“Ughhh...” Slowly overcoming the feeling of sinking in some deep ocean, Val forced his eyes to open. His thinking slowly became clearer, and then his last memory came rushing back, pumping his body full of adrenaline. Val jolted awake, disoriented at first, then slowly being able to see his surroundings. “Mpphhh..” Trying to talk, he first realized his mouth was gagged with a wad of cloth, tied around his head. Then, as he regained more control of his body, Val was even more shocked to find that his arms were tied up in front of him and his legs were also tied together, leaving him lying on a dirty floor.

Squirming, he turned his body onto his side, finally seeing where he was. It was gloomy room of some kind lit only by a few, flickering candles lining its roughly finished brick walls. There were no windows, and as far as he could make out, the only entrance or exit was a staircase leading upwards. Odds and ends were scattered across the room, most piled in corners without much care. However, a familiar, metallic smell permeated the place, drawing Val's attention to large, dark brown splotches scattered around large portions of the floor.

What really captivated Val's attention was the clear area in the middle of the room with the highest concentration of the blood stains. Barely visible, there was some kind of intricate, circular design drawn on the floor with gems in goblet like holders placed at equidistant spots. The space above the floor seemed almost like a mirage created by a trick of light, heat, and air. That was the best word he could use to describe it, when looking at the writhing mass of space that formed a dome like shape. He was lying so close to it, that he could make out the almost tangible form of the dome, dispelling any thought of it being some hallucination.

However, the truly terrifying thing was the 'something' that was squirming around in the middle of the dome. It had no real form, but the floating mass of dark red gas constantly pushed up against the dome, almost like it was testing its boundaries. That wasn't all, as the blob like mass kept changing, sometimes showing scale like skin and other times bones and claws. Val flinched as he even thought he saw some kind of bizarre, reptilian face in the blob at one point.

Squirming in his tied up state, Val tried to back away from the dome almost instinctively. Whatever was in the dome was not 'friendly,' in any sense of the word. Val felt fear when seeing it, but he also felt numb for some reason. It was like his body wanted to react to the fear, but it couldn't. The 'warm' feeling had already triggered, but it felt like something was suppressing it, leaving it just fluctuating in him. The 'dark sphere' also seemed to waver in and out of his 'mind's eye' almost like it was being stopped.

As focused on he was on the spectacle in front of him, he didn't realized someone was descending the staircase, until a dark clothed figure appeared from the shadows. The man, brown haired and clean shaven, was as ordinary looking as any man in the merchant district. The man's oval shaped, pale face and reedy build spoke of more time spent indoors than outdoors, making him look no different from a shopkeeper or some clerk. Even this clothing was nondescript and bland.

However, the closer he got to Val, the more twisted the man's face became. Grinning widely, the man's eyes narrowed, casting an almost inhuman look to his visage, reminding Val of a famous clown from a horror movie on Earth. “Well, well, well... Wonderful... wonderful... What exquisiteness. Such a soul. Such resistance... I was right... Only the finest... ” Almost whispering, the man bent down, looking at Val closely, his black eyes glinting in interest.

There was something horrible in those eyes, that Val could only think of as 'hunger.' It was hard to describe, but for a second, Val felt the man was peering into Val's very being, almost savoring or weighing Val's worth. “Whmmppp....” Val tried to yell, only to feel the gag rub against his now dry mouth.

“Now, now, child... patience... patience... It's almost time...” The man straightened up, popping his neck as he stretched his arms out and took a deep breath. “Ahh... How long, how long... Such a long wait, but finally there...”

Turning his back to Val, the man walked placidly over to a table nearby. Val couldn't see what was on the table, but it didn't stop him from continuing to struggle. He wasn't ignorant about what was going to happen, not with all the blood present and now with a crazy bastard talking nonsense. However, being tied up like a hog prepped for the slaughter wasn't exactly helpful. Val felt the panic fully setting in as he cursed Fen and cursed his luck. He had escaped, only to be dragged back to face what was probably the 'final boss' almost as a joke of fate. Val even wondered if he was actually supposed to be something like 'victim number 6' in some shitty third rate movie plot.

Screeching filled the room, making Val look back at the man, who was dragging the table closer to the mirage like dome. The man was still muttering to himself, though a bit louder and a bit more rushed. “Yes... yes... he is the right one... Ahh... all the preparation, all the wait... Almost ruined. Filthy dogs. Must teach them a lesson... Yes.... Yes... Kill them...”

The words themselves were gibberish, but Val got the feeling that man was becoming more unstable as time passed. Val tried to yank off the gag or maybe even try to untie it, but it was so tightly tied around his head, that all he did was hurt himself. Just then, the man held his right arm out and slashed at his own forearm using a dagger that he had picked up from the table. Val stared in confusion as the man then waved his arm at the dome, splashing his blood on it. Almost immediately, the dome became more vivid, and the dark, red blob in it began expanding, plastering itself against the dome near where the blood had impacted. The dome momentarily had flashes of light spread out from the impact area.

