Outworld: Awakening

"God... Please I don't want to die.. Mr. Vicar? Please help me! What did you do to my body?!" Adam screamed as he went through wall after wall.

'Why is this happening? Is this some kind of dream... Huh?'

Just as this thought filled Adam's mind, the scenery distorted again. This time, a star-studded night sky greeted his eyes, and the moon's silver radiance fell on his body.

"What? How is that possible?" Adam muttered, his gaze lingering on the moon; however, there were two of them.

Before Adam could gather his thoughts, a great force overwhelmed him; within seconds, his floating body descended at a frightening speed.

The quick transition from flying to falling left Adam confused and scarred. No matter how much he tried to move, his body failed him. Although he fell through the clouds, Adam did not feel wet. Rather, he was too busy screaming and futilely grabbing at the air.

Unlike before, he fell face first, with the howling wind crashing against his face. Each time he bombed through a cloud, he hoped he would wake up on his familiar dark room, on his king sized bed. That Vicar, Korgrath, and everything had only been a figment of his imagination. However, each passing second only brought Adam to the seriousness of his perilous reality.

"Please! Please. I don't want to die! Somebody! Anybody! Please save me!"

No matter how much Adam screamed and begged, no one halted his fall. In fact, the speed at which in fell doubled.

A few seconds later, the scenery changed for a third time, intensifying Adam's apprehension. A vast expanse of land greeted his eyes. Although he was hundreds of meters from the ground, he could see mountains, lakes and a thick forest.

"Are those tombstones and tombs?" Adam muttered under his breath.

Even from his position, he could see everything below ever so clearly. A feeling which left him terrified. However, that thousands of tombs and tombstones littered the changing terrain left him astonished, and then, fear followed. Because, he remembered Vicar's parting words about their current location.

"Nah, nah, nah. This is not possible. This is definitely a dream. It's probably the side effect of drinking too much energy drinks. Yes, that's it. A graveyard stretching thousands of miles can only exist in fantasies. Hahaha... This is definitely a dream. I'll wake up the moment I hit the ground," Adam muttered.

Although he said these words, terror distorted his face, betraying his declaration.

With each passing second, Adam inched closer towards the cold hard ground. One did not need to tell him death awaited him if he fell at such speed. However, he could do nothing about it.

With less than twenty meters separating Adam's body from the ground, he in closed his eyes with his body trembling. Even though he believed it was just a dream, it terrified him.

A spilled second after he closed his eyes, his body slammed on a puddle of water, raising it into the air. No thunderous explosion followed nor the ground lose its integrity, only Adam's screams echoed in the desolate necropolis.

"Ah! Huh? I am alive?" Adam said as he peeked at his surrounding with one eye opened.

"F.u.c.k Yeah! I am alive!"

Adam's words echoed as he rose to his feet, his fists raised in the air while screaming to the stars.

As his eyes lingered on the heavenly bodies, his screams gradually faded.

"I'm alive, but I'm still here," Adam whispered. The dejection in his voice clear.

"This is all real?" Adam whispered as his eyes scanned his new surroundings. From where he stood, he could see oddly shaped tombs and tombstones covered in vegetation. The reflection of the moons and the stars reflected on the puddles all over the graveyard, and a chilling wind carrying a Woody fragrance pervaded the air.

Although the cemetery was well illuminated, Adam felt terror he had never felt in his life. Whether it was the tombstones or the vegetation, or the mountains in the background, Adam wanted nothing to do with it.

'Wrathriver Necropolis... that's what Mr. Vicar called this place. Did I really go to another world?' Adam mused as he lowered his head.

At that moment, he screamed as he fell to the ground, while trying his best to scamper from his current location.

'What the f.u.c.k is that?!'

Out of breath, Adam lay against a tombstone as he stared at the previous location he stood earlier. Although he ran from one puddle, he reclined on the tombstone while lay in another puddle of water.

"Were my eyes deceiving me?" Adam muttered, his c.h.e.s.t still heaving.

