CHAPTER 2 TRANSFORMATION
I barely had time to register Lee-Ann's horrified expression before the world spun violently around me. Something hot and steaming wrapped around my torso, squeezing the hard fought air from my lungs. I thrashed wildly, my burned arms screaming in protest as I clawed at the Arachnid's arms and elbowed its head as it bit into my back.
"No!" I croaked, but my voice was lost in the deafening roar emanating from the portal and the lack of oxygen in my body. The vortex pulsed with an otherworldly light, so bright it seared my retinas. I squinted against the glare, desperately trying to catch one last glimpse of Lee-Ann and Rella.
The creature's grip tightened, and I felt my feet leave the ground. Panic surged through me as I realized I was being dragged inexorably towards that swirling maw of light and sound. The air around us crackled with energy, raising the remaining hair on my body and sending tingles across my skin.
I dug my heels into the earth, but it was futile. The Arachnid's strength was inhuman, the inhaler failed to catch up with the burning in my lungs as the deprivation steals the remainder of my strength and the portal's pull was relentless. My heart hammered in my chest as I struggled to breathe, the arms constricting tighter with each second.
"Lee-Ann!" I tried to shout, but it came out as a choked whisper. The roar of the vortex grew louder, drowning out everything else. It sounded like a furious storm, winds howling and thunder crashing all around me.
My fate feels like a taught string on fire as I started seeing dark spots in my vision, desperation replacing the blood in my body yet, strength still evaporates with each burning breath against the increasing strength of the arms around me.
As we neared the portal's edge, I felt a sickening lurch in my stomach. The world seemed to stretch and warp, reality bending in ways my mind couldn't comprehend. I closed my eyes, overwhelmed by the sensory assault and the crushing grip of the monster.
Shouting with my remaining strength the whisper echoes only in my thoughts.
I love you Lee-Ann.
* * *
The world exploded into chaos. One moment, I was in the park, and the next, I was hurtling through a kaleidoscope of impossible colors. The portal swallowed us whole, its maw closing behind us with a thunderous boom that reverberated through my bones.
I forced my mouth closed, yet eyes remained open, having already lost sensation in them akin to opening my eyes underwater, my lungs burning as they constricted, my inhaler missing.… All around me was something, it wasn't air, not really. It was thick, almost liquid.
The Arachnid's grip loosened, and I found myself suspended in this bizarre in-between space. Currents of vibrant energy swirled around me - electric blues, molten golds, and shimmering purples. They danced and twisted, forming patterns that hurt my eyes to look at directly.
What... is this?
Terror gripped me as I realized I was completely at the mercy of this alien environment. Yet, beneath the fear, a sense of awe bloomed in my chest. The sheer power thrumming through this place was intoxicating. I felt like a minnow swept up in a hurricane of pure, unfiltered magic.
The portal seemed to be moving us along, carrying us to some unknown destination. I tumbled head over heels, losing all sense of up or down. The energy currents buffeted me, alternately icy cold and scorching hot against my skin. My eyes were melting on the outer edges and regenerating in short cycles, distorting my vision and making everything look more dreamlike.
My mind reeled, unable to process the sensory overload. The colors grew more intense, swirling faster and faster until they blurred into a dizzying maelstrom. The air - if you could call it that - grew even thicker, pressing in on me from all sides.
I squeezed my eyes shut, but it made no difference. The pulsing energy invaded my senses, filling my head with a deafening hum. My entire body tingled, as if every cell was vibrating in resonance with the raw power surrounding me.
* * *
As I tumbled through the swirling chaos, one of the currents helped me stabilize as if floating upright in it, a strange crackling sound caught my attention, reminding me that I also had ears. I forced my eyes open, fighting against the dizzying kaleidoscope of colors. The Arachnid that had dragged me into this madness was... changing, and not just from my eyes distorting.
Its exoskeleton began to splinter, hairline fractures spreading across its surface like a spider's web confusing me more, Shouldn't it be melting and regenerating like me? The creature's many eyes bulged, glowing with an eerie inner light. It thrashed wildly, its legs flailing in a desperate attempt to hold itself together.
Oh God, My thoughts choked, watching in horrified fascination as pieces of the Arachnid's carapace began to peel away. They didn't fall off - instead, they seemed to vaporize, transforming into shimmering motes of light that were quickly swept away by the magical currents.
