Kaizer stood among the bodies for a long time after choosing his profession. Nothing dramatic followed the decision. No surge of power. No sudden clarity. Just a faint pressure behind his eyes, like the world had shifted half a step out of alignment. He felt aware of things in a way that was difficult to describe. Not sharper exactly, but quieter, more subtle. He could notice faint outlines or smells of flora which may be beneficial. Further, he could see faint shimmering on corpses that also contained useful items.
The Wendigo’s corpse lay where it had fallen, twisted and unnatural even in its death. Its limbs were locked at strange angles, ribs warped outward beneath skin that no longer looked like flesh. The faint blue veins which had pulsed beneath its hide were almost gone now, leaving behind a dull lifeless gray.
Kaizer’s gaze kept drifting towards it. Within the Wendigos chest, Kaizer could feel a pulse of energy, stronger than anything else in the area. It brought about interest. The realisation had unsettled him more than the fight ever had. He tore his eyes away and forced himself to breathe. Something had changed in him.
Kaizer focused first and foremost on survival. He moved among the dead slowly, deliberately, choosing each step with care. His thigh protested, stiff and burning beneath his torn and blood-darkened pants. His left arm refused to bear any weight at all, hanging awkwardly at his side despite the dull ache that told a tale of slow healing. Pain had become information. He listened to it with intensity.
The first useful thing Kaizer managed to find was a knife. It looked like a hunters skinning knife, buried in leaves next to one of the corpses. It’s blade was dull and chipped but would still work. The handle was wrapped in fraying cord, darkened by sweat and use. Kaizer picked it up and tested the balance with a small flick of his wrist. Not a weapon meant for fighting, but at least he could use it for other things.
Immediately, he used the knife to cut strips of cloth from the corpses clothing. He used the strips to bind his thigh as best as he could, then slid the knife into a belt he had found. Kaizer moved on to the next few bodies to search for appropriate clothing. At first, he avoided faces, focusing only on fabric, anything that was salvageable and useable, even if it were ripped or damaged. He stripped what he could, cutting away ruined sections and keeping only what still held shape.
Eventually, Kaizer’s mind got the better of him and he couldn’t help but look at the victims. A young woman stared up and him with empty eyes, mouth half open as if she had been about to speak. Kaizer froze, knife hovering uselessly in the air. For a moment, the forest felt impossibly quiet. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, though he didn’t know why he felt compelled to say it out loud.
He worked faster after that. Using the knife, he made more strips of cloth as the ones on his thigh had already bled through. Tightening the bandages, the pressure made his vision swim but the bleeding slowed. Kaizer didn’t bother wrapping his arm, somehow he could tell it was well on the way to healing again, even though it had only been a few hours. Kaizer found a dented metal canteen on one of the bodies. He uncapped it cautiously. The water inside smelled faintly of iron and dirt, but it was clean enough. He drank slowly, forcing himself not to gulp, even as his throat screamed for more.
As he worked, the hunger inside him stirred. Sharp and sudden, Kaizers gaze suddenly drifted towards an exposed forearm of a nearby corpse. The thought to consume it came without warning, vivid and horrifying. He could just tear and rip away the skin. Kaizer staggered back as if struck. “No,” he hissed. The urge lingered longer than it should have, coiling deep within him before finally receding. It left behind a cold residue that crawled up his spine. He pressed his back against a tree, breathing hard, fingers digging into bark until the world steadied again.
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Kaizer wouldn’t let urges like that define who he was. Something had clearly snapped and he needed to get himself under control. He would die before he let himself eat another human. He pressed his back against a tree breathing hard, fingers digging into bark until the world steadied again. Whatever he was becoming, he refused to let that part of him decide his future.
When Kaizer finally turned back toward the Wendigo, it was with determination. Up close, the corpse was worse than he remembered. The hide had completely hardened, dark and rigid, closer to bone than skin. Kaizer pressed the knife against it and pushed. The blade skidded off with a faint screech. He tried again. Harder, but not even a scratch.
