The Contracted Beasts

Hammed stared at the two enormous beasts standing before him, completely unable to process what had just happened. His mouth remained slightly open while his mind desperately searched for a reasonable explanation. Unfortunately, absolutely nothing made sense anymore.
"Nah, man. This can't be happening," Hammed muttered, slowly shaking his head. He looked at the grizzly, then at the gigantic Komodo dragon, before looking back at the empty forest surrounding them as though someone might suddenly appear and explain everything.
He slowly turned round and began walking away from the two creatures. Whatever strange connection existed between them, Hammed wanted absolutely nothing to do with it. His survival instincts were screaming that staying near two gigantic predators was an incredibly terrible idea.
The five remaining fish he had brought with him were still wrapped carefully inside broad leaves. Hammed picked them up before continuing along the lake, trying desperately to convince himself that everything behind him had been nothing more than an extremely strange dream.
He walked several meters before curiosity finally became stronger than his fear. His steps gradually slowed until he eventually stopped completely. Hammed stared at the ground for several seconds before releasing a tired sigh and reluctantly turning his head backward.
Both creatures were still standing exactly where he had left them. The massive grizzly and enormous Komodo dragon watched him silently, neither making any attempt to follow, attack, or leave. Their patience somehow made the situation even stranger.
Hammed rubbed his forehead.
"Maybe they aren't actually that dangerous," he whispered. "Or maybe I'm just completely crazy."
He scratched the back of his head before turning around and walking toward them again. When he reached a comfortable distance, he pointed toward both beasts and slowly nodded his head.
"Do you want to come with me?"
The beasts continued staring at him without moving. Hammed's confidence immediately disappeared, and his pointing hand slowly lowered. He glanced between them awkwardly before taking one step backward.
"Or maybe not. Sorry."
For several seconds, nothing happened.
Then both enormous creatures suddenly nodded their heads.
Hammed froze.
His eyes widened so dramatically that his entire expression became almost comical. He pointed toward them again, afraid that perhaps he had imagined the movement.
"Wait..."
"You actually understood me?"
The two beasts remained still.
Hammed's heart began beating faster as realization slowly spread across his face. Whatever was happening, these creatures had responded directly to his words. That should have terrified him, yet excitement strangely pushed the fear aside.
"Yes!"
He pointed at them excitedly.
"You actually do want to come with me!"
The two beasts simply stared.
Hammed grinned awkwardly before looking away.
"Well... this is weird."
He didn't understand why they wanted to follow him, nor did he understand why his commands seemed to affect them. Still, having two enormous predators nearby felt strangely comforting compared to wandering through this world completely alone.
"Fine," Hammed announced. "But if we're traveling together, I'm giving you names."
He pointed toward the gigantic grizzly.
"You. Your name will be Griz."
The bear tilted its massive head slightly, as though judging the name before deciding whether it was worthy. Hammed waited nervously until the creature finally gave a slow nod.
"Good."
Hammed turned toward the Komodo dragon.
"And you..."
He stared at the enormous reptile for several seconds.
"Your name will be Komo."
Komo slowly blinked before giving a small nod.
"Agreed?"
Both beasts nodded.
Hammed smiled.
"Great."
He placed his hands on his hips proudly.
"I've successfully named two giant monsters. My life has officially become ridiculous."
He turned around and started walking again. Griz followed behind him while Komo moved beside them, their enormous footsteps making the ground tremble slightly with every movement.
Hammed glanced backward occasionally, still unable to believe what he was seeing. A giant bear and an enormous Komodo dragon were following him peacefully like trained companions. Anyone from his old world would probably have thought he had completely lost his mind.
After several minutes, something strange suddenly appeared directly in front of him.
A bright blue screen materialized in the air.
Hammed stopped walking.
"What the?"
The sudden appearance startled him so badly that his feet tangled together. He fell backward and landed directly on his butt, releasing a painful groan as the fish bundle slipped from his hands.
"Ouch!"
He rubbed the sore spot before looking upward again.
The glowing blue screen was still floating directly before him.
Hammed slowly raised his hand and attempted to touch it. His fingers passed straight through the strange interface without resistance, leaving him staring at his hand in complete confusion.
"What is this?"
The screen flickered once.
Then several lines of glowing text began appearing across its surface.
SYSTEM ONLINE.
Hammed's heart immediately started pounding.
More information appeared beneath the first line.
NAME: IDRIS HAMMED.
AGE: 29---???----16.
STATS: ???
ABILITY: ???
CONTRACTED BEASTS: 2.
LEVEL OF CONTRACTED BEASTS: ???
Hammed stared at the information in complete disbelief. He leaned closer, examining every strange symbol displayed across the transparent blue interface. His eyes moved from one line to another while his confusion slowly turned into excitement.
"System?"
The word escaped his mouth almost reverently.
He had read countless fantasy stories about mysterious systems appearing before ordinary people. Yet he had never imagined that something similar could actually happen to him. For the first time, Hammed wondered whether this world truly had supernatural rules.
His excitement lasted only a few seconds.
SYSTEM ERROR.
SYSTEM ERROR.
