The air grew heavy, thick with the scent of pine and an underlying musk of primal power. Henry was still frozen on the spot, his legs refusing to move.
The beast took another deliberate step forward. Each immense pawfall was silent, yet felt like a tremor in the very earth beneath Henry's useless feet. It moved with the terrifying grace of a predator that knew its prey was trapped, savouring the moment. It was clearly headed towards Henry, its eyes fixed on his paralyzed form.
Henry's heart hammered against his ribs, a frantic drumbeat against the silence, threatening to explode from his chest. Panic washed over him, rendering his muscles rigid. He wanted to run, to scream, to burrow into the earth, but his legs, heavy as lead, refused to obey.
Around the colossal lion, the pack of wolves, moments ago a snarling threat, now purred low in their throats, a strange, guttural chorus of subservience. They parted effortlessly, making way for the terrifying sovereign, their muzzles lowered in deference as the lion continued its unhurried, terrifying approach.
Meanwhile, Henry's mind raced, a whirlwind of desperate, useless thoughts. "Move, you idiot! Run! Do something!" But his legs remained stubbornly unresponsive, trembling violently as if struck by an invisible chill. The lion was only a few feet away now. Utter despair began to claw at his throat.
But then, an unexpected ripple broke the predator's calm advance.
The largest of the five wolves, the Alpha, a magnificent creature with scars crisscrossing its muzzle, stepped forward. It placed itself directly in the lion's path, its hackles raised, a low, challenging growl rumbling deep in its chest. It was a desperate, suicidal claim to territory, a last stand born of fierce loyalty or perhaps, simply, pride.
The fiery lion paused, its molten gaze lowering to the wolf. There was no anger in its eyes, only a profound, almost bored indifference, as if observing an insolent, naive ant.
The wolf, fueled by its own terrifying courage, didn't hesitate. With a feral snarl, it launched itself, a blur of grey fur aiming for the lion's exposed throat.
But the lion merely raised a single paw, Its claws extending with a whisper of deadly intent, and slammed into the wolf's head mid-air.
Crack.
The impact was sickeningly dull, muffled by fur and flesh, yet powerful enough to send the alpha spinning downwards. It hit the ground with a thump, convulsing violently. A dark stain bloomed on its head, spreading rapidly into its matted fur where the lion's paw now rested, pinning it down. It wasn't dead, not yet, but it thrashed weakly, a gurgling sound escaping its throat.
The other wolves could only watch in horrified stillness as their leader lay broken beneath the lion's indifferent paw. They shifted nervously, whimpers barely audible, but none dared to interfere.
They could only wait in silent, a desperate plea in their terrified eyes, hoping against hope that the lion would be satiated by its dominance, kind enough to simply let their leader go.
But it wasn't.
As the alpha wolf thrashed, its body writhing in a futile, pathetic struggle to break free from the crushing weight on its head, something unspeakable happened.
The lion's colossal paw, pressing down on the wolf's skull, suddenly ignited. Golden-red flames, silent and swift, erupted from the padded underside, searing directly into the wolf's head.
A piercing, beastly scream tore through the air, a sound of agony Henry would never forget. The wolf howled, a desperate, dying lament, as its face melted and charred, the raw stench of burning flesh filling the glade.
Henry, a silent, unwilling spectator, watched in stark horror. The alpha's head, moments ago a proud, defiant symbol, blistered and blackened, the fur crackling away to reveal bone beneath. Smoke, thick and acrid, curled upwards from the burning mess. But the lion wasn't even done.
With a swift, fluid motion, it lifted its flaming paw, revealing the mangled, smoking remains of the wolf's head. Then, with a casual barbarity that turned Henry's stomach, it opened its massive jaws and bit down on the wolf's already lifeless neck.
CRUNCH
A guttural crush, a tearing of sinew and bone, echoed through the quiet forest. And with a brutal jerk, the lion tore the alpha's upper body clean from its lower, blood spraying through the air in a grotesque, crimson arc.
The scene was so utterly horrific, so viscerally brutal and terrifying, that the remaining wolves didn't wait another second. They broke formation immediately, and bolted into the deep shadows of the forest, leaving their utterly annihilated leader and the frozen Henry behind.
The lion, its maw still dripping, disdainfully tossed the ripped half-corpse of the wolf aside. Then, it threw its head back and roared.
