Alan gazed up at the brilliance of the sun. It was only a feeble illusion of perspective that made it seem as if he could reach it—a simple but effective way to make him reach for the stars. But that wasn't a task for just anyone. He happened to be just anyone.
Of course, he would never actually reach the stars. It was impossible with the current technology, and even if it weren't, he'd be dead long before he ever touched them. It was a metaphor, after all.
What it meant, simply—and what Alan wished to accomplish with his life—was to become an important person. He didn't want to follow in the footsteps of his family, scraping by just enough to be called bottom middle-class. He also had a younger sister to take care of, and he didn't want her to grow up the way he had.
But fate was strong.
Sighing, Alan rose from the bus stop bench and stepped onto the bus. It was still early in the morning, and the interior was mostly empty.
Last night, he'd stayed up studying for the bar exam. It was happening today. Only a small percentage of test takers passed, and he'd been stressing over it for the past week.
Alan leaned his head back and closed his eyes, hoping to catch a few minutes of rest. He hoped it would help him stay sharp during the exam.
It didn't take long before his body relaxed and his breathing fell into a slow, steady rhythm.
…
When he woke up, his surroundings were dark and quiet. He felt well-rested and strangely energized, but he couldn't see or move. No matter how wide he opened his eyes, nothing changed. There was no light or sound.
I was on the bus… so where am I now? Why is it so dark?
Alan was confused. If he'd fallen asleep and missed every stop, the driver would have noticed. He hadn't even sat near the back. He'd taken the first seat diagonally behind the driver, close enough to be seen.
Could I have been kidnapped, then? No… probably not.
He tried to come up with a plausible explanation, but nothing made sense. Unless he was dreaming and fully conscious at the same time, something bizarre was affecting him. Alan wasn't a believer in ghosts, demons, or anything supernatural, but this was enough to make him question that.
What unsettled him even more was the unnatural calm. He could think clearly, even when nothing around him did. He wasn't panicking. There was one thought he'd had early on, but because of its nature, he'd shoved it aside. Now, after what felt like countless minutes—or maybe hours—spent in eternal darkness, he had no choice but to revisit it.
So I must be dead. And if I am… how?
He cursed himself for not being a little more fortunate. If he had died, it must have been some kind of accident, or something wrong inside his body. But a bus was massive. If there had been a crash, surely he would have woken up. And even if he didn't survive, wouldn't he at least remember it?
His body was healthy, too. He was twenty-six, in decent health, and a good weight. There were no known hereditary problems in his family either.
So what?
What the hell could've happened to me?
Alan blinked rapidly until his eyes grew sore, confirming that he could still feel something happening to his body. He was lying on a cool surface. The fact that he hadn't noticed it at first gave him a small sense of hope. But aside from that, there was nothing else to go on.
With nothing left to do and nothing to hold onto, he closed his eyes again, desperate. If falling asleep had gotten him into this, maybe it could get him out.
But sleep wouldn't come. His body felt too alert, too energized.
Fuck! Why me?! Just let me move, goddamnit!
Alan imagined himself thrashing, screaming, trying to fight against whatever force held him still. After a while, he calmed down and pictured himself sitting upright. He couldn't maintain his sanity like this for long. Still, no matter what he imagined, he couldn't see a thing.
Wait… why can I imagine myself moving, but not seeing? Heh… hehe. I see.
He cleared his thoughts and tried to focus.
To his surprise, it worked. His body moved. He could move again.
All it had taken was a little delusion.
But now that one problem was solved, another remained:
He still couldn't see.
I must be blind now. Or at least in a place far too dark to see even my hands.
Alan had come to terms with the fact that something strange and supernatural was happening to him. Orienting himself to his new surroundings and this foreign reality was the only thing that made sense now. He couldn't afford to neglect the simplest details. Not in a situation like this.
First, he stood up from the cool surface beneath him. He felt taller than before. Not by much, but the difference was there.
He stretched out an arm and began to shuffle forward, moving slowly and dragging his feet until his fingertips brushed against something. A wall. It was rough and sharp in places, uneven and worn. Alan lightly scratched at it, then knocked it a few times with his knuckles.
It seemed to be stone.
