{Within the Grasslands, Near the Cave}
A soft golden glow spilled outwards, splashing the surroundings in a dreamy haze.
The dreary night shade seemed to split open from the magnificent rays that poured out from this mysterious black ball, its furry body soaked into the shadows.
Hidden away yet fully pulling at the boy's attention, 'Is there where I die?'
Oz was short of breath as the golden eyes continued to stare into his, a sight that he could confidently describe as the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen in his life, which would perhaps be the last thing he would ever see.
The boy could only smile to himself, laughing at his fate and the inevitability of his demise, 'All to end up here.'
He could feel the hairs on his body standing on ends as he stood there, now wobbly and barely conscious...
He mentally called to his little black box, and it responded, showing the boy in dire straits his stats as if a reminder of his powerlessness.
--
[Level Requirement Met, Evolve Available!]
[Level: 10]
[Realm: 1]
[Proficiency: Max]
[Bloodline: Available]
--
Finally, he humphed out, "Heh, so that's how it is." the golden orbs continued staring back at him.
A looming feeling of dread hung over him.
Just like with that pig, just like with those rats, Oz could only slowly exhale...
..
WHOOOSH!!
Oz turned and sprinted faster than he ever did before, stomping a pit in the ground as he dashed forward, blazing a path through the tall grass as he ran for dear life.
The curtain of the night shrouded the entire area, making the surrounding tall grass resembling whiskers as they rustled fervently in the silent winds as he progressed through them.
He could barely see in front of him, the surroundings meshed together in a fuse of dark purple and black, with the boy barely able to see his own hands as he ran forward.
The sky was bleeding, leering down on him with an eery aura.
10 minutes of running had gone by.
"Huff huff" the boy's haggard breath sang out against the quiet rustling of grass, yet things were strange.
He's still alive somehow, yet the surrounding tall grass has gotten taller and taller, almost resembling weeping willows as they drooped down, eyeing the young boy like a snack.
An uncanny aura floated through the air, and as sweat from running and nervousness dripped down the boy's forehead, an unexpected obstacle presented itself.
There it was, or rather he was...
A large figure stood amongst the increasingly large tall grass.
His build was round like a ball, with a large belly drooping outwards and his height soaring to over 6'7 (200cm).
Even in the darkness of night, his wild flowing red hair couldn't be hidden nor concealed by the shade, as spouts of fire leaked from his body, roughly illuminating his face to show a depraved smile, "Heya, newbay!"
Oz felt his heart palpitate as he saw the one individual in this damn world he wanted to meet least.
Yet the man grew nearer, not because Oz continued to run but as if some invisible force was pulling him towards this bastard of a human.
Finally, the man was only arms-length away, and the boy could smell the putrid aroma of blood and precum with a trace... of cinnamon?
"Hehe, I been waiting for this!" the pervert chuckled as he threw out a fist.
BAM!
Everything turned black.
.
.
.
Shfff...
Shfffff...
Shfffffff...
The sound of heavy footsteps, shifting fabric, and uneven breathing rang out.
The rancid odor of rotten eggs and iron permeated through the air.
Finally, Oz regained consciousness, albeit hazily.
"Mmm..." he shifted his body upwards as a soft, warm light stung his vision.
There Oz was, back in his shack at the Dung Den and on his bed.
"Ya finally up." a horrid voice called out, each synonym sounding moist like an indecent urge was festering.
There he was, as Oz fully opened his eyes to that dastardly pervert from across him, fully clothed, yet a lewd aura leaking through nonetheless.
Wheeezeee.
Wheeeeezeeee.
The strained breathing of the sweaty pervert across from him was the only sound to fill the awkward tension.
The darkness of night that leaked from outside into the patchy shack walls was chased away by the light of the flickering candles set up all over the room.
The door behind the pervert looked securely barricaded with no chance of escaping.
Before a thought of escape could even be formulated in the boy's mind...
STEP
STEP
With a series of movements that seemed much too fast for the man's size, he slipped through the shadows and instantly crossed the room.
