My consciousness began to return. I groaned as the spinning in my head slowed, and I weakly opened my eyes. Shakily, I rose to my feet.
My wounds had stopped bleeding. But I still felt horrible. Cuts lacerated my body. My throat was dry and sore, partially burnt from overusing my fire breath. And worst of all… I was completely exhausted.
I looked up. The sun was high, almost directly overhead. "That doesn't make sense, I thought it was later."
Then I glanced at the alpha wolf's corpse nearby. "Wait a minute," I said. Something about it looked… off.
"The blood's dry," I said, taking a few weak steps closer.
I inspected the body. The smell, the sunken color of the flesh, it had aged. Not by hours.
By a full day.
As I stared at it, my heart dropped.
"No, no, no, this can't be happening…" I said frantically, as the weight of the situation sank in.
"I only have one day left until the attack, and I'm not nearly strong enough to defend anyone."
My heart started racing as panic set in, but I was distracted by a painful wave of hunger that was sharp and relentless. And I clutched my stomach.
I had pushed myself to the limit in that last fight, and now my body was demanding something, anything to recover.
I looked down at the alpha's corpse in front of me. I couldn't give up now, there was still time left before the attack. So, without even hesitating, I leaned in and started to eat.
A few days ago, this would've completely repulsed me. But now I had almost become used to eating like this...
I sighed; I was covered in dried blood and eating the day-old corpse of a wolf. If anyone saw me right now, they would probably be terrified.
But I thought, "This is just the result of living and fighting like a dragon... you also end up eating like one too" And I had made my choice when I left the village.
Once I was full and felt my energy slowly returning, I knew I didn't have any time to waste, and I set off into the forest again.
I followed the same stream I'd been chased along before and stopped briefly to drink from it. The water cooled my throat, which was still sore.
As I looked at the tree line, my eyes landed on a particularly dense stretch of woods I hadn't explored before. The trees there looked more tightly packed, the canopy darker, the underbrush untouched.
"Well... it's as good a place as any to start," I said to myself.
After all, it's not like I exactly had a monster radar or something.
I pushed past the branches and shrubs with some effort. I didn't have a blade to cut through the growth, but my claws were a good replacement. Still, it was tiring work.
The farther in I went, the more I noticed the forest almost seemed to shift in a way, and it wasn't just visually.
Life seemed to have disappeared. There were no birds. No rustling of leaves. No chirping insects.
Only dead silence.
It was an oppressive and unnatural silence that clung to the air like mist.
But it was the trees that stood out the most. They were thicker than any I'd seen before-taller too. Their bark was dark, almost black, weathered by countless years of wind and rain. They looked ancient.
I paused and ran a claw along one of the trunks thinking, "Just how old are these trees?"
Then I realized, this part of the forest was no doubt older than the rest, and it was probably the birthplace of the entire forest, planted ages ago.
The overgrowth thickened until I could barely see four feet ahead. Every step required effort to push through the brush, and every swing of my claws made my already bruised limbs ache.
Then, just ahead, light.
A thin shaft of it cut through a break in the canopy, seeping through a wall of tightly woven brush.
I forced my way forward, slashing at the vines one last time until, I finally broke through.
And stepped into a clearing. Boulders lay scattered around in loose, natural patterns. And in the center…
A massive, tall, flat and weathered stone slab. Was standing perfectly upright. Like it had been placed there on purpose.
I stepped closer to the stone, to investigate the writing. Its surface was cracked and worn with age, but I could still make out the inscription.
It read:
"From this land, a great power shall emerge
and the world shall descend into calamity unlike ever before.
Let none disturb this place,
lest they awaken their end."
A chill ran down my spine, "A calamity?" Was one really going to fall upon this world?
I thought of the soldiers. Of the two nations on the brink of war. "Could that be what this is warning about?"
And then there was that other part. The great power, "but the only thing that's emerged from this land recently… was me." I said slowly.
I paused, staring at the stone, then nearly burst out laughing at the thought.
"Me, really?" I said, glancing down at my bruised, half-burned body. "I'm the last thing that looks like a "great power."
I shook my head.
It was probably just some old legend. Written ages ago, that was forgotten by time.
Then I heard it-
a deep, ominous thud behind me.
