He Had Conquered Death
There he was... That young man...
He had spent a considerable amount of minutes, just... standing there... contemplating.
Partially enjoying the way this scenery stimulated his senses...
The fact that he no longer suffered from any fever or pain...
It was as if he had woken up from a good night's sleep...
Fully revitalized and ready to face any hurdle...
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His name is Alexander III of Macedon. Better known only as Alexander.
He would've said that this was perhaps the reward for his valiant deeds...
The beauty and tranquility... The way his body was in prime condition... admittedly even better than it was before he fell sick...
He was feeling as full of vitality as when he first left Pella to crush the rebellions on Illyria, right after ascending to the throne of Macedon...
There was no other way for him to explain it:
He had conquered death!!!!!
"Hmmm"
...
...
"Ha!"
A smile began to draw itself on his handsome face...
"Hahaha!!!!"
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!"
He was laughing his lungs out... With a few teardrops of joy running down the fair skin of his cheeks...
He had done it...
Through the conquest of his fear... Of being remembered as a tyrant...
Of not accomplishing his dream...
He had also conquered death...
The Gods had indeed rewarded his efforts!
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...
...
He stopped his rush of self grandeur and gaiety, only to compose himself...
First, he noticed something about his garments... He wasn't wearing his royal tunic with which he spent the last moments of his life...
He had a rough tunic covering his body, resembling the ones that servants and slaves wore, and a simple leather belt keeping it fastened...
There was a parazonium dagger on the ground next to him too...
...
...
Something didn't add up...
Why would the Gods provide him with a dagger and simple clothes...?
...
...
Alexander became conscious of the fact... That perhaps he wasn't immortal...
And that perhaps these weren't the Elysian Fields...
...
...
He began analyzing his surroundings with more detail...
Quickly strapping the sheathed dagger to his belt on his left side...
He came to an understanding...
He wasn't alone...
And this wasn't a place of rest for his immortal soul...
A serious expression had replaced that of joy and gratitude to the Gods...
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...
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There were a few deers no more than 20 meters from the hill he was now standing on...
But a group harmless herbivores wasn't enough to make the Great Lion be on his guard...
No... They were about to become the prey of something else... And -that- is worth getting riled up for...
Even farther than the group of deers... something resembling a demonic creature was stealthily closing in on their position...
It had the complexion of a wolf... Although... It was far larger, around the size of a horse...
It had grey fur... pointy ears filled with fur... and what stood out the most were its bright yellow eyes... They seemed like they could pierce through your very skin with just a glance...
...
Just as Alexander was about to determine his next course of action... What he saw made him question his bravery for a second...
But hardly for a second...
...
After all, he was still affected by this baffling chain of events that began as soon as his life was supposed to end...
...
**OOOOWWHHHOOoo**
That wolf-like creature howled so powerfully, that even if it was broad daylight, for a moment it looked like the sun had left the sky without its light...
The deers were paralyzed in fear, and the creature pounced at them with extreme prejudice... It was tearing them apart faster than Alexander could run...
He knew... that he would have to fight this creature...
After experiencing death one time... He somewhat felt the need to preserve his life this time around...
...
He was now on his stomach... his hand on his dagger...
He was sweating profusely...
And he was... excited...
He had never felt so alive since a long time ago...
It was a fight between him and his fears...
Once again... He was going to test his mettle...
With a demonic wolf that reached the size of a horse...
One that seemed to have come straight out of one of his childhood nightmares...
Yes...
He felt like he has seen it somewhere before...
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Not letting himself linger on the thought any longer... he stood up...
'This is the best chance to take it by surprise...'
"No matter what kind of demonic entity you are... A stab to the heart will send you back to Hades all the same!"
Alexander drew his dagger in a reverse grip... took his stance, and...
Immediately sprinted towards the beast, whilst it continued to feast itself on the carcasses of a poor deer...
...
In a matter of minutes, it had already devoured two of them and was halfway of finishing the third...
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He ran at mas speed, closing in on the beast in just a moment...
It became aware of him since before he had seen it (when he laughed like a maniac)... But decided against attacking him, simply because it preferred having a meal before taking care of a less-meaty prey...
It had proven to be a fatal mistake for the creature...
It underestimated Alexander for meatless prey...
And discovered instead in ignoring him, it had allowed a predator to get in killing reach...
Alexander successfully took the beast off-guard!
But...
Just as Alexander had pushed his dagger as far into the beast's rugged skin as it could...
Even though he was certain that an organ had been crushed under its edge...
"Huh?! Why won't you die beast???!!!"
...
****OOOOOWWHHHOOOooo****
***...GRRRRGGG***
There it was again. That foul howl... now accompanied by an angered growl...
A now blood-enraged creature turned to face Alexander and launched itself on him.
At that moment every one of Alexander's instincts were screaming at him:
[DEATH] [DEATH] [DEATH] [DEATH]
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His surprise attack was notoriously unsuccessful...
The wrathful beast was going for the kill...
And Alexander had lost his only weapon...
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