He crouched down and touched the ground more deliberately this time. The skin on the soles of his feet was far too calloused to tell him much, but his fingers could feel what his feet could not. The floor was jagged and gritty compared to the smoother surface he had woken up on.
Alan rose again and placed one hand on the stone wall for balance before continuing forward.
Not being able to see is terrifying. So why am I so calm? I'm not even anxious. It doesn't feel natural.
More than that, he felt certain he was underground. The air was thick, still, and heavy. There wasn't even a hint of light.
Not long after, his toes struck something solid and pain bloomed across his foot. He stifled a sharp grunt and immediately covered his mouth with both hands. There was no telling what else might be in this place. If he wasn't alone, it was better not to announce himself.
About an hour passed—at least, that was what Alan guessed from counting seconds in his head—before he heard anything besides the echo of his own steps.
The sound was too far for him to speculate what it could be. But he continued walking forwards and as the sound grew louder and clearer, he realized it was breathing. The breathing was wet and heavy, like it was coming from a throat filled with mucus.
That isn't human… Could it be an animal that lives in the dark? One that hunts by sound? But what would it even eat down here?
Alan's body tensed. The cave was big. He had walked for an hour without hearing anything but his own footsteps.
He crouched down to the floor and kept moving slowly, making much less noise than before.
Soon, he could hear the creature's breathing right next to him. It sounded big. A lot bigger than a dog.
Whatever it is, it must be sleeping. Just pass by quietly…
His foot struck a loose rock and his toe curled up in pain.
Fuck.
The rock rolled slightly, adding more sound on top of his quiet grunt.
Alan froze.
He could feel the creature moving behind him. Cold sweat broke out across his back as he went completely still, too afraid to move the slightest bit.
At first, he had thought an animal down here would hunt through echolocation. But when he felt a cold awareness settle over him, his blood turned to ice. Every part of him shuddered with dread.
I-it can fucking see?!
Running would almost certainly doom him. It would move faster in the dark because it could see. He'd just stumble over something, completely blind to his surroundings.
I'm starting to get hungry and thirsty too. Fleeing would take up a lot of energy…
I can't hide if I can't even see.
Then my only option is… to fight.
Alan fumbled around the cave floor for the rock he'd bumped into. He could still feel and hear the creature behind him, slowly creeping up.
Finally, he found it and felt along its edge. Sharp enough to cut skin, if he used enough force.
He found the confidence to move again and continued crouching forward, clinging to a small hope of avoiding the thing altogether. Maybe if he got far enough away, it would leave him alone.
But that hope was shattered the moment he heard its footfalls speed up.
To know where to strike, I need to let it get close… so I can feel around.
The creature pounced. Alan felt its weight slam into him, could tell it had five legs instead of four as it tried to bite into his neck.
Razor-sharp claws shredded his forearms into a bloodied mess. Flesh tore away and dangled from the bone. But his muscles pumped with blood and adrenaline, and somehow, he held it back.
Alan groaned and screamed through the pain as he felt along the creature's body with his knees, hands, and arms, searching for a patch of warm, soft skin. Somewhere with less fur. When he found it, he gripped the rock with everything his ruined arms could give.
He felt it slice into the creature's belly. It shrieked and thrashed, then sank its fangs into his shoulder. And then, he felt another bite on his other shoulder.
W-what the fuck? There's two of them?!
He reached out in desperation but didn't feel another body nearby.
Then it has two fucking heads!
Alan cried out, hot tears streaming from his eyes. The thing shook its heads violently, grinding his shoulders into pulp. He could feel the broken bones jutting through.
Fuck!
He kept slashing into its gut with the sharp edge of the rock. Blood spilled over his stomach, hot and sticky.
He tried to pull the rock back to get a better grip, but it slipped from his hand.
No, no, no. Am I going to die here?
His body was losing its strength. Searching for the rock would cost time he didn't have.
He raised his head and bit into one of the creature's necks. He got a mouthful of fur and a trace of blood.
Dropping one arm from its claws, he reached into the open wound in its belly and pulled with everything he had. He clawed and tore at whatever he could find. Intestines spilled onto him, along with the stink of feces. The creature let out a furious howl but didn't let go.
He bit harder, his teeth sinking into the hide until he found a hold. He ripped out a chunk of meat from its neck.
