Monsters Uprising

Sief felt as if he were floating in a vacuum, trapped in an ethereal dream where there was no body to move, just an infinite void without direction or sensation.

It was disorienting and unlike anything he had ever felt before.

The lack of air suffocated him, pushing him in all directions, reminiscent of the feeling of being lost in the crowd. However, there was something strange in the air, an abnormal feeling of strangeness that enveloped him, leaving his already confused senses even more chaotic.

‘I remember what happened...’ he murmured to himself, his voice echoing in the darkness of his mind. The sensation of suffocation was overwhelming, as if he were being dragged into the abyss beyond. ‘I... died-’

But a familiar voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Awaken."

Sief widened his eyes amidst a vast blue expanse, still floating, but unlike before he felt his body and felt his legs hitting something.

Quickly he tried to stand up and a force acted against him, but it was not enough to stop him, and with force Sief emerged from a flowing river.

His chest expanded in desperate relief, filling with fresh air, but soon he was forced to expel the swallowed water, coughing violently as he struggled to catch his breath.

His breathing was once again ragged and his senses were still confused, but slowly his vision cleared and revealed the scenery around him, causing him to stare in confusion as he saw that he was inside a river amidst trees.

‘What place is this?’ Sief brought his hand to his throat still trying to orient himself, but as the images returned to his mind, he turned his face to the surroundings and said, "Where am I!?"

There were only trees as far as he could look, next to the river were small white and round stones on a damp mound of earth, but the scenery was completely different from before and Sief clenched his teeth without finding any signs of the monster or Beatrice.

After all that, Sief felt weak and confused, he had come close to death twice, and at one point he was sure he should have died, but more than that, the final blow had also hit Beatrice and when he remembered the flash, an emptiness filled his chest.

His breathing became heavy and wheezy as he remembered the scenes of the attack, Beatrice was different and faced with all that scene he could do nothing but run.

More images began to emerge as he saw his last moments where he saw his body being torn apart and when he remembered his sister, the emptiness grew larger and made him bring his hands to his head while muttering.

"That was real... so why?..."

"Hey, are you okay!?"

Once again a voice sounded and made Sief widen his eyes, raising his head quickly and seeing that among the trees there was an elderly man who looked at him confused.

His clothes showed that he was just a peasant wearing a black overcoat on his body, carrying a leather bag on his shoulders, completely different from the inhabitants of Dokkel, while Sief still looked disoriented he spoke again.

"I heard you muttering, should you be taking a bath alone?" He emerged from behind the trees and approached the river, revealing his face which slowly calmed down, until his walk ceased and he pointed. "You're hurt!"

Sief was still confused, but seeing where the man pointed, he lowered his face and saw that his clothes had disappeared, but the most striking thing was a huge red mark resembling a burn on the side of his abdomen as large as his hand.

The mark was as if it were already healed burn, but when he touched it, he felt the heat still emanating, causing Sief to stare with trembling pupils, still confused about what was happening.

But soon he saw the same black overcoat being left next to the river while the old man spoke again.

"Let's go back to treat this, your parents must be worried-" As he would continue to speak, something seemed to catch his attention and made him look up at the sky.

Sief did the same and as he looked, he narrowed his eyes and questioned.

"What the hell is that?"

The sky moved as if it were a huge wave in the sea, passing at a surprising speed and taking the clouds as if they were the salt of the sea in an endless wave, until it passed by the two and reached the forest, making them both freeze as they felt a sudden change.

As the wave passed, a monstrous roar was heard from the forest and from the trees various birds flew out, chasing the wave that moved beyond the horizon, making the two still stare in amazement.

Silence took over the place after the roar, making Sief stare confused as he wondered.

'This looks like...'

He remembered the winged beast burning the sky, but soon his attention was drawn by the old man who stared at a large and curved silhouette carrying something rising among the trees, the silhouette raised what looked like its head and emitted the same roar that as soon as it ceased, started a crooked and awkward run, not towards the river but following its flow.

Upon seeing that image, the farmer exclaimed, 'It can't be!' He grabbed the leather sack from the ground and slung it over his shoulders, starting a brisk run along the same path as the monster, leaving Sief behind, who shouted, 'Hey! Where are you going?' But as soon as he finished his sentence, he saw a cloud of smoke rise in the direction the peasant was heading.

Even though he was still disoriented, Sief gritted his teeth and left the river, grabbing his coat and following the same path. The trees passed quickly before his eyes, and in no time, Sief entered a clearing and saw from above a small village with flickering flames on its thatched roofs.

Goblins and kobolds were chasing the villagers who fought back with torches and pitchforks, but Sief could already see bodies on the ground, both of monsters and some humans, furrowing his brow as he ran towards the village.

In the streets, the farmers fought with rakes and pitchforks, pushing and thrusting at some small goblins who attacked, laughing, but were easily pierced and slain by the weapons. A brown-haired man surged forward amid a shout, skewering the head and body of a yellow-eyed goblin, which was thrown to the ground, grunting and writhing, but before the monster could react, the man stomped on the goblin's belly and thrust again, finishing off the creature that stopped moving.

The peasant stepped back, panting, and turned his face, but before he could react, a wolf leaped under his abdomen and knocked him down; the beast lunged again, and the man pushed the pitchfork handle into the beast's mouth, which growled, still advancing.

Slowly, the pitchfork handle began to break, and the peasant grunted as he saw the wolf's eyes reddening while it salivated ferociously; in an instant, the handle snapped, and the wolf lunged, but just as it went to bite, a shadow appeared in front, and a kick to the face sent the wolf flying away.