The sight was both terrifying and mesmerizing. The Arachnid's form wavered, becoming less solid with each passing second. Its broken legs dissolved first, followed by its bulbous abdomen. The creature's mandibles clicked furiously, emitting a high-pitched keen that set my teeth on edge.
Was this my fate too? Would I start dissolving, my body breaking apart in this alien environment like water on a hot plate?
I looked down at my hands, noting that I was naked as the day I was borne, half-expecting to see my own skin cracking and peeling away. The Arachnid's dissolution accelerated. Its remaining form shattered like glass, exploding into a cloud of glittering particles. They swirled around me for a moment, caught in the eddies of energy, before being swept away into the vast, pulsing void.
I was alone now, adrift in a sea of raw magical energy as it swept me to my fate. The creature that had seemed so terrifying just moments ago had been reduced to nothing more than specks of light, indistinguishable from the swirling chaos around us. I feel frightful, because I must have been awake for at least a few minutes, why haven't I passed out yet, because…
I can't breathe…
* * *
The moment of floating horror at the Arachnid's demise was short-lived. A searing pain erupted in my fingertips, spreading like wildfire up my arms. I watched with eyes that refuse to shut anymore as my skin began to ripple and distort, becoming translucent one second and opaque the next.
No, no, no!
The agony intensified, consuming every inch of my body. It felt like I was being torn apart at the molecular level, wishing I would pass out to be spared this experience, only to be stitched back together in ways that defied comprehension. My legs wavered, seeming to dissolve into wisps of vapor before solidifying again. The sensation was maddening – I couldn't tell where my body ended and the swirling currents began.
Panic clawed at my throat as I realized I had no control over what was happening. My very essence seemed to be rebelling against itself, caught in a cycle of destruction and rebirth that threatened to shatter my sanity. Like corn fighting back against the millstone, it felt so hopeless.
I opened my mouth to scream, desperate to release the torment building inside me. But instead of air, a flood of energy rushed in past my constricted throat, filling my mouth and squeezed out lungs with liquid fire magnitudes greater than an asthma attack. The taste was overwhelming – metallic and electric, like licking a battery multiplied by a thousand. My stomach burned as if I'd swallowed molten lava.
I thrashed wildly, trying to expel the invasive energy, but it was futile. The energy kept pouring in, drowning me in pure, unfiltered power. My lungs screamed for air, but there was none to be found in this chaotic void. Spots danced before my eyes as suffocation set in, my body starved for oxygen yet paradoxically overflowing with power.
In that moment, suspended between life and death, solidity and vapor, I felt myself slipping away. The world around me began to fade, the kaleidoscope of colors blurring into a hazy, indistinct mass.
God, please keep Lee-Ann and Rella safe…
* * *
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As my physical senses faded into oblivion, something... shifted. The pain receded, replaced by an otherworldly awareness that defied explanation. I could perceive aspects of myself I never knew existed – layers of consciousness beyond flesh and bone.
Soul. Spirit.
The realization hit me with a mixture of awe and terror. My soul flickered like a fragile candle flame, buffeted by cosmic winds that threatened to snuff it out at any moment. It felt... vulnerable. Exposed. As if the very essence of who I was lay bare and unprotected against the chaotic energies surrounding me.
My spirit, on the other hand, felt like an anchor – a gossamer thread tethering the scattered fragments of my being together. It pulsed with a quiet strength, fighting against the tide of dissolution that sought to tear me apart.
I marvelled at these newfound aspects of self, even as dread coiled in the middle of my being. How had I never sensed these before? And more pressingly – how fragile they seemed in this alien realm.
That's when I felt it. A tugging at the edges of my soul, as if the swirling cosmic energy was trying to unravel me thread by thread. Panic surged through me as I realized what was happening – my very identity was eroding, dissolving into the currents of power that permeated this place.
I might not dissolve physically like the arachnid, but will become a husk devoid of life!
I fought back with everything I had, desperately trying to hold onto who I was. But it felt like grasping at smoke. Memories began to slip away, feelings scattered like leaves caught in a gale. The faces of those I loved – my mother, Lee-Ann, little Rella – they blurred and faded, becoming indistinct shapes in the fog of my mind.
"No!" I tried to scream, but had no voice. "I am Tristan Jules! I am..."
