Surrounded

Since it appeared the forest had always been a dangerous place

HISS!!!

And the attempts of the humans to tame the wilderness that it represented were… to a farmer might seem successful. But for those that had to go inside to deal with the creatures and monsters in it…

Crunch!

It was a nightmare

In the months that Miriam lost control of her body, even if she remained unseen, rumors about the existence of a brutal beast started to spread

Every human was told to not make rumors about the forest… but it was impossible to stop everyone from commenting about the recent blood splatters, loud horrifying hissing, soil turned into spikes and the suspicious lack of corpses…

While nothing got wasted in there, trackers were usually capable of finding something. With this… creature… it seemed to be intentional, in what was left behind… and they only could tell how vicious the thing was

Some believed that it was a mad human, because the forest refused to answer to the contact of the priests that went there. Few knew, that not even in the temples, the gods acknowledged any question about the mysterious beast…

Starting the rumor that it was a monster from beyond the Line, that found a gap out of it, and had survived the last attack. A rumor that died after the confirmation that all creatures, were now fighting against the monsters instead of just avoiding them, became public

Leaving the idea of a magical creature, that devoured nearly everything, after brutalizing them in combat. Something whose hisses froze the soul of anyone, except those who had incredible courage, and somehow it remained unseen

Even after another sweep on the north side of the line, was organized and executed, earlier than normal. The only thing that was “odd” for the humans, was a Giant Spider that escaped the hunt, but that creature didn’t ate every part of its prey, leaving behind their dry husks, so it was dismissed as the culprit

And for those that said it was a snake. They admitted that it ate too much, and too often to be one…

If only they knew…

/////

All I see is darkness… I can’t move… I can’t feel my body… why…?

/////

Miriam’s body had tracked and hunted an insect, when another smell caught its attention, the vibrations getting closer made it Imbue the body parts, that were used to combat already

It was a smell the body recognized

Hiss

And called for it, knowing that this one wasn't going to run away like the others

S-SQUEAL!!!

It was the same boar that had “helped” with the monster attack weeks before, finally locating the snake and ready to charge at it… but when the boar saw the, now bigger, white creature… it hesitated with fear…

And the boar’s instinct, told it something new: to run away

The snake silently sunk its arms in the ground, making the horned boar ignore the warnings and charge

SQUEAL!!!

As it ran, the beast used its head to dig a chunk of dirt and throw it to the snake, it was to avoid the pink cloud that made it unconscious before, but the dirt quickly flew back to its face

OINK?!

And it used its tusk to swat it away. Receiving another pink cloud to the nose

O-OINK?!

The boar was confused by the tiredness that struck it, the urge to sleep was stronger than before, but the snake wasn't done

HISS!!!

With a loud rumbling sound, the ground to the side of the boar pushed it down to its side. Where the dirt threw it forwards, and then again to the side, before turning into a bed of spikes, digging painfully on its hide, barely perforating the boar’s hide

SQUEAL?!!

HISS!!!

The last thing it saw were the blades of the snake, and the snake’s body, glowing red-

SLAM!!!

Crack!

Before an impact that broke the boar’s neck. Miriam’s body hissed loudly, before using magic and new blades to break the corpse into smaller pieces to eat

Only leaving behind the head, because her Instinct still helped the body, making it avoid the sharp tusks and horns

Something that the humans, used as evidence to tell that it wasn't a normal human hunting: those were the more valuable parts of those creatures

/////

I can’t move… did I… died…?

That can’t be… I remember how… it felt… this is different…

This darkness… it isn't like the mist… I can’t feel me, or… my body…

/////

With time, Miriam’s body moved to the south, reaching the Line and stopping

That particular area of the forest was a long, yet small, cliff that extended from further west towards the east. The river where she had been fishing for days was roughly to the middle of it

Reaching the cliff the stream turned into a waterfall, and almost ten meters below joined another river, that was wider, slowly traveling to the east. Beyond that, towards the south, the forest kept going beyond what she could see

A sea of trees…

But the body lacked the mind to appreciate the view, nor it was interested in the enormous stones, that had an Eye carved into them, nor it paid attention to the pillars that held protective roofs above them, that the humans had made in the past

The Line of Terror Stones, extending from coast to coast in the peninsula where the forest had appeared long time ago, kept countless creatures away from the humans to the north, it was meant to make a safe paradise for the people on that side. While keeping any dangerous creatures behind the Terror Stones…

But in reality… one day the trees suddenly appeared, hiding what was happening on the other side of the Line…

And letting the Rulers of Death, an other grievous creatures multiply and develop rampantly in it

Before humankind could realize their mistake, flying creatures appeared from the peninsula, causing uncountable destruction and death, something that led to the foundation of the Shield Against the Forest and many other things in an attempt to fix the place…

But for now, the mindless body was chasing the smell of a lizard, unaware of the true nature of the place…

Nor aware that the lizard found it first

Crackle!

HISS!!!

Miriam’s body was struck with a short burst of lightning on the left side, causing it to seize in pain, and bursting the scales on the impacted area

Once it was over, the snake fired a dart to the bush where the lightning came from, but the lizard had already moved away

Crackle!

HISS!!!

Launching another attack at it, that damaged the right arm in the same way as the side. Miriam’s body hissed and fell to the ground twitching, before getting struck with another discharge that blinded the right eye of the mindless body

HISS!!!

The snake fell motionlessly on the ground… and the lizard came closer from behind a tree, waiting for any sign of movement from the terrifying snake, but as it remained bleeding on the ground… the lizard got closer-

HISS!!!