SYSTEM ERROR.
Hammed's smile immediately disappeared.
"What?"
The blue screen began flickering violently. The letters distorted, disappearing and reappearing so quickly that Hammed couldn't properly read them. Strange cracks suddenly formed across the glowing interface, spreading from one corner toward the center.
Hammed jumped backward.
"What is happening?!"
The cracks multiplied rapidly until the entire screen looked like shattered glass suspended in the air. Before Hammed could touch it or understand what was happening, the interface suddenly exploded into thousands of tiny blue fragments.
The fragments floated around him for a brief moment before disappearing completely.
Hammed remained frozen.
He stared at the empty space where the system had been.
"What was that?"
No answer came.
For several seconds, the forest remained completely silent. Hammed slowly looked toward Griz and Komo, hoping one of them might somehow understand what had just happened.
Then a strange voice suddenly echoed inside his mind.
"Isn't he too skinny to be our contractor?"
Hammed's entire body stiffened.
His eyes widened.
Slowly, he turned around.
"Who said that?"
Silence.
He looked toward the trees, then behind himself, then toward the lake. Nothing moved. There was nobody there except the two gigantic beasts standing several meters away.
Then another voice answered inside his head.
"And weak."
Hammed's face went pale.
"Okay..."
He swallowed nervously.
"That definitely wasn't me."
He looked toward Griz
Then toward Komo.
Then back toward Griz again.
"No."
He shook his head.
"There's no way."
The two beasts stared at each other strangely before Griz finally spoke again.
"Seeing as you can hear our voices, it appears we truly are contracted to you."
Hammed's jaw dropped.
"You can speak!"
Griz's enormous head tilted slightly.
"Not exactly."
Komo's voice followed inside Hammed's mind.
"We cannot speak using human voices. The contract allows you to hear our thoughts and voices telepathically."
Hammed slowly backed away.
"So I've got two giant beasts following me, I somehow have a broken system, and now I can hear animals talking inside my head?"
Neither beast answered immediately.
Hammed covered his face with both hands.
"Wonderful."
Griz gave a low growl.
"Calm yourself. Your heart rate has increased significantly."
Hammed slowly lowered his hands.
"You can actually tell?"
"Yes."
"That's creepy."
Komo remained silent for several moments before speaking again.
"You are our contractor."
Hammed stared at him.
"Contractor?
"Yes."
Hammed looked toward the empty space where the system had disappeared.
"So that broken screen wasn't completely useless?"
Griz answered calmly.
"It identified the existence of our contract."
Hammed sighed.
"Great. It broke before explaining anything."
He picked up the five fish he had dropped earlier and continued walking. Asking too many questions probably wouldn't help, and besides, he still needed to find a way out of the forest.
They continued along the lakeshore for several hours. Whenever Hammed unknowingly began drifting in the wrong direction, Griz corrected him. The enormous bear seemed strangely familiar with the surrounding forest.
Eventually the sun began lowering toward the horizon.
Hammed wiped sweat from his forehead.
"We've been walking forever."
Griz continued forward without answering.
Komo suddenly stopped.
Hammed noticed immediately.
"What is it?"
The enormous Komodo dragon lifted its head, staring toward the distant trees.
Then Hammed heard something.
A scream.
It echoed faintly through the forest.
"Help!"
Hammed froze.
Another scream followed.
This one sounded higher, more desperate, and much closer.
Then another....And another.
Hammed's expression changed completely
Someone was screaming.
Someone was in danger.
He looked toward Griz and Komo before gripping his spear.
"What if it's a person?"
He swallowed.
"If someone is actually in trouble, ignoring them would make me no better than a monster."
Without waiting for either beast's response, Hammed began running toward the source of the screams.
Griz immediately moved faster.
Before Hammed could protest, the enormous bear lowered himself and gently picked Hammed up, placing him securely across his broad back.
"This will be faster."
Hammed grabbed tightly onto Griz's thick fur.
"Yeah..."
He glanced downward at the rushing ground.
"Definitely faster."
The massive bear sprinted through the forest while Komo followed beside them. Trees blurred around Hammed as branches whipped past his face. The screams continued echoing ahead, guiding them deeper into the wilderness.
Then suddenly
Silence.
The screams stopped completely.
Hammed's expression became serious.
"Where did they go?"
Griz slowed slightly.
Hammed looked around carefully. The forest had become unnaturally quiet. Even the birds seemed to have disappeared, leaving only their footsteps and Hammed's increasingly nervous breathing.
"Maybe we should go back."
He didn't like this.
Komo suddenly stopped walking.
"We have arrived."
Hammed looked ahead.
His eyes widened.
Something was hidden beyond the trees.
He couldn't see what it was yet, but the atmosphere had completely changed. A strange pressure filled the air, making every instinct inside Hammed scream that whatever waited ahead was far more dangerous than anything he had encountered before.
Hammed slowly tightened his grip on Griz's fur.
"What exactly did we arrive at?"
Neither beast answered immediately.
The silence stretched.
Then Griz finally growled.
"Look ahead."
Hammed carefully raised his head
Hammed's breathing stopped.
His blood ran cold.