But who was I? The thought slipped away before I could grasp it, lost in the maelstrom of cosmic energy threatening to consume me entirely.
* * *
I was losing myself, fragments of my identity scattering into the cosmic void. But as desperation clawed at me, one memory burned brighter than the rest – Lee-Ann. The moment I'd dreamed of for so long, the proposal that never quite happened.
With every ounce of willpower I possessed, I clung to that image. Lee-Ann's radiant smile, her eyes sparkling with joy. I could almost feel the warmth of her hand in mine, her fingers intertwining with my own. And though the chaos of the portal had drowned out any chance of hearing her answer, in my mind, her voice rang clear as a bell:
"Yes, Tristan. Yes!"
It became my lifeline, an anchor in the storm. I held onto it with fierce determination, letting our love define me when all else threatened to slip away.
God is love, love will give me strength!
This was who I was – the man who loved Lee-Ann, who would do anything to return to her and Rella.
As I poured everything into that singular focus, something... changed. The overwhelming pressure of the energy surrounding me began to shift. My spirit, that gossamer thread I'd only just become aware of, started to pulse with newfound strength. It expanded, growing more resilient with each passing moment.
The chaotic energy that had threatened to tear me apart now flowed around me, through me. My spirit absorbed it, integrating the power rather than being consumed by it. It felt as if I were being enveloped in a protective cocoon, shielding me from the worst of the cosmic onslaught.
Pain still lanced through me, but it was different now – more manageable, almost empowering. I was no longer a helpless victim being battered by forces beyond my comprehension. I was... adapting. Surviving.
I can breathe?
* * *
The chaos around me began to settle, like storm clouds parting after a tempest. My body, once a nebulous cloud of particles, coalesced back into solid form. The pain that had threatened to tear me apart faded to a dull ache, then vanished entirely. I took a deep breath, marvelling at the simple act of filling my lungs.
Something fundamental had changed within me. The energy that had nearly destroyed me now flowed through my veins, as natural as blood. I felt... powerful. Alive in a way I'd never experienced before. Every nerve ending tingled with energy, my senses sharpened to an impossible degree.
I could perceive the currents of power swirling around me, no longer a threat but a symphony of raw potential. It was exhilarating and terrifying all at once. What had I become?
Before I could fully process this new reality, the portal's grip on me loosened. Suddenly, I was falling, tumbling through empty space. The void gave way to solid matter, and I crashed onto a hard surface with bone-jarring force.
The impact sent tremors through the ground, and I heard an ominous cracking sound. As I struggled to my feet, grasping the closest thing to pull me up which was a spear stabbed into the ground, I realized I'd landed on an enormous circular pattern etched into the stone floor with the spear being the focus of it in the centre. Intricate runes and symbols covered the floor's surface, but they were splintering and breaking apart beneath me.
A blinding flash erupted from the fracturing circle, accompanied by an ear-splitting screech. As my vision cleared, I saw... pain. Creatures – part human, part animal – writhed in agony around me. Raw energy poured from the broken runes, and on further notice even myself, dissolving their flesh into motes of light.
I staggered backward, my stomach churning at the sight. What was this place? What had I done?
A shockwave of energy burst outward from the shattered circle, nearly knocking me off my feet as I clutched the spear as tall as I am. Sparks showered from the ruined symbols, and the very air seemed to crackle with uncontrolled power.
* * *
I looked up, my heart pounding in my chest. The swirling vortex that had brought me here was shrinking, its edges fraying like an old photograph.
"No!" I shouted, my voice echoing through the cavernous space. I reached out, as if I could somehow grab hold of the portal and keep it open through sheer force of will. But it was futile. The singularity flickered once, twice, and then winked out of existence entirely as the last of the runes disintegrated beneath me.
In its place, a vast stone ceiling stretched overhead, so high I could barely make out its details. But what caught my eye were the glowing scripts etched into the rock. They pulsed with an eerie light, casting dancing shadows across the cavern floor. The runes seemed to shift and change as I watched, forming patterns I couldn't begin to comprehend.
The realization hit me like a physical blow. My way home was gone. Lee-Ann, Rella, my entire world – all of it was beyond my reach now. A wave of despair washed over me, threatening to drag me into it's depths.
The cavern fell silent as the last remnants of the portal's energy dissipated. The only sound was my own ragged breathing, impossibly loud in the stillness. The glowing scripts began to dim, their light fading like dying embers.
