It was just another day of gaming for me. I had gotten off work an hour or two ago, and, since it was only a measly fifteen minutes away, I had plenty of time to myself once I got home. I was currently playing a simple and well known RPG, called Shovel Knight. It was one of the many such games I owned, and I was just about to beat the final boss. It was a hardfought battle, but, being a veteran whom had beaten the game over and over, it wasn't impossible.

Finally, with one last blow, she was dead, and the cutscenes began.

But my attention was drawn to another screen, my phone's screen, as I heard the tell-tale ding of a notification from it. Picking it up, I discovered I had a new message. A text from an unknown number.

The name was blank, and the number, when I checked, was simply 865-865-8665. Odd. I shrugged, and, seeing no harm in just taking a peek, looked at the message.

Congratulations! You have been chosen to receive a very special prize! To accept it, simply reply yes!

I stared at the screen in befuddlement, and eventually just thought that I might as well accept it. I mean, free prize, right? Who would turn that down? So, I replied yes.

I didn't get a response. Well, guess it was just a prank, then. Freaking trolls. I yawned and stretched, and after a glance at the clock, decided to head in early.

So I brushed my teeth and got in my pajamas before flopping onto my bed, falling asleep not too long after my head hit the pillow.

I woke up in a free fall in a deep, inky black void. Naturally, I screamed in fright.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAH FUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!!!" I screamed. I don't know how long I fell, only that it was long enough for my throat to go sore from the screaming.

Then, I felt my body get torn apart, bit by tiny excrutiating bit. First came my legs. They stretched, to the point I swore the muscles and skin were tearing. Then the same happened to my arms. After that, my head erupted in pain as I felt bone start to grow. Agonizingly, slowly, and with so much blood I couldn't see from how it ran down my face and eyes. I screamed again, throat getting more sore but I didn't care, I was in too much pain.

In my delirium between taking breaths to scream, and between the flashes of time when I could see past the blood, I swore I saw a massive, great blue moon, hanging over me, tauntingly, hauntingly, watching me like a celestial eyeball.

I awoke with a start as I slammed face first into solid rock. The metallic taste of blood traveled into my mouth, and my head was spinning. I didn't bother getting up at first, focusing more on trying to wait out the dizziness. When it faded, I managed to stand upright, but only slowy. I held a hand to my head, and noticed something wrong.

There was a lot less hair on my skull.

At first, I thought it was just a prank somebody pulled on me, shaving my head and all, but I explored further and found I still had some hair, just in neat rows that I don't remember being there either. But that wasn't what really concerned me.

What concerned me was that I found two bony protrusions sprouting from my head. Both seemed to have been broken off, and one was longer than the other, but it still solidified the fact that I now had horns. My level of freakout skyrocketed, as you can imagine.

I thought they were fake, but to my iminent shock and displeasure they weren't. They were real. I could feel them. I tried prying them off, but it didn't work. Just made them hurt. I actually had horns. It was after realizing this that I realized another thing.

Looking at my hands, I found that my skin color was different. Like, a lot different. Like, it was a charcoal black. Thinking it was just paint, I tried to wipe it off. No success.

That was also around the time I noticed I now had a larger pair of sweater puppies on me. Not by much, but enough to be noticeable. That, and I was wearing nothing but simple undies.

Well, that explains why I feel cold.

I looked around and noticed I appeared to be in a very large and extensive cavern. It seemed like I was in an underground temple, in fact. Why? Because there were masterfully carved stone bridges and statues, most of which were lined with gold. But the statues are what really threw me for a loop.

They looked like dwarven statues. As in, Lord of The Rings dwarven statues. There were minor differences, yeah, but it still looked a lot like dwarven statues. I'll admit, I am loving the architecture. I mean, who wouldn't? But this had to be a dream. I mean, everyone knows dwarves aren't real, right? They're just fairy tales and myths. Yeah, this must be a dream.

But...just in case, let's test that. I raised a fist and punched my other arm. Ow, okay, not a dream. Wait...not a dream!?

I paced around rapidly as my thoughts raced, hands on my head. What the jarvla do I do!? I'm alone, naked, and have no way of defending myself whatsoever! Skit skit skit! What about my family!? My sister, my cousin, my parents!? And my friends, what about them!? Am I even going to see them again!? No, no no no, I have to see them again. No, I will see them again.

I let out a breath, lowering my hands and looking up. "Okay, okay...let's think this through logically... First, I'm still alive. Bare of any defense or dignity, but alive. That's a plus," I started to count off the pros on my fingers. "Second, I'm in a fantasy dwarven cavern, that's pretty cool. Not how I wanted my first time in one to be, but there's nothing I can do about that.

"Let's review everything else. First, I'm not where I last remember being. Second, my body has changed, that's definitely not normal. Freaks me the heck out, actually. Third, I'm pretty much naked, which means; no phone, no wallet, and no car keys, though I doubt those would really do anything for me down here. And being naked means I'm liable to being jumped by some pervert."

