I was back in the real world, or so I hoped. The trees, the snow, the sky, my guide. Everything was real, but the world itself was in monochrome and moving so slowly.

  Slow..?

  No, still...?

  No, it was just moving incredibly slowly as if the world itself took a moment to rest. My eyes were unbound to my body, and I could move freely as if I were air. It was surreal to see my body from an outer perspective, and it made me realize how undignified I looked.

  My guide had my body hung sideways on their back like a saddle, and their form was frozen in a scramble, which made me wonder how my body had not fallen off.

  Looking back.

  An all-devouring black fog, moving as if an avalanche were taking a stroll, and through the fog. A thousand steps back, a tall figure marched, encased in a wild, oily blaze of dark blue. Their entire being was hidden by black soot.

  ‘Nihil.’ The word whispered into my head, and everything vanished: the fog, the trees, the sky, the ground, and yet the guide and the soot figure remained. Floating in a void sky, their distance was now closer to each other.

  For a time, I floated still, unsure and bewildered, which led me to go back to my guide. Touching their fur.

  ‘Weren.’ The voice spoke again; it was familiar, but I did not remember where or who. I pulled back and touched them again. ‘Weren.’ A word that had no meaning, a name perhaps? My curiosity turned to the soot-covered figure. No one else should have been here in the woods beside my partner, and as far as I know, expeditions to these woods alone were suicide.

  Their skin was soft, and the next thing I knew was being dragged back into my body.

  “Wait!?” I screamed, coughing. My head hurt as if it had just crashed into a stone wall, and everything was passing blur.

  “WHAT!?” The guide screams, shocked, tired, and stressed.

  “Wait, stop,” I moved, but couldn’t; everything from the neck down felt dull and weak. “Stop running!”

  His steps falter for a moment. “ARE YOU MAD!? CAN’T YOU SEE WHAT’S CHASING US?!”

  Looking back, there was nothing but snow and trees.

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  “Yes, so Stop!”

  “YOU'RE INSANE!” He countered, glancing his head at me. His eyes were ones I’ve seen too many before, but still, it made me irk. “YOU-“

  “Weren,”

  “ho-“

  “Trust me.”

  “No! I don’t know how you got my name, but I’m not stupid enough to get us killed!”

  I sighed and took a deep breath, taking a moment to figure out what was wrong with my body, but found nothing I could fix. Another drawback to assimilation? Or was it because it was my first time using it?

  “Put me down!” I ordered, but got no response.

  There was only one option I could think of; if my head was the only thing I could use, then I would use my entire head.

  Crack, pop.

  Unhinging my jaw, softening the bone of my skull, and fracturing it as if glass. Wide strips of skin and bone gilded muscle flaying from unseen cuts, blooming like unholy Lilly. Then a hissing breath followed a guttural gurgle that would make anyone's hair stand.

  “P`ut* Me Do*w’n!”

  “Wha!-“

  A folding step, and I reformed my head before it slammed into the snow. Rolling then crashing into the base of a tree. The result was better than expected.

  My body felt less dull, aching that is slowly spreading, growing. It was a bad plan, but it worked.

  “W, what on Antirno are you?” Weren asked, gritting back a whimper, standing up, or at least trying to, there was something clearly wrong.

  The look in his eyes irked me again, though I could not blame him. Quietly, I forced myself up and leaned my back against the tree. My legs were shaky, but forcing them still took less effort than expected. But taking a step forward was impossible.

  “What in the hollows are you!?” Again, I ignored them.

  Move, WALK…

  MARCH!

  A step forward, then another. Engrain my will into my flesh as I hovel forward, uneven, labored, but progress.

  Breath, breath. Rest. Already out of breath after taking a dozen steps. An unnatural gale pushed me back, and the cold felt twice as bad as it did before. No, every sensation felt doubled. Pressure, texture, temperature, everything felt closer, realer.

  Shaking off the thought, there were other, far more concerning problems that needed my attention.

  Breath, Move.

  My steps were somewhat solid.

  “Hey!” A tug on my sleeve stopped me. “W,we need to go back.” Weren’s eyes were conflicted, torn between fear and something else. “I can’t let you die.”

  “I’m not dying,” I said, pulling back my sleeve, but their bite was stronger than my arm. I sighed and peeled my flesh.

  “Let *go,” They flinched, closing their eyes in defense, and yet their bite remains firm.

  “No, Lord Fenret would kill me if I failed.”

  “You’re ‘not* goi’ng to fail, b’ecaus’e, I’m not *going to di’e.” I reformed my head, talking without it was surprisingly difficult. “Let go, will you!” Pulling back my arm with force.

  The sleeve ripped, and I fell before being caught by fur.

  “Lair!” They said through gritted teeth that it was clear that my weight was affecting them more than they would like to show. “You could barely stand.”

  “So can you.” I thought and said, taking a deep breath and steadying myself. “You can either help me, or flee without me.” His eyes grew more conflicted, and for a moment we stared at each other in silence.

  The wind whistled an answer, and I turned my gaze and marched forward without support.

  Slow and steady.

  That was my pace: take a dozen steps, then rest, before taking a dozen more. After a few repetitions, I looked back, and Weren was nowhere to be seen.

  Good. I thought at least one of us would get to live if I was wrong.