Fading in and out, I laid there on the battlefield as everything came to an end. The screams and cries slowly ceased, and an eerie silence washed over everything. My time as a soldier had come to an end and the void was beckoning me closer. It was almost welcoming. I could see my family again. How I yearned for it. With a smile, I let the river of life carry me away without a second thought. Unfortunately, fate had other plans in store for me.
A flash of crimson and a searing pain ripped me away from my destined reunion. My whole body felt like it had erupted in flames, the pain so intense it transcended death itself. The blood in my veins seemed to boil and my vision was nothing but bloodshot. Through all this suffering, I felt a strange force take hold of me and forcibly drag me back towards the world of the living. While faint at first, it soon took a firm grip and pulled with a tremendous force. It was so strong I feared I would be ripped in two.
Through clenched eyes, an unmistakable light would soon start wafting over me. This was magic at work. It was coursing through me and permeated my very existence. The feeling was like nothing I had ever experienced but still excruciating. With what little strength remained in me, I struggled to look down upon myself one last time and what I saw would forever haunt my dreams. Carved into my bare flesh were runes of power. Hundreds of them scarred my body from head to toe, each one pulsing with the ominous glow of mana. With every pulse, the pain grew stronger and stronger until it overwhelmed me completely. Darkness flooded my vision and everything simply faded into nothingness.
To my surprise, I woke up to the sun greeting me overhead. Almost immediately I shut my eyes as a sharp pain shot through my skull. What was that dream? Did I have a bit too much to drink? It would not be the first time I thought. Begrudgingly, I sat up and rubbed my temples before looking around. My vision was a blurry mess and no amount of eyes rubbing seemed to fix it. Thankfully, I recognized the area well enough to know I was close to home.
“Evelyn and the kids are going to be worried sick.” I mumbled to myself as I pictured them all.
I tried to stand but that failed miserably. My legs felt like they were not interested in cooperating with me at the moment. After some struggles and a bit of coaxing though, I eventually managed to get my feet under me. Walking home was a challenge but nothing I could not handle with a bit of stubbornness. The house I called home would soon stumble into view.
"Home sweet home." I thought with smile.
As I approached my door and reached for the handle, I staggered back in fright. My hand was stained with blood. Glancing down would reveal my whole body was dripping red. I fell backwards, horrified, as the bloodshed resurfaced in my mind. Memories that were seemingly forgotten started to bombard me with horrifying visions. There had been fighting. The whole village was on fire. I frantically started to look around for anyone, but my home had disappeared, and a desolate wasteland had taken its place. It was gone. They were all gone.
Panic started to set in as I looked again to my blood-soaked hands but found my vision had once again betrayed me. No longer did they look human. In fact, they were not even bloody. Crimson fur ran down my arms and ended at two monstrous paws adorned with ivory claws. My breath caught for a moment as I stared, flexing my fingers. What was happening to me? Was this some sort of sick dream? I wanted to wake up, to escape all of this. So, I did the only thing my brain could think of. I ran.
My legs, however many there may be now, clumsily carried me away with haste. I nearly tripped over myself in the beginning but eventually found a rhythm. Soon, my poor excuse for a run transformed into a mighty sprint. As I moved faster, my shattered perception of the world started to reassemble. The forest that once surrounded my village was replaced with spires of steel and glass. Structures that seemed impossible to comprehend filled my view as I raced through the ever-evolving streets, jumping over rubble and diving under debris. So many questions needed answering, but I was not prepared to face any of them. I was not even prepared to face myself right now. What was I becoming?
The answer came sooner than I expected. Blindly turning every which way through the cityscape eventually brought me to an abrupt dead end. My eyes went wide with freight as I frantically dug my feet into the ground to stop, sparks flying up all around me. I braced for impact but it never came. When I slowly opened my eyes, I was face to face with a towering wall of glass and reflected within it, a crimson visage staring back at me.
