They awoke instantly.
Before, there was nothing but infinite darkness—no thoughts, dreams, hope… nothing. The hazy sky atop the ruined summit was the final thing they remembered, pieces of their body crumbling to the snowy ground and the last dredges of their magic streaming off into every direction. No, there was something else, a final, selfish act that allowed them to see the starry night sky once again.
They lay there, pinpricks of light, thousands upon thousands of them filling his vision. They were beautiful and breathtaking. A feeling of awe filled their core as they let the stars overtake them. They had spent eons looking upon the world, guiding and protecting its creations. Now that he had awakened and life had most certainly returned to the world, they took a moment to gaze upon a sight long ignored.
They raised their arm, a gnarled hand of twisted vines invading the placid sea of stars. Five short digits that opened and closed appeared strange to them, obviously made for grasping, moving freely on a thin wrist and long arm. They then moved to inspect the rest of their new form, finding it alien to them.
Still, it was acceptable.
With some effort, they moved to all fours, finding that position awkward and ungainly. Their legs were much too long to move comfortably in this position, and their hands, although made of stout and durable wood, were bent at an odd angle that suggested they were not meant to help propel them forward. A strange form indeed.
They pulled themselves to their feet, toddling precariously as they balanced on two wobbly legs. Just like their unfamiliar form, they found it strange to move around on two legs, although they could easily see the advantages of it. After a few minutes, it was much easier for them to move without stumbling forward or leaning too far to either side, allowing them to finally observe what was happening around them.
They found themselves on a small plateau clinging to the side of a large, gently sloping hill. The darkness unimpeded their vision, allowing them to see the leaf-bare forest spreading out before them in all of its glory. Even from here, through the hibernating trees, they could feel the life all around them.
The world had recovered.
A bed of slowly dying embers smoldered, the barely perceptible glow standing out amongst the darkness. Although their body consisted of what grew from the earth, they did not hold a fear of any fire and didn’t give it a second thought. They edged closer to the bed of coals, crouching down next to it, and the body that was just as cold as the night air around it.
Their new and strange hands followed the contours of the desiccated face, turning it to either side to see what they had done to this poor creature. It was not something that they had wanted to happen, but a sacrifice was necessary if they wanted to survive. They needed a trigger for their rebirth, and sustenance to fuel it, the blood of the world’s life. They had absorbed everything the body had to offer; its nutrients, water, blood, and even the magic that it held within itself was funneled into their new form.
Sacrifices had to be made, and they thought they had sacrificed enough throughout their existence. It was only right for them to take just a little for themselves.
They moved on from the skeletal face and inspected the wool and leather that adorned the body. To wear the hair and skin of other creatures was an odd adaptation, but they could understand the need to do just that. The one that lay before them had very little in terms of protection from the elements; very little hair covered the body save for the head, and from the way the skin had shriveled and split, they could only surmise that it was not thick and tough like other animals’ might have been.
No claws or talons tipped their fingers, and what teeth were left were small and flat, more accustomed to chewing softer meals. It was easy to see that this was not a terrifying predator, but an intelligent being, able to use tools, and held the ability to bend the world around them to their will, at least to a certain extent. They could obviously make fire; they were curious about what else the creatures could do.
They pulled back and peered into the distance, eager to find out.
As they stumbled over the uneven terrain, frustrations swelled within them. They were still unaccustomed to walking on only two legs and were finding it difficult to learn. It was challenging, to say the least. They would have much preferred to take on another form, one with a more familiar shape, but they found that they were unable to do so.
They were still unsure why, but all of the forms they had taken over the years were unavailable to them. It may have been because their magic was so heavily drained or an unexpected side effect of the magic they had used to lay dormant for so long; either way, they were stuck like this for the foreseeable future.
Branches and other dried undergrowth crunched beneath their heavy frame with each ungainly step, announcing their presence to anything with ears to listen. They had never been one to need the art of stealth, but even this was something they found embarrassing. It was as if they were a newborn just learning to walk, and as an enormous beast confronted them amongst the tall trees, they were not surprised.
It was huge and covered in a thick coat of deep brown fur. Its chest was almost as wide as they were tall with hunched shoulders that supported a thick neck as big around as many of the trees within the forest. Its weighty head hung low to the ground, sweeping back and forth as it snuffled at the forest floor.
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A forest bear.
The beast then picked its head up as if it had only just realized that it was not alone. Its small, black eyes looked at them with guarded curiosity, a feeling that the two of them shared at the moment. For an instant, it did not appear to be overly aggressive, fully content with staring at them, until it opened its slathering jaws wide and exposed its dagger-like teeth with a deafening roar.
Viscous spittle, like stinking honey, spattered the forest floor as its hooked claws dug into the soft ground to help propel its massive frame forward. Rippling muscles strained underneath fat and fur with each stride of its paws, causing the ground to tremble beneath its terrible weight.
For a breath, they were taken aback by the sudden violence displayed by the bear, but the countless decades spent culling the devils had made them undeterred by the display of such acts. Nothing could compare to the devils’ savagery.
