Monster

'Someone just spoke to me, but I didn't hear anything. It's like they spoke directly to my mind. But whatever they said doesn't matter. I need to handle these wolves first,' I thought to myself as I focused on the task at hand.

I was struggling to believe that I wasn't crazy with everything that was going on, but I had to keep moving forward no matter what. Since I had already decided that I would live on for those that I lost, I didn't have the option of giving up. Even against the pack of desperate wolves that had surrounded me.

-

The 7 wolves that were closing in on me from all directions were all growling. Considering that their ribs were visible and their eyes were bloodshot, it was clear that they were hungry. And it was likely that, just like the surrounding corpses, all the other corpses in the village had been drained. This left the ravenous beasts who were starving to target me.

But taking me down was no longer such an easy feat...

-

Seeing one of the wolves stop approaching me and losing focus, drawn by my mother's corpse, which was the only one that hadn't been sapped of all its life, I dashed towards it. It was the smallest wolf in terms of size, so it was likely the youngest and least experienced, but that didn't matter since it targeted my mother's corpse.

I wanted to give her a proper burial. That was the least I could do. So, no matter what, I wasn't willing to let those wolves desecrate my mother's corpse any more than it had already been defiled.

With so much emotion and confusion, I was struggling to think everything through and with my intention clear, instinct took over as I rushed towards the smaller wolf.

Since it had broken the encirclement that the wolves had formed around me, it had created a small opening for me to exploit. However, I had massively underestimated the speed of the wolves. Not only were they faster and more agile than me, but they were also more suited to moving through the snow with their paws. In comparison, my feet were cumbersome and a hindrance when trudging through the snow.

However, I had also surprised myself with just how fast I was, but I didn't ponder too deeply about it, remaining focused on my target.

And quickly I started to fall back into that unrestrained state...

-

Lunging at the smaller wolf that had neared my mother's corpse, as I did so, both my legs were slashed by the 2 closest wolves. They sought to protect their kin and were very loyal creatures that always moved in groups. However, the pain of their claws digging into my flesh was numbed by my rage and desire to slaughter them all.

Roaring as if I were a beast myself, I pierced the smaller wolf with the blade I was wielding. Thanks to my forward momentum, I had managed to penetrate the wolf's tough fur, but considering it was a machete-like blade, it was more suited to slashing.

Quickly scrambling to get up and pulling the blade out of the small wolf, I got back on my feet. Then I kicked the small wounded wolf over to the other wolves that gathered around it soon after to protect it.

Their loyalty to their kin was commendable, but in the state that I was in, I couldn't care less about it. The blood I had drawn from the wolf excited me even more, as I started to feel an unusual sensation.

And once again, it originated from my left eye, which had been unusual ever since I regained consciousness.

-

My left eye began to burn, but rather than being painful, it was weirdly soothing and extremely addictive, and also caused my body to begin craving more blood. Alongside that, something unfathomable was occurring, which I had no control over.

I watched as the blood that was on my blade and pouring out of the small wolf's wound turned into some form of mist that flew over to my eye. At first, I moved my head back and tried to avoid it. However, it was too fast, and as it entered my eye, I felt a burst of energy stream into my body.

Originating from my left eye, warmth spread through my body and was most concentrated around my legs where I had been slashed. And to my astonishment, I watched as the claw marks on my legs began to heal themselves. But as they did, my breathing became even more uncontrollable. I also felt a sharp pain in my body, along with my heart rate and desire for blood rapidly increasing.

'I have truly become a monster. But who cares? I'll kill anyone that dares to bother me!'

I had lost all control and even my thoughts were starting to be blocked out as I charged towards the wolves that had grouped up and prepared to face me.

Hacking away at them with my machete, as they all teamed up and attacked simultaneously to take me down, the adrenaline rush and overwhelming darkness I was feeling overcame me.

And the next thing I knew, I was lying on the ground and looking up at the sky.

-

Since it had gotten darker, I could assume at least a couple of hours had passed.

Additionally, my entire body was aching despite there not being any wounds on my body.

It seemed as though, although I was able to heal myself with the blood of others, it put a heavy strain on my body.

And looking around at the lifeless corpses of the 7 wolves confirmed that theory.

"I really need to learn how to control this eye of mine that seems to be the source of this power that I have," I groaned as I got up and looked around for anything useful.

I took all the clothes off the bandit's drained body since they were thicker than mine and weren't in tatters after fighting a pack of wolves. Then after putting them on, I cut apart the wolves with the smaller knife that I had used to kill the bandit previously, which was more suitable than the larger machete-like blade.

And as I did so, I attempted to keep as much of their fur intact as possible.

I then covered my mother's body with it and hoped that it would be left by any beasts that were likely to come by later in the night. Although it was unlikely to stop hungry beasts with sharp senses from finding her corpse, it was all I could do for the time being.

And after doing so, I got up and attached the knife to the belt I was wearing, which I had gotten off the bandit's corpse. Meanwhile, holding the machete in my hand, I was ready to fight off any threats.

But I wanted to avoid fighting at any cost, knowing that my body needed rest.

-

My pain tolerance had massively improved after the excruciating pain I had endured so far. However, I had my limits, and my head was aching after all that had happened. It even felt as though my left eye was tired and it likely wouldn't be able to save me a third time if I got into another battle.

And so I set out to find a suitable tree that was large and thick enough to be considered safe. But it also had to be one that I could actually climb up and sleep on.

However, it was much more difficult than I had expected, and time was running out.

I wanted to stay in the area, but also not be too close since the thick revolting smell of corpses and blood still lingered. And as I searched for somewhere suitable to sleep, I checked on the other bodies in the village. Seeing that they were also all drained, confirmed to me that my left eye really was what saved my life and strengthened my body.

Somehow it was able to siphon the life out of all those corpses despite them being so far away from where I had fought the lone bandit. It was simply incredible, but also frightening to think about. I also couldn't help but assume that it had something to do with the red light that I saw in that dream, or whatever it was, after almost dying. If that was the case, that evil thing that seemed to have engulfed my entire being may have been a gift rather than a curse.

Either way, I was determined to survive no matter what.

-

Once I found a tree that met my criteria, I immediately started climbing it using its smaller branches. And after I did, I hacked away at the branches I had used to get up there. Then, finding a thick branch that I could sleep on, although it was far from comfortable and sleeping while sitting upright was far from ideal, I didn't have any other choice.

Getting into a position that was as safe and comfortable as I could on the thick branch that I lay on, I found it difficult to believe that falling asleep was even possible in such a situation. Especially since I couldn't help but be afraid of falling off, particularly in the middle of the night, when wild beasts were likely to roam the area.

But unlike what I expected, it didn't take me long to doze off, and it seemed as though I had underestimated just how fatigued and depleted my body was. And as I fell into a deep slumber, thankfully my core was instinctively tensed. If it hadn't, I would have fallen off the tree, as it would've been almost impossible to wake me up.

Even with all the howling of animals that had gathered around the decimated village and the fights between them, my body remained unconscious. And while I was asleep, I returned to that dark space I was in after fighting the straggler bandit and almost losing my life.

But this time I wasn't floating around for an eternity before being drawn in by a red light.

This time there were two entities before me in the endlessly gloomy space.

One was an eyeball with a red iris that had a menacing and intimidating presence, but also felt familiar and warm to me, while the other was foreign. However, when it spoke out to me, I recognised it as the voice that had spoken to me before my fight with the wolves.

Previously, in the heat of the moment, I hadn't been able to register exactly what it had said.

Now I could speak to it and find out more about what exactly had happened to my left eye...