AWAKENED

I ran as fast as I could. I could hear the wet sounds of tentacles hitting the walls , pushing me to keep my pace, in front.

A surprise knocked the wind from my lungs as I tripped. I felt a tentacle wrap around my leg and dragged my backwards. I screamed and thrashed at the sight of its large, many-toothed mouth.

I screamed as an immense pain ran through my spine, and my mind jarred by the crunch my legs made. I screamed until everything went dark.

* * *

I woke up, in a cold sweat, and I looked around. I saw my lower half, covered and bandaged. Shifting caused a stabbing pain, so I chose not to move more.

“Hello?” I called out. “Is anybody there?”

“Just a second.”

I was surprised when the voice that called back was a gruff, masculine voice. What was more concerning was that it was from someone I wasn’t familiar with.

Soon to follow the voice was a tall, buff man. He has a long, brown beard, and it was obvious that his buddy was from whatever his various scars were from.

"You could have died." He said as I was looking him over. "You shouldn't come to the land of dreams without being prepared."

"I never intended to go anywhere, I fell asleep and next thing I was being chased by that monstrosity."

"Well, now you are safe, and I can teach you enough to stay safe."

"What do I do about the pain from my legs?"

"Oh, hmm." He nodded and then put his hands out towards me. "Onus met fal tuono."

My legs started to appear, without the bandages, and the pain melted away from my lower half. “That should do the trick.” 

The buff man seemed content with the outcome. “What is your name?”

“My name is Joelle, but just call me Joey.”

“Joey, my name is Rafael, but I am known as ‘The Muscle Wizard’.”

“Now that I am not in pain, Muscle Wizard, can you please tell me what is going on? I am terrified to move until I have any clue as to what’s going to happen when I get up or even leave this room.”

“You fell asleep and ended up in the Land of Dreams, without the veil most people have in the physical realm. You must’ve been chosen to lose your veil. No one can really say who chose us, other than the gods. When you were awakened you were being chased by an Umbra, which is what we call those terrible entities. Those entities come from far beyond a realm known to the multiverse and the planes of the gods. We, The Umbra Hunters, are chosen to fight and slay the Umbra. We all hope that one day we can banish all the Umbra, but they grow more powerful and have started pouring into the physical realm.”

“So, you are saying that I was chosen to fight more of those things?”

“After you are trained to, yes.”

I went to stand up and, as soon as I put my weight on my legs, I stumbled and fell to my knees.

“Be careful, I regenerated your legs, so you’ll have to give them some time to integrate back into your nervous system.”

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“Regenerated?”

“Yes, the Umbra chomped off your legs before I could get to you. You’re lucky that it was only your legs.”

“I agree, lucky, for sure.” I stared down at my legs that I was slowly starting to feel, again.

* * *

I followed Rafael out of the room I was in and we walked through a kitchen with yellowed appliances and out the door that was next to the end of the counters by the walls. Outside the door was a massive expanse of forest. I hadn’t realised how far from town that I actually was.

In the yard outside were a slew of targets and a smithy that wasn’t burning at the moment, but there was a giant anvil and an overhang with weapons, shields, and other trinkets hung off the sides.

"You cannot kill the Umbra with normal weapons. You must slay they with something that is made up of other Umbra or with the use of magic. 

"These weapons have been forged using the black blood of the Umbra. Pick what feels best for you and we will go from there. Eventually, you will be able to use all of these weapons, even in times of fear and adrenaline."

I started with the sword because they are the only weapon I knew the name of. I grabbed and picked each one up several times, before I decided on one that seemed unique from the rest and felt nice in my hands. It was a color so dark it seemed to absorb the light from it's silhouette. 

"I think I will choose this." 

"Good choice. That one is one of my most recent forgings. If you unlock the bottoms of the handle, you will find that it splits into two sword, identical to one another."

I did as I was instructed and, sure enough, my mouth dropped as the two halves split for each other. I was very happy with my choice as I held two perfectly balanced blades, one in each hand. 

"I am glad you like them. They are yours to keep, and for you to master."

"Thank you, Muscle Wizard." I dropped my head back down to the swords, "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I am. You need something to protect yourself and you have nothing."

I locked the blades back together and sheathed them.

"When do I start training?" I asked, ready to fend off the chance of the Umbra consuming someone else, or in a situation like I was, scared and helpless.

"Tomorrow, you need rest, today. You're legs won't hold up in a fight, not now, anyway."

I took his words seriously and followed the path I walked back to the room. I didn't exactly feel in the mood to rest, but I still payed down. I let my thoughts role, until I eventually fell asleep.

When the morning came, I felt like a new person. I got up and I didn't stumble. I changed into the clothing that was left for me, which happened to be a fancy button shirt and a pair of slacks. I really liked this outfit, actually. I then grabbed the sheath with the swords I was given, ready to learn and grow. I then followed the one way I knew out to the training yard. 

When I got into the yard, Rafael was already there, waiting patiently. He was wearing a similar attire of a button up shirt and slacks, but the lack of contouring in his shirt made it clear to me that I was given a womens shirt. 

“You made it, good.” He nodded. “Lets begin. You have a lot to learn, and in little time as possible the better.”

“Then where do I begin?”

“We begin by working out, your body will need to be in better shape to hold and wield a weapon efficiently enough to kill Umbra. Let’s start with weights and work out way through the rest of the body.”

Sure enough, the workout was rigorous and there were several points where I felt like I wouldn’t make it through the rest, but in the end I was able to make my entire body sore. I was scared that tomorrow would be the same, but for now I focused on the food that was being presented to me. It was a nice feast of chicken, green beans, and broccoli.

* * *

As time went on, I was able to grow my body much stronger than I had ever imagined. My arms showed their muscle and I had visible abs to show for my efforts. I had come to master the basics of the martial arts he taught me. I felt a sense of accomplishment and courage with my new found figure.

Eventually, we made to learning magic and more advanced martial art, which could also be used in tandem with magic. I picked up on the magic a lot quicker that I would’ve imagined. My favourite technique was combining explosive magic techniques with sword hits. I found the outcomes to be quite devastating to the trees and dummies that I used it against. 

I started fighting against Rafael as the trees and dummies weren’t cutting it anymore. I was able to hold my own when I was training with him and even landed a few wins against him, but I was still growing  by the day.

There was now talk of facing down Umbra and getting real experience. I was nervous, but I was excited to finally slay the creatures that started this journey. I wanted to help others in any way I could.