Thorny talons sprouted from their fingertips as they stumbled to their right, falling more than anything else as the giant beast trundled past. A rush of air washed over them as they sunk their hands into the forest floor, willing their magic to take effect. The ground rippled as a crescent wave of soil rushed toward the beast, reaching it just as it had turned around to charge once more.
The ground beneath the bear liquified, becoming like quicksand and causing it to sink up to its elbows before it could react. Bellowing with rage, it violently rocked and jerked its body, struggling against the trap that attempted to suck it further into the ground, and it was winning.
Seeing their magic was not as effective as they wished, they quickly lurched to their feet and rushed to the nearest tree. Keeping one emerald eye on the nearly freed beast, they placed their hand on the trunk of a tree. With their magic, the wood was like clay, easily malleable, able to become anything they desired. Grasping with both hands, they pulled while spreading their arms far apart, making a rope of grainy bark as thick as their forearm.
They continued to grasp and pull until the rope was double their own length, taking only a moment afterward to mold sharpened barbs on one end. The process took up only half a minute, but it was enough time for the bear to break free from its sandy prison and charge toward them.
They moved just in time to avoid the jagged claws of the bear. Still, their unfamiliarity with their body caused them to stumble and twist, falling to the rough forest floor with all of the grace of a rotten log. Immediately rolling to face the passing bear, they willed the wooden whip still firmly grasped in their hand to strike. The barbed whip slithered through the air like a threatened viper and struck out just as fast, chewing a long, deep furrow into the bear’s flank.
Another deafening bellow, this one of pain, echoed throughout the nighttime forest. Slumbering birds took flight in a panic, and any other woodland creatures nearby scampered away in fear. They ignored all of that and rose to their feet, calling upon their whip to strike again. It bit deeply into the bear’s side, tearing out a chunk of bleeding flesh and fur with a thunderous snap.
The bear crashed into a tall tree, shaking the barren canopy and breaking loose several thick boughs that showered the ground like crude spears. It faced them with lips pulled back to show its frightening teeth, hissing and huffing as it rose to stand on its hind legs. It immediately towered over a few of the smaller trees, its huge forepaws clawing at the air in front of it in a clear challenge to what had caused it so much pain.
They held no desire to hurt the creature in front of them. It was a part of this world, a life that served a purpose just like they once had. Still, the bear had attacked them first and was set on killing them, and it seemed unlikely that it would willingly leave, not without a clear threat to its life.
The whip cracked out a third time, arching through the air with a contemptuous whistle before rending the bear’s flesh like a ravenous beast. A sad whimper quickly replaced the threatening growl rumbling deep within its throat. They would have to think of a quicker and more humane way of killing this creature; they did not want to be looked upon as a cruel being.
The bear lunged unexpectedly, its powerful back legs lifting its mighty frame off the ground. Paws as wide as its head reached for them as the bear glared at them with a glint of hatred in its black eyes. They were too slow to respond, and the bear’s steel-like claws gouged out long fissures of wood across their chest.
A pulsing green light spilled out from the rents across their chest, illuminating the beast in front of them in an eerie, neon glow. A searing pain unlike anything they had ever experienced burned through their body like a bolt of lightning, locking them in a rictus of shock. Taking the chance to end things, the bear swung its other paw, catching them bodily and sending them careening between the trees and deeper into the forest.
They tumbled and bounced across the uneven ground, ripping out large chunks of earth as they did so. Eventually, they came to a stop in a twisted heap of vines and scratching debris. Their body felt no pain; it was only a manifestation of their magic and could be replaced with a simple thought, but their core buried deep within their chest was ablaze with agony that only intensified as they struggled to their feet.
They were vulnerable. Even the strongest devils struggled to scratch their thick bark as they slaughtered them by the thousands, but now… Now, it was different; they were weak and frail compared to what they once were, and they could very easily be killed.
Hot anger, like a spark within the darkness, flashed inside them. To be threatened with death, after everything they had been through, after everything they had sacrificed so that life could continue, made them… hate.
As quickly as the hatred swelled within them, it evaporated into nothingness. They did not like that feeling, the anger it caused them, and the disgust that accompanied it. They were ugly feelings, an infection that could quickly spread and devolve into something else entirely, something closer to the devils that had ravaged the world so long ago. They would not let themselves, allow, themselves to hate.
But that did not mean they would let themselves become prey.
Their grip tightened around the whip, their magic causing it to slither across the ground as it wound toward the incoming bear. The beast had followed them through the trees and must have thought they were nearly dead from the way its footfalls sauntered toward them confidently. As soon as the bear’s head appeared from behind a nearby tree, the whip stretched to an unnatural length, wrapping itself around its neck and started to squeeze.
Tightening, the whip emitted a creaking groan that mixed with the bear's surprised and panicked wheezing, creating a sound that was just as unique as it was unsettling. The bear tried to rear back, but they had already looped the opposite end around a tree, keeping the whip taut and the beast firmly within its hold.
It wasn’t strong enough to escape this time.
It struggled in vain for several long minutes, digging ruts into the ground as it fought desperately for a single breath. Finally, with a great, heaving shudder, the bear collapsed in a mountainous, unmoving heap.
The bear was dead.