The creature's maw snapped shut on his left arm and all of his senses were thrown into disarray due to blinding and deafening agony. He was able to feel the thing's teeth digging through his flesh and bone. Immediately after, his limp body was lifted and shaken like a ragdoll- violently forcing him from left to right and back again- as it tried to tear his arm off. When he managed to open his eyes, thanks to the adrenaline numbing the pain, he was dangling off the thing's mouth a few meters above the forest floor. He could feel his arm no longer. Through half-lidded eyes, he looked at the creature. A crimson liquid covered its teeth and stained the fur around its mouth in a dark shade of brown.

The creature didn't move an inch as they made eye contact. Black, pupilless eyes that never left him, not once, during their short encounter. And what pissed Alexander off the most was that, clearly, not a single thought was going through its mind. It was merely following its instinct. He had no chance of reasoning with it. It was a hungry beast, nothing more, and he was its prey. He formed a tight, trembling fist with his right hand. At the very least he would cripple this beast's ability to hunt, so perhaps any other unfortunate soul who encountered it afterward might have a better chance of surviving.

As if the creature sensed his intentions, it began to shake his head again with incredible force. However, this time he was conscious enough to analyze its rhythm as he waited for his chance to strike. Before long, he saw his opportunity.

Mustering up every bit of strength he had left into this attack, he felt the blood rushing through his veins and his right arm growing hot. This would be his last act of defiance. He smiled amidst the exhaustion and pain.

As he was about to swing, the creature let go of his mangled arm. The momentum carried him closer to its head, but… it moved. He realized with growing concern- 'Is it trying to duck!? To avoid my attack!?' He couldn't stop now. If he missed, it was over. He ceased his line of thought and reached towards it. As soon as he felt the surprisingly soft fur touch his hand, he grabbed onto it.

The creature noticed and shook its head more frantically than before in order to send him flying, but he didn't let go, ignoring the burning strain on his forearm. It launched several vicious bites but thankfully missed every single one as he stayed out of reach. He shifted in place and managed to wrap around his legs around its neck. At that moment he had stolen the initiative. And he wasted no time to attack.

Alexander lifted his arm and punched. Though, he didn't expect its head to be so incredibly tough and solid. A gut-wrenching crack followed, echoing through the forest.

Both he and the creature roared. Alexander punched again, and again, and again, and again. After a while, the creature stopped making noises. Then, after that, it stopped moving altogether. When his senses returned to him, he was still sitting atop the bear-like thing, but they were way closer to the ground than before. Also, he realized that the bear no longer had a head. His fist was deep inside a mushy mess that did not resemble a head whatsoever. Horrified, he plucked it with some difficulty, as the substance refused to let go. He didn't have the strength to stand, but he dragged himself away from the carcass. Its stench was worse and he gagged every time he caught wind of it. 'How… How did this happen?...' He placed his back to a tree and flipped over to assess the situation.

How was he still alive? He shouldn't have the strength to- Oh, right. He was no longer human. Was this a demon's strength? He stared at his hand completely covered in grey matter and blood and shivered. When he made contact with its skull and realized how hard it was, he thought that his hand had broken. But that noise didn't come from his hand. It was its skull shattering. That wasn't possible. How did it take his first blow then in the first place? Why didn't its teeth shatter?

He turned to his mangled arm and to the trail it left behind as he dragged it. His forearm was bent in two different ways and had several deep, open wounds from which flowed fresh blood mixed with the thing's leftover saliva. That was a serious problem. He had no way of treating the damage. Though, it probably explained why he felt so dizzy. Still, it presented him with a contradiction. If his demon body was so strong that his right arm could beat that thing's head into a pulp, literally, then why was his left arm in such a bad shape? Perhaps the bear's teeth were strong enough to withstand the force, while its skull was weak in comparison. When he noticed what he was thinking about, he laughed. A broken, whimpering noise that sounded painful. 'Why does it matter? I'm going to die either way. Whether my left arm or my right arm is stronger doesn't change anything,' he thought, slowly bleeding out. Even if he had barely survived, his fate was sealed. He allowed his head to rest on the tree's trunk and stared ahead. 'Did I make the right choice?', he couldn't help but wonder, 'Did I even had a choice in the first place?'

