out helped settle many of the issues. He had even drawn his dream town that he wanted to build in the large field. Of course, it was just a casual sketch, yet he liked it a lot.

"I just need some people to get this done, maybe I can make it comfortable enough for my parents?" He wanted his family to join him here if possible. Not yet, but later. It was his world after all. It was larger and there were so many scenic views. 'Maybe I could bring Nora as well, if things take a better turn, who knows. She is the first girl I've ever taken on a date.' He only went out with her a few more times after that night, yet they always had people with them. He wasn't in love with her, rather it was just a slight appeal. Still, he did like her.

As he was lost in his thoughts, he suddenly saw the egg inside of him, appear before him. It was filled with cracks, ready to break open.

It was a little shocking seeing this, but his eyes remained on the egg. "Is it time?" He always thought about this egg that disappeared, not knowing what happened with it. Shameless gave it to him as a reward, and told him the background of it, so his curiosity was always there. "C'mon." As the cracks increased, he became a little excited.

Ssssssss

A hissing sound entered his ears as pieces of the egg fell onto the ground. A small head popped out. It was covered in grey scales, yet the more it came out, the stranger it became. Although it's body was mostly grey, there were patches of red and white on it's scales. Not only that, but there were five threads hanging on it's back, covered in small scales.

"A strange snake, why is it so different from the one Shameless showed me?" Alem reached out and pulled the snake out, placing it onto his arm. Although it was slimy, Alem didn't really mind. "It's eyes are closed, maybe that's normal? It also isn't crying or anything, or making any sounds. Is this how snakes act? Never researched them." He scratched his head and looked at the critter in his hand with a dismayed smile. "Well, since this thing is mine, I need to raise it. Wait, is it a boy or a girl? What does it eat? Rats, right? Do they eat cats as well?" He looked around and decided to first clean the snake. There was the ocean a little further back, but he also saw a pond nearby as well. During his travels, he saw many things, more of the area nearby. It was truly spectacular, with many rivers, ponds, and lakes. Although a little far, they weren't too dangerous.

Holding onto the snake somewhat tightly, yet not enough to hurt it, Alem began to sprint towards a bright blue pond. It was truly blue, a little more than the ocean even. Yet, he could also see the bottom of the pond clearly, all the plants, the fish, and fungi.

"I can dip it in, right? Snakes should be fine in water. After all, on Earth, babies can be baptised in water when they're born, so snakes should be able to handle it as well." He took a deep breath and began to dip the snake into the water, tail first. The snake wiggled it's tail a little, but that was the only reaction. "I won't dip it's head, I'll just wash it with my hands." He used his right hand as a cup and began to slowly put water on the snake's head, then used his thumb to wash it a little. It was a weird feeling, as if he was rubbing soap with water.

Sssss

The snake moved around a little, showing a bit of discomfort on its face, so Alem pulled it out and sighed a little. 'Atleast it's clean now. Still, how do I know it's gender?' Sitting down onto the ground, he placed the snake down as well. He looked at it silently. The snake's eyes were closed as it peacefully laid on the grass. Alem sighed once again. 'Well, when it's awake, maybe then I will know a little more, atleast what it wants to eat.' Pulling out a sketchbook, Alem began to draw the snake.

For hours, he drew not only its current state, but even began to draw what it would look like if it was awake. He drew different positions, some more fantasy type, some more realistic. With so many positions, Alem even started to draw a little comic. Creating a story as he drew.

Traveling Snake

This was the title he gave it. It was a story of a snake that would basically travel from place to place. It never became intelligent, always just roaming. In some villages, it was considered a monster, villagers would try and kill it, yet would never succeed. In some towns, the snake was an auspicious sign, so it would be worshipped and fed, yet this bored the snake and it left.

It was short, yet Alem had a delight writing about it.

"Male, so this snake is male?" Alem looked at it and suddenly thought. He didn't know why, but he was certain this snake was a male. "It seems to be a picky eater, and hates attention. It's also very lazy…" As he drew more and more, he began to understand more about the snake in front of him. From it's sex, to it's personality and even more detailed information.

"Wait, so the snake is supposed to look like this?" He flipped to a blank page and began to sketch.

The threads were floating on its back, the tip of it's tail wasn't normal, rather it was covered by some fog almost. There was a horn under its chin, and two on its head, with small ring's attached to its horns. It's eyes were slits, and the color was almost greenish blue.

"Damn, this snake is so cool." Alem truly found it to be amazing. He had never seen something like this. Sure, the ape and wolf he saw before were also new, but only in real life. He had seen things like that in movies, yet the snake in front of him was new. "What should I name him then?" He didn't understand why information entered his mind, yet he didn't think about it too much. His life was weird, so anything new didn't make him think too hard. "Let's see, maybe I'll call him Grey? It's simple." Alem smirked as he glanced at the little snake. Although it didn't look as cool as the pictures, he knew it was a matter of time until then.

