“What the...” I muttered, disorientation hitting me like a tidal wave as I blinked open my eyes, struggling to comprehend my surroundings.

The soul wrenching pain I endured from that fall should have killed me flat out, unless by some miracle I had survived just long enough that the hospital was able to defy all the odds and resuscitate me.

But that wouldn’t explain the grassy texture below me, nor those cryptic words before my eyes.

As my gaze shifted about, I noticed a large, black bubble of mass standing right in front of me.

My fingers caressed my eyes as I attempted to focus on it.

Though, it might have been more merciful if I hadn’t.

A large creature, his appearance that of a ghost with a hardened deer skull for a head, with its two horns on his skull had overgrown to the point of almost piercing its base.

It loomed over me with a terrifying hunger as he inched closer and closer until he was a mere forearm away from my face, oozing a smell akin to that of rotten eggs, his towering form like something straight out of a horror film.

I didn’t let out a scream, I couldn’t.

Father had personally trained me not to do that, as the beatings would rise in severity.

A gulp forced its way down my throat, just audible enough for anyone to hear.

And then, the monster let out a bloodcurdling scream that split the air, its spit and fluids splattering my face as I lay there in frozen thought, my heart pounding so hard I thought it’d jump out of my chest.

He raised his hand over his head, his killing intent palpable.

The hand, black and foreboding, descended like the judgment of the underworld, as if to punish me for cheating death. Fear's icy grip slowly released its hold on me as instinct kicked in.

I rolled away from his claws right before the monster hit me, leaving an ominous mark on the dirt, his three claws half inside the dirt as he struggled to get them out.

His glare intensified as it shifted to me, his claws nearly unstuck.

Wasting no time at all, my primal instincts kicked in and my legs propelled me backwards with a speed unlike anything before, fueled by adrenaline alone. I ran through the wet air, swirling around the trees and jumping over the bushes that appeared in front of me, focused on just putting distance between that... thing, and me.

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The thunderous steps of that monster came closer and closer, its shriek startling every bird and hatchling in the vicinity.

It’s only a matter of time until it eventually outruns me, and tears me apart from limb to limb.

Cold sweat ran through my back as I realized there was no escape from it.

Then, a warning whispered through my mind— he's right behind you.

Reacting on sheer instinct, I ducked, the monster's fist of death narrowly missing its target. The ground shook beneath me as its attack struck empty air.

I ducked, and a moment later the monster once again struck the place where I was just a second ago.

This time there was no way out, as its instant recovery meant that he could charge me while I hadn’t even gotten up yet.

I was already a dead man before any of this begun.

Maybe this is what they meant with a “Near Death Experience.” It had to be, right? Nothing more than a fantastical illusion, a feverish dream spun by my own mind. Yet I wanted to believe it was real, that I hadn’t really died.

I closed my eyes.

“Aryiaaaah!” A voice yelled out, cutting through the situation, and the creature in front of me let out another scream, this time a distinct pain embedded in it.

Mustering up courage, I peeled my eyes open, and saw an arrow hit on the right side of the creature, its gaze fixated on something, or someone far behind.

“Fuyooh! Marine, imperato te créatur!” what sounded like a command rang out, followed by a resolute response.

“Yah, Maestro!”

Glancing over my shoulder, I spotted a pair of figures dressed in distinctive attire hurtling toward the beast.

Leading the charge was a woman, her form leaping onto the beast with a blade that cut and cleaved through its form, her armor almost non-existant on purpose as if the weave seemlessly through the air. The monster, once so adept at swatting me aside, now struggled to fend off this fierce assault.

Amidst the fray, an archer's voice rang out, likely issuing a warning. Wearing what looked like snake-armor and a simple coif, he drew an arrow with his bow, steadying it towards the target. The woman danced away, and an arrow, tearing through the air with lethal precision, found its mark directly in the monster's chest.

The impact drove it back, its retreat evident.

Perhaps understanding that this battle is lost, the monster with a deer skull for a head ran off, but the hunters wouldn’t allow him to get away so easily.

The group followed him mercilessly, their unnatural pace easily outmatching the monster.

The swordswoman in hot pursuit right behind it, her blade gleaming with deadly intent, while the archer shot arrows towards his legs in order to immobilize it.

Three arrows found their mark in the monster's heels and thighs, causing it to crumple, its fall sending up plumes of dirt and grass.

Writhing in pain, the woman’s blade swiftly found itself slashing the monster’s throat, a rather merciful end for it if I do say so myself.

She put her hand in a rather thick glove, then stuck it deep inside the beast’s belly, opening him up effortlessly. The archer walked over and lowered a hand towards me, speaking words in a tongue I could not understand.

Tilting my head, I shrugged and said something in my own language, indicating that I do not comprehend what he says.

“Marine!” He yelled, his gaze towards the woman who was done skinning the beast and had a gem of sorts in her hand.

They talked and talked, their eyes occasionally looked over to me, then talking further.

Unsure of what to do next, I stood there frozen.

Perhaps this isn’t a dream...

In the blink of an eye, the man who had extended his hand in a seemingly friendly gesture unleashed a devastating punch to my jaw. The impact was brutal, a fierce blow that threatened to plunge me into unconsciousness. Before I could even react, ropes and iron shackles were fastened around me.

What a friendly way to assist a stranger.