His large meaty hands securely wrapped around Oz's throat and a tint of red spread in the boy's vision.
Wheeezeee.
Wheeeeezeeee.
The pervert continued his heavy breathing as sweat dripped from his head, "Ya know newbay..." the man licked his lips, "I've been waitin' for this awhile, hehehe."
As tears formed in Oz's eyes, blurring his vision, the man's grip continued to get tighter, causing the boy to struggle.
"Shhh, shhhh, don't struggle, don't struggle," the pervert chuckled out, "Just makes me wantcha more." he laughed as a large object rose from his pants.
With his other hand, the pervert reached down, unzipping his own pants all while Oz kicked and did his best to pry open from the sweaty bastard's unseizing grip.
ZIIIIIP!
'No.' Oz's eyes widened in fear and panic as he heard the most terrifying sound since arriving here, the pervert's lecherous red eyes giving off a lustful gaze as they stared into Oz's.
"Alright, newbay, I hope ya ready!" the man yelled out like announcing for a sports game.
Was this all just one big game?
'Nononono!' Oz internally screamed as his face began to discolor and his consciousness started to fade.
The bulging object began to surface from the side of Oz's bed to reveal itself, and it was...
A rat?
The head of a Furi-Rat was attached in between the man's legs, growling and roaring at him as fire spewed out its mouth, lighting the entire room ablaze.
BWOOOOSH!!
"Aaaagh!!" Oz yelled in agony as he began to burn alive, the pervert in front of him staring at him with a sickening grin as his hand stayed wrapped around the boy's throat, even as his flesh and bones melted from the intense heat, he refused to let go.
"Aaaaaagh!!" he was burning.
Burning for what felt like forever.
Finally, the smoldering flames went out, and then there Oz was, standing in a dark room alone, gazing around at the space that seemed to go on forever.
He glanced around, confused, feeling at his own throat for any marks or bruises, yet there were none, not even burn marks to speak of, 'Am I dead?'
Finally, the darkness dripped away, leaking down like washed-off paint to reveal the night sky once more, and in front of him was those golden pair of eyes.
Oz's eyes widened in shock, 'That whole time... this whole thing...'
As the boy continued to contemplate, he fell to his knees in exhaustion, 'My head feels like it's gonna explode."
The boy clutched at his skull.
The pulsating pain felt like some entity was hammering away from within, trying to break out.
Soft footsteps crunched across the ground, waking Oz from his thoughts as he gazed at the little creature that seemed to approach him with regal steps as if looking down at a peasant.
"Ughhhh!" the boy clutched his head pain once more.
The pain worsened as the creature got closer, "Huff... huff..."
'Maybe, it's friendly." Oz mused to himself as he looked at the approaching creature, throwing all logic out the window in hopes that he may survive this encounter.
SHOOOOOOOK!
A flash of black, no, that was no accurate way to describe it.
It was more so he couldn't see anything at all, just that he felt something moving.
'Yeh...' tears welled in the boy's eyes as he gazed down at his left shoulder, a baseball-sized hole now punched through, 'I'm gonna die.'
The beast in front of him continued pacing forward, only a few leg lengths away as to the horrid of the boy; it began to distort and morph its body.
Changing from a canine-like creature to a bipedal one that towered over him, standing at above 6ft.
Its body was like black water as it wiggled around within itself and to the horror of Oz, a voice called out, "I..."
The voice was raspy and strained like it was being played off an old cassette, yet the familiar voice struck fear in the boy's soul as it continued on.
"I'm gonna enjoy this, newbay."
Oz's eyes widened in shock and fear at the approaching entity.
The aura that leaked from it was like a contaminating sludge, sleuthing around slowly in hopes of devouring anything in its wake.
Yet, this wasn't the first time Oz had encountered this creature, nor was it the 2nd.
Funny enough this creature was the one entity he hoped to meet the least, finally, he pieced two and two together, "Y-you're..."
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