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Chapter 2 - Chapter 2 Desert of beasts.

A shimmering light exploded across the sky, and a body tumbled beneath it—falling, falling—until it slammed into the scorching sand below. Dust rose in waves, swallowing the figure whole.

Seconds passed, then minutes, until a strange discomfort crept over him, forcing the body to stir. The man slowly pushed himself up, blinking hard. His red hair was a tangled mess, like a bird's nest, and his vision blurred from the blazing sun above. He felt groggy, almost dazed, until it finally clicked—where the hell was he?

"Where… where am I?" Travis gasped, springing up too fast and nearly toppling back down the sandy mound. His mind was blank. The last thing he remembered was the apocalypse—the screams, the falling skies. Hadn't he died?

He looked down at himself. His legs—perfectly fine. His skin—clean. Even his hair felt softer, smoother than the filthy, unkept mess he used to carry back at the slums.

The heat was unbearable. Shielding his eyes from the brutal sunlight, Travis squinted upward and cursed softly. "Damn sun… great."

From what he could tell, this was a desert. Nothing alive around him—just a few dry, brittle trees and an endless stretch of sand hot enough to fry him alive.

He frowned. "Didn't I die? Is this… heaven? Am I getting judged already?"

It made no sense, but standing here wouldn't help. "Okay, calm down," he muttered to himself. "Let's just walk. Maybe there's a human settlement somewhere…"

He started walking, slowly at first, then faster. But after only a few meters, his breathing grew ragged. "Goodness—this heat… am I supposed to reach civilization like this?"

He scanned the horizon and spotted something—an island? Maybe. If the gods had mercy, there'd be water. His throat was parched, dry as dust, but he trudged forward anyway.

Then he saw movement. Something slithering in the sand, quick and deliberate.

Travis froze. "Oh, hell no. Please don't be a snake."

His pulse raced. He remembered his father once teaching him about desert creatures before they fell into poverty—snakes, scorpions, lizards, all deadly. Thinking about it made his chest ache; he wondered where Lucas was. Had he made it out alive?

When he looked back, the thing was gone.

"Huh. Maybe it ran off. Guess I scared it away." He wiped sweat from his forehead and sighed, resuming his trek.

But just as he took another step, something wet brushed his cheek.

A tongue.

Travis screamed.

A snake—a rattlesnake, no less—was staring right at him, its long forked tongue licking his face.

"I've been poisoned! I'm gonna die—I'm gonna die!" he yelled, panicking wildly.

But before he could flee, the snake shimmered and transformed—its long brown hair cascading nearly to its knees, its human form tall and ethereal.

Travis's brain short-circuited. His knees wobbled. If not for the man catching him, he would've fainted flat on the sand.

The strange man whispered something in a language Travis didn't understand. His voice was smooth, melodic… and completely foreign.

Blinking, Travis shoved him off and bolted. "Nope! No way. I'm hallucinating. That's all. Just a quick dip in water and I'll be fine—no snakes turning into men, nope nope nope!"

He ran like his life depended on it, unaware that the snake man had only tried to warn him—there were lions nearby, hunting.

Still panting, Travis finally slowed down, relieved that the strange man wasn't following. "Good. That's over," he huffed. He looked ahead at the distant island. "Maybe that's home. Maybe… my parents are alive. Maybe this is all just a dream."

His hope lasted exactly five seconds—until a low, rumbling growl stopped him in his tracks.

"Was that… a growl?" he whispered, listening hard.

Silence. Then another sound, deeper, closer.

"You think too much," he muttered. "No animal would live out here."

But as soon as he stepped onto the island, two golden eyes gleamed from behind a tree.

"What the—?"

He stepped back—and his heel landed on something soft and warm.

A thunderous roar erupted.

Travis froze, eyes wide, body trembling. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me…"

He turned—and there they were. Lionesses. A whole pack of them, their sharp teeth flashing under the sunlight.

His blood ran cold. He stumbled backward and fell flat on the sand as one limping lioness stepped forward, growling viciously. "I—I stepped on her," he realized in horror. "Oh god, I'm gonna die."

The lioness lunged—but before she reached him, a deeper, deadlier roar shook the ground.

A massive golden lion burst from the shadows, slamming into the lioness and biting down hard on her neck. The others backed off as the two beasts fought violently, claws slashing, growls echoing. In seconds, the limp lioness fell, lifeless.

Travis could only stare, pale as chalk, his entire body frozen in fear.

"Did… that lion just kill the other one?" he whispered. "Why? What's even happening?"

Maybe it was saving him—or maybe it just wanted to eat him later. Either way, he didn't dare move.

The huge lion approached, sniffing him curiously, rumbling something low to the others. They seemed to agree before slinking away.

Then—before Travis's eyes—the lion changed.

The beast melted into the shape of a man—naked, golden-haired, with lion ears still perched atop his head and a tail swishing behind him.

Travis's mind blanked. "A tail. He has a freaking tail. Oh no. I'm insane. I've lost it. Someone get me therapy."

The man stepped closer, crouching before Travis. The latter hugged his knees, eyes darting around in panic. The lion-man extended a hand, waiting.

Travis hesitated. It felt rude not to take it—but also insane to do so. He wanted his mom. He wanted to wake up.

The man spoke in that same strange language, just like the snake man. Travis blinked, shaking his head. "I don't understand!"

The lion frowned, curious, and sniffed him again. Travis nearly gagged. "Oh god, not again. Why do they keep doing that?"

The lion smiled faintly, eyes glinting. Travis barely had time to wonder what that meant before the man's hand grabbed him—down there.

Travis went stiff, every hair on his body standing up.

"What—WHAT'S HAPPENING?! SOMEBODY HELP ME!"

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