It shocked Val, but the next thing was even more horrifying. Val watched as the man grabbed something from the table, squeezing it next to the dome. Blood and flesh splattered from what Val realized was an organ of some kind. Then, the man began intoning, talking in what sounded like gibberish “Ratchasha! Va! Indu manz vand...” The words were caustic to hear and something about them made Val feel nauseous, almost like his very being wanted to reject it.

As the chant continued, the red mass in the dome began to solidify, producing scale like skin over a reptilian form. The now beast like figure, surrounded in a solidifying red mist, turned in Val's direction. It slammed against the dome, once again causing the light show. A reptilian face, covered in horns and ridges, snarled at Val. It's eyes blazed in malevolent desire, as it opened its mouth, running its forked tongue over its scaly lips.

Val felt disbelief, but not because of his situation. He recognized the monster, but a part of him could not believe it. However, the more solid the creature became, the more Val became convinced it was the same. Earth nations and their military forces had given it the designation Category One, Hunter Type. Shock filled him as he saw something from his past life's memories right in front of him.

The chanting changed at that point, becoming almost demanding in how it sounded, and the monster swiveled its head towards the man, who had his hands up almost in worship as he became louder. Blood covered the man's arm and parts of his face, taking away any resemblance to the ordinary clerk from before. The monster rushed towards the man, only to slam up against the inner side of dome again, sending sparks of light flashing outwards.

Val's shock at the revelation did something to him at that point, making him yell with all his might. “Ghmmmppphhhh!” He felt a 'warm' rush of strength spread throughout his body, as whatever had been blocking it all this time finally gave way. Instantly, he saw the 'dark sphere' pop up in his 'mind's eye' with some dissipating reddish mist around it. An emotional hurricane roared through him, as anger, grief, fear, hate, despair, and other emotions he could not even understand scoured his soul. “Ggghhrrprpphhhh.” Almost chomping at the gag, he screamed at the creature before him. It belonged to 'them!'

He could not forget that last memory, that last moment of despair, Watching as 'they' destroyed his home. Suffering, as he could not do anything. Despairing, as he was too weak. He did not want to be like that again. He did not want to die a death worth less than a rat's. Maybe in response, the 'dark sphere' in his 'mind's eye' shined, the silver light coiling through it becoming stronger. Then, the silvery dot in the sphere flashed brightly, almost demanding it be chosen.

As desperately as Val strained his muscles, he knew he could not do anything. So, he chose the silver dot without hesitation, hoping against the odds. Almost immediately, his vision became more vivid, with his surroundings blurring while taking on a more faded appearance. However, the dome was glowing in white, with several spots revolving around its base literally blinding Val with their brilliance. The other thing glowing brightly was himself. Val's mind raced to figure what he he was seeing or was maybe being told, but he also caught sight of the man suddenly looking shocked.

Val knew he was running out of time, because the man, who was still chanting, began frantically moving towards Val, while hefting his dagger. So, Val did the only thing he could think of at that moment, hoping his guess was correct. Curling his leg back, he put as much force and hate into it as possible and kicked at the dome just as one of the bright white spots got near. The moment of impact was nothing like he had felt before. The 'warm' strength in him was almost drained, as he was flung backwards, his legs lancing in pain. “Ggggrrrphh!”

However, the light show that followed was more spectacular than anything before. Val's vision went back to normal as the dark sphere in his 'mind's eye' vanished, but he literally saw cracks of light spread through the dome. In the following few seconds, multiple things happened. The crazy man, who had been about to reach Val, clawed at his head, dropping his dagger and stumbling backwards screaming. “Aggggggaaaahhhhhhhh!” The monster, which had been attacking the dome near the man, finally succeeded in breaking through, literally shattering the dome, causing it to break and dissipate in a blink of a eye.

The man, who had collapsed on his table of horrors, yelled, “No! No! No! Stay back! You can't! I gave you... Arrrrggggghhhh!” The monster didn't give him a chance to continue as it pounced on him, tearing into the man with fangs and claws, sending blood and flesh flying and making the man scream even louder. Val, who saw the whole thing happen, didn't freeze up. He knew enough about 'them' to know that the monster would not stop with killing just the man. Val forcefully squirmed, almost propelling himself to where the man had dropped his dagger. Grabbing it, Val tried to get it into a reverse grip to cut through his bondage.

However, before he could do anything, the monster roared, raising its head up almost in exultation. Red mist enveloped it, as its body seemed to be literally disintegrating. Unfortunately, it swung its head back towards Val, showing a vicious face that was fading to mist while covered in blood and gore. Val shoved himself backwards, wriggling for all that he was worth as he realized he had just become target number two. The creature lunged forward, falling onto the ground as its lower body broke apart into red mist, but that didn't stop it as it dragged itself violently towards Val using its disappearing arms, eventually trying to pounce on Val with what was left of itself.

