Cael concentrated deeply, focusing all of his awakened power to his palm as particles of snow and ice began to circulate wildly around his hand, creating something solid. Slowly, a small needle-like piece of ice began to form in the air before him. Veins were popping out visibly on Cael's forehead and neck as he struggled desperately to hold his concentration, his entire body trembling from the mental effort.
Soon the needle was fully formed, a thin, sharp spike of crystalline ice hovering before his outstretched palm. He relaxed slightly as he took a deep breath, staring past the ice at the innocent creature standing before him. He steeled his resolve, flexing his entire body as he attempted to shoot the needle of ice at the animal like a projectile.
And to his surprise, the needle actually began to fly through the air, whistling as it cut through the space between them… For about four feet. Then it fell pathetically to the ground, shattering on the hard salty surface with a disappointing tinkle.
"Shit," he cursed, releasing his concentration and taking a deep breath of disappointment and frustration. He closed his eyes for a brief moment to collect himself before looking back at the deer to see if it had been spooked by his failed attempt.
But when he opened his eyes, he noticed something very weird. 'What the—?' he thought in confusion as he watched the deer's head twist sideways at an unnatural angle whilst still looking directly at him with those black eyes.
Then suddenly, the deer began rising up onto its hind legs, standing tall like a human, towering at nearly seven feet in height. Cael stared in confusion and wonder at what the animal was doing, his mind struggling to process the bizarre sight. When suddenly, something truly impossible began to happen before his horrified eyes.
The animal began to split in half from the top of its head straight down to the middle of its body, peeling open like a grotesque flower. Both sides of the deer split apart, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth lining the entire opening and grotesque, pulsing insides pooling out from the cavity. The interior was a nightmare of organs and gore that no deer should possess.
Cael stared, his eyes wide and his mouth hung open in horror. "I know I've never seen one in person, but um… I'm pretty sure deer don't do that," he said weakly, his voice trembling as he began to shake slightly.
Then the realization hit him like a physical blow. "It's one of Adam's monsters," he said aloud, using the words to help calm his racing heart and steady his breathing.
As he had been taught extensively in his classes back at the dome, during the great war between the gods, Eve had used her divine power of creation to make small beings, animals and other creatures to help her fight and win the war against Adam. But Adam, in his cruelty and desperation, had corrupted these beautiful creations, twisting and warping them all into grotesque monsters that turned the tide of the war against everyone. These abominations were uncontrollable and viciously strong creatures that didn't follow any order or command except for the one directive that lived fundamentally in their corrupted being, kill. Kill everything. Kill endlessly.
Cael took some more deep breaths, trying to think clearly despite his fear, as he considered his next move carefully. 'I can't outrun it. These things never stop chasing their prey once they've locked on,' he thought as he and the disgusting creature engaged in an intense staredown, neither moving.
He smiled weakly, without humor. 'Guess that leaves only one choice then… I'll have to kill it.' The words sounded brave, but he knew it would be much easier said than done, especially for someone who couldn't yet properly control their powers. He'd barely managed to create that pathetic needle.
But he had no more time to think or plan as the creature suddenly began to sprint explosively toward him, covering ground with terrifying speed. Cael clenched his fists tightly as he tried to steel his fear and prepare himself, quickly raising his hand in front of him and concentrating as hard as he could. He tried desperately to cut down the time it took him to create ice while still hoping he could actually make something that would work, something deadly.
The creature closed in rapidly, its deer arms flailing uselessly behind it as it ran with a leaned-back posture that made it all the more horrific to look at. Its split body gaped wide open, revealing those terrible teeth. Ice began to collect and swirl in front of his hand, particles gathering, but Cael quickly realized something with growing horror.
"I'm not fast enough!"
The monster reached its target before he could finish. Cael immediately stopped his attempt at using his ice powers, instead hurrying to barely jump and roll desperately out of the way of the animal's charge. The creature leaned its gaping maw downward in an attempt to snatch up Cael in its teeth-lined opening, missing him by mere inches.
Cael landed hard on the unforgiving ground, rolling roughly to his knees. Knowing he had no time to sit around and recover, he hurried to get his eyes on the creature, which had already changed direction with impossible agility and was already upon him again.
'So fast!' he thought with panic.
The creature tried closing its split body around Cael like a Venus flytrap of flesh and teeth. Cael desperately threw up his hands to stop the maw from closing completely on him, but the razor-sharp teeth went straight through his palms, piercing the flesh completely. He yelped loudly in pain as the monster violently flung its body upward, and Cael along with it, sending him flying through the air before slamming him down hard onto the salt flats.
He landed on the hard salty ground with brutal force, the impact knocking the wind completely out of his lungs. "Uahhh," he made guttural, desperate noises in an attempt to breathe after having the wind knocked out of him, his chest spasming uselessly.
He managed to turn his body around, now lying flat on his back, just in time to see the creature already above him, coming down fast and hard with its gaping maw opened wide to consume him whole. Cael stopped it with his bleeding hands again, catching the edges of its split body, but now he was completely pinned between the monster's weight and the hard ground beneath him.
Despite Cael's newly enhanced strength from his awakening, he knew with terrifying certainty that the monster was far stronger. Its gaping mouth slowly got closer and closer to Cael's face as his arms trembled with effort, his muscles screaming in protest. Thick, viscous drool dripped from the creature's teeth directly onto his eye, making him blink frantically as he struggled to keep the nightmare at bay.