I desperately scanned the darkness to try to get an idea of where the overwhelming sense of predatory danger was coming from, but I couldn’t make out much other than the horse corpses around me and the trees looming darkly in the distance, surrounding the clearing. There was a small part of me that wanted desperately to believe that maybe since I could not see anything that the danger was just a figment of my imagination, maybe just like a child who was afraid of the dark in their own room, I was making up things that weren’t really there. However, no matter how badly I wanted to believe that idea, the feeling of dread and doom that filled my senses was too intense to be able to push away. Whatever was in the darkness was real and it had its sights trained on me, ready to make its move when it felt I would have no chance of escape. Unwilling to give it any chance to formulate more of a plan than it already had, I used the adrenaline flowing through my veins to roll over, push up to my feet, and start dashing as fast as my legs could take me towards where I was assuming the stone might be. I still was not at all certain if I was in exactly the right place, but if it was there perhaps I might have somewhat of a chance versus no chance if I stayed put any longer. My ankle burned in pain, crackling terribly as I forced it into motion despite the injury, I refused to favor it in any way as I ran even if it would mean I made the injury worse. The only thing worse than being the prey is having the predator know that you’re injured prey.

My stomach dropped to the pit of my torso as I leapt over the long neck bones of one of the horses, terrifyingly nowhere near where the rest of its body lay, and I heard a deep snarl followed by a hungry howl that was echoed by another beast hunting with it. At least two of them, somewhere behind me by perhaps a dozen yards, but that would not last for long. In this realm the kinds of feral beasts attracted to high magic areas were as deadly as they came in speed, ferociousness, and most dangerous of all, smarts. They probably were not even hungry, they were skilled enough hunters to get as much food as they could need and if caught my body would go uneaten for days, they hunted more because they liked the thrill of the hunt and the chase. If they had just needed a meal, they would have been on me before I had a chance to react. This chase was a game to them, but if they caught on that I was injured their instincts would take over and any willpower they were utilizing to not end the game too early would vanish. Another long, deep howl, off to the opposite side from the other two, they were trying to pincer me, make it so weaving back and forth would be ineffective and keep me on a straight line. I did not like the idea that they had a specific plan in mind, it was within the realm of their capabilities to set some kind of trap. If I wasn’t careful I might stumble into a roughly dug rut that would make me tumble to my feet and they would be on me in a flash. Problem was that I didn’t have the time to be careful and consider anything in front of me, my only shot at escape was to run blindly into the night and hope beyond all hope that a miracle happened.

The sound of snapping jaws and the wet, slapping sound of a saliva filled maw erupted from what sounded like right next to my ear, so close that I felt certain if I turned to look I would see their eyes staring directly into mine. Though I already felt like any strength I had been able to gain from the fruit earlier was long gone, the reminder that death was literally snapping at my heels spurred my run into a slightly faster pace. I pushed the burning pain running from my ankle to my hip far back into my mind and instead focused on wracking my mind for just what my plan would be if the stone were to come into view. Despite all my earlier attempts at trying to remember just what the stone was, I had not been able to figure out anything about it. I knew it was important and the key to traveling between realms, but the mechanism to how was a mystery and I didn’t think the beasts salivating for my blood were going to calmly wait by as I studied it trying to figure anything out.

Time and luck had run out, I let out a frustrated and terrified gurgle of a cry as a beast lunged at me from the darkness in front of me. Acting purely on instinct, I was able to collapse my body to the ground just in time to roll underneath the beast’s claws and fangs. The rocky ground dug into my flesh, tearing my clothing and in some places lacerating deeply into my flesh, leaving a trail of blood as I struggled to control my momentum to stop the roll and get back onto my feet. I heard the pack howl in triumph, their footfalls heavy as they drew close. My head swam as I finally was able to halt my tumbling and despite screaming in my head not to hesitate and get back up, my body was sluggish to respond. I was barely able to get an arm up in defense before the jaws of the first beast clamped down. To call it searing pain would be a gross understatement, blinding, white hot pain radiating through me, making the ankle injury seem insignificant and laughable that I had ever considered it a problem at all. It consumed my senses and for a moment I couldn’t help but wish that the beast would have mercy and move next to my neck and end me swiftly so the pain would stop. It had other plans though, it tore at my arm, clamping and gnawing as blood gushed from my shredded flesh, after mere seconds I felt a disgusting snap at my elbow and then nothing below the joint. The beast reared its head back, holding my severed forearm in its jaws like a trophy. The others howled in triumph and survival instincts took over through the pain and I used the brief moment of respite to roll away and begin to crawl with my remaining good arm.

