A bright-winged insect flutters its wings across a canopy of trees; the sky above it dimmed to an orange haze. The monarch butterfly hastened its search for a dry spot to rest from its long migration back home. Unlike many of its kaleidoscope, it had survived the trip down south, probably due to its large size and predatory-looking wings. The devilish eyes on its wings deterred most critters long enough for it to escape.

After many weeks of traveling, it had reached the mating site down south and felt pleased to find many females and not many rivals due to the lack of competition and went on a mating spree. If the monarch butterfly could grin, it probably would.

Finally, it sensed a hard-like structure not too far from its location. Large rocks meant holes to creep, which was much safer than trees; thus, it quickly hurried towards it. Once it landed on what seemed to be a cliffside, it got to work hopping here and there and feeling its way for a comfortable hole to rest for the night.

Abruptly, its antennas sensed water from a large hole that happened to be a cave not too far away. Knowing that nocturnal predators were to awake soon, it hopped towards the cave yet still wary of bats. The large hole smelled of grass, water, and luckily no bat droppings, thus no bats. Instead, its antennas noticed an enormous creature resting inside the cave. The butterfly stood at the edge of the hole, antennas feeling the air, and observed the slow breaths coming out of the beast for minutes; whatever it was, it did not move an inch except its chest in a slow rhythm.

The monarch observed for a few seconds before jumping in, fluttering over to the far side of the cave before it squeezed itself inside the aperture of a wall. Ironically, the sizeable slumbering beast had two thin antennas on its head that detected movement above.

When the antennas moved, red dust-like residues descended from them and got sucked into the beast's nostrils. If one noticed, it slept in a fetus-like position. The beast then sneezed, creating a small gust of air as grass stalks closest to its head swayed with the blow.

Then its long eyelashes flickered slowly while the antennas on top of its head slowly danced like two willows on a windy day. The giant beast opened its mouth to yawn, showing large pearly white teeth. Four large canines extended before its jaw clicked and settled back to its human-looking teeth. Mouth closing, the creature tried to move its arms but felt too weak, as if its muscles had been used in years. Mind still groggy, it decided to focus on its surroundings.

Zef opened his eyes slowly; the crust on his eyelids cracked as his eyelashes blinked several times before his vision cleared. There was a deep silence in his dwelling except for the pitter-patter of drops falling from nearby. The scent of fresh grass dew nourished his mind as it entered his nostrils, giving him a sense of contentment for being able to breathe such clean air.

The floor he laid upon was hard, and he could feel several flat stones and pebbles underneath his body. He felt warmth on his feet as the last remaining rays of sunlight came in from a diagonal position from the ceiling of his dwelling. He felt fresh water somewhere close by, and his senses led him to look in front of him. To his surprise, it was a small pond not too far away, surrounded by red-like grass and tiny flowers.

As his mind tried to register the scene, he heard the craw of a bird somewhere above him, so he slowly rotated his neck to look above him. His neck clicked as his muscles adjusted with the sudden movement. He looked at the large hole on the ceiling; large clouds drifted as the sky slowly turned dark; minutes ran by as he looked at the heavens setting before the night took over. The world gradually darkened, songs of birds dyed down, and cricket chirps filled the sky. Several owls hooted in the distance, which was new to him.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"Where am I?" he thought to himself.

Zef tried to get an idea about his surroundings as he moved his cramped body from the fetal position he was in and wanted to stretch himself, which took much effort as cracks and popping sounds emerged from his upper and lower body. Finally, he achieved his goal and felt somewhat exhausted as sweat dripped down his back.

As he lay on his back, Zef stretched his neck downwards, looked towards his body, and realized how freaking massive his chest was. It was like two large hills meeting in the middle, creating a distinct line. The nipples on his pecs stood proud like two shameless flags.

Before panic could even alter his thoughts, the grass around the pond started glowing in the dark cave as moonlight struck through the hole. Shocked, Zef breathed out hurriedly and searched out his fragmented memories. He could remember storms, rivers of blood, and large dogs. He stopped pondering about it as a splitting headache racked his brain, and the dryness of his throat owned his mind.

Ok, first things first, I need water.

He tried to stand up but had difficulty controlling his body, his legs felt like jelly, and his strength was limited. Instead, he used his arms and crawled towards the water hole, creating havoc on this path for water, crushing glowing plants and pushing pebbles away with his massive frame. Once he reached the edge, he extended his muscular neck like a savannah lion and took a small sip.

It felt like heaven and unnaturally fresh as water guzzled down his throat and hydrated the path down to his stomach. Zef wanted to drink some more, but he was a desert boy and knew the risks of drinking too much when dehydrated. So he took his time pre-hydrating his body before taking a long drink and waited for the miracle of life to reward him; crawling towards the waterhole had tired him considerably.

His mind and body felt like a newborn babe, so he closed his eyes as sleep took him between the glowing red grass.

Zef woke up hours later, less tired, and drank more water in timely cycles.

He took the time to check his body and looked for any abnormalities. He stared at his naked body and didn't recognize it fully. This was no longer the body of a skinny 17-year-old teenager; it was more like he was inside the sleeve of a titan.

Lean and powerful muscles covered him from neck to toe, not to mention his bones were much more prominent in width and length. Zef frowned and moved his toes to make sure they were his. Frowning, he looked at his massive thighs and was amazed at how sculpted they were.

He probed and touched himself awkwardly, finally pinching himself; he squeezed harder and realized his skin felt tougher than average. It was a strange sensation. There were no longer past scars from previous battles; all the shrapnel and bullet wounds somehow disappeared. He still had light hair on his arms and legs, and his skin was ebony with a sun-kissed glow.

He looked at his eight symmetrical abs, then downwards towards his package anxiously but got distracted by a red umbilical cord about 30cm long, somewhat attached to his belly button.

"This is just getting weirder and ....," he said, stopping himself.

Shocked, he said a few words and realized he no longer was a soft-spoken young man. His voice was deep, befitting his body, and it was probably the most shocking aspect he found of himself.

Zef's breath started to quicken in panic and he pulled out the cord from underneath his stomach, feeling a twinge of pain before scrutinizing it. Everything started to make sense after a sniff before gagging for several seconds. Pieces began falling in place in his mind. He recalled his sentry duty, the weird monsters appearing near his camp, him inspecting the corpses, and finally being sucked by a cocoon of blood with a knife in his hand.

"Oh no," he groaned.

Praying in his heart, Zef leaned to look at his reflection in the pond; to his surprise, he no longer saw a thin face with slight acne marks. Instead, his face had a chiseled and strong-looking jaw. His small hawk nose, thin cheek lines, and red-brown skin still displayed his Arab African ancestry. Menacing golden eyes replaced his brown eyes; worst to come were two dark antennas popping out of his head which accommodated the long dark wavy hair that stretched back to his legs.