The animal positioned itself still trembling from the blow, but again started to growl, facing Sief who stood in front of the man, tapping his foot on the ground with a pained expression.

"Damn it..."

The man remained still, but soon something lifted him up and stood him on his feet.

"Phil, are you alright?" It was the old man, showing a worried look as he surveyed the rest of the village. "I came as fast as I could, where's Edgar?"

"Thanks, Tom." The man accepted the help and soon stood up, dusting off his back as he said, "He went hunting early this morning, but he should be back by now, this is a crash... a big one..."

"You two can explain me this later." Sief said, turning and taking the broken pitchfork from the peasant's hand, holding a piece in each hand and then turning to the wolf that advanced with its jaws open.

Sief also advanced and surprised the wolf, which was struck in the throat with the pitchfork handle, piercing and pushing the animal back; the beast tried to retreat, but again Sief attacked, thrusting the pitchfork into the beast's head, which growled, emitting a cry, and without being able to react, the animal's head hit the ground, being trampled by Sief who pulled out the pitchfork.

The two farmers looked on surprised and had not moved yet, but soon Sief sighed and said, "Go help kill the goblins, they'll die easily if you aim for the head."

And again, the boy ran towards the monsters, spotting a group of goblins turning towards him.

With a single movement, the nearest goblin was decapitated, and then another was impaled by the pitchfork, buried in the ground and then trampled so the weapon could be removed.

Two goblins advanced, and Sief pierced the abdomen of both because they were still close, finishing them off on the ground, driving the handle into the eyes of one and tearing apart the other.

Once he finished them off, Sief turned his eyes to the village and saw some goblins surrounding humans and others already striking dead bodies, but Phil and Tom joined some groups, fighting with the same weapons as before, but smashing the heads of the goblins with those blows.

'I need a decent weapon, this won't help me against the wolves.' Sief looked back at the pitchfork and saw that two of the prongs were bent after those advances. 'If only I had my dagger...'

With the end of his thought, Sief heard a monstrous growl, and as he turned around, he saw a larger goblin with darker skin stepping on the chest of a fallen man.

The goblin was a little taller than Sief, but its sturdy body indicated strength, and in one of its hands was a huge, weathered iron sword already pointed upwards.

Still on the ground, the man tried to escape, but the goblin squeezed his chest and showed a sadistic smile upon hearing the man scream.

He gripped the sword handle to bring it down, but before he could do so, a wooden stake pierced one of his eyes, and as he realized it, the monster recoiled and screamed, bringing his hand to his face while grunting desperately.

Without wasting time, Sief advanced, but the Goblin widened the eye that remained as he saw the boy running with the pitchfork in hand.

With the strength of his body, the goblin swung, but Sief managed to dodge and advanced beneath the monster's arm while cutting the side of his body.

The goblin turned, and blood gushed from his wound, forcing the monster to put his hand to stop the bleeding, turning an angry gaze to Sief who had stopped and clicked his tongue, staring at his pitchfork in his hands.

Two of the iron prongs were in his hands already broken, leaving only one which the boy pointed towards the creature, which again swung his sword and left it on his back, leaning his body forward and advancing enraged.

Sief positioned himself, and a vertical cut came, but before it could hit, Sief jumped to the side, avoiding the blow, while seeing the Goblin staring at him with his remaining eye.

Again Sief advanced to thrust, but the goblin showed a macabre smile, making the boy furrow his brow as he saw the blade quickly coming towards his face.

Sief tried to block with the pitchfork, and the collision came, the sword making the last prong of the pitchfork fly up while Sief's body was inclined backwards, his cheek had been cut during the collision with the prong, but still, he faced the creature's smile.

'This one doesn't act like an animal, is it an alpha?' Sief continued to go backward, but with both hands, he pushed the ground and launched his body towards the goblin. ‘How luck am I.'

With the wooden stake in his hands, Sief struck, putting all his weight into the blow that hit the monster's other eye, the goblin grunted and stepped back, but Sief had also advanced, stopping behind the goblin's knees and knocking him down.

With the wooden stake in his hands, Sief struck, putting all his weight into the blow that hit the other eye of the monster. The goblin grunted and recoiled, but Sief had also advanced, stopping behind the goblin's knees and knocking him down.

The monster fell to the ground, screaming in pain, raising the sword to try to strike, but Sief jumped over its chest with the remaining prongs in hand, driving them into the goblin's chest and head. The goblin screamed as it was struck more and more times, being pierced by the prongs all over its body, quickly and in a number that Sief couldn't count, until the stabs ceased when the monster stopped moving.

Sief got up panting, and as he turned his eyes back to the monster, he reached out for the sword, thinking.

"It's too big, but it'll have to do." With both hands, he wielded the blade, which was as big as his body; his arms trembled slightly to keep it upright, and Sief frowned, quickly turning. "I can help, but it's not over yet!"

But as he turned, a shadow stood in front of him, and Sief froze upon realizing that he had been observed for some time by empty eyes that partially hid behind a tree.

A creature over two meters tall with grayish skin and deep eyes with a slight glow indicating where it was looking; its body seemed human, but its arms were elongated and its belly protruded. Its legs were short, and in its hand was a club much larger than Sief's body, being pressed as the monster seemed to wait for Sief to pass by.

Its expression was vacant and even seemed stupid, but just watching it generated a feeling of discomfort and strangeness, while its eyes were oddly fixed on Sief as if looking into his soul, causing the boy to freeze as he watched the monster move its club.

"Another one? They won't stop coming?... and this one is different from all the others, it's an alpha!?”