Thanks to a surprising amount of luck, I only had to pull myself a few inches forward until my hand brushed against a stone that felt oddly warm to the touch. I knew instantly that I had in fact ended up in the right location despite all odds and that if I could just figure out what to do now, I might still survive. Hope blossoming, I pushed hard with my legs to draw myself up into a kneeling position and placed my hand firmly on top of the stone. I had no conscious idea as to what I was doing, it was like my body had muscle memory I was unaware of. For too long of a moment, nothing happened and fear once again overtook my hope, the snarling of the beasts had picked up again, having realized that their prey had dared to still try to fight for life despite being mortally wounded. Just as I was considering collapsing and giving into fate, a rending, tearing feeling exploded in my gut. My first thought was that one of the beasts had gone for a killing blow, but instead of feeling even more of my life ebb away, I felt a strange sense of overwhelming power and potential spill through my veins, rippling through my body and perfusing me with a strange and intoxicating sensation. Despite the fact my arm was gone and the stub that was left was horribly mangled and quickly bleeding out the remainder of my small pool of life essence, I felt unbreakable, unstoppable, and all powerful. A laugh crackled across my lips and burst out from me, echoing into the night so loud that even the braying of the beasts silenced and their approach stopped, staring at me in silent confusion. I stood, now unhindered by my previous exhaustion, and turned to face them.

The darkness no longer mattered to me, I saw them as well as I could had they been illuminated by the bright noon day sun. They really were disgusting creatures, somewhat like wolves but obviously influenced, maybe mutated, by the latent magic of the area. Their fur was slate gray, coarse, and matted over a vaguely canine frame with hips far too muscular, jutting out from their bodies unnaturally. Long, deadly talon-like claws adorned their oversized feet and their saliva-coated canines stood out from their snouts more like tusks than useful teeth. To further the mutated appearance, their eyes were almost laughably tiny, like mere dots set far too deeply into their giant heads. In the mouth of the closest one to me was my arm, the edge of which was still slowly dripping blood. I looked down in surprise at the shredded waste of my elbow, with the new feeling expanding through my body the pain had been completely pushed aside and I had forgotten it was gone. Without thinking, I pushed my will against whatever it was flowing through my body and the bleeding instantly stopped, the ends of the flesh knitting together into a neat, smooth wound that even the best doctor would have been envious of. I did not feel that it was currently within my capabilities to do any more than close it up and speed up healing, though I got a sense that if I had a bit more experience with whatever it was I had unlocked within myself, it might one day be possible to replace or regrow the limb.

The beasts, perhaps responding to the unnatural healing of my wounds, whimpered and stepped back, dropping my arm in the process. I briefly considered retrieving my arm, but considered what a hassle it would be to have to carry it around and explain why I was keeping hold of my severed arm. In the grand scheme of things, I did not think it would matter all that much whether I had the original flesh or not and opted to just let the creatures have their fairly won prize. I bowed my head to them and stepped back, touching my heel to the stone and sending my will in a burst of power through the contact and into the material. In an instant the world around me swirled and spun, then cleared once again, leaving me in another empty field, this one feeling entirely devoid of anything particularly special. I assumed it had to have been the human realm, I had made it and I was safe, though I no longer was even certain if I needed to run. With the way I felt now I was fairly confident I could have gone toe to toe with a demon. Still, it was probably for the better, while I felt invincible, I still had no clue how to do anything with this new found power and everything had been done on instinct rather than conscious thought.

With my mind aflame with new possibilities and the desire for a hot bath to wash off the blood that stained practically every inch of my torso and legs, I set off in the direction of where I was certain the closest village would be. I smiled a bit as I imagined the horrified reactions I was going to get as a stranger strutting into their village seemingly horrifically hurt but in good spirits. I was going to make my introduction to what I assumed was my home realm with a splash of dramatics. For some reason that deeply pleased me.