Just as he finished his statement, he saw a figure in the water from the corner of his eyes. It had a black-red hazy body, and three horns decorating its head, with its black eyes staring at Adam from the reflection of the water.

"Ah!" Adam screamed as he scampered to safety.

Although panicked, Adam watched as the figure chase after him, perfectly mimicking his actions. Its actions only further amplified his terror.

With every ounce of strength he could muster, Adam fled at his fastest speed, weaving through tombstones and tombs like a seasoned athlete. No matter how far he ran, whenever he passed a puddle, he would see the same aberration, frantically chasing after him.

A few minutes later, Adam lay on the surface of a vault, soundlessly trembling.

'I can't run anymore. What the hell is that thing? Why does it keep chasing after me?' Adam thought. Not daring to make a sound, he remained in the same position while staring at the sky.

Five minutes later, Adam still lay on the vault; however, he subtly peaked at his surroundings. Avoiding the puddles below the vault.

"Is it gone?" Adam muttered. Unable to detect the aberration, he slowly descended. While cautiously observing his surroundings.

"Where am I supposed to go with something like that lurking? Who knows if it's waiting for me somewhere," Adam muttered.

Although he said these words, Adam did not linger. Cautiously, avoiding the puddles, he made his way through the necropolis.

A minute later, Adam stood hundreds of meters away from the vault. He couldn't even see the vault from his current location, "Did it run away? Or, was I seeing things? No. That thing was definitely real, right?" Adam muttered. He stood before a cl.u.s.ter of tombs covered in thick vines and oddly shaped flowers.

'Even if I wasn't seeing things, I've to get out of this graveyard. Hopefully, I can find someone soon.'

With this thought in mind, Adam continued his trek through the cemetery. However, the moment he took his fifth step, his body trembled like a convulsive patient. And, he staggered to his knees. Coincidentally, a puddle lay before him.

'What's happening to my body? Who is doing this to me? Oh no. There is a puddle here... that monster will come back...'

Unable to control himself, Adam watched as his face towered over the water. At that same moment, the hazy being with three horns revealed itself. It's sickening eyes focused on Adam.

"Huh? What's wrong with it?" Adam muttered through gritted teeth.

Just like him, the being in the water trembled, it's visage like one in great pain. A total contrast to the monster who he thought would devour him whole.

A spilled second later, Adam's body regained it's calm. However, he still maintained the same position, facing the being in the water.

Absent-minded, Adam raised his right hand. The being mimicked his actions. Adam raised his left hand, the being also mimicked his actions. Then, Adam touched his face and so did the aberration. Adam looked at his hands and so did the being.

A minute later, Adam stared at the puddle unable to move, his body shook; however, he felt no pain.

"That's me? That's my reflection? How..." Adam words trialed off. If he could cry, he would. But, nothing came. He had been running from his reflection all along. Unlike the aberration reflected, Adam still saw himself in his normal human form.

"Is this why I was able to pass through those walls?" Adam whispered.

At that moment, Vicar's reminder he discarded earlier, echoed in his mind.

'What did he mean by I've to find a new body?'

Just as this thought filled Adam's mind, Adam's body trembled once more. This time, however, Adam watched as his left hand disintegrated, eliciting a beastial howl from the very depths of his being. In immense pain, the rest of his arm slowly disinterested.

Adam rolled all over the ground, crashing against the tombs as his screams echoed. His reflection in the puddle had gained an additional horn, with its body becoming more corporeal. The Demonification process had only begun, yet Adam was in immense pain.

As the seconds counted, Adam's howls lessened; however, he lay on the ground like a husk. Lacking his right and left arms, and a section of his neck had disintegrated, leaving a sickening sight akin to that left by a beast.

"I-I Don't want t-this. I don't want to d-die. Anyone! Please! Someone! Please take away the pa-pain..." Adam muttered as he lay on the ground writhing towards the depth of the graveyard.

With his injuries and experiences, he could no longer brush off Vicar's words as mere ramblings, neither could he assume he was stuck in a dream. The pain he felt had woken him to the reality of his situation.