Sabir trudged forward with no sense of direction, the barren landscape stretching endlessly around him. His muscles ached from the strain of the recent fight with the forces inside him, but there was no time to dwell on the pain. He was alive—miraculously healed—but utterly lost. The sky above was an oppressive gray, with no sun to guide him, no landmarks to follow. Just endless sand, jagged rocks, and the occasional dying tree.
“Zabo! Warren!” Sabir’s voice echoed across the desolate plain, swallowed by the silence. His throat burned, but he pressed on. “Maize!” He screamed, hoping to hear a reply, but there was only stillness. Each shout felt more hopeless than the last.
That’s when he saw it—a long, serpentine shadow cutting through the sky. Sabir froze, his heart leaping into his throat. His eyes darted upward, squinting against the bleak horizon. There it was: the black dragon. The same creature that had chased him earlier, its massive wings casting dark blotches on the land as it soared overhead. The air crackled with power, and Sabir could feel its presence like a chill seeping into his bones. High above, the beast circled, searching for something.
Taking no chances. Sabir ducked behind a massive rock, using its size and the shadow it cast to conceal himself. His breath was shallow, every muscle tensed. The dragon’s wings flapped heavily, creating gusts of wind that stirred the surrounding dust. He watched with wide eyes, barely daring to breathe. Its dark scales shimmered under the dim light, its jaws lined with teeth that could tear him in half without effort.
Sabir stayed hidden, pressed against the rough surface of the rock, waiting. Each second felt like an eternity as the beast circled overhead. But eventually, the dragon shifted, veering away, its massive body shrinking into the distance as it flew toward the horizon. Sabir let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding, sagging against the rock in relief.
“That was close,” he muttered to himself, wiping the sweat from his brow. His mind raced as he replayed the encounter. The Limbo was a playground compared to this. This wilderness, these creatures—they were beyond anything he’d ever imagined. The dangers in Limbo seemed almost trivial compared to the dangerous monsters that lurked in every corner.
Sabir crouched low behind the massive rock, his breath shallow, eyes locked on the sky as the shadow of the black dragon passed overhead. He counted the seconds, willing the beast to move on, his heart pounding in sync with its heavy wingbeats. As the dragon finally disappeared beyond the horizon, Sabir exhaled, his body sagging with relief. His mind raced, replaying the near escape. He couldn’t afford to be caught out here, not without a plan, not with creatures like that hunting him.
Just as he was about to step out from his hiding place, a sound froze him in place—a faint rustling, barely audible over the wind. His muscles tensed, every instinct screaming at him to stay still. That sound. It was wrong. It wasn’t the wind shifting sand or stones settling. But something alive. Something breathing.
Sabir’s blood ran cold.
Slowly, cautiously, he turned his head, trying to pinpoint the source of the noise. His senses sharpened as the rustling grew louder, more urgent, and his pulse quickened. It was coming from behind him. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, a primal fear clawing its way up his spine.
“No.”
His hand shot down to his side, fingers grasping for a weapon, but found nothing but empty air. A wave of dread surged through him as his fingers curled uselessly. He was unarmed.
The rustling intensified, and Sabir spun around, his movements sharp and frantic, eyes wide with anticipation. His mind screamed at him to move, to run, but his feet felt rooted to the ground. Before he could even process the full weight of what was happening, something shot out from behind a nearby cluster of rocks.
A wolf.
It was lean, its ribcage visible through its matted fur, its eyes wild with hunger. It was big, at least five feet in height, and nearly six feet long. Its snarl revealed jagged teeth, stained with blood. Sabir froze, his mind flashing back to a memory he’d long buried.
Cynthia. The wolf. The attack that almost killed him when he was younger. He remembered the way his sister had shielded him, the way she’d fought off the monstrous creature with a fierce, desperate strength. He had been powerless back then, a helpless child cowering behind her as she fought for both their lives. The memory of her bravery made his chest tighten with guilt—and fear.
That wolf had become a symbol of his weakness. The inability to do anything himself. A constant reminder he was a dud. Now he was facing a similar monster once again, but this time, his sister wasn’t around to save him.
This wolf, though—this one was different. It wasn’t as muscular as the one from his past. In fact, it looked malnourished, its body weakened by starvation. But it was still dangerous, its movements sharp and predatory. They circled each other, eyes locked, waiting for the other to make the first move. Fear gripped Sabir’s heart, unsure if he could defeat a monster that haunted his nightmares.
Sabir’s pulse thundered in his ears, each heartbeat like a drumbeat spurring him into motion. His fists clenched tightly, his knuckles white as the surge of adrenaline coursed through him, setting every muscle in his body on edge. He could feel the raw power thrumming under his skin, but his mind was torn between fear and the instinct to survive. The wolf, its fur matted and filthy, bared its yellowed fangs, lips curling back in a vicious snarl. The low, guttural growl rising from its chest sent a shiver through him—it was a sound born of hunger and rage, a predator’s promise of violence.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
Without warning, the creature lunged.
Sabir’s world narrowed to that single moment—the gleam of teeth, the flash of movement as the wolf sprang toward him with savage intent. He could feel the rush of air as it closed the distance between them, its muscles coiling and releasing in one fluid motion. Time slowed. Sabir barely had a heartbeat to react, his body moving on instinct alone. He threw himself to the side, his boots scraping against the dirt as he twisted, the sound of snapping jaws ringing in his ears. The wolf’s teeth missed his face by mere inches, the hot breath of the beast washing over him as it landed where he had just been standing.
