Through the Rifted portal, a body laying on the ground.
Around him were piles of dead Havocs, their twisted forms scattered like discarded carcasses.
Heavy, uneven breathing broke the silence. His chest rose and fell violently. His brows tightened in anger, his mouth open as he gasped for air.
Memories flashed inside his mind.
"Grassth—!"
"RUN!"
He jolted awake.
He shot upright from the ground, eyes wide.
"Kgh! Kgh!"
Coughing, he puked a lot of waste. Dizzy, his eyes blurred for a second before clearing.
"Why am I not dead?" he asked as he raised and analyzed his hands before standing up.
"Ack!"
A sharp pain stabbed through his head. He winced, clutching it. His vision blurred. The color of his eyes shifted violently—black, then red, then back to normal.
"What happened to me? As far as I remember…"
"I was the first to fall and the creature in front..."
"stabbed my..."
"chest..."
He tried to steady his breathing.
As he slowly looked down at his chest, his heart skipped a beat, nervous from seeing it. He blinked and saw that his chest had no hole anymore.
"What?"
"I'm pretty sure i was pierced by the hands of that—"
"Havoc"
He coughed as the smell grew stronger. The air inside the strange environment he was in felt heavy. Suffocating.
He looked down.
The ground wasn't normal soil. It was dark and thick, almost like flesh mixed with mud. No trees. No grass. Only dim light and crawling black smoke that drifted through the air.
"What is this place?"
"Strange sights, this isn't my world"
He looked at his surroundings, which were weird and strange.
He began walking through the smoke, one hand covering his nose while the other waved through the darkness to clear his path.
Then he heard it.
His Footsteps.
Wet.
Heavy.
A sound like blood shifting.
His hands began to shake wildly; as the heart beats the same way.
"Why am i feeling nervous...?"
"Is this hell?"
As he walked forward, the thick smoke began to thin.
In the distance, he saw four towering pillars. They stood high and aligned, spaced evenly apart. In the center, stones floated in a slow circle.
And within those stones—
A mass of human flesh, crushed and fused together.
His body froze.
He quickly hid behind a massive rock to his right. His breathing became unstable. His anxiety spiked higher.
He vomited.
"WHAT IS THIS?!"
"That is not real!"
"am i dreaming?"
"Those are massive corpses stacked on each!"
He threw up again.
Then—
A terrifying footstep.
Each step caused the pillars to vibrate. The ground trembled.
He peeked slightly from behind the rock.
Two massive figures approached.
One was grotesquely large and heavy.
The other was slim and unnaturally tall.
They spoke in a gibberish language. The slim one let out a loud, distorted laugh that echoed across the pillars.
His heart pounded violently. His hands trembled harder.
The two creatures began eating the neatly cut human bodies. Each bite cracked and crunched. Blood poured down like a small waterfall.
He couldn't believe what he was seeing.
His fear grew deeper.
But then he remembered what really happened to him.
He was dragged inside the rift.
"I was stabbed and dragged along the rift"
"While my comrades only standing there watching while i was getting dragged away!"
Tears formed in his eyes.
"I'm… scared… I can't move… I need to escape."
He slowly moved his foot backward.
It slipped.
A sound echoed.
"Damn! I messed up—!"
The eating stopped.
He quickly stood up and hid behind the massive rocks. Then he covered his mouth tightly with both hands.
Silence.
His terror doubled. He struggled to stand but slipped again on the muddy blood. He turned and ran back into the thick smoke.
Behind him—
A vibration.
Slow. Heavy. Approaching.
The smoke began to thin again.
He slipped once more and fell into the wet, blood-soaked ground. He turned around and began crawling backward.
And then he saw them clearly.
The two massive monsters stood before him.
One was bloated, covered in random limbs protruding from its body. It had four large eyes and a massive mouth that stretched down to its stomach. Spikes formed a collar around its neck — but they were part of its flesh.
The other was slim, its mouth split vertically down to its chest. It had one eye on its face and multiple eyes embedded along its arms.
None of those extra eyes blinked.
His face trembled. Tears streamed down. His body shook uncontrollably.
They both screamed.
The sound crushed the air around him.
He lost control. Warmth spread down his legs.
The creatures spoke again. The gibberish began to make sense. Slowly, disturbingly, he started to understand it.
Their voices echoed with layered tones, deep and distorted.
"Human… how did you get here?"
The massive one leaned closer, its breath foul and suffocating.
He tried to speak.
"I–I was—"
The slim one instantly mocked him in a high, echoing tone.
"I–I was—"
Both of them burst into laughter.
The massive one leaned forward slightly.
"Scared? Do not be. We don't eat humans alive… if they still have consciousness."
The slim one quickly cut in.
"But we do eat them alive if they're annoying."
"Especially the ones with too much pride who try to fight back."
"Though they're usually too weak to do anything."
The massive one glanced at him.
