The wolf woke up as another wave of pain rolled through her body. It wasn't many hours since she fell into the crevice in the woods and her body still screamed in pain. The only difference was that now the pain came not from her shifting body, but from the many wounds she had gotten during her escape, and now they were somehow healing. The movement of her flesh and bones felt strange, forced, not like when she had begun transforming. It was as if unseen hands or tendrils snuck its way under her skin and moved her torn muscles back into place.
The pain only intensified as she woke up more and each time her heartbeat slowed down or her lungs stopped drawing in air, an unknown force jolted through her like electricity, refusing to let her rest. Her breath was labored and her veins burned. Being denied the numbing calm of unconsciousness, her mind went to the other next best solution to being fatally wounded: Panic.
Because the numbness meant she was dying right? She's dying. She's dying and she doesn't want to die. The wolf began thrashing its legs around as she became more and more sure that whatever it is that's messing with her body is surely killing her. She must flee or the numbness will set in again.
Do not move.
She must run or her bones will be broken, her heart will be crushed and her skin will be torn. Fresh blood starts pumping through her, through the broken veins and torn skin. She gags and feels blood fill her mouth. Every limb is shaking and moving and more blood is flowing through every gap in her skin.
I am helping you. Do not move.
Her muscles lock up. Every limb freezing, causing her to fall onto her side. She wants to scream but nothing obeys. Her jaws are slacking and her tongue lolls to the side onto the stone floor. She can taste dirt and blood. The voice is still there, not really talking but still making itself known somehow. It's comforting for some reason. The voice is soothing and patient even though it's not forming any words. Its presence is enough.
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The wolf calms down as the unseen hands return in under her skin. Fear and panic should still be raging through her mind but the voice is calm and reassuring. The blood stops flooding her mouth as she obeys the voice. The unseen force mends her lungs, then moves on to her bones, her guts, her skin. It forces the bits of wood and metal that used to be an arrow to exit her body through the wounds. The tendrils spread warmth as it goes through every shattered part of the wolf, mending, regrowing and moving stray parts into place again. The wolf's heartbeat is stable again and it falls asleep as soon as the voice tells it to.
The dungeon redraws its influence from the sleeping wolf. It rarely interferes when a creature is dying but this one is special. It is strong and intelligent and it came from the outside and with it came new knowledge and understanding.The dungeon was no longer unaware of itself as an individual. It could think. Before the wolf came it could only listen to instinct and act accordingly. But now it was self-aware and thousands of thoughts flooded its newly expanded mind. To support all these thoughts it needed words and so it was methodically sorting through the wolf's mind and memories to learn.
One thing that bothered the dungeon was that other sentient beings seemed to refer to each other using names or words that described them. But to them, a dungeon was a place rather than an individual so calling itself Dungeon would feel wrong. The dungeon pondered this issue for some time while the wolf slept. After a while, it decided to use a word it had found in the wolfs memory. 'Maker'. It was used in some 'religions' among the sentient races to refer to some higher beings that made things out of nothing. Those higher beings could also sometimes heal others or make seemingly impossible things happen. The dungeon like the word and it fitted itself it thought. It could create new things although it needed mana to do so, so it wasn't exactly like the higher beings. It could also heal others. Like how it saved the wolf.
From now on it would refer to itself as Maker, although it would change it later if it finds something better. All things must evolve after all, if it stays the same forever it will die. Speaking of dying. It hummed proudly at its first use of a saying. Something dangerous is approaching my new creature. It will not be allowed to approach just yet.
The concept of time is also new. So many new things to learn and experience. How exciting! I can not wait~