The Scourge of the Beast God!

Her eyes shone brighter than midnight stars and more captivatingly and resolutely than any human-made beacon.

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

Entertainment. Something interesting would surely happen.

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

Inexplicably, the rear of my neck tingled as if a spider were climbing with each of its prickly and creepy hairs crawling across my skin.

I turned. The doorway to our room had a perched owl glaring at us. Its eerie face craned upside down. It had an unsettling resemblance to a human as it projected a surface layer of overt sentience. Then the animal opened its beak and shook its head in a foul cadence.

“My last year on Earth was 2083,” The distorted high-pitched voice screeched. “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 extinction-inducing drawbacks, that is the power given to me!”

That’s new. Talking animals. This was a medium or god who must have been transported here around five years ago. Earth was experiencing 2089. By now, Asa and I had stood at the ready, yet this male owl blocked the only entrance and exit.

Was that... human saliva? It flowed out of the owl’s beak in a stream, making a repetitive, tactile 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 animal said.

Asa tried to whisper. “He is the beast god’s medium, protect your–”

The owl flew in a downward arc, and mid-flight, 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 animal’s aim!

I put my hands up and shielded the front of my throat as the huge 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 stone wall lay crumbled.

My neck wasn’t snapped or severed, but my hands and forearms were shredded by the cheetah’s teeth, and they gushed blood. My back trembled with the impact, and prickly tears were inevitable. I'd never been so gravely injured.

My body halted movement. I was dead. The monster was so near, and my vision went dark for what I assumed would be forever.

If there was a god out there, I hoped that they would hear–

Wait.

Astonishingly, my burdened vision was restored, and I felt radiance flow through my body like electric fire. My arms and spine were restored to prime condition. My aged injuries from back-breaking construction and bad posture mended. I was glad to be rid of my inflexibility and cracking joints. I realized the difference as I stood straight and nimble as a rabbit 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 over his head.

“You are all deserving of hearing my noble 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 away. Think! How should I distract him? I didn’t know how much time Asa required for her clandestine attack. We were weak. We have to use every method available. Viatrix loves animals… What’s your favorite animal? I’d say.

No, too obvious. I would choose flattery plus perception. I was not used to projecting my voice with others. Shaky as it was bound to come out, I couldn’t back down.

“You’ve chosen a highly experimental build for your body, I said. “It may seem haphazard on the surface level, yet there is a clear influence from the insects, 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 certain niches 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.”

Whew. I was thankful for not tripping over words like usual. It seemed like I didn’t struggle to verbalize when I had been given a chance in a new world.

“Oh, how wise, so this realm isn’t full of morons,” Viatrix said with a pleased expression.
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.”

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

“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 was playing along, and so would I. We were squandering copious minutes at this rate. “I enjoy snakes more because they employ faster mobility around terrain than snails,” I said.

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

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 connected to his shoulders, 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. Ending human lives was in his nature. Even if the beast god wasn’t here personally. Gwydion’s medium provided more than enough threat. The gods’ abilities were truly unbalanced.

The hissing and animated snakes were agile. I hurried away to the right, taking a circular path. I had to make it to Asa. Please let her be ready to attack.

“The inland taipan is a shy species that prefers to avoid potential trouble, including humans,” Viatrix said, gaining dangerous ground. “My sweeties don’t need to act that way anymore. I’ll draw out their full potential and control them personally. One mind puppetering others. I am a hive mind! Even one bite of mine 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 productive experiment. Be proud that you are able to provide joyous research for the sake of humanity with your fallible body.”