I spun around, claws bared, ready to fight. But… there was nothing.
"Where the hell did that noise come from?" I said, tension creeping into my voice.
Silence. The entire clearing felt like it was holding its breath.
I didn't move a muscle.
Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw one of the boulders shift. Just a few inches.
I blinked.
"Did that stone... just move?"
Maybe it was just paranoia. Or a trick of the light. I stared at it, unblinking, for almost a full minute.
Nothing.
Then to my left-grnnk-another one rolled slightly.
Then another.
And another.
All around me, every boulder except the central stone began to roll, shift, and clatter toward one spot in the clearing.
I stepped back slowly as the stones started stacking, or should I say, assembling, together in an unnatural way.
Within seconds, they formed a massive figure. A towering being of rock, standing at least fifteen feet tall.
It took a single step. THUD.
The earth trembled beneath my feet.
I swallowed hard.
"So that's what it meant," I whispered.
"'Let none disturb this place, lest they awaken their end.'"
This wasn't just a mystical warning, it was a guardian. A relic left to protect this place from anything that didn't belong. It had two hollow eye sockets, but no other visible details.
I slowly backed away, hoping, that it wouldn't attack me.
For a second, it just stood there. Then, with a grinding groan of shifting stone, the golem began to raise its arm.
The sound alone sent a shiver through me.
Then-CRACK-its arm swung down in a blur of motion far faster than I thought it could move.
My eyes widened. I sprang to the side just in time, the massive stone arm slammed into the ground where I'd just been standing.
The ground shook with the impact. Dust and pebbles jumped into the air from the force.
"That… that had to be over a ton of force…" I said shocked, staring at the crater now gouged into the earth.
"Okay… looks like it's not just going to let me leave." I took a few steps back, circling it slowly. Thankfully, it didn't seem particularly fast. Maybe I could get away.
But then again, how long would it take to find another monster? Or would I even be able to?
I had no time left to waste.
I clenched my jaw. I was well aware now that this thing could kill me with one hit… but I still had to fight.
I dashed toward its legs and dragged my claw down the mossy surface of one.
CRACK!
"Ah-!" A sharp jolt of pain sprang through my claws. I recoiled, holding my hand.
I looked back; there was barely a scratch on it.
I sighed, wincing. "What was I expecting, from attacking a literal boulder?"
The golem responded with another swing. This time I dodged easily, its reach was wide, but its wind-up was slow.
Still, I had no idea how to hurt it.
I circled close again and drew in a deep breath, then let out a searing cloud of fire across its front. The flames licked at its body, leaving a faint black mark as the moss burned away.
When the smoke cleared, it looked completely unfazed.
"Well, I wasn't really expecting much, but it was worth a try," I thought. Then I coughed up blood again, "Ugh, I guess my throat hasn't fully healed" I said in a now raspy voice
My mind was now trying to think of ways to defeat it.
There's got to be a weak point. Somewhere. I studied its joints, its head, any place that might be vulnerable.
But it was just… rock. Layer after layer of thick, ancient stone.
I waited for another swing. The moment it raised its arm, I rushed in low, toward the knee joint. It came down hard, and I dashed to the side, then launched myself upward just as it missed.
I grimaced, "This is gonna hurt… isn't it"
I brought my claws down on the narrow connection between two stone plates—pouring every ounce of strength I had into the strike.
To my shock, they separated! The knee buckled slightly as the joint came apart.
"Yes! I can damage it!"
But then, almost instantly, the stones snapped back together, like magnets pulling themselves back into place.
The golem regained balance and resumed its slow, lumbering pursuit.
I was at a loss for words. "You've got to be kidding me…"
I turned to run, trying to regroup my thoughts, then-
SNAP-! My foot caught on a thick root hidden beneath the brush.
I stumbled forward, crashing face-first into the dirt.
Panic surged through me.
I scrambled to stand up, but it was too late.
A massive arm came crashing down.
I barely managed to raise my right arm to shield myself before the blow connected.
The impact launched me through the air.
I crashed into a tree so hard that it knocked the wind out of me. My whole body ached, and I choked, coughing up more blood.
But then I saw my arm, it was crushed.
