A Twisted Wish

Aiden considered himself to have lived through everything. He once had a job in a casino to pickpocket the chips from customers. That world opened his eyes to some unforgettable things, but never as weird as the thing he was witnessing at the moment.

"All rise!" shouted Rabbit Jack.

The rabbits rose on their hind legs.

"Left!"

"Right!"

"Jump!"

"Jump!"

"Jump!"

The rabbits followed every command. They jumped at the same time, all one-hundred-and-six rabbits. Jack began hurling different instructions at them.

"Farmers, jump! Harvesters, duck!"

The past few hours with Jack had been anything but normal. After accepting his current predicament, Aiden relaxed because the deadline was an entire year. An entire year in this world would give him enough knowledge to find out what happened to Jack's brother.

"Good job, everyone! I see that a few of the harvesters have gained some weight. I hate to assume the worst, but please don't eat the crops. They need to last us throughout the next blizzard storm!"

Jack seemed disappointed, and Aiden could swear that some of the rabbits looked to be… ashamed of themselves. It vexed him, and he had to ask Jack as soon as he returned to the porch.

"Is this normal, in this world?" Aiden asked. "A man raising rabbits and training them to be his workers?"

"Ah, no. I'm just a low-level tamer, and rabbits are all I could tame," Jack seemed a little embarrassed. "A few tamers down in the Inner Ring can even tame dragons or leviathans."

Aiden blinked.

Jack thought that raising an army of rabbits was somehow… lacking. It made Aiden realize what kind of world he found himself in, and afraid of what awaited him outside the comfort of Jack's safe abode.

"Are you ready to head to the city?" Jack asked.

"Can someone even be ready for such a thing? I've never been to a fantasy city in a fantasy world with fantasy tamers," Aiden said. "I didn't even think a person could raise over a hundred rabbits!"

"Cities in the outer ring are indeed dangerous, but they aren't much different from what you described in your world. It's a lawless place with little magic and a lot of misery."

"Sounds like home," Aiden said as he smacked his lips. "Why do you want me to go there?"

"Because there is nothing here," Jack said as he rubbed his chin. "Here on the edge of the world, there is no magic and no life. No one dares, nor cares, enough to live here. You would be wasting your time here with me."

"I enjoy the safety."

"Safety, huh?" Jack said with a laugh. "You heard about the blizzards I mentioned earlier? They come here multiple times a year. Each of them carries enough cold and frost to freeze you inside out. The worst thing is that it brings out the worst in us."

"The worst?" Aiden repeated. "What does that mean?"

"I'm guessing that your world doesn't have desires?"

"I mean, it does…"

"In a physical sense?" Jack questioned. "I don't know how desire works for you, but it's very detrimental here in this world."

"How so?" Aiden inched closer in his chair.

"You see—" Jack was about to explain, when he paused. A moment of silence passed as he looked into the farmlands surrounding them.

"What's wrong?"

"It's too quiet," Jack said. "My rabbits have stopped communicating with each other— and worse, with me."

"What does that mean?" Aiden stood from his chair to look at the farmlands. Jack was silent, and the two could see the rabbits staring in the same direction. Their bodies were frozen as they stared at the forest.

"It means… that something bad is happening," Jack said as he rushed into the cabinet. "There is a door under the rug. Take shelter for now!"

Aiden was confused as he looked at the man hurry into the house, and come back out with a number of weapons on him. He passed Aiden as if he didn't see him and rushed into the woods. Then, he paused and turned.

"I forgot that you're human too," Jack said with a grim face. "If you stay here, it would come looking for you sooner or later. I don't want to leave you here, but I don't want to fight that monster near my house."

"Monster?" Aiden repeated as he came down the stairs. "What kind of monster are we talking about?"

"A monster of desire," Jack said as he picked a small blade and tossed it toward Aiden, who caught it in a hurry. "You can either stay here, or come with me. I would ask that you don't stay near my house, though."

Jack then turned and ran toward the forest. Aiden stood confused, and then looked at the weapon. He was a conman, not a fighter. He gulped and chased after Jack, where he would be the safest.

The two of them navigated the forest with haste. The rabbits scattered away, running from something that neither of them could see. They passed a small stream that led toward a lake. Jack traveled down the stream until he reached a meadow.

Then, the two of them saw a figure curled on the ground beside the lake.

Jack raised a hand for them to stop. He reached toward his rifle, glanced at Aiden, and gestured with his head. Aiden understood that he needed to keep a distance and support rather than fight.

The figure twitched and moved. A deep inhaling sound echoed throughout the forest as the figure rose. It was almost three meters tall, with skin breaking apart every few inches. It looked like a bundle of flesh held loosely together by human skin.

𖤐 [You have received a twisted wish.] 𖤐

The window appeared in red in front of Aiden. He swallowed hard as he opened the Wish Log. As he read the lines, he realized what the twisted wish was—and he understood what this creature is.

"I can… smell you…" the hulking monstrosity said, with a hoarse voice, through a face distorted beyond recognition. It looked as if every part of its body amplified beyond what was humanly possible. "Please… take away… this desire…"

Jack loaded his rifle.

Then, he reached toward his pocket and pulled out a small vial, with a syringe at the end. Without hesitation, he stabbed the syringe into his thigh and allowed the vial to drain into his body.

"My name is Jack," he said through gritted teeth as red veins appeared on his body. "I will be the one to release you from this prison."

The monster paused.

Aiden couldn't breathe as the world stopped.

Then, everything happened at the same time.

The monster lunged.

Jack retreated.

A rifle fired.

The monster stretched its arm toward them.

It grew bigger and longer, but at the expense of tearing itself apart.

Jack kicked the ground and hurled like a cannonball to the side. The bullet sank into the creature's flesh, but couldn't come out again. Aiden watched the giant arm tear through trees like they were toothpicks.

He retreated.

Jack slashed at the arm.

Blood sprayed.

The monster shrieked.

It began throwing every limb it had at them.

Each of them grew beyond reason.

Aiden was witnessing a nightmare of flesh.

Jack seemed experienced enough to jump around and strike at the creature. However, no matter how much he struck, the creature regenerated its flesh. The red veins began to fade, and Jack became slower.

And then, he was caught.

A giant hand, with fingers as big as arms, caught Jack midair. It slammed him to the ground, and then raised him high. Jack's arms twisted in unnatural angles, forcing him to release his grip on the weapons.

"Take… my desire…" the monster said.

Aiden witnessed blue light emerge from the monster, seeping into Jack, who began to howl.

The blade felt heavy in his hand.

The ground pushed back against his foot.

The wind howled in his ears.

But Aiden was moving without thinking and without a doubt.

In front of him, there was a window.

[Release the twisted wish.]

Aiden ran through the trees and alongside the outstretched arm. He jumped over a small boulder, raising his blade high, and struck the arm's weakest point—its joint.

Steel dug through flesh.

The attack was pathetic, but enough.

The monster howled as it let go of Jack, who collapsed to the ground. It turned its attention back at Aiden, who was now struggling to get the blade out of the monster's flesh. It amplified again, swallowing the blade whole.

"Dodge!" Jack shouted.

Aiden turned to see the monster whipping its other arm toward him. However, Aiden was too slow to dodge. The giant weapon of flesh tore through the trees and upturned the ground before reaching him, but it happened almost instantly.

In the last moment before he was whipped out of existence, Aiden felt an unknown force slam his back. His body flew out of the attack's range before slamming to the ground.

Blood splattered everywhere.