I threw my hands up in the air. "Well this is just javla perfect! I'm lost as all hell and who knows how many feet underground, not to mention I'm cold and have no way of protecting myself! Hell, I don't even know how to fight! All I had to get me out of bad situations was pepper spray and my phone, and I now have neither of those! Jarvla! Satan it! "

I yelled countless profanities, cursing away I don't even know how many minutes. I cursed everything I could think of, but I mostly cursed whoever sent that text. Satan them to the deepest pits of hell! After cursing and cursing for what felt like an hour, I calmed down. With a sigh, I glanced around again, trying to figure out which way to go.

Well, I guess finding some way to get warm would be the best thing to do, and then hopefully shelter. After that, find out what the hell happened.

I began to walk toward the closest stone bridge where there were a few braziers, and it was during this that I finally noticed another thing about my anatomy: I was taller. Like, three feet taller, if the fact that the statues around me were much shorter then they should be was any indication. That, and I felt taller. That was a big sign.

Anyway, I continued to walk, my bare feet slapping against the cold, cracked, and gilded stone floor of the bridge. It was only as I was crossing it that I finally realized why I didn't have any trouble seeing.

There, below the bridge of which went over a gigantic chasm, was what looked like thousands, no, millions, of torches, all clustered together and moving around. Like an angry mob, but on a vastly larger scale. I suddenly felt a lot smaller and a lot more in danger.

I did not want to find out why there were so many torches down there. So, with that thought, I quickened my pace, soon making it to the braziers and warming myself up by their heat. Again, if I weren't so anxious, I'd be taking my time staring and admiring the statues.

But I didn't really have that luxury at the moment. I needed to get out of here, preferably before a group from that mob below found me. Or anything else with ill intent, for that matter. But first, warmth.

As I was warming myself up, I found a stick with an oil soaked rag wrapped around it's end, and, picking it up, I lit the end wrapped with the rag aflame.

That done, I thought it was best I continued, now that I had both a heat source and a light source. Though I would still very much like some clothes. Anyway, with my new torch in hand, I moved on towards the massive doorway just ahead, which looked like it led into a tunnel, no doubt used for mining.

Honestly, I thought walking through a cave with a torch like an explorer was pretty cool, but I still would've preferred having my belongings, or at least some form of defense.

I walked through the tunnel, making note of how there were mining tools all strewn about, most of which were just pickaxes, hammers and chisels. Then, I smelled something that made me gag. It smelled like something was rotting, but there wasn't much of any where else to go in the tunnel. No branching pathways, nothing.

It was only when the cave opened up a bit more that I found out where the smell was coming from.

I threw up on the spot at the sight of the decaying body. Whoever they were, they were about four feet tall, and must have been dead for a few weeks, if the state of decay they were in was any indication. From the look of it, it seemed a lot like the stories of dwarves. And I don't remember ever hearing about dwarves being real before, so that only solidified that I was far from home.

He had multiple wounds, all of which looked like cuts, though there were also a few bite marks. Whatever did this was definitely dangerous.

As I looked the body over, I noticed that he had a sword grasped in his hand, so, with no small amount of disgust, I pried it from his literally cold, dead hands. Not like he needed it anymore, right? And I needed something to protect myself.

At least, that's what I told myself. I still wasn't entirely certain about basically looting a body. The leather armor he wore was torn to pieces, and pretty much useless, so I didn't take it. That, and I didn't want to have to touch him anymore than I had to.

"May you rest in peace," I whispered quietly, before continuing through the tunnel. I walked for a while, trying to find an exit. It was while I was walking that I heard something. It sounded like someone was talking, but it was unintelligble, and deep and just plain twisted. Like a mockery of human language. Being cautious, I slowly crept further, drawing closer and closer to the source.

Then, I made it to another part of the cave that opened up and saw something that made my heart stop. There, in front of me, was several piles of corpses, all burning away in a pyre. And around them, were the most twisted versions of humans and horses I'd ever seen, all wearing even more twisted black armor.

No, these weren't humans or horses. They were monsters, they had to be. All of them had sharp, yellowed teeth, and either green or gray skin. And all of them were armed with shields, swords, and bows, all just as twisted as they were. I'm not sure how the hell the horses could wield halberds, but they did, a sickly red and black glow surrounding their horns and their weapons. A larger humanoid with a maul let loose a war cry, and the others seemed to cheer, before rushing toward me.

Author's Note

Proofread by the wonderful Schroedingers_Katze, give her a big thank you and check out her stories! Seriously, she's got talent. Anyway, this is just something that's been in my head for a while now, and I finally decided to let it out. Hope you all are enjoying it so far! Thanks for reading!

—Timeless Celestial