The ground seemed to tremble beneath him as he hit the dirt, rolling clumsily to avoid another attack. His chest heaved as he scrambled back to his feet, heart hammering against his ribs. Sabir’s mind raced, adrenaline sharpening his senses, the weight of the fight pressing in from all sides. Every nerve in his body screamed for him to run, but the wolf’s eyes locked onto him with an unyielding hunger.
He scrambled back to his feet, panting, his body shaking from the close call. The wolf circled him again, pacing, waiting for another opportunity to strike. Sabir’s mind raced. He couldn’t outrun it. He had to fight. But how? He had no weapons, no training for this kind of close combat. He was trapped.
Another lunge. Sabir sidestepped, narrowly avoiding the wolf’s claws. His heart pounded louder, the rhythm thundering in his ears. And then—something happened. As the wolf lunged again, Sabir’s chest burned with an intense heat, and he felt a sudden surge of strength course through his body. An energy that seemed to pump with bountiful power through his body, that left him almost unable to breathe. Yet his senses seemed to sharpen, his muscles tightened, and his vision cleared.
The wolf came at him, teeth bared, and this time Sabir didn’t dodge. He moved with a speed he didn’t know he had, catching the wolf mid-air. His hands clamped onto the creature’s jaws—one on the upper jaw, the other on the lower.
Time stretched thin, each second an eternity as Sabir tightened his grip around the wolf’s jaws. His hands were slick with blood and fur, trembling from the pressure, but the beast’s feral strength pushed back. The wolf’s muscles bulged and rippled under its mangy coat, its teeth gnashing mere inches from Sabir’s arms. Hot breath, rancid with the stench of death, blew across his face. He could feel the heat of its struggle, the desperation in its snapping maw as it fought to tear him apart.
But something deep within Sabir stirred—an unearthly force, raw and violent. It ignited inside his chest, searing through his veins like molten fire. His heart hammered against his ribcage, the pounding filling his ears as the strength welled up from somewhere buried inside him. It wasn’t just adrenaline; it was something more primal, more dangerous.
His vision sharpened, the edges of the world turning red as his grip tightened, fueled by the savage energy coursing through him. The wolf snarled, thrashing wildly, but Sabir didn’t let go. He could feel its bones grinding beneath his hands, the strain in its jaw as it tried, futilely, to snap his arms. But Sabir was stronger now—far stronger than he had any right to be. A deep, guttural roar ripped from his throat, vibrating through his chest as he leaned into the pull, his muscles burning with unnatural force.
The wolf’s eyes widened, wild with panic, as Sabir tore. A sickening pop reverberated through the air, followed by the horrific snap of bone breaking under sheer pressure. The wolf’s jaws split with a grotesque, wet crack, the skin tearing, blood spraying out in torrents, hot and thick, drenching Sabir’s face and chest. The taste of iron filled the air as gore spattered across the ground, the creature’s tongue lolling uselessly from its ruined mouth.
The wolf let out a final gurgling whimper as its body twitched violently, then fell limp. The fight drained out of it in an instant. Sabir stood there, panting, his hands still locked on the wolf’s mutilated head, now split grotesquely in two. The beast’s body collapsed in a heap at his feet with a wet thud, blood pooling around its lifeless form, soaking into the dry earth.
Sabir staggered back, gasping for air, his chest heaving as the surge of power slowly ebbed away. His hands trembled uncontrollably, still slick with the wolf’s blood, the warm liquid dripping from his fingers. He stared down at the corpse, his mind reeling, struggling to comprehend the brutal violence he had just unleashed.
The force that had powered him, that had turned him into something savage—it had come from deep within, from a place he hadn’t known existed. It was terrifying and intoxicating, and it left him shaken to his core.
The wolf lay at his feet, its skull torn apart, its once-menacing form reduced to a mangled corpse. Blood stained the ground, mingling with the dust, a stark reminder of what he had just done. Sabir looked down at his blood-soaked hands and trembled. Was this strength his own? He couldn’t help but think back to that ancient cave, where that voice rang in his head.
Was this what the voice gave him?
He wiped the blood from his eyes, still panting. The adrenaline that had fueled him was slowly ebbing away, leaving him shaky and disoriented. The wolf lay in a pool of its own blood, its head twisted at an unnatural angle, its eyes vacant and lifeless.
He had done it; he had conquered his fear.
Sabir took a step back, his heart still racing. The rush of power he’d felt—it was unlike anything he had ever experienced. His mind was reeling, trying to make sense of it all. He could feel something coursing through his chest, a boat on rocky water. It constantly shook, reminding him of this unknown force in his body. But before he could even process what had happened, he heard something.
A noise. Faint at first, but growing louder. It wasn’t the sound of another creature. It was mechanical—something unfamiliar, yet menacing. The ground beneath him vibrated as the noise grew closer, a low, growling hum that sent a chill down Sabir’s spine.
He spun around, searching for the source of the sound. It was coming fast, whatever it was, barreling toward him with a relentless speed. Sabir’s pulse quickened. His mind screamed at him to run, but his body refused to move, locked in place by a wave of fear and exhaustion.
The sound grew louder, almost deafening now. Sabir clenched his fists, blood still dripping from his fingers, his heart pounding in his chest. He did not know what was coming, but he knew one thing for certain—he wasn’t safe. Not yet.
The roar of the approaching force filled the air, and Sabir’s eyes darted around the barren landscape, searching for a place to hide. But there was no cover, no escape. The noise was closing in, and whatever was coming would be upon him in moments.