Life Flashes Before...

Of course, the attack was a failure. The beast simply shook its head to dodge the incoming strike while aiming to bite off the pesky human's limb. However, its plan was foiled when a tower shield appeared in between it and its prey again. Taking advantage of its blind spot, Lanse quickly slashed at the beast's right arm, cutting off the hide in the area. Immediately, another serpent transformed from the helical black rings on his left arm and sunk its deathly fangs deep into the Ursarg's flesh.

GRRRRGGGHHHH!!

Roaring with anger, the beast pushed away the defender along with his shield, leaving Lanse to fend for himself. Cursing inwardly, Lanse dodged and counterattacked multiple times, accumulating damage on the beast as the numerous wounds on its body started to bleed.

The venom seemed to be taking effect as well, seeing that it had gotten so much easier to dodge the beast's deadly attacks. Soon, the defender also rejoined the battle, blocking occasionally to create opportunities for Lanse. Together, the duo created a stand-still between the general Ursarg and them, but one direct hit from the beast could still easily kill both of them.

Focused on their battle, the duo failed to notice that the terrible cacophony in the background had faded, replaced by a deathly silence. The second wall had fallen, and the barrier had started to melt away. Suddenly ambushed by hundreds of Ursargs from all sides, the duo found themselves in a pinch. The first to fall was the defender.

As the hungry beasts ripped him apart limb by limb, he managed to push Lanse as far away as possible from him with his tower shield. Revealing a somber smile, he activated the explosion trinket.

Bang!

Falling on the ground, Lanse struggled to pull himself back up. The sound of the explosion still ringing in his ears. Thanks to the defender's final sacrifice, a small area had been cleared around him. Not letting go of the opportunity that his friend had created, Lanse rushed toward the general Ursarg, attempting to deal a fatal blow while it was still confused by the shock waves. But, it was all for naught.

Of course, Lanse was a cornered rat in this situation but the general Ursarg was also an injured beast. And everyone knew that injured beasts were much more dangerous than any rat could ever be. As soon as it noticed a sharp pain coming from its torso, the beast quickly moved and swatted away the pesky human who had stabbed it. Livid, it delivered a swipe right on the human's chest, ripping off a considerable chunk of flesh.

Bleeding out and exhausted, Lanse struggled to remain awake. The towering beast looked down on him, still not finishing the prey off as if it was mocking the human that dared to stand in its way. Still, the mighty beast had been reduced to a mess of blood and open wounds, especially the grievous last hit from Lanse.

Breathing heavily, the beast found itself struggling to stand proud as the venom in its system continued ravaging it from the inside. But, it had survived the battle while the human in front of it had failed. The beast had won. Preparing to deal the final blow, the beast raised its right arm, but, suddenly, a blinding light swallowed up its vision.

Lanse saw the scene as well, albeit better because of his position. A miniature sun suddenly dropped from the sky, swallowing everything in the vicinity as soon as it touched the bloodied ground. He saw the lesser Ursargs get incinerated into nothingness without even having a chance to yelp. And finally, the light swallowed him and his opponent as well.

'Warm'

Lanse felt warm, he felt at ease as if he was being caressed by his mother when he was a baby. Soaking in the comfort, Lanse closed his eyes. And soon, the world turned black.

.

.

.

Startled by the sudden sounds of the wild birds and critters of the woods, young Lanse nervously observed his surroundings. Although there were nothing but trees all around, he still felt anxious because of something he overheard from the adults about a terrifying beast appearing in the woods.

Cautiously, Lanse continued on his path, reaching a stream at some point, and following it downstream. Eventually, he came across a particular clearing and what awaited him there was a little girl, dressed in elegant yet somewhat practical clothes. Her tiny body was covered in bruises here and there, and yet, she always had a cheerful smile whenever they played together.

Waving the wooden sword he had in his hand, Lanse greeted the little girl.

"Guin! I'm here."

The girl turned towards him and smiled, making Lanse blush a bit.

"Hey, Lanse. Come here quickly. I found something interesting."

Lanse hurried over to Guin's side and looked over her shoulder. And there it was, tracks of an elusive herbivorous beast, the Ivory Cervid. 

How did these two kids know it was that particular beast and not just any other run-of-the-mill Cervids? [Basically deers] Well, Lanse came from a hunter family and knew the ins and outs about all sorts of tracks. And Guin… seemed educated about it. Judging by the sharp corners of the track and the lack of debris inside the imprint, the beast couldn't have gone far yet. The duo looked at each other for a while, as a wide smile on Guin's face made Lanse contemplate. Finally, he gave up and let out a sigh.

"Fine, we'll follow it. But, promise me one thing. Stay close to me, okay?"

The little girl replied with a nod. "Okay, I promise!"

Happy with the response, Lanse led her on their way to meet the elusive beast, taking extra caution since he hadn't been to this part of the woods before. Although Lanse seemed to be hesitant at first, he too wanted to have a look at the Ivory Cervid. Many said that seeing one could grant a wish, and some even went as far as saying that they were some sort of deity. Thinking about all possible outcomes, Lanse grew more excited as they continued to close in on the beast.

"I think it's nearby. The tracks look only a few minutes old." Lanse looked back at Guin to see how she was faring. The little girl was carefully maneuvering her way across some bushes so as not to rip her dress, as well as to avoid making sounds that could alert the beast.

"Okay, move on. I'm right behind you."

Lanse nodded in acknowledgment and continued forward, and the tracks left behind by the beast grew more and more distinct… and distraught? Noticing this strange development, Lanse suddenly stopped which led to Guin bumping into him from behind.

"Ow! Why did you stop so suddenly?" The little girl complained with a pout. "Have we arrived?"

"Umm… No. It's just that something feels weird. The track looks as if it's trying to run away from something."

"But, we didn't see any other imprints though?"

"Yes. But, I think we should head bac-"

Before Lanse could finish his sentence, a terrible shriek emanated from the bushes beside them, followed by a magnificent beast clad in pristine white fur. Its antlers protruded like bolts of lightning that had fallen from the heavens. And yet, the Cervid appeared to be extremely terrified, trying its best to run away from whatever was behind. At this moment, it was just a mere prey, rather than some divine creature.

Lanse quickly grabbed Guin and pulled her behind him before plugging his ears with his hands. The beast continued to let out a soul-wrenching scream as it weakly moved forward until it finally collapsed right in front of the two children. There were no bruises on its pristine skin, nor any bleeding wounds, and yet, it was dead.

The whole situation was terribly strange and Lanse wanted to bolt out of it as fast as possible. But, his legs were frozen in place, both his body and mind still shocked by what just occurred. Then, he remembered an important thing… the Ivory Cervid was trying to run away from something. And if the Cervid was dead in front of them right now, whatever followed it was going to show up soon.

Realizing this fact, Lanse tried to move his petrified body and warn Guin, but he was too late. The thing was here. Immediately, Lanse felt shivers down his spine and noticed the temperature lowering significantly. The sunlight rays that were scattered around suddenly disappeared and an eerie fog replaced its stead, bringing about an artificial night.

Draped in tattered black rags, the creature's ethereal form swayed eerily with each movement. From within the folds of the sinister shroud, a pair of blood-red eyes shone with an unnatural intensity, seemingly able to pierce the soul of anyone who dared to meet its gaze. Concealed within the shadows of the ragged cloak, the Specter's face contorted into a grotesque visage of horror. Ignoring the Ivory Cervid, the Specter drifted closer to the two children. It extended one of its emaciated malformed arms forward, creeping closer to touch the children with its ghastly long fingers.