Ha… ha… ha…
Pash breathed lightly, his chest rising and falling as he ran and leapt from rooftop to rooftop. The ruined city blurred beneath him — jagged towers, skeletal houses, streets half-swallowed by creeping vines.
It had been a week since they were transported here, and his training had officially begun. Tobi was supposed to teach him how to wield G-Force, but the old man had postponed it.
According to him, "The mind's power means nothing if the body can't handle it."
So Pash trained his body first — running, climbing, fighting, surviving.
And now, his body had fully awakened.
He was faster. Stronger. His reflexes razor sharp. His senses so heightened that even now, he could hear the faint crack of sound that had come from over a kilometre away.
He grinned as he bounded across a half-collapsed roof. "I'm loving this feeling," he murmured to himself, a smirk curling his lips.
He was bare-chested, his well-defined torso glistening under the afternoon sun. His tattoo gleamed faintly, etched across his left shoulder like a coiled flame. His only clothing was a pair of dark, worn trousers — his shirt had been preserved for emergencies since they had no spares.
Their daily routine was simple: morning training, hunting in the evening, rest at night. They'd even found a small water source — a spring hidden behind thick undergrowth not far from their hideout — clean enough to drink from, and far enough that beasts rarely wandered near.
On one of his scouting trips, Pash had even discovered a map — dusty, half-torn, tucked inside the ruins of a local library. It wasn't perfect, but it gave him a sense of direction.
"I'm almost there," he said as he slowed at the edge of a rooftop. Below, the area stretched into what must have once been a residential zone — rows of half-collapsed houses standing shoulder to shoulder like ancient sentinels.
He crouched, then launched himself forward.
Whoosh!
The wind tore against his ears as he soared through the air. For a moment, he let the breeze wash over his skin, the sun warm on his face — freedom.
Then—
SWOOSH—!
BAMMM!
Something slammed into him mid-air.
Pash's body was sent flying, crashing through a shattered window and slamming into the dusty floor of an abandoned building. Debris exploded around him in a cloud of grey.
For a few seconds, silence.
Then a groan.
"Ugh… that was close," Pash muttered, slowly pushing himself upright.
A trail of blood ran down his wrist where glass had sliced into it, but otherwise, he looked fine — more bruised ego than body. For someone who had just been knocked out of the sky by a freight-train-sized object, he was remarkably intact.
He staggered toward the window and peered out.
And froze.
Down below, slithering between the cracked asphalt and lampposts, was an anaconda — except calling it that felt wrong. Its body was as thick as a car, scales glinting green and black. Its coiled length stretched far beyond where Pash could see.
The creature raised its head, uncoiling slightly.
HSSSSSS!
The hiss reverberated through the empty street.
"So that was what made the noise," Pash muttered, narrowing his eyes. The impact had been fast — too fast. He'd barely managed to twist mid-flight, or he'd have been paste on the wall.
He studied it again. "Should I take this one on… or just head back? It's strong, but not Kaiju-level."
Kaijus were massive, near-mythical monsters — towering creatures that dwarfed skyscrapers. This snake, though terrifying, was still small compared to those legends.
Pash's gaze fell on the mangled body of what looked like a giant gorilla lying nearby. Its chest had been crushed inward.
"Guess it already had a fight," he muttered. "Probably why it made that sound."
He clenched his fists, his pulse quickening.
"The snake's already weak from the struggle… I can take it. We'll be having snake soup tonight."
The creature's tongue flicked, tasting the air, its slitted eyes locking on him.
HSSSSS!
The sound rattled windows.
Ignoring the warning, Pash bent low, his muscles coiling like a spring. Then —
FWUUM!
He launched himself from the window, streaking forward like a black blur.
The snake reacted instantly, its massive tail whipping through the air like a steel cable.
WHOOOM!
Pash dropped low, sliding along the cracked concrete just as the tail whistled above his head.
BAAAMMM!
The impact obliterated a tree, splintering it into fragments. The recoil made the serpent flinch, its muscles twitching in brief paralysis.
That was all the time Pash needed.
He drove his fist into its body — once, twice, thrice — each blow cracking through the air like thunder.
The snake recoiled, its body rippling violently under the hits.
But it wasn't done.
With terrifying speed, its tail lashed around, wrapping tightly around Pash's legs. Before he could react—
BAM!
BAM!
BAM!
