A hand clawed its way out of the grave. It groped around before pulling its entire body out of the shallow tomb.
He wore a white linen shirt stained with dirt. Loose black trousers and a necklace shaped like a raven's head. His black hair was disheveled, and his eyes glowed reddish—like the sky overhead.
He stared at the tombstone before him, engraved with a name—Kaelan Veradis.
"Is this… my name?"
He wasn't sure if it belonged to him or someone else. All he knew was that he had risen from a coffin bearing the name Kaelan Veradis.
"What happened? I… I don't remember anything." Kaelan held his head, vertigo kicking in as he tried to recall.
It felt like a thick fog was blocking his mind, almost preventing him from remembering.
"I rose from my grave? That's impossible."
It was hard to imagine someone who had died clawing their way out of their own tomb. Yet, that was exactly what had happened to Kaelan.
Kaelan couldn't recall why he had been buried, nor why he had risen.
Even the name "Kaelan Veradis" might belong to someone else. Yet there was an undeniable sense of familiarity—a whisper from his soul telling him it was indeed his own.
Kaelan surveyed his surroundings. The sky was a pale red, the moon round and faint. The world around him was dark, but not blinding. A sense of unease lingered in the air.
The trees were pitch black, corrupted. Their leaves brown and withered. The soil was not entirely barren, yet the vegetation grew in strange ways.
Some plants arched into half-circles, spiked, or even grew parallel to the ground.
Everything appeared alien. Even with his amnesia, it felt strange not to recognize his environment.
"I need to find a city first."
He felt fear and anxiety, yet his decision was rational. Better to seek help than wander alone in search of answers that might not exist. He think its a good choice.
Kaelan descended the mountain, learning about the terrifying surroundings, a familiarity tinged with dread brushing against his senses.
As he reached a denser area of trees, a shadow emerged from the foliage. Kaelan tensed—he didn't recognize this environment.
Anything could happen here. Yet he cautiously approached. He moved slowly, hiding behind stones and trees until the shadow became clear.
It was humanoid, standing still. Relief washed over him—at least it was another human.
Kaelan approached, "Um, excuse—"
He froze mid-sentence. The shadow was human, but not entirely.
Its upper body was human, but faceless, lacking eyes or a nose. There were holes where its ears should be, and a mouth.
Its lower body was far stranger—an enormous belly two meters wide, with teeth and jaws like cleavers.
Its legs were human-like, but slightly larger and longer, and multiplied like a spider's. Its flesh was brown and decayed, swarming with maggots.
A foul stench of rot emanated from it. Its massive mouth chewed on something, perhaps a large animal bone.
Kaelan froze in terror. He covered his mouth and held his breath, hiding.
A horrifying monster! How could such a creature exist in this world?
Though Kaelan remembered nothing, his soul recognized certain truths. Yet this monstrosity was undeniably alien.
"…Help."
He heard a human-like groan. Peeking closer, he realized the grotesque monster was pleading for help. Its voice came from its humanoid torso.
Terror gripped him. He intended to leave, but accidentally stepped on dry leaves, making a noise.
The creature turned sharply toward him. Though it had no eyes, its hearing was keen.
"HELP!" it screamed, moving toward him.
Kaelan took a step back, then ran with all his might.
This was no human! What disgusting creature was this?!
Never in his worst nightmares had he imagined such a monstrosity. Yet he refused to succumb to fear as he ran.
The monster chased him frantically. Despite its massive size, it was fast and relentless.
"Groar, help!" it continued screaming, perhaps a lure to attract prey. It barreled through trees and rocks, unrelenting.
"Why is it so fast?!" Kaelan cursed under his breath, focusing solely on escape.
He threw rocks and branches, but the creature seemed undisturbed.
It continued chasing, toppling everything in its path. At one point, it bit into a tree and spat debris toward Kaelan.
"Damn it!" Kaelan fell hard, pain shooting through his body, especially his left leg.
"Argh!"
He saw the monster closing in slowly, almost mocking his struggle.
He grabbed a nearby branch and swung it.
"Stay away, you disgusting—!"
His efforts were futile; the monster advanced. Kaelan trembled as it closed in step by step.
He searched desperately for a way to escape, but there was none. His leg was injured, he couldn't flee, and he had no means to fight.
Was this the place he would die? He had just crawled out of his grave!
"Groaarrr!"
The monster roared, ready to devour him whole. Kaelan froze as the massive, putrid jaws loomed over him.
Then he heard the sound of someone running toward him. The next moment, the creature was slammed aside.
A muscular man with tanned skin swung a massive hammer, sending the monster flying. He ignored Kaelan completely and charged at the beast.
"Orraaa!" he roared, hammer swinging vertically.
The monster sank into the ground like a giant stake, yet it writhed and tried to free itself.
Its body began to swell and writhe like a worm, lunging toward the hammer-wielding man.
"Bow down!"
A woman's voice yelled. He obeyed, lowering just as a sword sliced past his head, cutting a tuft of brown hair.
The sword aimed at the human-like portion of the monster. With a clean stroke, it split the creature in half, rendering it immobile.
"You almost cut my head off!" the hammer-wielder, Reynold, shouted, gripping the hair he had lost.
The woman wore tight leather pants and a sleeveless top with a fang-shaped necklace. Her gaze was sharp, her face beautiful and flawless.
Her thick eyebrows twitched, "When fighting a Big Eater, you target its human-like torso. That's the basic knowledge we've been taught."
"I aimed for it, it's just your head happened to be there. That's why I told you to duck, Rebecca."
Reynold's reply was tense, "If I hadn't, you'd have killed me!"
Rebecca widened her eyes, staring strangely, "But you did duck in the end. No point arguing about what didn't happen."
Reynold opened his mouth to reply but held back, realizing it was pointless.
Rebecca's gaze wandered back to the unfortunate man who had almost become the monster's meal.
Kaelan froze, eyes fixed on the now motionless creature. Relief washed over him—he would not return to his grave so soon.
His gaze then landed on Rebecca and Reynold approaching him.
"T-thank you for saving—" Kaelan couldn't finish his sentence as Rebecca's sword landed sharply in front of his throat.
Her gaze turned icy as she spoke, "What are you doing outside the walls? Who are you?"
She continued firing questions, her stare sharp.
"No… the answer is probably obvious."
Rebecca withdrew her sword, pressing it against Kaelan's throat. Her eyes full of hatred, as if staring down an arch-nemesis.
"Who are you? Are you an Outcast?"