He had survived.
Somehow.
Against something that shouldn't exist.
Something that had almost ended him in seconds.
"…I'm alive," he whispered, and the words felt foreign in his own mouth.
They sounded unreal.
Like a dream that didn't belong to him.
His arm throbbed sharply, pain radiating in uneven waves, and a dull ache lingered in his legs. Every step he had taken yesterday, every motion in the fight, had left its mark.
His body reminded him that survival wasn't without cost.
Aric's eyes moved to the cracks in the shelter walls, tracing shadows that seemed to twist unnaturally. He swallowed, dry throat catching.
The village outside was gone.
Or at least, the life in it was gone.
And then there was the wolf.
He shivered despite himself.
Not a wolf—not anything he could name.
Its limbs were wrong. Too long, twisted. Its eyes burned with that sickly yellow light. Its jaws snapped like a trap.
And the claws…
That thing wasn't something from where he is from.
And also not from anywhere he had known.
He closed his eyes for a brief moment, letting his memory drift back.
The light.
The screaming.
The chaos before he woke here.
A street he had walked down.
Someone calling his name—but it was hazy, fleeting.
Gone as quickly as it had appeared.
"What happened?" he muttered.
No answer.
Aric opened his eyes again.
He knew nothing.
No one could answer that question.
Not now.
Never, maybe.
He took a deep breath, forcing his chest to rise fully.
He had to think.
He had to plan.
Because staying here, doing nothing…
That wouldn't save him.
Not if the wolf—or something else came back.
The first step was simple.
Survival.
Avoid danger. Find shelter. Heal. Stay alive.
Step two was harder, but necessary.
Find civilization.
Somewhere, somewhere out there, there had to be signs of life. Humans. Or at least remnants of them.
Some clue about what had happened.
Some place where he wasn't completely alone.
Aric pushed himself up, body shaking with effort.
Every step hurt.
Every movement reminded him of the fight.
But it was manageable.
Pain was nothing compared to death.
He moved slowly to the edge of the shelter, peering out through the gap in the collapsed wall.
The village stretched before him, broken and lifeless, silent in a way that made his stomach twist.
Collapsed homes.
Cracked stone paths.
And the blackened forest beyond.
The world felt wrong.
He thought of the wolf again.
It had been faster than anything he had ever seen.
And it hadn't been natural.
Its presence here… its very existence… suggested that this place was not his world.
Not the one he had known.
"…This isn't my home," he whispered.
It made sense.
In a way that unsettled him.
If this wasn't his world, then how had he come here? Why?
And what was he supposed to do now?
The questions pressed in on him.
But he forced them aside.
Questions were useless without action.
Right now, survival came first.
Aric stepped out of the shelter, testing his footing on the uneven ground.
Gravel crunched under his boots.
His arm throbbed where the wolf had grazed him.
A thin line of blood ran along it.
A reminder of how close he had come to dying.
He found a piece of broken wood nearby and tested its weight in his hand.
Not a weapon.
Not really.
But something.
Something he could use if necessary.
Every sound made him flinch.
Every shadow seemed alive.
His eyes darted constantly, scanning the ruined village for movement.
For anything unnatural.
The wolf could return.
Or worse.
Something else could be out there.
He had survived the first encounter.
Yes.
But that didn't mean the danger was gone.
Far from it.
Aric forced his breathing to steady, trying to focus.
The forest loomed beyond the village, dark and menacing. Its blackened trees looked almost skeletal, branches stretching upward like grasping hands.
It was terrifying—
And yet, it was also a path.
Somewhere beyond it, there might be something.
Anything.
Aric's hand tightened around the wood, knuckles white.
The wolf.
He couldn't stop thinking about it.
It had been something alien.
Something wrong.
Nothing like it existed in his world… or at least, nothing he knew of.
"…What else is out there?" he muttered, voice low.
No answer came.
Only the wind whispering through dead wood, carrying the faint, metallic tang of dust and decay.
He shook his head, forcing focus.
The questions could wait.
Right now, the answers didn't matter.
Survival mattered.
Moving mattered.
Living mattered.
Aric took a careful step forward, eyes scanning constantly.
He tested the ground in front of him, stepping over rubble, avoiding loose stones that might betray him with sound.
The village stretched out before him, but he kept to the shadows, staying close to walls and debris.
Every step reminded him that he was alone.
And yet…
The thought didn't paralyze him.
It sharpened him.
Made him cautious.
He paused at the edge of the village, where the cracked stone path gave way to the dark forest.
"…Here goes nothing," Aric muttered, gripping the splintered piece of wood tighter.
He took a step into the forest.
The ground softened beneath his boots.
Each dry twig snapped sharply in the silence, making him flinch.
His eyes darted from shadow to shadow, alert for any hint of movement.
The canopy above blocked most of the grey sky, and the dim light made everything look twisted.
Unfamiliar.
The forest felt different from the village.
Not empty.
Not dead.
Alive.
But not in a peaceful way.
In a waiting way.
As if it knew he was there.
Every rustle of leaves, every snapping branch made him freeze, his heart hammering in his chest.
Step by step, he moved deeper.
The village faded behind him.
The broken houses.
The empty streets.
The ruins—
All gone.
Here, it was just the forest.
Tall, gnarled trees stretched endlessly in every direction.
Shadows pooled beneath them.
The air felt heavier.
Thicker.
Aric's pulse quickened.
This was new territory.
Dangerous.
Uncertain.
Necessary.
He needed to keep moving.
He needed to survive.
He needed to find answers.
Or at least—
Signs of life.
The forest grew denser, the ground littered with roots and fallen branches.
He stumbled once, catching himself on a twisted tree trunk.
Dust and leaves scattered with the movement.
For a moment—
He froze.
Convinced something was there.
But there was only silence.
"…Focus," he whispered to himself.
His breathing steadied.
Controlled.
Purposeful.
Every movement measured.
Every sound catalogued.
He didn't know how far he could go.
He didn't know what waited deeper in the forest.
But he had no choice.
The wolf—
Or whatever that thing was—
Could return.
And staying in the village, exposed—
Was no longer an option.
So he pressed on.
Every step required attention.
Careful.
Deliberate.
One wrong move could mean injury—
Or worse.
Aric kept his eyes and ears sharp.
Every sound could be a threat.
Every shadow could hide danger.
He paused once more, taking in his surroundings.
The village was gone now.
Nothing but a memory swallowed by distance and the forest's oppressive embrace.
And somewhere ahead—
Deeper among the twisted trees—
Lay the unknown.
Aric clenched his fists, feeling the faint pulse of energy inside him.
The strange power he barely understood.
It hummed beneath his skin.
Weak.
Unfamiliar.
But there.
It wasn't much.
But it was enough.
Enough to keep him going.
Enough to keep him alive.