He was slammed repeatedly into the ground, the air bursting from his lungs. Dust exploded around him as concrete cracked beneath the impacts.
His head spun. This was a bad idea.
Then came one final, bone-jarring slam.
BOOM!
The pavement cratered beneath him.
He lay there dazed, every nerve screaming. His body refused to move. Even with his awakened strength, pain pulsed through his skull in blinding waves.
The snake loomed above him, tongue flicking. It hissed low, almost satisfied, and began to slither closer.
It was done playing. Time to eat.
The creature's coils slid over Pash's legs, wrapping upward around his torso, pinning his arms to his sides. Its weight pressed down like an avalanche.
Creeeeak…
His bones groaned under the pressure, bending but not breaking — not yet.
"It seems… I'm still not ready," Pash wheezed, struggling to breathe. "How can the fate of the world rest on me when I'm getting my ass handed to me by an overgrown python? Shit!"
He had hunted plenty of beasts over the last week, learning the limits of his new body. But this was beyond anything he'd faced.
SQUEEEZE!
Pain shot through him. "Argh! I can't die here! That old man'll laugh at me for eternity!"
He tried to struggle, but his strength was fading. Then — an idea sparked.
Wait… that's it.
If he could partially transform, even a small piece of his body, maybe he could escape.
He remembered what happened days ago — he'd injured himself during a hunt, gotten angry, and his nails had elongated briefly, sharp like claws. It hadn't lasted long, but it was something.
If anger triggered it then… maybe I just need to push harder.
But the snake wasn't about to wait for him to figure it out. Its body tightened again.
CRACK!
A sickening sound as one of his ribs gave way.
"ARGHHH!" he screamed, biting down on the snake's scales — but his teeth barely sank in.
Come on! Focus! he thought furiously, locking his mind on his canines. Transform… now!
Nothing.
The serpent's coils tightened further. His vision flickered.
And then — something inside him snapped. Not a bone this time — but something else.
His heartbeat thundered in his ears. The pain fed his anger, his anger fed his focus. The edges of his vision burned red. His eyes darkened, glowing faintly — crimson light bleeding from the pupils.
The snake pressed harder. SNAP! His arm broke at the elbow.
Pash roared in agony — and then his canines elongated in a flash, sharp and curved like daggers.
He didn't hesitate.
He bit down — hard.
CRUNCH!
The fangs sliced through the creature's scales, tearing out a mouthful of flesh. The snake screamed — a shrill, piercing hiss that echoed down the street — and instinctively released him, flinging him aside.
Pash rolled, hit the ground, then caught himself before colliding with another wall. He stood, breathing hard, staring at the serpent as it writhed and coiled in pain.
He spat out blood and flesh — but then something strange happened.
The taste hit him. Metallic, warm… intoxicating.
And then the instinct — raw and primal — took over.
Before he realised what he was doing, he chewed the meat and swallowed.
The moment it slid down his throat, a surge of heat exploded through his body. His shattered bones realigned with wet snaps, muscles tightened, and the bleeding stopped almost instantly.
He looked down at his hands, flexing them in disbelief. "Whoa… that's new."
HSSSSSSS!
The snake lifted its head again, eyes burning with fury. The bite had struck deep, and it had hit its reverse scale — the one place serpents considered sacred. It had gone from predator to enraged monster.
It lunged, maw gaping wide enough to swallow him whole.
Pash moved first.
SWISH!
He darted aside, sliding across the cracked pavement, narrowly missing the snapping jaws.
Then it became a blur — the serpent striking again and again, the air shaking with every miss, while Pash rolled, dodged, flipped, each movement sharper, faster than before.
His blood was boiling — literally and figuratively. His body felt alive in ways he couldn't explain.
But he knew he couldn't keep this up. His breathing grew heavy. I can't keep dodging forever, he thought, diving behind a broken wall as the snake's tail smashed the ground where he had stood.
Chunks of debris rained around him.
"I need to transform again," he muttered, clutching his fists. "This time — my hands."
He closed his eyes for a second, drawing in the chaotic energy swirling inside him, trying to summon the same rush that had changed his teeth.
His pulse pounded. The sound of the snake slithering closer filled the air, its hiss echoing through the hollow streets like a death rattle.
He exhaled slowly, his focus narrowing.
Come on… just like before.
The ground trembled as the serpent reared its head for another strike — and Pash's eyes snapped open.