The possibility that the mysterious girl had messed with his brain to affect his choices was too likely. However, although he wavered at first because he was afraid of dying, in the end, he stayed true to what he believed in, he stayed true to himself. And he gave away his life for it. That proved that he was still Alexander Pierce… right? These precious memories belonged to him, didn't they?

"You did great, sweetie," a warm voice said and he froze. There, standing in front of him, was Anne, his mother. She looked exactly like he remembered her. Her long brown hair, that serious expression that contrasted heavily with her kind, honey-colored eyes. She wore an oversized dark hoodie that surely wasn't hers, a skirt and black boots. That was how she usually dressed. Identically.

"Mom…?" he said, unsure. That wasn't possible. His mother was… But wait, could it be? Could it be that she got transported to this world as well? No way. There was no way.

"It's okay, I'm here now," she said, the same way she always did. He couldn't hold back his tears anymore, "Shhh, it's alright. I'm sure it's been tough. I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you, but I am here now."

Then… if his mother was here, then, could it be…?

"That's right, bud," a man said to his right. He turned and saw Louis, his mentor, his dear teacher, standing with his back to a nearby tree. He also looked exactly how he remembered him, down to the black hat on his head, his brown coat, and his white beard, "I always knew you had great intuition, seems you've sharpened it. I'm proud."

"I'm here too, Teach," said a young girl with a very familiar voice. It was Elba, his student, but this time her hair was black instead of multi-colored. She smiled shyly, "I don't know what to say, but I'm glad you're here. I knew you'd come."

His throat tightened and not a single word was able to escape his mouth. There was just so much he wanted to say, so much he wanted to talk about, so much he needed to express. It was overwhelming. He wanted to tell his mother that she didn't need to be sorry, since he understood it wasn't her choice to leave and that he loved her; he wanted to tell his mentor how much he appreciated his teachings and what he had learned thus far; and finally, he wanted to apologize to his student for not being there when she needed him the most. Then, the wound on his abdomen burned in protest and suddenly he was alone. There was no one around him. His eyes widened in realization. A couple of seconds later, the figures returned.

"Sweetie, come on. Let's go," his mom said, extending out her arm. His mentor and his student were already walking away.

"Hurry up or we'll leave you behind," his mentor said.

They were walking towards the clearing. That's right, even if they were not real, he had said that he would rather die with a beautiful view. Using the tree as support, he stood up with great difficulty. His mom stared at him and tilted her head with her classic unreadable expression.

'It's time to rest, isn't it? I did my best. Somehow I punched a super bear, not once, not twice but multiple times,' his stomach churned, 'I won. Somehow I won. I fought to the very end. Hey, aren't you proud? Isn't it enough…? Don't I deserve a little bit of respite? I want to… see them again. I want to hug them. There's so much I want to tell them. It's time.'

"Teach?" his student said.

'I already gave my all, there's nothing left of me! I'm okay with dying! I'd rather die than deal with whatever that weird girl throws at me!' he thought as he limped towards his destination.

"Come on, bud, that's not the way," his mentor said.

'Why won't you go with them!? Why do you cling so fucking hard to this life!? You'll die either way! Just turn back!' Alexander screamed at himself mentally, but his body refused to obey. He had to live. He couldn't go back.

"Sweetie," his mom said, clear worry in her voice, "You've done enough. It's time to rest. Please, come with us. Please."

He staggered but stopped his fall thanks to a rotten log using his working arm. He grimaced as his tears fell freely, but he continued without turning back. He kept walking until their voices didn't reach him. He could barely keep his eyes open. His vision was too blurry. The blood didn't stop pouring. It hurt to breathe. Yet he kept walking.

'Left step, right step. Again. Again. Again. Left step, right step. One, two, one, two. Left step, rig-' his knee suddenly gave out and he fell face-first into the dirt. He groaned. He pushed himself off the ground on his trembling right arm, but failed midways and fell once more. He dragged himself until he didn't have the strength to lift his arm. Then, he cursed, 'Damn you, you weak piece of trash. Damn this miserable world. Damn the bitch that brought me here. I'll kill you, I swear. I'll destroy this place.'

Finally, his eyes closed.