Charlie lay motionless in the totally encompassing silence, struggling to gather his wits and regain control over his own body. The powerful shockwaves were enough to rattle not only his bones, but his psyche as well. It was almost as if he was alone and returned on to the cliff-side of the desert basin, watching the calamity breach the ground like it was mere water.

No... I'm-I'm safe... Breathe...

Though his mind and heart felt like they were facing down death once again, he knew at a deeper level that it was simply his fear and trauma talking, it wasn't him. His paranoia had taken control. He couldn't stop himself from hearing the titanic shifting of rock and stone, the unholy scream of the calamity wriggling in the deep and dark recesses of his mind - they kept replaying in his mind and distorting his vision, showing images of his encounter with death.

'No! Snap out of it!' Charlie screamed in his mind, trying to unhook the tormenting claws of the calamitous creatures from his being.

It felt like a sharp pressure was rising from somewhere deep within, urging him to run, begging him to flee and find somewhere safe. Yet, the only way to reach safety was to throw himself into the territory of the humans. It was suicide, but remaining this close to the entrance might have been even worse. Who was to say that the calamity wouldn't break through the mountains face and tear the cave apart?

Hopelessness - it all felt futile.

No, it's not futile! Why... why would it be? I've come so far... I... I can't...

Charlie slowly crawled out of the shadowy crevice in the wall and sprawled out onto the cold floor, his mind still a complete mess.

'It's wet.' Charlie thought, his mind trying to find anything to take the visions away.

Looking around, Charlie could see the pools of blood covering the floor and dyeing the stone walls a deep crimson. Looking down, he could see his own reflection in the murky pool of blood and water.

A monstrous gaze stared into his soul with its piercing eyes. It looked terrifying, powerful and full of insidious intelligence. It was hard to see the creature as himself, to make that connection. How could they be the same? Charlies insides burned with fear, anger and a myriad of emotions without name, yet the creature staring into his very being showed nothing of the sort - almost as if nothing in the world bothered it, unafraid of humans nor the calamity.

The dichotomy of the split personality was laughable at best. It wasn't like he had never seen his own reflection up until now, so why did it bother him so?

As Charlie was about to move on and away from the mocking reflection, he paused. There was a slight stir in the face of the reflection, almost as if-

Did it... just move?

Before Charlie had a chance for another thought, the reflection rippled and another loud sound could be heard from somewhere nearby. Quickly turning his attention to the new sound, Charlie tried to get his heart and breathing under control, and his mind in order. Whatever made the sound wouldn't give a shit if Charlie needed more time to process the panic attack, so he pushed it to the back of his mind, bottling it up.

Unlike the previous shockwaves, this one did not rattle the entire cave, but instead sounded like something crashing nearby. The stone coves were in the way, blocking out the direct line of sight, but Charlie was still able to infer from the clarity of the sound that it was closer than he would have liked. Quickly ascending the nearby stone cove, Charlie was able to see a lot more of the surroundings and see the source of the sound.

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Yet, he almost wished he didn't.

The human soldiers were returning in droves, but their numbers had been vastly reduced. Where Charlie had seen hundreds, now returned merely dozens. Bleeding, wounded and their pristine steel armour torn to shreds.

Though it wasn't their numbers or the damage they had taken that shook Charlie, that was an obvious result of dealing with the calamity. No, it was what they carried alongside the remaining retinue on a floating steel platform - one of the calamities stone fangs.

At least it looked like a fang. Charlie wasn't quite certain of what the calamitous creature used as a weapon, but when it changed forms after leaving the ground, he remembered seeing strange claw or fang-shaped appendages floating atop the tank-like structure.

Were the humans successful in fending off the beast, or was this simply the "spoils" of their battle? It was entirely likely that, a creature that could turn earth to water, could escape without issue, so it could have been nothing more than the proof that they were able to at least damage it.

Whatever it was, it meant that the humans were at least close to the power of the desert calamity - which did not bode well for Charlie. Especially now that he was this close to their settlement.

Charlie wanted to return to the river and avert his eyes from the haunting image, but one party of the remaining human warriors seemed to be walking in that same direction as the river and the other was returning back to the human town.

Though the way to the river was blocked, and the humans returning to town were fast approaching, a greedy idea flourished in Charlies mind. The humans were on their last legs, both physically and mentally broken - what other chance would he have to stalk them as they returned to town in such safety?

Shaking the remaining discomfort and pushing it deep down into the dark recesses of his mind, Charlie slithered back into the shadows.

No matter how insane it felt to follow the bleeding and broken humans, Charlie couldn't deny the twisted logic behind his actions. The human soldiers were in no shape for real combat, and they probably only had one thing on their mind - returning home in what few pieces of their broken bodies remained.

However many people were left stationed at the human settlement was probably enough to fight off the creatures in the cave, but they would not have another army waiting for them.

Even if Charlie was shaken by the world turning upside down, he still couldn't deny that there were very few opportunities such as this, and he would be even more insane than he already is to not take it - no matter if he felt like utter shit.

Keeping a healthy distance between himself and the soldiers, Charlie stalked them in silence and from within the shadows. His [Mana Sense] was on full blast and Charlie kept a meticulous eye on everything that crossed its boundary. If he sensed even a inkling of danger, he would immediately flee without a second thought.

The journey back to the human settlement went without any further issues - no world shaking impacts, no sudden appearance of reinforcements, just a quiet and slow march home. There were human women and children awaiting the return of the soldiers, yet when they saw the pitiful numbers, many dropped to their knees and wept.

The wails of the widowed pierced the previously hopeful silence, and even though Charlie couldn't understand the language nor could he hear their pleas, he understood the meaning of the children's innocent questioning. It stung to see these people in such shambles, and reminded him of the dreadful days of his own humanity, returning from dangerous excursions with a few members short.

Their wives and their children often hated him for tearing their families apart, and the scenes of painful loss in his past life replayed in his mind once again. At least this time, the hatred wasn't directed at him, but he could still empathise.

Once the soldiers and the humans were ushered into the shanty looking town, only then did Charlie return from his own melancholic memories and finally took in the town for what it was. It was no stronghold, no seat of human power - simply a mere dirty hovel for those that couldn't live anywhere else.

It may have been a completely different world, but Charlie could see more and more of his past life ringing true in the humans that lived here. Forced to deal with unimaginable situations and make the best of what little they had.

Magic did not change that fact about people, no matter how wondrous it may be. People continued to struggle; continued to fight every single day to survive, to feed their children and to keep the elements at bay. On top of the already monstrous struggle of losing a loved one, they also lived in a cave full to the brim with creatures that could rend families apart like they tore the flesh of their prey.

The human experience was to suffer, it seemed.