Reborn As An Evolving Monster

"Fuck. Fuck. Fuck..." Mark whispered as he fell to his knees.

Out of breath, but also dizzy.

The hit he had received to the chin still showed its effects.

The white-scaled Monster had no way of knowing, but the invisible barrier that had kept the Moonlit Feline outside hadn't been crossed in centuries.

Mark also hadn't taken the time to study where he was by checking the Map he had been given by Raven a while ago.

In any case, Raven had asserted that there wasn't anything at the center of the Monster Realm.

That is because, at the center of the dark forest, was the barrier that kept all outside.

None could cross or break that barrier.

But Mark had managed to cross.

The answer as to why he had managed to was a simple one to find. The question, however, did not cross his mind.

In the first place, the fact that none could pass through the barrier wasn't something he could have known or guessed.

"I have to... I have to go back. I need to get Krista... To her. But what if I can't find her? What if... I do find her? What if I were to see her after..." The white-scaled Monster clenched its teeth. "I can't leave Krista like this. I can't leave Krista alone there. I need to go back. But this... I-"

Out of nowhere, they had appeared.

No, it wasn't out of nowhere.

It was like they had emerged from the shadows. From the darkness that the open field was submerged in.

Their presence was incredibly chilling.

Mark stood up and jumped back.

As soon as his feet landed on the ground, he realized.

They were behind him too.

A tail flick passed through them.

The way it felt...

'Spirits?'

They extended their pale blueish hands forward, the only part of their bodies that wasn't shrouded by a cloak of darkness.

Their long purplish nails approached Mark's back.

He wasn't sure why. In truth, he wasn't sure at all.

But those hands felt like Death.

Being touched by those hands would leave long-lasting damage.

No reasoning or thought process led to that. It was simply a feeling.

That's why Mark fully trusted it.

The feeling of impending doom was something he had experienced multiple times. And not once did the feeling betray him.

The white-scaled Monster moved forward.

One by one, more appeared.

Their number increased, and it didn't take long for Mark to start running.

They appeared on his right. They appeared on his left.

The way behind him was closed. No turning back allowed.

Mark's heart started beating faster and faster.

'What the hell is happening??'

A nightmare? A vision? No. Mark could tell it was neither, but it was still incredibly disorienting and bizarre.

Creepy and eerie.

The ghostly Creatures pointed.

As Mark ran, more appeared.

It didn't take long for them to stretch forward.

Mark spread his wings.

Just when he was about to jump up and take flight, Mark noticed an enormous and pitch-black hand hovering above him, which immediately made him accelerate.

His confusion had quickly turned into horrific fear.

In the distance, they shined. A pale blue, almost translucent.

The gigantic jellyfish swam in the air, propelled by their long and thin tentacles that moved lazily.

The ghost-like Creatures surrounding him opened their mouths.

What the hell were they saying?

The same sounds were repeated again, again, and again.

A different language? Random sounds?

Why did their words cause such a splitting headache?!

Mark continued running! Away from those Creatures! Away from that hand hovering above!

The headache made him feel like his skull would crack!

KrshKrshKrsh- KrshKrshKrsh- KrshKrshKrsh-

BzzzBzzzBzz- BzzzBzzzBzz- BzzzBzzzBzz-

The hand above wasn't a hand, but a cloud of flies!

The words, the cracking, the buzzing, Krista, the words, the cracking, the buzzing, the running, Krista, the hand, the ghosts, what the hell is up with this place, spirits, ghosts, beasts, monsters, demons, devils, insects, dark, cold, nightmare, dream, vision, reality, Krista!

Scared, scared, so scared, following, unrelenting, torment, ritual, pointing, a cloud of flies above, Partial Gigantification, Sprite Manipulation, fuck, fuck, fuck! Nothing is working.

A punch was thrown. The ghostly beings moved their hands.

Pointing.

All of them. Every single one of them.

KrshKrshKrsh- KrshKrshKrsh- KrshKrshKrsh-

BzzzBzzzBzz- BzzzBzzzBzz- BzzzBzzzBzz-

It resonated and resonated.

Inside the Monster's head, it filled his mind and chased his thoughts.

Will Mark wake up? He didn't think he would. Still, one can only hope.

They pointed.

That left arm.

Are you willing to give it?

Mark kept running.

Suddenly they changed, transformed.

Those standing at the front morphed. Their hands moved to the ground. Their bones cracked and broke. The darkness surrounding them stretched.

They faced one another, two lines of darkness that stretched infinitely.

The words did not stop.

The crackling did not stop.

The buzzing did not stop.

A hundred wolves' howls resonated.

They resonated, and the reverberations of those howls echoed, hammered, and knocked on the Monster's skull from the inside!

Blurry. The darkness stretched. The separation between them started fading. Everything turned into paint. Their bodies randomly danced, tangled, and intertwined.

The Moonlight grew brighter!

His eye started stinging!

The Monster closed its eye momentarily.

A hundred wolves' howls! The crackling of a thousand flies wings! Dark butterflies filled the air!

A static started growing louder and louder!

The bleating of ten goats! The wings of seven bats! The cries of three lambs!

The hissing of a singular snake.

The Moonlight took everything away.

The Monster thought of the ashen-haired Elven princess...

Thump-

And collapsed on the ground.

She approached, and they fled!

They retreated and vanished into the shadows whence they came.

"Mmm..." A finger against her lips.

The one Cursed to be alone. Cursed to be in the Dark.

"What did the Night bring, I wonder?"

She walked closer.

With dark, dark eyes, she stared.

The Witch in the Woods.

Find her.

Look for her.

Your destiny.

The Daughter of Darkness.

For the first time in centuries,

"A Guest?"