I stood there, paralyzed by the enormity of what had just happened. The isolation pressed in on me from all sides, as tangible as the stone walls surrounding me. I was alone in a place I didn't understand, with no idea how to get back.
"Lee-Ann," I whispered, her name a prayer in the darkness. But there was no answer, only the fading pulse of alien magic and the crushing weight of solitude.
What good is breathing if I can't be with them?
* * *
As my eyes adjusted to the dimming light, I finally took in the full extent of the devastation around me. The area within a hundred meters was utterly laid waste, as if a bomb had detonated. The ground was charred and cracked, wisps of acrid smoke still rising from blackened patches. Debris littered the cavern floor – fragments of stone, twisted metal, and unidentifiable objects that might have once been part of some alien machinery.
A wave of guilt crashed over me. This destruction, this chaos – it was all because of me. My arrival had unleashed a force I couldn't comprehend, let alone control. The air still crackled with residual energy. An eerie stillness hung over the scene, broken only by the occasional crumbling of weakened stone.
Before I could fully process the carnage, a blood-curdling screech echoed through the cavern. I whirled around to see another Arachnid rushing towards me, its multiple legs skittering across the debris-strewn floor. It brandished two gleaming spears, their points catching what little light remained.
"Intruder!" it bellowed in a guttural, clicking and hissing language that, impossibly, I understood. "You will pay for this desecration!"
My body tensed, adrenaline surging through me. I raised the spear instinctively, preparing to defend myself. The Arachnid's eyes blazed with fury, fixed solely on me as it charged.
What happened next was pure reflex. I felt something stir within me, a wellspring of power I didn't know I possessed. Before I could even form a conscious thought, a blinding wave of energy erupted from my body and channelled through the spear as to give it direction. It slammed into the Arachnid with devastating force, disintegrating it instantly.
But the blast didn't stop there. It continued onward, smashing into the cavern wall with a deafening roar. Stone crumbled and fell away, revealing a gaping hole spilling light where solid rock had stood moments before.
I stared at my hands in disbelief, then at the destruction I'd wrought. Fear mingled with awe as I realized just how much I had changed. This power within me – it was both thrilling and terrifying.
Why can't I control my emotions?
* * *
The blast had torn a massive hole in the cavern wall, and as the dust settled, I found myself staring not at more rock, but at an impossible vista. My jaw dropped. I wasn't underground at all – I was inside a mountain, and through the newly formed breach, an unbelievable scene unfolded before me.
A vast battlefield stretched as far as I could see, teeming with chaos and violence. The sky above was a kaleidoscope of colors I'd never imagined, filled with bizarre flying creatures that defied description. Some looked like a mash-up of birds and insects, while others resembled nothing I'd ever seen on Earth.
The clash of armies below was deafening. Metal rang against metal, punctuated by inhuman shrieks and thunderous explosions. Flashes of light erupted across the field – not gunfire, but bursts of pure magical energy. Creatures that looked like a mix between humans and various animals wielded both cold weapons and mystical abilities I couldn't begin to comprehend.
My senses were overwhelmed. The air was thick with the acrid smell of smoke and ozone, tinged with an alien scent I couldn't place. Battle cries in languages I'd never heard before rose up in a cacophonous roar. I watched, transfixed, as a being that looked like a cross between a human and a lion unleashed a torrent of fire from its bare hands, incinerating a group of charging Arachnids.
On the other side, the spider-like creatures I'd encountered fought with ruthless efficiency. They moved with uncanny speed, their multiple limbs allowing them to wield various weapons simultaneously. Some fired energy weapons that reminded me of sci-fi movies, while others engaged in close combat with deadly precision.
As I took in the scene, the reality of my situation brought my emotions low once more. I was stranded in the middle of a war, in a world I didn't understand, with no clear way to get back home. The weight of it all pressed down on me, threatening to crush my spirit. I felt more alone than I ever had in my life, even with the din of battle surrounding me.
The cool mountain air whipped around me, a stark contrast to the heat rising from the conflict below. I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to center myself. When I opened them again, I felt a spark of determination ignite within me. I might be lost, but I wasn't going to give up. Somehow, I'd find a way to survive this madness and make it back to Lee-Ann and Rella.
And get some clothes.