Running on all fours, feeling his feet pound as his claws dug into the dirt with each step, the only things filling Foast’s mind were hunger and rage as he tracked his prey, his nose not letting them escape even as they took to the air, wings flapping far above him yet still giving off their scent and losing ground to him every second.
A fact they were well aware of too. His pursuit was endless and his target’s fate sealed, even if they insisted on fighting back right to the end as it finally landed to face him, its flesh warping before his eyes to take the shape of an amarok, the wolf bigger than him but inferior as its lunge only brought it into his jays, feeling flesh tear away and fill his mouth before it changed again, a giant snake now wrapped around him and crushing down before it felt the bite of his sharp claws, driving it to another attempt, and another from there as its form continued to change.
Mammal, reptile, birds, and other things that defied classification, one by one, each form his prey attempted failed in favour of his own, killing each beast it took on as he ate away at it, lowering its numbers until only one remained.
A biped, it held few strengths but nothing compared to other shapes, its teeth and claws negligible as it lashed out in one last desperate attempt for survival and failing even at the end, having its throat torn through as he was able to stare down at it in proper for the first time, the thrill of victory changing to abject horror as he saw the thing he’d worked so hard to kill wearing his own face.
With a gasp, Foast shot up from where he’d rested, his mattress a mess of rips and sweat that he didn’t even notice as he tried to collect himself, clutching at his chest as he did, forcing himself to calm down until both his heart rate and breathing slowed.
I’m not sure if the potions are really worth it. He thought while he rubbed the last bit of sleep from his eyes, the morning sun telling him that he’d at least rested through the night. But was that rest worth the horrors that came to him in his dreams? He’d feel better throughout the day for it but the nights were all the worse for not being able to escape the things his mind kept subjecting him to.
“Maybe just when I’m being sent off then,” He muttered to himself. He needed to be at his peak performance when it came to whatever task the gods of the world had for him but outside of that, some sleep deprivation wouldn’t kill him. He could balance the two based on his needs and deal with the harm of both sides. Since he was up though, he needed to make sure to take advantage of the night’s rest he’d just gotten.
Which means off to work.
He slipped into the armour he’d had made, feeling comforted by the way it pressed against his flesh while he went out, making a mental note that he’d need to get some new bedding again and would likely be best off buying it in bulk if his night shifting was going to get worse and then making another that if he was going to take a new lover any time soon, he’d need to make sure he had a potion the night before any rendezvous to keep himself from falling asleep around them with that getting worse.
Or just not take any new lovers at all. He forced himself to admit, acknowledging the best choice no matter how it felt. Gods above, what a depressing thought when the world’s ending. If I keep my trysts to the middle of the day when I’m not already scheduled for something… No, responsibility and all of that. Better to be a little lonely rather than an accidental murderer.
An equally depressing thought as it would be to spend the night alone, yet the responsible one. It couldn’t help but ruin his mood the entire way to the communal church, showing on his face as he went inside.
“Well, don’t you look like you’ve had a bad day?” The waiting priest laughed. “Lady trouble, I take it?”
“The opposite, Peac. Don’t worry about it and just fill me in. Any new updates for me before I head out to hunt?”
“Nothing from the gods that I’ve been made aware of. You’re hunting a suspected contender in the untamed lands, I’ll mark the most recent sightings for you.”
“Infinite hells,” He muttered as he took a seat to look at the map he was given. “Who allowed an invader this powerful anywhere near this planet?”
“Someone was always going to get these interesting times, it just ended up being us.”
“And no news on what the suspected skill they hold is?”
“We’d need survivors for that. We’re just working off the destruction that’s been found in its wake. If we’re lucky, you’ll be finding a herd of them instead that are just coordinating unreasonably well.”
“Ha, I’m not sure if I’d be willing to call that luck.”
“A herd can be culled. A beast on the edge of godhood though… Well, it doesn’t matter, I know you’ll do your best so as for your team-”
His mind instantly flashed to the damage he’d done in his sleep and to the boy he’d almost killed the other day for nothing more than having the misfortune of getting too close while he was trying to rest.
“Foast, I really can’t advise that.”
“Even if you were setting me up with a group of second tiers, odds are better than not that they’d just get in the way. If this is a contender or worse, an invader that’s managed to cross that threshold since coming to the world, then I can’t be getting distracted trying to protect others.”
“They’re going prepared to die, you know that.”
“And I’m not prepared to let them. You won’t have to worry, no matter how bad it gets, I’m not being killed. Short of Rook, I was already the hardest to take out and I’ve gotten plenty more recently to make it even harder.”
“Not reassuring enough.”
“Then is this?” He asked as he rapidly swapped through forms, slapping his chest at the end. “Shape-shifting armour, able to stand up to Abel, and that’s not even the most I got out of my outing. I got a level.”
“You did?” Peac asked, his eyes going wide while the shifter grinned.
“And it’s incredible. When I first reached this tier, I’d thought that there was no reason for the skill to be leveled at all, it already felt beyond perfect, but now? All of the side abilities that came with my shifting seem enhanced significantly, so I’m going to be even harder to kill and I didn’t even realize there was still room to grow but blending my forms has gotten even easier too. I’m sure I’ll be discovering endless little ways I’ve improved but even what I’ve found so far, well, I don’t need or want help and you know you don’t have the power to make me stick with anyone I don’t want to deal with.”
“But no matter how powerful you are, if you die-”
“Then I become a god in proper. Don’t worry, I’m in no rush for that but I’d prefer not to be held up. Time is of the essence after all.”
Before Peac could say another word of argument, Foast was already out the door, his form changing to that of a bird to fly to the nearest gate and beyond. He would be fine on his own and with the untamed lands before him and the power he held, it would only be at most a day before he reached his first destination proper and his investigation could begin.