The sound was deafening, a physical force that vibrated through Henry's bones. And in that instant, something snapped within him. The primal terror of the roar, coupled with the visceral horror of the wolf's dismemberment, seemed to jolt his paralyzed legs back to life.
His body moved before his mind could even register the command. He spun around, a desperate blur of motion, and bolted.
The lion noticed the movement. Its molten eyes narrowed, and with a speed that defied its massive size, it moved from the spot.
Henry had barely ran ten feet when he felt the immense heat of the beast closing in. He could hear its heavy breath, feel the rapid thud of its paws on the forest floor, gaining on him with terrifying swiftness.
He pushed his adrenaline to its absolute maximum, pumping his legs, weaving frantically between trees, branches whipping at his face, breath rasping in his lungs.
Then, driven by a desperate, instinctual need to gauge his pursuer's proximity, Henry risked a quick glance over his shoulder.
And that split-second distraction cost him everything.
His foot caught on a gnarled, exposed tree root, and he tumbled without warning. He hit the ground hard, a jarring impact that knocked the wind from his lungs, sending a fresh wave of pain through him.
But the pain was the least of his worries, because that tiny moment of falter, was all the lion needed. Before Henry could even begin to push himself up, the beast was already upon him.
It charged swiftly, its massive form hurtling towards Henry as he lay sprawled and helpless on the ground. And Its flaming claws, extensions of its infernal rage, were aimed directly at his skull
Henry panicked. His mind, already frayed by terror, completely shut down. He couldn't think, couldn't rationalize, couldn't find a single coherent thought beyond the blinding, all-consuming fear. Running was useless. Moving was impossible.
It was too late.
As the beast's flaming claws descended, inches from his skull, Henry raised both arms above his head, a pointless, futile, instinctive shield against the inevitable. He squeezed his eyes shut, bracing for the searing pain, the crushing impact, the final, horrific end.
But it never came.
He felt nothing. No heat, no crushing force, no agonizing pain. In fact, he felt nothing at all. Not even a whisper of wind stirred the air around him.
He slowly, cautiously, lowered his arms and opened his eyes, his mind a jumble of confusion as he wondered why he wasn't dead.
But what he saw next made his breath hitch, catching in his throat like a shard of ice.
The beast was frozen. Completely, utterly halted, suspended in time as if paused by some unseen remote. Its magnificent, flaming paw, claws extended, was just inches from Henry's head, the crackling flames on its surface perfectly still, an arrested inferno.
Its jaws were wide open in a silent snarl, a droplet of saliva glinting, unmoving, at the tip of a fanged tooth. Half its colossal body was suspended in mid-air, caught in a frozen leap.
The scene was profoundly surreal, a nightmare suddenly rendered into an impossible tableau. But then, Henry's perceptive mind, even amidst the shock, broadened its scope. It wasn't just the beast. It was his entire surrounding.
The world had gone silent. Utterly, unnervingly silent. The rustle of leaves, the distant chirp of birds, the soft hum of insects… they were all gone, replaced by a profound, sullen quiet.
The trees were still, their branches unmoving, not a single leaf quivering. He could even spot some leaves, frozen mid-fall, suspended inexplicably in the air from unseen branches. And a tiny cloud of dust near his knee hung perfectly still in the space.
It was as if the entire universe, except for Henry, had suddenly paused.
"What the hell is happening?" He stood up slowly, trying to rationalize how this was possible, but his mind couldn't even comprehend any of it.
And then, something even weirder happened.
A sharp ding echoed in his mind, followed by the sudden appearance of a golden, holographic screen that materialized in his line of sight, displaying absurd information.
[System Initializing…]
Henry stumbled back, a gasp escaping him. "What the…?" he muttered, staring wide-eyed at the impossible screen. "What the hell is this?" he demanded, his voice sounding shockingly loud in the profound silence.
The screen shimmered, responding not with an answer but with more information:
[…Initialization complete]
[Rejoice, Host! You have been chosen to wield the legacy of Mercury]
Henry blinked. "Mercury? Who the fuck is that?" he blurted out, his mind struggling to keep up with the cascading impossibilities.
Once again, the screen responded, this time with a bold, declarative message that seemed to reverberate with ancient power:
[Congratulations, you have received the Celestial (God of Speed) System]
Henry blinked twice, his jaw slightly dropped in awe, shock and confusion. Then, he let out a deep sigh.
"You have got to be kidding me."