Transformed

What Max saw was darkness while a familiar feeling swept through his senses.

'Is this the soul realm?' Max wondered, thinking that he had died already.

He looked around and as he floated in nothingness, searching for Matt, he found nothing. There wasn't anything; you could see nothing, you couldn't even smell or feel something. He was alone only with his thoughts to entertain himself.

'This is death?' Max asked no one. He felt lonely as he stared into this nothingness, not able to perceive his own body when looking downwards.

Time passed by and Max's patience paid off. He began feeling once again, a burning sensation coming from the top of his neck slowly making its way to his stomach. He crouched down, realizing that he was able to see his body now, able to feel it as he grabbed tightly around his waist.

The burning sensation hurriedly turned to pain, expanding throughout his body.

Max struggled in resisting the pain but he wasn't able to anymore. He blacked out inside the soul realm.

***

Max gasped as he woke up on a bed he felt comfortable in. He looked around noticing all the decorations of the room which he felt familiar.

'Am I in my room?' Max visibly panicked said. At this point, he was wondering if all that happened was a dream.

He looked straight at his left arm, seeing it intact; not even a scratch visible on it. He caressed it, the fear he felt until now somewhat subsiding. He heaved a sigh of relief but noticed something strange.

He was still wearing his gear, and his left arm was bare; stripped of any clothing or protection.

"Why did you have to wake up on my turn to watch you?" A voice was heard on Max's left. He jumped looking towards the voice and was relieved when he saw who it was.

"Ernie!" Max raised his voice which brimmed with an ecstatic tone alongside a questioning one.

"Don't worry, everything will be explained to you. Just wait here patiently for Dylan to come, he will be the one doing the explaining bit." Ernie said, his usual distrustful and cold tone now being one of compassion.

"I'll wait then…" Max couldn't say no to this, he felt like he needed answers as a top priority now.

On the weapon rack sat Matt in his corporeal form and as he felt Max being awake he shook vigorously, noticing Max of his existence.

'Matt!' He joyously remarked, calling for him.

Feeling pleasantly surprised, Matt broke through the weapon rack, arriving above Max's lap in almost an instant. The shield fell on Max as he closed his eyes, connecting himself to the soul realm once again.

"MAX!" Matt screamed as he jumped on Max, it was a strange thing for a spirit weapon to develop and show emotions but to Matt it happened. He had tears in his eyes as he pushed his face in Max's chest who fell on his bum from the sudden charge.

"Matt… what happened?" Max wondered, he always saw Matt as this confident and highly capable individual, the crying and full of worry expression he had on right now didn't suit him.

"I-I" Matt struggled as he retrieved his face from Max's chest. "Max you were dead! I thought you were… those guys did something to you! You were brought back to life!" Matt exclaimed; his expression changed to one of doubt.

"Died?!" Max felt surprised as he recalled that void soul realm he was in before. 'I died?' He questioned and he knew there was only one way for him to find out the answers to all of his questions.

Max and Matt discussed, the former trying to comfort the other, even going as far as hugging him and slowly caressing his head.

The door creaked open and Max was able to sense that, immediately retracting his conscious from the soul realm, diverting it back to the living realm.

It was Dylan who entered first, followed closely by Bryce and then Ernie.

Dylan looked at Max as he entered the room, neither of them breaking eye contact. They all took a seat except Dylan who kneeled in a kowtow* in front of the bed where Max laid at.

"I AM SO SORRY MAX!" Dylan shouted feeling extremely guilty, tears flowing out making a slight and distinct sound as they hit the floor of the completely quiet room.

"Dylan? What happened?" Max questioned, he was confused but he could feel the sadness emanating from Dylan, something strange he never experienced before was happening.

Dylan sniffed, a sharp sound escaping his nose.

"I know that you might never forgive me. I know this from the start! I just hope you can understand why I did it!" Dylan lifted his head, his red eyes being seen by Max. They weren't the same glowing red eyes from before but were in fact red because of all the crying and sleepless nights he endured so far.

"Dylan I really don't understand you." Max understood something was happening but he couldn't figure it out, understanding only the fact that this something was extremely important.