Kaizer frowned and placed his palm against the creature’s chest. The flesh felt dead in the wrong way. Not decaying. Fixed. As if the moment life had left it, something fundamental had locked into place. The faint glow he had sensed earlier was still there, deep within the body, but unreachable. He tried both his spear and claws before giving up.
He backed away and focused on smaller, safer things. One of the corpses had a crude glass vial tucked into a pocket. The liquid inside had separated into cloudy layers that refused to mix. Kaizer uncorked it carefully and sniffed. Retching at the smell, he poured the contents onto the ground. Whoever tried to make this potion had utterly failed. Once Kaizer had finished looting anything he deemed useful, he turned away from the clearing and stepped back into the forest.
The forest welcomed him back with damp air and filtered light. He followed his own trail deeper into the trees, away from the stench of blood and rot. His senses stretched outward as he moved, guided now by something quieter than desperation. Kaizer remembered the hare he had first killed. He already knew how it moved and thought now that he had a decent knife, it might make a nice meal.
Tracking came far easier to him this time. He found a den near a shallow stream, hidden beneath tangled roots and low brush. Two hares bolted the moment he stepped into view, larger than any natural animal had a right to be. Kaizer did not chase blindly. He waited. Watched and adjusted. When one darted past him, he stepped in and drove the spear through its hide in a single clean motion. The second tried to flee but Kaizer pivoted easily despite the pain and threw the spear. It struck true, pinning the creature to the ground. It was over quickly.
He set up camp near the stream, building a small fire with shaking hands. The smoke stung his eyes, but the warmth grounded him. He skinned the hares carefully, guided more by instinct than knowledge. His cuts were messy but the system showed small glimpses of what needed to be done. What to pull. Where to slice. How much force to use. By the time he was skinning the second hare, he was already far better.
As the meat cooked on the fire, the smell filled the air. Real food, finally. Kaizer ate slowly, forcing himself to chew, to swallow. Strength slowly returned to him in cautious increments. Settling deeper, he removed the bandages to inspect his leg. The skin around the wound was slowly turning a deep black, spreading in uneven patches. Black veins seemingly traced beneath the skin like ink. There was no pain but that was no comfort, the wound seemed to be healing far slower then any he had sustained before.
Night came quietly. Sleep took him. He dreamed of Silver. Cold moonlight stretched across endless snowfields. A vast shape watched from the dark, eyes like distant stars hidden behind cloud. Kaizer stood on a frozen plain, too small to matter but at least he could watch. Silver stared back at him and suddenly spoke. “Morning comes little one. This isn’t the place for you yet, we will hold a meeting after you survive.”
Kaizer woke with a gasp. Had that been real? Even though dawn was breaking, Kaizer couldn’t relax. Sitting by the dying fire, Kaizer once again unwrapped the bandages on his leg. The wound was festering. It seems the Wendigos attack was no normal attack. While still healing, black veins were slowly expanding. He still couldn’t feel anything from them but it worried him. Kaizer decided to inspect his status
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STATUS UPDATE
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Level: 6
Strength: 12
Endurance: 7
Agility: 11
Perception: 8
Mind: 5
Instinct: 27
Free Points: 12
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The aftershock of the Wendigo’s death still lingered in him. He could finally see what killing the Wendigo had done for him. Given the tag endurance, Kaizer hoped it was somehow related to healing, he dumped 3 points into it to bring up it up to 10.
Endurance: 7 --> 10
With that sorted, Kaizer decided to save the remaining 9 points for now. Until he could think clearly, he wouldn’t play around with it too much. Kaizer felt a faint warmth come over him as his breathing lightened. The most noticeable change was his elbow. His arm didn’t feel as useless now. He felt that even though it was still damaged, he could move it. For the time being, it would have to do.
Kaizer packed what little he had, slung the spear over his shoulder and stood. Every step still hurt. Every movement reminded him how close he had come to dying but he was more energetic. He could move. He turned toward the deeper forest, ears twitching. Somewhere ahead, faint and distant, voices drifted through the trees. Human voices. Kaizer only hesitated a moment before moving toward the sound.