Val felt his body shaking in terror and rage but raised the dagger he was holding in defiance, aiming for the creature's head just as it came down at his face. For once, luck seemed to be on his side, as the blade easily slide through the already disintegrating lower jaw of the creature, stopping it from biting Val. Almost as if that was the trigger, the remaining parts of the monster broke apart into red mist, that faded into the air, leaving Val panting heavily.

Holding the dagger above his chest, he stared at the ceiling trying to get a handle of his frantic thoughts. Tears leaked through his eyes, as he began to laugh, not caring as the gag muffled him. “Hahfhafhafhhaf...” He could not believe it. He had survived. He had no idea about the how or even the why at this point, but he lay there just venting his emotions.

It took a while for him to calm down and get himself free, but nothing else happened in the blood and gore filled room. He struggled up on his wobbly legs, that still seemed unsteady from earlier. Glancing at the mysterious circle of symbols, he couldn't help but think of the magic circles always mentioned in Earth novels, but seeing the blood and gore covering it, he frowned in disgust. The man, who had been responsible for creating it, was literally shredded meat, with body parts and clothing scattered around. Val would have puked from the bloody smell and visuals but forced himself to hold it in, not wanting to waste his dinner. He just told himself he had seen worse and began looking around the room for anything useful.

Eventually, holding onto the dead man's dagger and a confiscated, loot filled satchel, Val looked up at the door at the top of the staircase. Almost hidden in the shadows, the door held a foreboding aura, making Val hesitate. He had no clue where he was or even who the crazy bastard was. The only thing he knew so far was that he had been kidnapped and almost sacrificed to a monster like the ones that had attacked Earth in his past life by some nutcase, who could have passed for the nerd next door. Thinking about it that way, Val did not think any normal person would be able to remain sane. Sighing, he began walking up the stairs, wondering if he was abnormal.

The room past the door was nothing like he thought it would be. There were no monster or human guards, no elaborate traps, no secret laboratory, no dungeon full of imprisoned victims waiting to be rescued, and no gloomy halls. It looked more like the insides of some abandoned house, with a collapsing ceiling and partially wrecked walls and flooring. Trying not to get himself squashed or impaled by some rotting masonry, he made it out the front door of the death trap of a building without too much of a struggle.

The outside was not surprisingly in the slums. The ragged surroundings and smell kind of gave it away. The small courtyard in front of the two story building meant that it was more than likely a 'better' part of the slums. Unfortunately, this area was run by another gang, which made Val draw some worrisome conclusions. The city gangs usually did not like random, suspicious people setting up shop in their turf without paying a price. That meant the crazy, monster summoning nerd was welcome here, making it more dangerous the longer Val stuck around.

Just as he was about leave the doorstep, a hulking, shadowy figure walked into the courtyard. The bald head was clearly visible in the moonlight, and Val tensed, holding up the dagger he had brought with him. He had expected this in all honesty. As far as he knew, escaping from the evil villain's lair was never easy or without a fight. Unfortunately for him, the only 'superpower' he had was still not working right, and he was only 10 years old compared the muscle bound henchman before him.

Val felt like giggling, surprised at his own calm acceptance at the shitty roll of the dice, but he figured almost dying a few times in one day seemed to have hammered his mind into something stronger rather than just breaking it. Waving the dagger in front of him, Val growled, “Bring it on, baldy!” It was not exactly a inspiring warcry, but it definitely did the job of pissing off the brutish thug.

“You're gonna die now, rat!” The brute began to step forward with his fists raised, even as Val began to circle off to his right, trying to out maneuver the larger man. However, just when a battle between David and Goliath was about to break out, a loud smashing sound echoed in the streets.

Both Val and the man turn to the origin of the sound, finding a figure standing on top of a roof across the street from the courtyard. In the moonlight, all that Val could make out was a relatively tall man carrying some objects. Just when the he got a grasp of what he was seeing, Val saw the mysterious man leap from the rooftop almost moving in a straight line towards the bald thug.

The baldy must have realized the same thing as he stumbled towards Val, while twisting around to face the new attacker. Val didn't clearly see what happened next, but the surroundings lit up like day time as a ball of light blazed into existence right above the courtyard. Covering his eyes to block the sudden brightness, Val peeked through his fingers just in time to see the bald man literally float up in the air while struggling and grasping at his throat. “Gahhh!”

As the floating thug somehow moved to one side in midair, Val finally saw the new, lightly armored arrival. A familiar, refined face with a gray beard was looking at Val from across the small courtyard, but unlike before at the tavern, the man named Felwood did not have a calm expression. The stern visage radiated power and control, further amplified by the glowing staff in one hand and the sword in the other. Under the bright light, the wizard uttered his first words since arriving. “We meet once again, young man.”