I'm finished! I can't handle them on my own!
The second head turned its blood-soaked maw toward the thirty, maybe forty ape-men armed with bows and spears. It roared from deep within its lungs. Some slowed down, others stopped, though only for a moment.
I ran as if I had a massive boulder on my left side — one that lived and breathed, loud and malicious. As if I didn't have enough problems already, now I also had to fight for dominance over the body with this beast!
I heard the whistle of an arrow passing by my head, another struck the ground beside my paw. I twisted my torso and, for a brief moment, focused all my will to force the second head to lift its snout and look forward. It growled and hissed, but sensing my aura and dominance, it calmed down.
I let out a breath of relief, though only briefly.
A pack of bipedal ape-men was chasing me — wild and familiar with the terrain.
My only chance was the roar, which seemed to work when the second head used it, and the fact that my body reacted faster than ever before. My muscles felt like they were burning, and yet they obeyed every one of my intentions.
Panic overtook me. Along the way, I trampled ants and anthills. The second head devoured the larger ones, like a dull personality doing whatever it wanted whenever I wasn't paying attention. Clearly, too little time had passed for me to fully subjugate it.
Every moment of control cost me more than simple fatigue. I felt that if I pushed too far, it wouldn't be the second head breaking free — it would be me losing control of the body.
Now everything was clear. Completely taking control of the head consumed something more than strength — something closer to life force. Pure will and aura could only apply pressure and convey my intent as the primary head ruling the entire body.
Under stress, I sensed something strange. Adrenaline flooded my body, and as I rushed forward, I felt… as if a second heart was beating in my chest, alongside my own.
Something utterly inexplicable. This truly was a completely different, bizarre world!
The ape-men caught up and attacked from the sides. Their crude spears and arrows struggled to pierce my scales, reinforced by iron-like skin, while bloodlust sharpened my senses and fueled my fighting spirit.
I bit with all my strength, and the second head did not hold back either.
The enraged ape-men roared as if they wanted to kill me with sound alone. Large, feral, covered in fur, they nearly surrounded me so tightly that I wouldn't have been able to escape. Desperate, I roared, and within two seconds I understood that even something as simple as this could evolve and become almost like a weapon!
A terrifying, thunderous roar that vibrates through the air like a shockwave. A force that instills fear in enemies and strengthens the will of those who stand with it.
I inhaled deeply once more and roared as if I wanted to drive away an entire herd at once.
I sensed blood flowing from some of their ears. Others panicked. Some completely lost the will to fight. The second head joined in, though more weakly.
We bit and tore together, pushing forward, away from the ape-men's territory. Some of them shook off the initial shock and resumed the chase. It must have been a miracle that I managed to leave the forested area and reach open ground!
Behind me were enraged beasts. I had wounded only a few; I myself barely ran forward, torn and bloodied. I must have looked like a hedgehog pierced with arrows and spears, drenched in the blood of enemies — and my own.
There was no choice. Though the second head paled and the ape-men froze in shock and terror, I relied on my human reasoning and stepped into the unknown.
This was my only chance to survive until tomorrow.
I had only three options: face them and certainly die, foolishly hope they would be frightened and back off, or try to pass through the chasm — perhaps the power sleeping there wouldn't notice a small fry like me…
"Damn monkeys. And now I still have to deal with this beast."
I glanced at the snarling head on my left, sighed, and without hesitation entered the zone of dreadful aura. I dug my claws into the chasm wall and began descending.
It felt as if my body weighed half a ton.
I bit into the rock, drove my claws in, braced myself with my tail, using every uneven surface to my advantage, and yet I still felt like I could fall at any moment. The second head looked like it was about to lose consciousness.
If nothing else, at least it wouldn't shove me off the wall or do something equally stupid.
About twenty meters separated me from the bottom. I was well past halfway when my strength failed me, I lost my balance, and slammed into the hard ground with a thunderous crash.
I survived by a miracle!
Never before had I felt so weak and drained. Even as a small lizard, I had more vitality. And on top of that — this oppressive aura… I closed my eyes, supposedly just for a moment… then lost consciousness completely.
I woke to disturbances in the surrounding aura. I felt better. The second head pointed its brown eyes toward the ground, as if bowing before someone.
"Hey, you! I see you!" I heard someone's thoughts. A strange, raspy old man's voice echoed inside my head. "I know you can hear me! Come closer!"