The next few weeks went on without much happening. The snake continued to be in a state of deep sleep. Alem brought various things for it to eat, yet nothing worked. He knew it was picky, yet didn't know what it liked exactly. Plus, it only woke up occasionally

Since there wasn't much he could do about it, he allowed the snake to rest on his shoulder or his arms while he travelled or drew. He was getting bored of this lifestyle. "How do people back on Earth travel so much? Doesn't it get boring?" He sighed as he leaned against a tree. "Since I've travelled enough on land, let's go to the ocean for now. Sure, it's dangerous, but who cares? It's so boring here." He got up and began to sprint towards the stone platform. Grey was sleeping in his arms as he ran and climbed trees like a monkey.

"Grey, I don't know what you like plus the ocean is probably gonna be difficult for you to get through, so just stay in this house for now." He went into his room and placed Grey on the bed. There were a few critters in the room, just in case Grey decided to eat. Some were dead, some alive. He quickly left the house and took off his shirt and only wore a pair of shorts. In his left hand he kept his dagger, while the right hand had the sword. Taking a deep breath, he jumped into the ocean.

Like before, he didn't feel much restraint, of course his movements were a little slower then on land, but it wasn't terrible. Still, he couldn't go ahead and breathe under water, but he could hold his breath for a very long time, not a big issue.

'Let's see, maybe I should try finding some kind of plants or rocks? I can bring them home and show them to others, of course they have to be super rare.' He thought of this with a smile. He wanted to go back home for a while since this world of his was boring. He couldn't do much since he was weak, plus there was no one around. When Shameless was around, maybe they could train, but since he was gone, there wasn't much that could be done. 'How long has it been already? A few months probably.' He sighed with this thought, but little did he know that it had been more than half a year already.

He swam around casually, finding various plants. Most looked like the ones back on Earth, just slightly different. Some looked extremely cool, yet he felt danger from them, so he avoided them. The thousand year training he did with Shameless heightened his nerves and battle sense, so he understood that following his gut was a good thing.

'What's that?' As he swam, he noticed a red orb by a floating hill. It wasn't like the mountains he avoided, rather it was a small hill. The red orb sat on the top, shining like a flashlight under water. Not feeling any sort of danger from the direction, Alem decided to go near it. The closer he got to the hill, the more surprised he got. The hill was small, but the orb was anything but small. 'Holy shit, this thing is bigger than even the two giant beasts I met that one time.' He finally neared it and stood right beside it. 'Cold.' This was the first thought that came into his mind. Just being around it made him feel as if he was buried under a pile of snow, naked. It felt very uncomfortable.

Walking around it in circles, Alem looked at it with a frown. There was no feeling of danger emitting from the orb. 'Should I take it? This is my world, so everything is technically mine?' He didn't think the orb was anything godly since Shameless ignored it. Plus, the world was created by Shameless, so Alem felt that Shameless knew of the item, maybe even creating it. Since that was the case, he wanted it just for the heck of it. Like, it was there, so why not?

He placed his hand right on top of the red orb. "Euhkk!" The second he touched it; he couldn't help but suddenly lose control over his breath. His hand froze with a red ice covering it. 'This thing is freezing! How the heck is the water around it alright?' This confused him as he looked at his hand which was frozen to the orb. His dagger was also stuck onto the orb, covered in the red ice. 'Fuck.' He moved his hand, but it couldn't break free, so he lifted his right hand and used the hilt of his sword to try and break the ice. 'Fuck me!' Sadly, the second the hilt touched the ice, it got stuck as well, slowly being covered by a red ice. 'How the heck do I get out of this?' Using all the strength he had, he tried to yank his hands out, but nothing worked. Still, the orb did move a little. Seeing this gave him an idea.

With a small smirk which was filled with traces of anxiety, Alem closed his eyes and suddenly the coldness surrounding his body disappeared, yet the ice on his hands did not. His eyes opened and he saw that the red orb was gone. 'Cool, so the ring can hold such an item as well, helpful.' He smiled as he thought of the orb inside of his ring. He was able to get it inside, that was the only solution he could think of. 'What about my hands?' He became a little concerned with the red ice still on his hands and weapons. 'Maybe they'll melt or something since the source is gone?' This was all he could hope for now.

Since he was currently unable to do much because of his hands, he decided to swim back to the surface. It was a little harder since he couldn't use his hands.

Shshsh

Just as he neared the surface of the ocean, he heard a sound coming from behind him. 'What the…' He turned his head, yet the sight caused his mouth to widen.

A large mouth, bigger than any cave he had seen before, was in front of him. Small teeth, no tongue, almost like a hole.

'Fuck!' He turned around to try and escape, yet it was too late. The mouth shut right there. "ARGG!" He began to choke on the water as he screamed. He was inside of the creature, yet, floating in front of the mouth was his knife, held tightly by a hand surrounded in a red mist.