His right arm was a mangled wreck. It had gone numb long ago, but he could still feel broken bone jutting through the flesh.
Both he and the creature were breathing hard now.
My bones are sharp… so… fuck it!
He reached into the open wound in his arm and pulled one of the cracked bones loose.
With the jagged edge gripped tight, he drove it deep into the creature's gut and dragged upward toward its chest.
The pressure on his shoulders weakened before stopping completely.
"O-oh God, I-I… I'm going to die!"
Alan kicked at the cave floor until he crawled out from beneath the five-legged beast.
Pain surged through his body now that the adrenaline was fading. He couldn't see how bad the damage was, but he could feel it.
His right arm was ruined, missing a bone. His shoulders were soaked with blood, and sharp bones jutted through the skin. There was a shallow wound across his chest, but it still bled freely.
I'm going to die. Even if I won the fight, I'll bleed out or die from infection…
He tore off his shirt and wrapped it tightly above his forearm. It would serve as a temporary tourniquet.
He set the bones in his shoulders as best as he could in the dark, then tore fabric from his pants and tied it tight.
I'll never use my right arm again. My left… maybe.
He couldn't feel or move his right. His left was better off, but not by much.
How am I this calm? And what the fuck was that thing? Five legs? Two heads? There's no way I'm still on Earth.
Alan had too many questions, but if no miracle passed by soon, he wouldn't need the answers.
The dead don't ask questions, after all.
…
A carriage came to a stop outside an outpost with two guards stationed outside.
"State your reason for entry and present Star verification," one of the guards said.
He was wearing stainless steel armor from head to toe, though his helmet visor was pulled up. A black sword rested in its sheathe at his hip.
The driver of the carriage spoke up. "Lady Thalia is hunting Gralls." He handed the guard a small, brown leather book.
"4-Star…" The guard narrowed his eyes slightly before glancing at his partner and giving a nod.
"May luck be with her."
Shortly after that, the carriage continued forwards toward a barren and desolate land.
Inside the carriage, Thalia sighed and looked away from the man across from her.
"As profitable as Grallux are, they're not easy to find."
She watched the scenery outside the carriage window, her long black hair covering half of her beautiful face.
Harland chuckled. "A group of Salients found a large underground cave last week. They reported killing quite a few before pulling out."
Thalia looked back at him, interest lighting up on her face. "Is that so?"
He smiled. "It is. That's where we're headed. If it's anything like they claimed, we'll have more than a few chances to collect spinal fluid."
…
"Huff… huff…" Alan was struggling.
He had sat down to meditate and clear his mind from the horrific events that had spelled his soon-to-be death. Clearing his mind wasn't the issue at hand, but rather his injuries. A cave wasn't the most sanitary place to have your flesh exposed in.
Not only that, but it was starting to get hard to stay conscious. Alan had a feeling that falling asleep would be the end of him.
He had used up a lot of energy in order to preserve his life for a little longer, so he was now hungry. Thirst had long been a problem before he even met whatever the hell that thing was.
While meditating, he had been seriously considering eating the monster that attacked him. But his rational side was strongly against such an act. For starters, he had no means to cook the meat of what he had killed. Second, he wasn't sure it was safe to eat at all.
But at the same time, he was going to die soon. He had slowed down his bleeding significantly, but his injuries were too daunting.
You know what, I'll just eat… I would prefer dying without horrible stomach pain…
Alan stopped meditating and opened his eyes, replacing the dark with darkness. He slowly crawled toward where the monster's body was, feeling around the floor until he touched its hide.
The smell of blood was strong, but feeling and smelling the feces of the monster made him want to retch.
He flipped the dead monster onto its back and felt around to find his arm bone. Latching onto it, he pulled it out and used it to cut one of its necks open.
There was no way he was going to eat more than a mouthful since it was raw. On top of that, the smell was putrid. Alan only wanted a single bite to calm his stomach pain.
He sliced some of the flesh near the spine off and opened his mouth.
Chew and swallow. Don't think.
As he chewed and pushed past the awful taste, he suddenly started feeling a lot better.
Then, his arms and shoulders began to burn and sizzle, followed by a wave agonizing pain.