"What kind of voice is that?!" I replied, struggling at the same time not to die of fear.
"It's my voice, you stupid lizard!" he answered instantly. He was reading my thoughts — communicating directly with my mind!
"Stand up and approach, or you'll regret it!"
I didn't even think of resisting. I straightened up and dragged the second head along, which seemed completely paralyzed.
"Not that way! East!"
For a moment, I wondered if this was some spirit haunting the place, toying with me.
Who could live in such a vile place? Dark, suffocating, lifeless. Only a distorted space about two hundred meters wide, with tall walls on both sides. Without flight or equipment, there was no escape.
The voice fell silent. With every step, the aura grew heavier, as if something pressed me into the ground and squeezed my throat.
My heart pounded wildly, and the absolute silence accompanying my march conjured the worst possible nightmare.
I won't get out of this alive. Something will devour me like a snack!
Ahead, at the edge of my vision, I saw a strange heap of metal and paper that grew larger with every step.
I decided to approach.
With each step, the chasm narrowed. Finally, I saw thick chains made of some strange gray-black metal, covered in scrolls and papers whose inscriptions I couldn't read. The mass rose over fifty meters high, its top nearly reaching above the chasm. Behind it, I spotted a narrow, slanted slope that could lead me back to the surface.
The most terrifying thing was that the chains seemed alive, rising and falling like ocean waves. Here and there, white, gleaming fur protruded — as if behind that iron curtain, some enormous creature was breathing.
"Tiny lizard! You stand before Zod, the last of the Behemoths — an ancient fury before which mortals tremble! One of the Seven Beasts of Cataclysm! Kneel!!!"
An explosion of aura slammed me into the ground. I felt my scales about to crack, blood streamed thickly from my nostrils. The air itself thickened, crushing me. The second head fainted. I knew I couldn't give up now — not when I was so close to the exit.
I had the feeling I stood before something that could kill me by sheer will alone. If six more such beings existed… perhaps it would be better to grow old in a cave.
Brazenly, I lifted my head and looked.
I saw the clearest inscriptions since my birth — large, thick, pitch-black. I swallowed.
Species: Silver Behemoth
Evolution Stage: King of Behemoths / Cataclysm Beast / Lord of Monsters
Level: 189
Threat: DEADLY
Do such monsters really exist in this world?!
"Who are you?! What is your name?! Why aren't you running?!" he asked.
What could I say? I couldn't exactly say that I came from another world and didn't fully understand why I was here…
"You're from Earth?!"
I froze. I had forgotten he could peer into my mind. How did he know about another planet? How could he possibly know?
"In my lifetime, I sometimes encountered people summoned from Earth!" he thundered. "None ever matched my might, but many became legends across the continents!!!" Now he spoke aloud, his voice echoing through the chasm. He pondered for a long time, and I didn't dare interrupt. "But very few were reborn as monsters or beasts!!! You are perhaps the fifth case I know! What is your name?!"
Oskar Zelek — that was my name on Earth. But I didn't want to return to that past. Sadness filled me as memories of wasted decades surfaced.
"Artax!" I said, making it up on the spot.
"Artax?! Hm!!!"
The Behemoth examined me thoroughly, but did not question it.
I felt him withdraw most of his aura. For the first time, I could breathe freely.
"Where am I? What is this place? Why are you wrapped in these strange chains covered in papers? Even they radiate aura…"
Zod shifted, made a strange sound, then snorted.
"The Technique of Ten Thousand Seals and the Hundred Chains of Mountain and Earth!!! A single chain can bind an entire herd of cyclopes forever!!! Pff!!!"
"Who did this to you?"
Zod fell silent, then replied in a strangely embarrassed tone.
"Five hundred years ago, I got carried away and caused too much chaos in the north… My old acquaintance got very angry and sealed me in this cursed wasteland at the southern edge of the continent, to rot here in boredom!!! Pff!!! Can you imagine getting upset over such trivialities?!"
I would be furious too if a fifty-meter monster destroyed my lands. Still… what kind of being could subdue the King of Behemoths?!
The silence after my thoughts suggested that after withdrawing his aura, he stopped eavesdropping on my mind.
I considered leaving, but then I thought about helping him escape. He didn't seem like someone who wanted to kill me.
Zod quickly showed me my place.
