“No, no, no nononono NO!” Alex scrambled backwards, unable to tear his eyes away of the sight in front of him no matter how much he wanted to.

  Unbeknownst to him, he found himself in a large white room, moonlight filtering through the gauze curtains cast a soft glow over the patterned marble floor. It crawled its way up the side of a deep mahogany bed and touched upon tasteful, light beige bed sheets with gold inlay. As the light moved further up the bed it would have only illuminated more of the expensive bedding, if that same bedding hadn’t been stained crimson with blood.

  As Alex gazed at the centre of the bed, he beheld the torn apart remains of what he could only presume was a woman. Chunks of flesh and bone, as well as ripped apart organs, lay scattered around the room as if a meat hurricane had swept through it, tossing its gruesome contents to all four corners.

  Even the ceiling was not spared, jets of blood sprayed across it, leaving marks reminiscent of some “modern art” consisting of smacking the brush across a canvas. Such was the state of the cadaver that he could not even have ascertained its gender were it not for the tatters of a silky nightshirt, torn to shreds and painted with the unfortunate victim’s insides.

  “Did I just fucking EAT A PERSON?!?” He screamed, bile threatening to rise up his throat, bringing with it the unmistakable taste of blood. Alex collapsed to the floor in horror, dry heaving as tears streamed down his face, shaking his head in denial of reality.

  “What the fuck, what the fuck, what th- eurk” The battle with his stomach was lost, a stream of red liquid dribbling out of his mouth onto the floor.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry!” He sobbed. His horrified mind warring with his body, logic against instinct. The feeling of fulfilment within him told him that what he did was right, the only logical outcome in the present situation, while his conscience and upbringing screamed that he was a monster.

  “I can’t- I can’t stay here. I need to get out.” He muttered, coughing up another mouthful of blood and spitting it on the floor. “If someone finds me here, they’ll immediately kill me without even hearing me out. Not like there’s much hearing out to do. It’s exactly what it looks like.”

  As Alex pressed down with his right hand to get up, a tremendous force suddenly coursed through the limb and shot him up over three feet into the air. Flailing wildly as he spun, he felt his body instinctually twist on its own and land on his feet.

  “Uh… what?”

  Alex tried to grasp what had just happened. Looking at his hand, he went to take a step forward only to spring another foot higher than before, sending him into a backflip that he once again landed seemingly on pure instinct. Putting his hands out for balance, Alex stilled, refusing to move a muscle.

  Ever so slowly, he lifted his hand in front of his face, intently studying it. It was only now that he noticed that while it was still deathly pale, there seemed to be a slight hint of colour tinting it, and if he wasn’t mistaken the flesh seemed considerably less sunken in than before.

  ‘Well that’s… new. Wait, if my hand is like this then…!’ Alex quickly looked down to lift his shirt, abruptly realising that sometime during his… episode, he had lost all his clothes, leaving him standing there in his birthday suit.

  “Naked and covered in someone else's blood, huh? Just like the day I was born.” He let out a dark chuckle and finally focused on his body. What greeted him was not the sunken and starved physique of a holocaust survivor, but neither was it exactly his old, trained body. It was similar, yes, healthy, but somehow also… more. It looked sleeker, more powerful, more refined.

  Over the course of their life, every person’s body develops small imperfections. A slight slouch in one shoulder, a more developed dominant arm, a marginally twisted ribcage, asymmetrical abs… These individually do not impact a person’s day to day life or their ability to function. However, as more and more of them build up, their effects become increasingly noticeable. Aching joints, reduced mobility, flagging strength, many of the things associated with age were the result of the accumulation of these small imperfections.

  The body reflected in Alex's eyes, however, had none of these. Every muscle, every bone, every pore was ideally positioned, as if sculpted by the gods. It was DaVinci's wet dream, the perfect body, and it was his.

  Alex wondered at the changes he had once again undergone without even having time to get used to the previous ones. He could feel that the increase in physical strength was not the only improvement brought about by the transformation. His newly enhanced hearing made out several sets of rapid footsteps approaching from below, along with a strange rattling sound reminding him of a bag of tin cans.

  Knowing he had very little time left, Alex quickly spotted a complicated gem encrusted necklace laying on the bedside table. Making a snap decision, he decided that the money he would get from pawning it off was worth the risk of someone searching for it. Worst case he could pry the gemstones out and sell them individually.

  After grabbing the necklace and throwing one last look around the room, he decided that he really needed to get out of here, and fast. The footsteps were now charging up the stairs and would be here any moment, and he had no desire to be in the room when it happened. Still not fully in control of his body, he decided not to risk any complicated movements. He slowly tilted forwards until he was falling over, stopping himself with his arms and dropping into a push-up position. Then, ever so carefully, he bent his knees and oriented himself towards the full-length window on the opposite side of the room.

  Just as the first person rushed into the room behind him and let out a shout of alarm, he unleashed the power stored in his muscles and launched himself directly at the glass. The moment before impact, he crossed his arms over his head to protect his face and with a resounding crash burst through to the other side, trailing blood from several deep lacerations.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  Looking down, Alex suddenly remembered that he was not at ground level. A large drop awaited him on the other side of the glass, which he now plummeted towards headfirst. He felt an initial burst of panic before his new body's instincts smothered the feeling in the cradle. Sure enough, before the fear could fully set in, his enhanced body reoriented itself in midair and let him smoothly land on his feet with bent knees, dispersing the force with catlike grace.

  Getting up from his crouch, he looked around to orient himself and was confused by his surroundings for the second time in the past 24 hours. He found himself standing in the middle of a large garden, mostly populated by short, hardy trees similar to olive trees and patches of drying grass.

