John swivelled his head in the direction of the voice. Standing a few feet away from John, atop the corpse of a dead Troll was a being of greater stature than even John himself.

He stood at least two feet above John and based on his gaunt face and prevalent veins. He had not even an ounce of fat on him. On his face was a streached-out grin that made it look like his skin was a plastic covering rather than real flesh.

He held two massive clubs in each of his hands and had Fangs jutting from his mouth that were stained deep red. He had not an ounce of hair on his head, and his lips were so thin that they were practically see-through.

"I learned this language in just a day. Is fun what those little red dust bunnies do when you get to sink your teeth into them."

John couldn't hear a word of what he was saying. His heaving breath and his hammering heart had become a rhythm consuming his mind. The only working memory that wasn't consumed by his bodies Jack hammering rhythms was possessed by a screaming sense of bafflement and fear. They were like spiked cubes flying through his mind. They clipped, nipped and slashed every empty shred of him.

"Well time to—-" The troll froze.

Dude was standing in front of the troll. His pants and underwear was off and a stream of a golden liquid was spraying onto the troll's body.

The troll's mouth fell open in bafflement. And was subsequently filled with a spurt of the golden fluid.

"I"LUUUU KilULULUL YOUNUN!" Garbled the troll.

"You know what would be crazy? Not existing."

And Dude was gone. All that was left was the empty space where he once was.

"UGHA CHIANK KLUKSEN!" Screamed the troll.

His rage was so great that he had reverted to his previous language.

Humans have primal instincts. One's which they can't explain. One's which will overpower them and master their reality. One of these was to always watch threats. This instinct was so automatic to John. That the second he heard the Troll speak his head spun in it's direction.

And thus his head suffered a pummeling straight to the skull.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

John was sent flying back. He slid on the ground the skin of his bald heard was torn off on the pavement.

"CHUCK DO SKULL DARDEN!".

John looked at the sky. He had been struck and his head had rattled and his brain had been battered. His thoughts feelings and emotions had all melded together into a quilt of flooding agony.

I'm going to die. I'mgoingtodie. I'mgoingtodie. I'mgoingtodie.I'mgoingtodieI'mgoingtodieI'mgoingtodieI'mgoingtodieI'mgoingtodieI'mgoingtodieI'mgoingtodieI'mgoingtodieI'mgoingtodieI'mgoingtodieI'mgoingtodieI'mgoingtodieI'mgoingtodieI'mgoingtodieI'mgoingtodieI'mgoingtodie

That's all he could hear. The beginnings and endings of the thoughts were weaving into themselves. John's past, present and future were all contained in one tapestry of terror.

"YIP!"

Two tiny dragons. One red and one blue flew towards the large figure. They shot bouts of fire and ice at it.

Weaving through the quilt of agony was a blazing sense of gratitude. The dragons were risking themselves. Just to help him. John Turner. The useless fat person.

"TWO PUNCH!"

Well turns out that risk wasn't to well calculated.

The dragons flew through the air. Their wings were bent and twisted but the rest of their body seemed fine.

THUMP THUMP THUMP!

I come towards you. I will kill you. John could almost hear the Troll whispering those words into his mind. He was too small. Too weak. Too John to do anything. And now it was time to pay for his Johness.

"YOU FUCKING BURNT ME!" Screamed the Troll.

And so his fist divebombed through the air. It had but one goal in mind.

I'mgoingtodie.I'mgoingtodie.I'mgoingtodie.Thankyou.I'mgoingtodie.I'mgoingtodie.I'mgoingtodie.Thankyou.I'mgoingtodie.I'mgoingtodie.I'mgoingtodie.Thankyou.I'mgoingtodie.I'mgoingtodie.I'mgoingtodie.Thankyou.I'mgoingtodie.I'mgoingtodie.I'mgoingtodie.Thankyou.... Wait.

The fist fell. Reality warped and deaths scpecter stood before John. It looked at him with it's skeletal eyes. Yet he couldn't feel the reality in it. The distinct fleshy nature that concrete things give.

Chemicals were running high. His neurones were telling lies.

Because he wasn't going to die.

Two point two-three inches. That's how far the fist was from John's face. Burning through John's mind was a single all-coming mantra.

Gobble and chew.

His jaw unhinged. It took on a size that should be impossible for any mortal. The first fell.

And it fell through.

Gobble and chew.

Showing an almost inhuman amount of agility John's throat flipped back. It switched modes from breathing to eating.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Screaming Through John's body was a terrible sort of agony. His throat stretched. It popped and tore. But it didn't snap.

"UGUHANA!"

John looked up at the monster with a feral madness. He had to. HE! HAD TO! It hurt. It hurt as much as having all you flesh flayed off and yours world mired with SLOTH. It was a shivering sort of pain. One that held you very soul.

And yet despite this transcendent agony. John maintained executive function.

GobbleandChew.GobbleandChew.GobbleandChew.GobbleandChew.GobbleandChew.GobbleandChew.GobbleandChew.GobbleandChew.GobbleandChew.GobbleandChew.GobbleandChew.GobbleandChew.GobbleandChew.

He would eat it. Eat and chomp and consume. Even with no jaws. No teeth to hold the hand. He world chew it.

And everything froze. John saw the baffled face of the Troll above him. It's jaw was hanging from its mouth, and its eyes were filled with detached confusion.

Dancing through the air around it was a red energy. It shimmered and twisted. It was up and down and forwards and backwards. It was everywhere at once. It was a single point in reality and every place in the universal graph. It was infinite.

John couldn't help but feel amazed by it.

It's like magic. But more, a step ahead.

One step ahead of magic. That's what it was.

John reached out in that frozen moment and grasped the redness.

{Skill gained: The human throat}

And John's throat turned to steel.

Gobble.

His mantra paused.

Falling down John's throat was a slimy liquid. It was a mush made from the flesh of the thing within John's throat.

The moments stretched again.

The troll dashed back. He held his hand over his rapidly bleeding stump.

"WHAT ARE YOU!"

John didn't even pay him a moment of attention. He turned in the opposite direction.

I need to find my babies.

His bleeding head didn't matter. Neither did his bruised body. What mattered most was if his Dragons were okay.