"You really hate pride, don't you?"
The slim one smirked.
"I do."
"Trying to fight the strong when you're pathetically weak? Ridiculous."
"Though this one…"
He looked down at the trembling human.
"He's different. He is terrified."
Grassth was forced to speak to the terrifying giants.
"I was dragged in this world!"
"it wasn't my faul—" "it wasn't my fault!"
The slim one tilted his head.
"Oh… I see you we're dragged? are you sure?"
The massive one answered calmly.
"Well to be fair that human isn't here to challenge us."
"I wonder why the lowly havocs dragged him along here..."
"HIHIHI"
"it is fair, since i don't feel any threat in him, it is just a weak puny huma—" the slim giant said.
"P-please… let me l—"
Before he could finish, the slim one suddenly split his leg open with a sharp motion.
"We were speaking. Isn't it rude to interrupt?"
Grassth screamed loudly.
"GAHH!"
Blood spread across the ground as his hands desperately grabbed his torn thigh. His cries echoed through the empty land.
"Ngh… hhk…"
"Please"
"Please let me live...!"
The slim one inhaled slowly, a low growl escaping him as a foul scent filled the air.
"You're being annoying. Where is your patience?"
"Weren't you terrified?"
The massive one chuckled.
"No. HE is terrified, he's just desperate now."
"And desperation makes them… delicious."
"SCHLICK!"
The massive one licked his mouth with craving.
Without hesitation, Grassth turned his fear into anger to also ease his pain.
"You evils!—"
The massive one blinked.
"Evil?"
He looked at the slim one.
"Us? Evil?"
They both laughed loudly. The massive one even clapped his hands while the slim one held his stomach.
"This is nature," the massive one said.
"It is normal for us to hunt you weaklings." He gazed intensely at Grassth.
"What about humans?"
"Aren't you humans evil too?"
"You fight each other instead of uniting. You start wars."
The slim one added,
"Pride. Greed. Lust. Some of you are clean. Most are not."
"There is no perfect race."
"You betray each other. Funny enough, you even tried to conquer our world."
He leaned closer.
"And you failed."
Grassth's face was pale. He was shaking, broken both physically and mentally.
The massive one continued,
"Our world? You call it a dimension."
"To us, it's just a another country."
He raised an arm toward distant pillars.
"You're not the first human here."
"The others? Your so called heroes are greedy bastards."
"They even tried to build a base here. See those pillars?"
"That's your technology."
He exhaled.
"So what should we do with you? Send you back? Or eat you alive?"
"I—I—"
Before he could finish, the slim one cleanly sliced off his head. It rolled across the ground.
"Of course we kill him. What were you thinking? Letting him go after seeing our world? Giving humans another advantage?"
The massive one growled.
"You idiot! He said he must be betrayed by his comrades."
"We could've used him. Give him our knowledge."
"Let him hate his own race!."
The slim one paused.
"Hmm. Maybe. But what if he becomes strong?"
The massive one went quiet.
"If he becomes strong… he might fight us too."
The slim one shrugged.
"There are only a few possessed by the Sovereigns."
"We need to grow stronger if we are going back to crush their so called heroes, also the kingdoms"
The massive one turned away.
"Enough. I'm hungry."
The slim one was about to follow when he froze.
He called the massive one.
"Meeroth… look."
The massive one named Meeroth turned.
"What—"
Floating above the corpse was a glowing essence, waving in the air.
Meeroth's eyes widened.
"W-What? He was possessed? How?"
"His essence was broken! Broken… broken?"
A deep voice echoed from Grassth's severed head.
Its eyes opened.
One pupil glowed red. Half of it burned orange. The other eye stayed black.
Grassth's limbs slowly came back to him like magnets, each one healing as it reattached.
"HA HA HA!"
"Dead... Again!"
"This child is pretty unlucky in his decisions"
"Embarrassing."
Meeroth stepped back.
"That voice… I know that voice."
The slim one, named Vreekloth, whispered,
"It is an ancient! I thought he was dead!"
"He still alive?!"
The ancient inside Grassth spoke in front of the massive Havocs.
"Still Asking yourselves of why am i still alive!"
He stared at the two massive Havocs and pointed at them.
"Shut your mouths before i devour each of you!"
"Even though i am in this weakened state, i can still bring you two down!"
Both of them suddenly knelt in front of the ancient sovereign.
"O' The worse terrifying sovereign!"
"We kneel and greet with respect to the sovereign!"
As they both praised and spoke to the ancient, they held their stance and stayed still.
"I see, i am glad you two understand the state."
Meekroth spoke, "How can we be of service?"
The ancient spoke, "What about keep this as a secret?"
"Never speak about this nor mention everyone that i am back."
Meekroth spoke, "Ahh yes yes—"
"We can do that O' Sovereign"
"Mhm, Thank you." the ancient said.