"I-I'll calm myself down first…" Dylan told Max, closing his eyes and regulating his breath.

A minute passed, no sound was made during this time, everyone waiting for Dylan. He opened his eyes before wiping away his tears and looked at Max determinately.

"I'll start from the beginning I guess" Dylan got up from the floor as he said that. Sitting on the bed beside Max.

"This world is a lot more complicated than most know it to be, there isn't only the path in magic that one might be born into. There are different people, wielding special forms…" Dylan gathered his thoughts and words while explaining to Max.

"There isn't only Beasts and Humans, there are other parties which are called 'shapeshifters'. Myself, Bryce, and Ernie all three of us are shapeshifters and maybe you met other ones but couldn't recognize it, after all, we have a perfect human body until transforming." He looked at Max, for any change in expression but he just stood there with a questioning gaze.

Max didn't know what to make of this, he could just dismiss everything but this, coming from Dylan, he felt like it was true. He couldn't understand what happened to him either so he just had to hear him out until he finished.

"You will be informed of everything, such as the different shapeshifter categories and all but now I want to concentrate on you." He continued before gulping.

"You died Max… or to call it… you were extremely close to. I-I panicked and transformed you into one of us in an attempt to save your life. I didn't want you to die Max, I couldn't let you die. You felt special, ever since the first day we met, I couldn't let you die!" Dylan felt like he was going mad while admitting his behavior.

Max heard the first words, 'You died Max', and as he did he accidentally bit on his lip hard, blood even flowing out from this wound.

"So, what am I now?" Max felt like crying, it wasn't because he became a 'shapeshifter', he was more conflicted by the fact that he experienced death first hand, the memory slowly haunting him.

"We are called werewolves, one of the species," Dylan responded immediately to his question, he wanted to help Max as much as he could.

"What is that? What happened to me after all? I was dead, wasn't I? I KNOW I WAS! I STARED RIGHT INTO IT AFTER ALL!" Max slowly broke down; he held his head that started hurting as tears filled his eyes.

"HOW DO I HAVE MY ARM BACK?! RESPOND TO ME!" Max yelled as he saw his left hand after gripping his head with it.

"Shapeshifters have different abilities alongside our improved physiques, our species ability is regeneration. As you were in a coma the last week your left hand slowly grew back alongside your bone." Dylan felt scared and his voice stuttered but he still managed to not make any obvious mistakes in his speech.

"How… how is that even possible?!" Max now calmed down a little, taking deep breaths while stopping himself from crying.

"I'll explain everything, please just bear with me" And Max did, he quietly listened to Dylan who earnestly explained to him everything he thought of.

'A hidden world… one that can be seen only by those bearing the same secret' Max thought as Dylan finished explaining. He felt a lot better as he understood more about this world.

"You'll also be a target from now on, you have to work on your rank," Dylan said which surprised Max. After all the former only told the latter about the advantages of being a shapeshifter and how the world was structured, now he will be shown the disadvantages.

"You're a beginner werewolf, known as a beta. There are only three ranks that werewolves abide by Beta, Omega, and Alpha. They are signified by the color of your eyes, they glow Orange, Blue, and Red respectively." Dylan said as his eyes began glowing shades of red.

"Only alphas are able to create betas due to certain reasons but that doesn't matter for now. You as a beta, especially such a young one, will be targeted by different shapeshifters of higher ranks. This is because between the races there is a love-hate relationship…" Dylan explained as his eyes reverted to their original brown color.

"How did you do that?" Max asked curiously as it looked pretty cool.

"You have to concentrate on awakening your werewolf blood that is now present in your body. You'll get the feeling for it as time passes by, it's in our instinct to transform after all." He told Max whose body seemed to shiver.

"It's not like flexing the muscles in your body, I can't exactly explain how to do it but when you do it right your blood boils, and for beginners, even bloodthirst can be present."

Max nodded at the guidance that Dylan showed, feeling like he could trust him.

"Then, I'll finish explaining the rest" Dylan nodded back at Max before filling him in on whatever he needed to know.

***

*- kneel and touch the ground with the forehead showing the sincerest intentions.