And a spike from the ground beheaded it

Miriam’s half blinded body followed the smell of the blood, and while feeding of the lizard, it used the healing magic that it was capable of, to repair the eye and the bleeding of her body…

But unlike Miriam’s mind, the body didn’t tried to repair itself completely with magic, letting many of the wounds it had acquired with time, become scars as they healed naturally

All because healing them fully, made the hunger far worse…

/////

“She was hot, and remained hot after giving birth! What other reason do I need?! Go and play, I’m trying to watch TV…”

You bastard…! Don’t you see how hurt is Max now…?! I can’t wait for us to be free… to be myself… need to save them… need to save them… from them…

Why it’s so dark…?

…

Us…?

/////

More time passed, and the internal clock of the body advanced, releasing a smell that the mindless state of it, barely noticed…

But made a lot of reptiles to be aware of it… specially snakes…

As a Xetnoxraqia, Miriam was compatible with a surprising amount of other species in the forest

At night, a nocturnal snake tracked her sleeping body, and after a reproductive dance, this green snake took the stillness as acceptance and got closer-

Crunch!!!

Providing the surprised body with a midnight snack…

It lasted for a short time, but all the suitors ended in the same way…

/////

I… can… feel…?

Something is different… there is a pressure in my head… and is thanks to this feeling that I finally know where my head is…

Head, neck, arms, torso… tail… I’m surrounding… a sphere of light…?

This light is illuminating me… the darkness outside of the ring that I’m making, looks absolute and impenetrable… surrounding me… and the light…

Where did this light came from…? Can I touch it…?

…?!

The darkness moves… it isn't going to harm me… I don’t know why I’m… so sure of that…

Hiss!!!

But I know it wants the light…

Stay away!

HISS!!!

/////

But before those months that Miriam was lost in the darkness, while her body had made sub-optimal progress…

Almost everything that had happened so far, ended as a waste of time…

Aufiea had called her lucky

SCREEEEECH!!!

And even if Miriam disagreed, every other god was of the same opinion as the First Mother

The day she evolved, she challenged back at one of the Rulers of Death

And it attacked after roaring again

…

On that moment, the body froze with fear for a second

…

On the next second, it started to flee as fast as it could move

…

Ignoring the hunger, that started to torment it

…

Trying to survive-

BOOM!!!

A projectile made of ice, bigger than the car Miriam’s previous family had, impacted the center of the clearing. At that speed and apparent mass, a natural impact would cause more damage than it did, but…

Even if the arrogant mind of the Ruler wasn't afraid of the trees, fighting them until they stopped bothering it, took a lot of time in the past…

So, the magic projectile it used, only sent part of its energy down to the impacted ground, the rest moved away from the center of the explosion, with the aim of killing creatures

Unless a tree got hit directly by the ice, the barrier they could make was enough to avoid the damage of the murderous shockwave

Miriam’s body feeling death approaching, made a wall as the projectile struck the ground. The meager protection it offered, as the impact turned it to dust. Together with how far away it was from the center of the impact, were the things that let it survive after being thrown away, crashing against the barrier of a nearby tree

Regurgitating blood due to the internal damage it suffered. Ready for a coup de grace…

That never came…

Because the prideful Ruler had no idea of what to do…

Every day after the massive beast got the title of Ruler of Death, he had roared at the weaklings of the forest, killing those that dare to move against his will…

It took ten days for most creatures, excepting some defiant or mindless beings, to follow his will, and as he got more and more accurate at longer, and longer ranges, he had started a Deed that promised great rewards if he could kill over a thousand living beings, from so far away on the top of his mountain…

The day before, he had managed to get an impressive boost in that number, because even if some monsters had survived (mostly due to the sheer amount of them, blocking the impact for the ones behind) that attack had killed something

He had lost his streak of one hundred years… due to this inferior creature (that at the distance he could only see it as a white line) that for some reason, survived…

One of his attacks failed to kill a singular thing…

It was something that he, one of the few creatures that boasted the earning of the title, by killing the previous one, found impossible… and it had happened mere moments ago…

He folded his wings to his sides and looked at the smaller mountain on the distance. The older ruler that lived there wasn't visible, nor anything was burning or melting, so he couldn’t have seen the attack missing…

The other younger and smaller ruler, that lived between the trees was so low below, that also must have missed the fact, that the last attack didn’t kill anything…

…

In fact, since he was still standing outside of his cave, wasn't he showing that something was wrong…?

With that kind of thought, the enormous furred beast moved back inside the cave, thinking that even if the white line survived, he could do the Deed again…

But having to fire twice…?

While the other two beasts, that dared to boast the same title that him, were alive…?

Never…

And so, Miriam survived… not because her own power… but because something else was too prideful to kill her…

Somewhere else, De was suffering the worst thing that could happen to her… but she still laughed at how fucking lucky the girl was…

/////

My threats come from me and everywhere around me, at the same time, keeping the darkness away…

Go and eat something else!

HISS!!!

With that last threat, the darkness finally seems to move further away from me… but it’s still close…

I look around… I don’t see any detail, just me and the light…

I… shouldn’t I be able to see the… green crystal…?

Isn’t that what the dreams meant…?

Dreams…

I look down… my hands… the white of my scales looks… painted…?

And I have the empty outlines of thumbs on my hands

Dreams…?

I look at the light… there is something… about it…

Something… foreign…

-----

I… I’m on the ground…?

‘Ugh…’ the forest… is a bit blurry… but still looks like it did before… not a single leaf on the ground… with tall trees around… ‘It feels… like midday…? Ugh… why do I feel so… ow… in pain…?’ I lift my head, pushing with my hands against the ground ‘Eh…?’ all the scales in my arms… are damaged deeply… or twisted into what I can only call a scar…

There is a big one in my right arm…

‘Blood…?’ there is the smell of blood, close by… surrounding me… coating me… behind me there is a pile of… meat… I don’t know what kind…

But the one that gives this bloody smell… is me…

‘What…? Why-?!’

‘EH?!’