The ancient turned around and raised both of his hands toward the blank space.
Blood from his skin began to float away. Then, electric currents mixed with blood in the air, twisting into a portal.
He looked annoyed.
"Why is this body so weak, i couldn't make a portal much earlier and passed out while fighting that havoc..."
The portal stabilized.
The ancient jumped through.
"Wait what?!"
"I didn't notice! this isn't the world i must go too!"
As he fell from the sky on the other side, he growled,
"This body is so weak, it couldn't even control where the portal sends me!!!"
The portal flickered.
Meeroth and Vreekloth peeked through before it closed.
Meeroth muttered,
"What a lucky human… to be possessed by one of the strongest ancient Havocs."
And then the portal vanished.
Meanwhile, as the ancient's vessel fell from the sky, it moved its hands in a circular gesture over its chest, trying to awaken its power. Sparks and zaps flashed, but nothing worked.
It screamed in rage.
"ARGH! This cursed body! I can't even open a single fragment of my power!"
As it shouted, fatigue took over. Grassth's consciousness was clawing its way in.
"Time's up… oh well. I'll find another vessel after this one. Die." Its eyes blinked slowly, then closed.
The body spun in the air, landing back-first toward the earth. Clothes caught fire from the speed. In the distance, an island rose from the ocean.
The impact hit with a thunderous crash, creating a crater. The ground vibrated, trees swayed violently, and the forest echoed with the sound.
The body survived, though its heart pumped weakly. Skin had discolored, limbs were fractured, bones broken again.
face twisted beyond recognition.
Silence drifted in, only broken by the wind brushing through leaves and grass.
A nearby river whispered as water ran past. Its broken form lay close to the riverbank.
Night fell.
Animals and insects circled, tempted to feast on the corpse, but the gristly skin held firm. Slowly, the azure of the vessel began to regenerate.
It breathed, faintly at first. Heart rate quickened. Pale skin regained some color.
Days passed. Scars formed and faded. Bones remained fractured, brittle, unhealed.
Then, finally, the day came. It woke. Voices echoed in the distance.
"OOORAAAH!"
Earlier, in the war waging against the Havocs in the Kingdom of Veylith.
"SCHNK!"
"SWISH!"
Screams. Flesh tearing. Commands shouted.
Heavy breathing.
"HAAAAHH!"
"ORAAHH!!!"
War cries of battle echoed through the field.
"Fall back, everyone! we're getting outnumbered! wait for the reinforcements!"
Soldiers went backward as they fell back. Many Havocs began to overcome the front of the army.
"Tsk!"
"There are too many of them!"
"RUN!"
The ground began to vibrate and shake.
"Huh?!"
"GIANTS!"
Giant Havocs began bursting through the front army, crashing everyone in sight.
"AAAHH!"
A woman soldier shouted as she closed her eyes when a Havoc lunged at her.
"SKRRR!"
A sword blocked its way, scraping into the Havoc's teeth.
"Grassth—!"
"Quickly Elena! run to the backlines!"
"URGH!"
As Grassth had just saved a woman named Elena from getting killed, he fought with the Havoc.
"Hey you foul fuck your breath stank!" "SKRCH!"
"Huff" "Huff" "Huff"
Breathing heavily after killing the Havoc, he began to fall back as well into the back lines of the army.
TWANG! TWANG! TWANG!
The sound of arrows being released and shot.
WHIZZ! WHIZZ! WHIZZ!
"Great! the reinforcements are here!" Grassth said.
Marching through the battle to fall back, Grassth hurried to go back.
At the garrison, Grassth made it back to their base, walking through the barracks and seeing wounded soldiers around him. Their limbs were bleeding; others had been chopped off. It was an expected result of battle.
After a brutal battle, Grassth made it into his tent, grabbed a pouch, and drank some water before removing his armor.
"Agh—! This heavy armor"
"Hah... huff huff"
Dropping it to the ground, he sat on the ground bed inside his tent and rested.
"Hey Grassth!"
He turned his head toward the outside of his tent. Then he saw a tall girl standing outside, waving at him.
"Oh elena..."
As he started to stand, he was interrupted by her.
"No its okay ill come in"
Elena entered his tent.
"Is it okay for you to be here? This tent has tight spaces." Grassth spoke with concern for her.
"It is alright, anyway! thanks for saving me earlier." Elena said softly and kindly.
"My pleasure but are you alright? that havoc almost got you there."
"Ahh— Yes i am fine, i got stunned there because of the giants crushing through the frontlines."
"I see but next time stood more firmly in your ground"
"Yes grassth"
She smiled at him.
Grassth blushed, turning his face to the side.
Elena giggled softly.
Far away from his tent, some people stood watching both of them having a good time.
"Tsk."
"hey hey hey what now, Are you jealous?"
"I'm not!"
"it alright because his time almost come."
"Are you sure you captured a havoc?"
"Yeah a big one"