"Thank you for that thought!!! I see a warrior in you — though a weak one for now!!!" he laughed thunderously, almost making my ears ring. The second head remained unconscious, though I felt my strength slowly returning.
"You are one of the few who did not flee from me!!! I respect that!!!"
It wasn't entirely true. I had wanted to run. For a moment. But the will to escape this place was stronger than fear. I didn't see a bloodthirsty monster bent on destroying the world. I saw someone unbearably bored, bound and sealed for five hundred years.
I knew what loneliness felt like.
"Will you be my friend?" I asked bluntly.
"What?! A mere lizard wants to befriend a Beast of Cataclysm?! HAHAHA!!! That… that is commendable!!! I admire such courage!!! I like you!!!" He laughed uncontrollably, the chains trembling with the sound. "I hope you'll visit me again someday, Artax!!! Head north and don't look back!!! Don't let winter catch you in these savage mountains… my friend!!!"
It was probably the first time anyone had called me brave.
We spent many hours talking. Zod told me about the Ancient Dungeon of Light and Sword where I was reborn, and about a civilization that flourished here thousands of years ago before catastrophe struck. He advised me to grow stronger quickly and return when I was ready. A long path awaited me — one I chose to follow.
"This is not a world for the weak!!! Here, the will of the strong reigns!!!"
The words echoed in my mind, bouncing off every nerve, every fiber of my body. I felt their weight, as if molten iron were being poured over my shoulders. And yet… for the first time in a long while, I did not flinch. I did not cower.
Eventually, it was time to part. I couldn't stay here forever — hunger twisted my insides, gnawing at me like a living thing. My tail struck the ground involuntarily, a restless rhythm mirroring my impatience. I had grown strong, but even strength could not silence the ache of emptiness, the reminder that survival demanded constant vigilance.
I began climbing the slope, my muscles coiling and uncoiling like springs, every step deliberate, every movement precise. But Zod stopped me.
"Wait!!!"
The air thickened, charged with a weight I could feel in my lungs, in the scales bristling along my spine.
"Each of the Seven Beasts of Cataclysm possesses the power to bless one who is worthy!!! It is not easily given!!!" Zod's voice trembled with intensity, shaking the very stones beneath my claws. "It drains life force, which takes time to replenish! But you… you did not flee from me!!! You did not break!!!"
Chains rang out, vibrating in harmony with my heartbeat. My claws dug into the slope. My chest rose heavily. I felt… noticed. Seen. For the first time in a long time, I felt approval, recognition… a spark of pride I could call it.
"I deem you worthy!!!" Light exploded between the chains, pure and blinding, pouring over me like molten gold. "I shall grant you my blessing!!!"
It struck me. Pain, burning and exquisite. Heat, pulsing and alive, crawling along every nerve ending. Power, raw and relentless, tearing through my body and filling every void I had forgotten existed. My blood roared in my veins, every muscle trembling as if it had discovered a new purpose.
My body burned from within, as if some divine sculptor was carving itself into me, marking me, shaping me into something greater than I had ever dared imagine.
"From this moment!!!"
Zod's voice echoed, vibrating deep within my skull, my chest, the marrow of my bones. "You shall carry the Berserker's Fury!!!"
I felt it ignite — my blood, my mind, my senses. For a moment, every nerve burned with the need for battle, for destruction, for survival. My claws itched. My teeth longed to rend. My very soul screamed!
And for the first time in so long, I felt pride. Pure, unwavering pride. I thought of every weakling I had once been, every desperate, trembling step I had taken… and now I felt strong. I had survived. I had endured. And I would continue to survive.
For a brief moment—
I felt like I could tear the world apart. Mountains, rivers, forests, armies… nothing would stand before me. My chest filled with something I hadn't felt in years: hope, confidence. The exhilaration of being alive, truly alive, in a body built to conquer.
Then it faded, the initial blaze of power settling into something steady. Something lasting. Something that would never leave me. I had grown stronger, my aura thickened, and my scales hardened. I felt like I could move mountains now if I wanted to.
I stood there, trembling, my heart pounding with excitement and awe. Changed. Marked. Alive in a way I had forgotten was possible. The blessing of the Berserker's Fury would reveal itself when the time came — when anger filled me to the brim…
I thought that now I was, in a way, bound…
To Zod, to this path, to this new strength… until the end of my days in this world, which I hope are still far ahead of me.