Utterly mangled. I couldn't move it, not even a twitch. The bones had snapped in multiple places. One of my claws was missing entirely.
The pain was white-hot and unbearable. But adrenaline dulled it just enough to keep me on my feet.
I gritted my teeth.
I probably had only a minute or two of fight left in me before my body gave out completely.
But what could I possibly do?
Its strength was leagues beyond mine. I could barely even scratch it.
Then a thought hit me.
"Just how smart is this golem?"
It had been attacking in the same pattern, stomp forward, swing downward, repeat. No tactics. No hesitation. It wasn't a creature; it was more like a machine built to protect something it couldn't even understand.
Maybe, there's a chance I could turn that strength against itself.
Whether I would be able to or not, it was my last hope.
As the golem closed in again, I forced myself to my feet, teeth gritted against the pain. It raised its arm again, winding up for another crushing blow.
I stayed just outside its reach, to lure it.
It struck, and I jumped out of the way.
Before it could pull its arm back, I sprang forward, landing on the stone limb and dashed upwards. I ran across its arm, slipping slightly on moss, but catching myself in time.
My eyes locked on its head.
I reached its shoulder and grabbed onto the rough edges of stone. The golem turned its head slowly, noticing me perched there. It gave a low grinding groan, and then began to thrash, trying to shake me loose.
I tightened my grip. I wasn't letting go. I couldn't let go.
Not after everything.
Then a shadow fell over me. Its other arm was rising. Winding up.
I looked over my shoulder, and time seemed to slow.
Yes! It was dumb enough to strike its own head.
I felt a chill run down my spine. If I mistimed this… I'd be dead. All the pain I'd endured, all the fights I'd survived… it would mean nothing.
No.
I was not dying here.
Its arm twitched. That was the signal.
I jumped.
The stone fist came down with thunderous force, right where I had been clinging.
CRACK!
The golem's massive stone head shattered under its own blow; fragments flew outward as its body teetered.
I hit the ground hard, rolling across dirt and rock, coughing from the impact.
Then… silence.
The golem stood frozen.
Its limbs twitched once. Then again.
And finally, it collapsed, crumbling into a heap of broken stone.
I lay on the ground, breathing heavily. Staring at the pieces.
I actually did it.
I stayed still clutching my mangled arm. I didn't feel anything, I hadn't gotten any stronger. "Seriously??" I said, barely able to lift my head.
I felt helpless, I couldn't even begin to think about fighting anyone. Not with this arm.
"I guess the golem might not have really been alive" My voice was raspy, I thought maybe I should just give up. I could at least try to warn the village.
But honestly, I would probably die before I get there. My body was done; this time it had been pushed beyond what it was capable of, and I was paying the price.
But then something pulsed in my chest.
At first, I thought it was just the effects of the adrenaline fading and the pain truly setting in. But it didn't stop.
Power surged into my body; my breathing became heavy as it continued to increase.
I felt shivers simultaneously run up and down my body. This was more intense than anything I felt before.
It wasn't just a small wave of strength washing over me.
It felt like pressure was building in every part of me. Then pain shot through my bones.
And I fell to my knees gasping for air. Then came the chilling sounds-crack-crack-crack-it was my bones snapping.
I was forcibly frozen, my muscles tensed. As I felt them... stretch.
My bones were also growing.
My spine popped and lengthened, vertebrae shifted and grew. My wings quivered—then stretched outward, longer than before, but still not fully formed. They twitched with tension.
Every nerve in my body lit up. My vision blurred.
The pain increased, it was different from any that I had experienced before
My scales hardened. I could feel them tightening, layering down like armor plating across my limbs and chest. My claws cracked and reformed, longer, sharper.
Even my teeth ached as they pushed out, becoming thicker, more jagged and menacing.
My breath came in short gasps. I gritted my teeth against the pain, digging my now two good arms into the earth just to stay upright.
And then, just as suddenly as it started,
It stopped.
The pressure vanished. The heat faded.
And then I nervously stood.
I looked down at my body.
My chest rose and fell with each ragged breath. I could feel it… the difference.
I wasn't the same as before.
Not even close.
I was taller. Stronger. My form cast a new shadow across the ground.
I smiled faintly, "looks like my work wasn't all for nothing."