In an area shrouded in green, misty fog, a humanoid creature—clearly not human—flew hastily in a certain direction. But for some reason, it suddenly slowed down.
*Flap Flap*
*Inhale*
"Haa—"
*Cough Cough*
"Damn it! Why do I have to suffer even at night?! It doesn't make any sense!"
*Cough Cough*
"And what the hell is wrong with this air?! The altar said this was a world of only mortals! But this air is killing me! Me, the great being who will bring salvation to this world! I, the gre—"
Growls
"Huh? What is that sound? Who dares interrupt me?!"
...
"I clearly heard something... Damn it! It was a mistake coming to this cursed place! I should never have trusted those witches! Now I'm hearing voices in my mi—"
*Step step*
GROWL!
*CRASH*
"What the... A ghoul? But isn't this a mor—"
!!
The winged creature's eyes widened. Something clicked in its mind. But then it faded as fast as it came. It slapped its own face.
"No, no. That's not possible. There's nothing special here. Even this fog doesn't contain anything out of the ordinary. Not even this weird creature... But it doesn't look like what the altar described... AGHHHH! Hey you! What's your name?! Do you not have a brain? Or are you some kind of warrior or something?! Attacking me on sight?!"
...GROOOWL...
"Is this a new language? But the Taslima was supposed to translate any language. Hey, do you understand what I'm saying?!"
... Grooowl...
"I guess you really can't."
The winged creature looked troubled. Then a grin crept across its face.
"You know what? I don't care. You're going to die anyway! Haha! I'll first te—"
Growl...
A vein popped in its head. Its face turned red with rage.
"Don't interrupt me wh—"
GROOWL!
"Ah, come on!!"
...
Growl...
The winged creature facepalmed. A determined look replaced the irritation. Without hesitation, it charged the creature it had mistaken for a ghoul. The creature didn't have time to react—SMACK—the winged being struck it across the face, sending it crashing to the ground. Then, it bit into the creature's neck.
*SPLASH*
Green blood splattered across the winged creature's face, making its already grotesque appearance even uglier. Disgust contorted its features. It immediately backed away, spitting violently and covering its mouth.
GROWL!
*THUMP*
The ghoul-like creature wasn't done. It lunged, claws slashing across the winged being's chest, attempting to bite. But the winged creature grabbed its face and slammed it into the ground with brutal force.
"You damned piece of rotten trash!! How dare you touch my beautiful face?! And damage my body!? How the hell could you even hurt me?! It's sturdy!"
Aside from the "beautiful" part, it wasn't wrong. Its skin did look rather solid. A creature like that wasn't supposed to exist on Earth.
The winged creature... was most likely not from Earth.
"I'm so gonna kill y—Agh!"
"HUURGGR! What's happ—HUURGRE—what the hell?!"
*Gasp Gasp*
"What's happening?!"
*Twitch*
"Huh?! My hand!!"
Its entire body began to turn green. Veins bulged unnaturally.
"No... no no no... NO! My pure body! What's happening to y—"
Before it could finish, the ghoul-like creature pounced again. The winged being caught its face and smashed it so hard, the skull turned to paste. It realized something horrifying—its body was reacting to the green fog. Acting on instinct, it took off, flying upwards toward clearer skies.
It was half-right. The transformation slowed, but it didn't stop. And now, under the moonlight, its skin began to burn. It had forgotten why it was flying in the toxic fog in the first place—it was supposed to be safe under the moon. But here, even the moonlight burned like the sun—slower, yes, but still agonizing.
After a few seconds, the transformation sped up. Its pupils dilated. For the first time in a long while... it felt fear.
It didn't know what was happening. But it knew it wasn't good.
"No no no no NO!"
Its hair began to fall out. Pale skin that was turning green started to turn ash-gray. Red eyes lost their light. It could no longer control its body, plummeting like a statue—but still alive. The moonlight shimmered on its form, giving it an eerie, almost majestic glow.
Some time passed.
Its eyes, once empty, flickered. Then suddenly—it stood. Staggering at first, but then steady. It stared up at the moon, and something new sparked in its gaze. It opened its arms and took flight again, reaching toward it.
But the moon... moved westward. No matter how far or fast it flew, it could never catch it. And then the sky began to brighten.
It felt the pain of burning again—real burning. For the first time since its rebirth.
Its instincts screamed: to reach the moon, it must escape the light.
It looked at the moon one last time before diving into the forest. The fog was long behind it, left in hopes of finding the moon. In its final glance, it saw it vanish behind strange, towering stones and unfamiliar objects.
It glared at them—as if they had stolen the moon from it.
It will return...
To claim what he think is his.
The moon.