It was just like my vision.

Herculean, jet-black human torso. The head of a lion, gleaming red eyes and a king’s dark crest, two horns sprouting from its sides. Its arms thicker than stone pillars, scarlet claws ready to tear and slash. Legs of a black goat, each straw of hair pointier than a lance. And the tail, a snake’s long, slithering body, diamond head with ruby eyes and dagger-like fangs.

The beast raised an arm.

The knot in my throat untied.

“Fuck.”

I a fraction of a second, I looked at the tents behind me.

It was my party members sleeping there. Obvlivious of the nightmare about to come. I’d die, and so would them.

The arm came down, harbinger of doom. My own arm came off with it. The beast’s claw neatly removed it from the rest of my body.

For a second, I stared at the empty space my arm should’ve been. Noticing it wasn’t and feeling the pain, the excruciating pain crawling up from the bleeding lump to my spine and then my whole body, happened instantly.

I didn’t scream. I couldn’t. I was too concentrated trying not to faint. I wouldn’t give the motherfucker the satisfaction of having me faint.

Not even bothering kill me, it moved forward. One goat step at the time. I was dead already. It didn’t have to bother.

It looked at my severed arm. Taking it by the hand, it bite off the half. Chewed, and spit. Dropped it like a wasted drumstick.

I was nothing. This thing didn’t even consider me food.

The thought made me cry. Tears mixed with blood. A red pool forming beneath me.

I fell, my legs no longer strong enough to stand my weight.

I felt it. Death creeping in. It was near. I was dying.

“I don’t want to die…”

Fear welled up from every inch of my body.

“I don’t want to die…!” My sobs were drowned in the roar of the beast. Blood, everywhere. It’s all red, and black. It was starting to get black.

“I don’t want to die!!!” Using my other hand, I tried drag myself somewhere. Run. Escape. Out of here.

Stolen novel; please report.

The corners were darkening, swallowed by nothingness. Death was coming and I had no way to avoid that.

“I don’t...”

I tried to speak, but I couldn’t. I was sleeping. Dozing off. Blacking out.

I don’t want to die…

Vaguely conscious. I knew I existed. Not much.

Who was I again? I don’t really know. There’s no way of knowing. It’s all shadows of grey here. I can’t see anything, hear anything. Can’t sense anything. Only pain. A dull ache, coming from nowhere and everywhere at the same time.

Forgotten.

Why? Do I deserve this?

Did I do something wrong?

Is it my fault?

Maybe.

Maybe not.

Who cares.

I’m no longer anyway.

…

I’m no longer.

But…

…

… still, I’m not satisfied.

It’s the ache. The pain I can’t quite feel, yet I do. I don’t like it.

I won’t have it.

I refuse.

I won’t stay here, forgotten, doomed forever to live in pain.

I refuse.

I can’t change it. Maybe not entirely.

But I can fight.

I can try. I can get stronger. Fight, stronger, and fight again. Until I grow strong enough to get rid of this suffer.

I won’t be imprisoned here forever.

I refuse.

…

Light?

Light opens up before me. It’s no longer another shadow of gray. It’s light. A light at the end of the tunnel. Heaven? Hell? Either way, my only way out.

I won’t sit here waiting. I’ll go. I’ll go and take care of everything standing in my way. God or the Devil, I’ll take them on. Until I can find rest.

I’ll move forward. To the light of freedom.

The dungeon throbbed. Something was wrong. Something wasn’t quite on its place. The dungeon knew. It knew, but it didn’t care. One of its children, maybe. It was alright. Irregular or not, it didn’t matter. It never did. All children follow their Mother’s will, in the end.

It would let the child be.

Mana surged from its flesh of dirt and stone. It was coming.

A pulsation. Then another, and another. Growing, stronger each time.

It concentrated. Everything condensed in a single point, beneath one of the dungeon’s walls. Expanding, contracting, beating. It crashed with the wall.

There was an ear-splitting sound, and a crack formed in the wall.

For a fraction of a second, everything went quiet. Nothing moved, the dungeon kept silence, revering the birth of its child that was a part of itself.

Then something came out of the crack in the wall.

Dust white bones. A skeletal arm surged from the stone uterus, taunting the air. For a moment, it swayed up and down, left and right, tasting the freedom of movement. It reached for the very same wall it came from, and then, it pushed with all of its might. Building pressure.

The crack widened. Slowly, surely, the rest of it, the rest of him was coming out. First the skull, empty jaw open, empty sockets staring at nothing. Then, the other arm. It joined its brother in the strive for freedom, pushing against the wall.

Finally, with a last effort, the legs came out.

He crashed on the ground, disoriented. Nothing made much sense to him. He laid there, feeling on his bones the coldness of the stone floor. He felt a nexus with this floor, with the walls. With the dungeon as a whole. Love. And hate. Confusing feelings, he pushed them away.

It moved again. One leg first, then the other. Using both of his arms, it stood up. Swaying like a newborn animal. Loosing balance. Leaning on the walls to move. He couldn’t stand up for long before he fell.

He shook his skull. Again.

This time, he used his arms and toes to balance. Swayed wildly for a few seconds… then stabilized.

The skeleton nodded, then looked up.

There was a path. It had to lead somewhere.

Somewhere safe? Or somewhere dangerous? The skeleton didn’t know.

And he didn’t care.

He would take on any enemies.

Green light shone on the empty eye sockets.

The skeleton advanced. One step at the time.