The Scourge of the Beast God!

I was awestruck. Never in my life had someone given me anything that could outcompete this feeling I have. This journey was ominous and mysterious, and I was petrified upon arrival, but I’m getting excited about what is in store! It is clear that this is a quest of a grand scale! 

I wanted more than my standstill jobs. I never could conceive it, but upon sight, I craved a chance at independence.

Inexplicably, the back of my neck tingled as if a spider were crawling with each of the prickly and writhing hairs on my skin. Turning, the doorway to our room had a perched owl glaring at us. The eerie face craned upside down. It had an unsettling human resemblance as it projected sentience. Then the animal opened its beak and shook its head in a foul cadence.

“My last year on Earth was 2083. Every last cheetah in the wild had long passed away. Complete extinction. Only their DNA samples were preserved by scientists. Did you know that more than half of the meals a cheetah can hunt are lost because they cannot defend the area and themselves from opportunistic predators like lions or hyenas? Frankly, their tantalizing speed is not enough to thrive in Africa. A shame, no doubt. I could never experience this animal on Earth! Here, though, the glorious, refined muscles of a cheetah can be mine. Without the drawback, that is the power given to me!” The distorted voice screeched.

He must have been transported here around five years past. The outside world is in the fall of 2088. By now, Asa and I had stood at the ready, yet he blocked the only entrance and exit.

Was that... human saliva? It flowed out of the owl’s beak in a stream, making a dripping sound once it hit the ground, and even the face shook with gross perversion. “Hahaaa. An owl was the perfect choice for efficient travel, stealth, and to trap you two.”

“The beast god’s medium, protect your–” Asa screamed.

The owl flew in a downward arc, and the flesh spun and mutated into a black-spotted cheetah, landing on the ground. The momentum carried in its leap, and in a heartbeat, it was within distance to clasp its jaws. I sensed it earlier in my neck! That’s the aim!

I put my hands up and shielded the front of my neck as the cat crashed into me, forcing the two of us into the room’s wall. The impact threw us out into the empty plane, and the wall lay crumbled.

My neck wasn’t snapped, but my hands were shredded by the cheetah’s teeth and gushing blood. My back trembled with the impact, and prickly tears were inevitable. I'd never been so gravely brought to the brink.

I seized. I’m dead. The monster is so close, and I’m going dark.

At once, my burdened vision was restored, and I felt radiance flow through my body like electric fire. My hand and spine were restored to prime condition. My years of back-breaking construction and bad posture mended. I’m glad to be gone from my inflexibility and cracking joints. I could tell the difference as I stood straight at once.

“Meddling goddess of healing.” The cheetah hissed at Asa, who stood at the helm of the newly shattered wall of the cavern. She wielded her green emblem and strategically overlooked the battle.

The cheetah twisted and morphed once more into a human figure with claws extending like nails, long antennae, a strange abdomen like an ant or beetle, and uncharacteristic grey fur instead of hair on his head.

“You are all deserving of hearing my name, Viatrix. Fight more! Allow me to utilize and partake in more creatures. Gwydion, the animal god, sends his regards for your life, Asa. I know how you’ve scuttled around for millennia like a cockroach. I can’t say I hate cockroaches. In ways, they are stronger than humans. It is a shame it won’t be enough when I can be so much more than pathetically human.”

I scrambled to my feet. Think! How to distract him. I can’t know how much time Asa requires for her clandestine attack. We are weak. We have to use every method available. Viatrix loves animals… What’s your favorite animal? 

No, too obvious. I’m not used to projecting my voice. Shaky as it is bound to come out, I can’t back down.

“You’ve chosen a highly experimental build for your body. It may seem haphazard on the surface level, yet there is a clear influence from the insect, ants, and mammals. These choices must maximize both defense by including fur and a hard abdomen, and attack with claws. Your antennae improve your senses beyond human perception. It is clear that you are specifying to clear the weaknesses of humans in all aspects. In all the animal kingdom, if reality allowed, this animal would be the king of kings.” I stated.

Whew. I choose flattery plus perception. I'm thankful for not tripping over words like usual.

“Oh, how perceptive, so this realm isn’t full of morons. I’ve thought about this perfect union of animals on Earth for years! What else was a zoologist to do? I consider this another part of the job. You know? How about you betray Asa and join the animals? Gwydion is suited to ascend, and we could use another medium.” Viatrix said with a pleased expression.

“I’m afraid I have a prior appointment. I already have someone for me.” 

“so. So. SO dull.” Viatrix muttered, then his smile returned in full. “Out of the venomous animals, snakes and snails, which is your favorite?”

Good. He’s playing along, and so will I. We are moving through copious moments at this rate. “I enjoy snakes more because they employ faster mobility around terrain than snails.”

“Excellent, see, you can be a good boy. Of course, since you love snakes so much, you would be most thrilled to see them in the flesh. I’ll even gift the experience of the inland taipan’s venom; relish the venom as it consumes and takes over your bloodstream. This animal is quite a rarity, in fact. The taipan has some of the coolest and strongest venom in all of Australia and even the world.”

Viatrix’s face darkened, and he transformed, substituting his antennae, claws, fur, and abdomen for just six yellow-brown snakes sprouting from his body. They were his chosen arms, two more attached to his back like wings, and the final two made a nest of his eye sockets.

He assuredly strutted toward me in strides. Terror alarmed in my head. This person had the makings of a serial killer. Fighting for human lives was clearly in his nature. The hissing and animated snakes were agile. I’m out of here! I moved away, I had to make it to Asa!

“The inland taipan is a shy species that prefers to avoid potential trouble and humans. My sweeties don’t need to act that way anymore. I’ll draw out their full potential and control them personally. Even one bite is lethal enough for 100 men. The beast god is generous and allows his mediums to evolve and grow his majestic animals. Your death will be a tentative experiment. Be happy to conduct joyous research for the sake of humanity with your body.”