  Turning around to inspect the building he had just vacated, Alex beheld an opulent Greek-style mansion built from white marble. Tall, smooth columns supported its fa?ade, leading up to a flat, square roof lined with water ducts. Beautiful, painstakingly carved statues of mythological beasts were proudly displayed on either side of the entrance, giving it an intimidating air.

  A row of equally impressive mansions spread out to either side of him, each with a unique style and architecture. Separating each mansion were shear, sleek walls of white marble topped with fierce looking metal spikes to deter intruders.

  In the distance, Alex could see a small mountain, it’s sheer cliff wall facing towards him. His enhanced eyesight allowed him to make out the imposing temple perched on the cliff's edge, dim torches flickering in the wind as acolytes scurried around doing temple tasks, appearing like a colony of ants from such a large distance.

  Sighing once again at his complete ignorance of his whereabouts, he refocused on his immediate situation as he heard more shouts coming from the mansion. The man that had rushed into the room as he jumped had arrived at the window, but was hesitating in front of the opening, deterred by the precipitous drop.

  Finally getting a good look at the first local he had come across, Alex couldn’t help but find him… odd. The guard was wearing loose, airy clothing appropriate for the climate, their folds waving lightly in the breeze. However, over the top of those clothes he had donned what could only be described as ancient armour. A smooth, brown leather chest plate studded with small iron spikes covered his torso, with a matching set of leather trousers and boots.

  The guard’s bracers on the other hand were obviously not part of the set; they were made from some sort of shiny blue metal, the material catching the moonlight. Slightly too ornate to be used in combat, they were covered in flowing, elaborate swirls as well as several sparkling gems embedded at various points.

  'Actually, those swirls look kind of familiar…' Before Alex could remember where he had seen them, the guard shouted something at him and drew his sword, raising it as if to attack. 'I guess we know what those tin cans were.'

  ‘And what are you gonna do with a sword from all the way over there, idiot? Throw it?’ Alex questioned, assured of his safety.

  As Alex was mocking the guard, he was suddenly blinded by a bright radiance released from the gemstones embedded in the man’s bracers. Flinching at how the light burned his retinas, he suddenly felt a deep sensation of danger approaching him. Still blinded by the light, he desperately launched himself sideways in hopes of avoiding the threat.

  Immediately, he felt a tugging sensation at his left elbow, before a searing, all-encompassing pain shot from his arm directly to his brain. Falling to his knees in agony he reached over to clutch at the injury only to not find nothing but a bleeding stump.

  Turning his head with widening eyes, Alex screamed. “MY ARM!!! FUCK!!! IT HURTS!!!”

  There, lying next to him, was his left arm, cleanly severed at the elbow. Through the debilitating pain, Alex turned even more and saw a long, foot deep scar splitting the earth behind him, stretching across the garden for several yards. Staring at it in disbelief, he slowly turned back to look at the guard, whose bracers had stopped glowing, once again revealing his appearance. It was clear that whatever he had just done took a lot out of him too, his breath coming in heaving gasps as he slumped against the window frame.

  Seeing the man’s state, Alex guessed that he would not be able to launch another attack like that for quite a while, making this his best chance to escape. However, fleeing with his tail between his legs didn’t sit right with Alex, and he felt that getting rid of this potentil pursuer was worth it.

  'It's you or him.' He psyched his pain addled mind up. 'He's seen your face. Get rid of him now while you still have the chance.'

  Gritting his teeth against the overwhelming agony, Alex forced himself to stand, swaying unsteadily on his feet. His vision flickered as he nearly blacked out from the pain, but he forced himself to stay awake.

  Steeling himself, he suppressed the part of his mind telling him to run away. When the guard saw that Alex was not only still alive, but was coming closer, his eyes widened and he went pale. Watching him approach, the guard tried and failed to lift his sword, the fear in his eyes growing with every unsteady step the young man took.

  Unfortunately, life wasn’t a videogame, and in the heat of the moment Alex forgot that he had heard several sets of footsteps.

  “Die, monster!” Alex suddenly heard someone shout before a second radiance lit up the night, this time coming from a window to his left.

  Having experienced this once before, he knew what to expect despite being taken by surprise. While he was still blinded by the light, Alex jumped as high as he could, soaring well over 15 feet into the air and avoiding the bright sword crescent that sliced through the space he had just occupied.

  The light flew across the garden, leaving a shallow furrow in its trail, colliding with one of the trees and cleanly slicing it in half before continuing on and leaving another scar on the marble wall enclosing the yard.

  “Tsk!” He exclaimed as he heard more and more people converge towards his location, half in frustration and half in relief. It seemed like he would have to retreat for now. His new abilities were great, but he still wasn't fully in control of his strength and wasn't keen on testing whether his neck would be able to take one of those attacks. Judging by how deeply it had damaged literal stone, he doubted it.

  Dropping down to the ground, Alex turned around and vaulted over the garden wall before running away from the mansion as fast as he could—not forgetting to pick up his severed arm and the amulet on his way out. Now that he knew about the existence of magic in this world, he wasn’t going to leave pieces of himself lying around for someone to curse him with if he could help it.

  He couldn’t do much about all the blood he had spilt, but hopefully just that wouldn’t be enough for them to use. Maybe he was scaring himself over nothing and this world might not have anything close to voodoo magic, but better safe than sorry.

  Racing further away from the mansion, he could hear a few guards try to give chase. They quickly gave up, however, their shouts fading into the distance, leaving him with nothing but the rushing wind and the stars as his companions.