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The first thing I noticed were its beautiful golden eyes that seemed to lock me in place. They belonged to a beast much like a wolf but far larger. A creature of legend. A Fenrir. I wanted nothing more than to turn and flee that very moment but knew once I did, the truth would be undeniable. Perhaps if I waited long enough, I would wake up from this nightmare. That was foolish of me. Alas, with great hesitation, I would take a long, deep breath.
I watched its chest, my chest, rise and fall in the reflection. Another deep breath escaped me as I struggled to remain calm. A tail swooshed behind me. One glance over my shoulder confirmed it to be my own and with little effort, I could even control it. Turning back, I stared long and hard at what I had become, turning my head slightly to see my new form. Hours I remained there, lost in thought, but I found that the longer I looked, the calmer I became. Eventually, the fear would fade and questions would arise.
"How was this possible?" I whispered to myself.
Soon though, I would stand and flex each of my four legs, taking note of the frightening claws on the end of each one. To my surprise, everything felt incredibly natural. This body responded precisely how I thought it should even if it looked like a monster. Opening my mouth revealed several razor-sharp fangs.
“I would not want to be on the receiving end of these.” I spoke aloud, startling myself as I heard my own voice. It was deep and almost seemed to rumble with every word.
“Well, at least I can still speak.” I sighed, looking myself over once more in the mirror like surface. “Maybe I should try stretching my legs a little more.”
With some hesitation, I reared back and looked up towards the sky. I wondered just what this body could do. With a deep breath, I pushed off as hard as I dared and leapt upward, clearing the rooftops of the smaller buildings surrounding me with ease. A sense of wonder and thrill flooded over me almost immediately.
“This is amazing!” I shouted before bounding upwards again.
The landscape flew by me as I soared through the skies, my powerful legs propelling me across the ruined city. Now that I was not blindly running like a fool, I could actually see it. Buildings reached up and pierced the clouds and stretched far off into the horizon no matter where you looked. It was a breathtaking sight even if the city was falling to rubble.
After much excitement though, my feet would soon find the ground as my curiosity grew. What was this place and what had happened to it? There was nobody here and I had heard neither human nor animals since I arrived. In fact, there was no noise at all. I wanted answers but suspected they would not come easy.
The next few hours were spent exploring countless buildings and digging through debris until I was exhausted. Not physically, but mentally. My thoughts were still jumbled and any attempt to wrangle them together was met with pushback. I could barely recall my own name. It almost felt like I was not supposed to remember but that only drove me to try harder.
Taking refuge for the night in one of the countless abandoned buildings, I laid down and prodded my mind. Several times I had come close to remembering something but was then quickly swatted away by some strange force. It was frustrating beyond belief, but I just kept pushing forward, late into the night, until I had some luck. Reaching out, a fleeting image rose to the surface of my thoughts. It was of a stunning woman and two lovely children. I recognized them instantly and my eyes burst open.
“My family. My friends. How could I have forgotten them? I cried, shooting to my feet and racing back outside.
I frantically whipped my head around, peering into the distance for any sight of them but only the desolate landscape greeted me. It was then that the realization hit me. They were all dead. We were slaughtered like animals, every single one of us. I had watched it all unfold. It was then that a deep sorrow overtook me. I threw my head back and let out a solemn howl, tears raining down my face.
Every day from that point forward, my life had a single purpose, to find them. If I had survived, then there was a chance my family would have too. They could be waiting for me, just as lost and confused as I was. Nothing would stop me from seeing them again. It was my only glimmer of hope and the fuel that burned a fire inside me, driving this new body forward.
So, the days would come and go with little to no change. My frantic hunt would start with the sun and end with the moon. I dug through rubble and scoured buildings but never found a trace of anything. Before long, the days became weeks, and the weeks became years. If you had asked me how long ago I started, I would not have an answer for you. I did not care how long it took. It did not matter. My search would continue until I found someone, anyone, that I could call family. Little did I know, that someone would be arriving soon, descending from the heavens and changing the world as I knew it.