Chapter 7: Monster

Chapter 7: Monster

“I’m bored. Did you bring any cards?” James asked tiredly. It had

been hours since dusk, and the plain was still empty. The two

guards were nearly done with their shift on the watchtower, but

boredom had settled in a while ago.

“No, I didn’t. Now shut up and focus on the plain,” the other guard,

Henry, told his partner. The two of them already had a difficult time

getting along with each other, and it was only exacarbated by the

fact that they had to work the night shift with each other.

“Rude...” James muttered to himself. He climbed back onto the

platform, watching the plain absentmindedly. The older man behind

him sharpened his sword quietly.

It’s fine though, only two hours left until our shift is over.

“What are we even watching for? The outpost’s fortified quite

heavily, and it’s not like the people in this world are capable of

destroying a whole fort in one move,” James asked.

“Don’t be naive.”

“I’m not being naive though. So far we’ve only encountered a few

outworlders from outside of our outpost, and all of them have said

the same thing; the people in this world are weak-”

“Shut up.”

“Who do you think you are?! Telling me to shut up-”

“I said shut up! Look over there!”

Henry’s finger was pointed at something in the field ahead of them.

James followed his line of sight, and saw it.

Henry’s finger was pointed at something in the field ahead of them.

James followed his line of sight, and saw it.

A large stone disc was slowly moving through the field. It had

emerged from the forest nearby, causing them to almost miss its

presence. Its movement was almost nonexistant, but every couple

of seconds it would lurch violently, and make some progress. They

stared at the stone disc in silence.

James was the first one to break the silence:

“What is that thing?”

“I don’t know... it doesn’t seem to be anything we have in our

catalogues. It could just be some strange animal we’ve never seen

before, or something hostile.”

“Should we go check?”

“If it gets any closer to the fort one of us will have to go. But for

now, let’s keep an eye on it. As long as it doesn’t come near here

we’re fine, and the best move would be to avoid engaging with

something unknown.”

They returned to watching the strange creature. The stone disc was

the only visible part on it, and James couldn’t help but wonder what

was beneath it.

“Hey, it’s getting closer,” James said to Henry.

“You’re right... I’ll go-”

“No. I’ll go do it myself,” before Henry could stop him, James ran out

of the watchtower, leaving him behind to watch whatever happened

next.

______

The grass in the plain was taller than the last time James had gone

The grass in the plain was taller than the last time James had gone

out. It was quite different than his homeworld, and some of the

blades of grass were sharp enough to stick themselves into his

leggings. He pushed past them, ignoring the flashes of pain, until he

was fairly close to the stone disc.

Now that he was closer, he could see that the stone disc was

covered in extremely detailed engravings, but from his angle it was

difficult to see them well. The stone disc was still moving forwards,

and he circled around it to get a better look.

The moment he saw what was beneath it, James pulled out his

sword in fear.

An armored man lay beneath the stone disc, hoisting it up with his

arms weakly, and slowly moving forwards. But what terrified James

was the man himself.

Armour covered almost every visible part of his body, all of it burnt

and mangled into the man’s very flesh, and the parts that weren’t

covered by armor were burnt to a crisp. The helmet was particularly

horrifying. There were no openings or slits for breathing or seeing.

Instead, all of the metal had fused with his face, leaving a bloody

mess.

James stared in horror as the man ignored his presence, and

continued walking forward. The stone disc was enormous compared

to him, but it didn’t deter him in the slightest.

What... is this?! I’ve never seen anything like this before. Should I

report back? He kept his sword at the ready, but was still too

stunned to know how to react.

He seems to be harmless. I guess if we leave him alone he’ll go

away to... wherever he’s heading.

He seems to be harmless. I guess if we leave him alone he’ll go

away to... wherever he’s heading.

Suddenly, the man beneath the disc stopped moving, and began

roaring in pain. James took a step back, watching as the man tried

to push the disc off of his back, only for it to fall down on him and

crush him to death.

Blood seeped from beneath the disc as James stood there, still

holding his blade up.

Oh no.

A chill ran up James’ spine, the blood had reached his feet, and was

still flowing from beneath the disc. In his panic, James dropped his

sword and began running away from the disc.

A shadow loomed over him.

Even though his mind was telling him not to look back, he did.

The stone disc was rising from the armored man’s corpse, and flying

up rapidly. James couldn’t help but watch in fear and awe as it

reached higher and higher, until it settled at a point in front of the

sun.

Slowly, the disc began rotating in the sky. As it rotated, it also grew

larger, covering up more and more of the sun as it moved.

The sun was completely covered now. No light could be seen around

the plain anymore, or anywhere else for that matter.

James watched the eclipse in the sky, unsure of what to do next.

Time felt like it had gone still, but he knew for a fact it hadn’t.

In place of the sun, an eye appeared. It stared blankly at the world

beneath it. The plain was bathed in a warm glow of red from the

eye’s iris. A deep red liquid seeped from the middle of the iris, and

beneath it. The plain was bathed in a warm glow of red from the

eye’s iris. A deep red liquid seeped from the middle of the iris, and

then escaped from the eye.

A large glob of blood fell in front of James. Some of it fell on his leg,

and burnt right through his skin. The injury finally snapped him out

of his terror. He got back up and began running to the fort.

As he tore through the field, James took another look up at the sky.

Now, the eye itself was no longer visible. The blood had covered it

completely, and was pouring down endlessly. The field was

beginning to look like something out of a nightmare.

James was getting closer and closer to the fort, but the blood was

right behind him. In a few moments it would close in on him, and

melt him to death.

I don’t wanna die!

Something prickled at the back of his feet, and James realised it

was too late. The blood melted right through his shoes, and turned

his feet into mush. Losing his balance, James fell down onto the

ground, and felt the blood rushing up his chest and face, ripping the

skin and flesh off of them. Some of it flowed across his back now,

submerging James in the sea of blood that had engulfed the field.

______

In less than half an hour, a human outpost was completely wiped off

of the map. In its place was a scarred chunk of land.

Some outworlders attempted to find any signs or remains of the

outpost, and spent days searching. Yet, despite their best efforts,

they turned up with nothing. Some theorised that a mythical beast

like a dragon had decimated the area, but no single explanation

added up. In the end, the outworlders decided that no single

added up. In the end, the outworlders decided that no single

explanation would suffice.

Unbeknownst to them, something had survived the destruction.

______

The armored man carried the stone disc on his back. He had no

destination in mind, but eventually, he would repent for his sins.

A vague memory waved through his senses, of a man holding a

sword, watching him, but he ignored it. The world around him had

died long ago, and his mind would continue to play tricks on him, to

tempt him away from repentance.