Return Of The Cosmic God

In the far distance, I could see jagged rocky mountains jutted out from the ground like the jagged teeth of some monstrous creature. They were at least a few times larger than Mt. Everest, and the towering peaks of those mountains cast long shadows. But they were too far away from I was…

I squinted, trying to gauge the distance. "Maybe... half a day's walk?" I guessed aloud, though I had no way of knowing for sure. "If I don't collapse from heatstroke first..."

The ground beneath my feet was dry and cracked, and the deep fissures radiated heat. My toes felt like they were standing on a stovetop…

"Why did I even get up?!" I muttered while kicking a small rock with frustration. "I should've stayed in that damn crater. At least the walls blocked some of the sun…"

I took a shaky step forward, then another… After lying in that crater for about a month and drifting in space for more than five years, I felt like I had forgotten how to walk properly. My legs were shaking as they were still adjusting to the movement. The heat pressed down on me like a physical weight, and each step was more exhausting than the last…

"This is ridiculous…." I said, my voice hoarse from the dry air. "Five years floating in space, then a month of pain and hell, and now I get... this?!"

I gestured wildly at the barren landscape, my frustration bubbling over. "Who designed this planet, huh? Who decided, 'Hey, let's make it a furnace and throw in some rocks for fun!!!'"

I let out a bitter laugh, my voice cracking. "I'm talking to myself now. Great. That's how you know you're losing it, Shin..."

I stopped for a moment, put my hands on my hips, and stared out at the horizon. The heat waves distorted everything. The mountains in the distance appeared to float in the shimmering air…

"Okay, Takamiya…" I said out loud, my voice firm. "One step at a time. Don't think about the heat. Don't think about the fact that you're in an alien world with no food, no water, and no idea what you're doing..."

I paused and glanced at the jagged cracks in the ground. "Just... keep moving. And maybe, just maybe, you'll find something that doesn't want to kill you…"

The sun kept bearing down on me. Every inch of me was sweating, and my skin prickled with the heat. My throat was dry. The dry air and the intense heat sucked away what little moisture I had left…

"This has to be what a roasted chicken feels like when it is put inside an oven…" I muttered while wiping sweat from my forehead again. "Except at least the chicken doesn't know what's coming…"

The alien grass, sparse and crimson, offered no relief. It swayed faintly in the wind, and it was the only sign of life in this barren wasteland…

I bent down, plucked a single blade of the strange grass, and started inspecting it. It felt rough and dry, like brittle paper, and suddenly it crumbled in my hand…

"Not edible…" I said, tossing the fragments aside. "Figures. Guess I'm sticking with air for dinner…"

I forced myself to keep walking. Every step was a struggle. It felt like I was carrying tons of weight on my back. The rocky mountains in the distance didn't seem to get closer, no matter how much or how long I walked. The jagged peaks of those huge mountains mocked at me…

"Come on…" I muttered, my voice barely audible. "One step at a time. You've made it this far... don't stop now..."

The sound of my footsteps against the cracked earth echoed faintly in the barren landscape. It was the only sound in the silent, barren wasteland. The wind carried the faint scent of sulfur. The environment was already harsh, and the smell of sulfur made it even worse….

"This place better has something worth finding," I said while wiping the sweat from my face once more. "Or I swear, I'm coming back to haunt whoever made this world..."

Just as I was about to take another step, a strange sound reached my ears—a low rumble, faint, but it was growing louder with each passing second, and the ground was also shaking lightly…

"What now?!" I said, groaning.

I squinted at the horizon and tried to find the source of the noise. That's when I saw it—a massive wall of dust rolling across the barren field. It was dark and ominous, devouring the landscape as it approached…

"Now what th….?!" I exclaimed, my eyes wide in shock...

The storm was unlike anything I had ever seen. The ground shook faintly beneath my feet. The rumbling grew louder and more intense as the storm approached near me. It wasn't the storm that was causing the rumbling; something else was causing it…

I narrowed my eyes, trying to peer deeper into the heart of the storm. Then I saw it. Emerging from the cracked earth were enormous worm-like creatures with massive bodies. They emerged to the surface and then disappeared back into the ground again…

They were monstrous in size—easily a kilometre long. They had segmented, chitinous bodies which were glinting in the sun's light. Each segment was larger than a building, and their height towered at least as high as a 20-story skyscraper. They had massive circular mouths with razor-sharp teeth…

"Oh, hell no…" I whispered, taking an instinctive step back.

One of the creatures emerged fully from the ground and opened its massive, circular mouth filled with rows of jagged, razor-sharp teeth. One of the monsters suddenly roared. It was a deep, guttural roar that reverberated through the air. The monster's roar sent a chill down my spine….

"NOPE! NOPE! NOPE!" I shouted, spinning on my heel, and started running with all my might.

My heart pounded in my chest as I ran. Since my body wasn't healed fully, every muscle screamed in pain as I tried to run. But I didn't dare slow down. Behind me, the ground shook violently as the monstrous worms tunneled through the earth. Their massive forms sent shockwaves through the ground with every movement…

"Why is it always something?!" I yelled while gasping for breath as I ran. "A giant sun? Heat that wants to kill me? And now, WHAT EVER THE FUCK THIS IS?!"

I glanced over my shoulder to look back. My eyes widened in horror as one of the worms emerged from the ground directly behind me. The monster opened its mouth and revealed its rows of serrated teeth that could easily crush a building…

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" I screamed, pushing my legs to move faster.

The wind from the approaching storm howled around me, and the dust blinded my vision…

"Who needs this much sand?!" I shouted. I started coughing as I accidentally inhaled a mouthful of dust. "This isn't a planet…it's a fucking death trap!!!"

The rumbling grew louder with each second. The ground beneath me trembled so violently that I stumbled and fell and landed hard on my hands and knees. I winced in pain… But then my eyes fell on the monster that was getting closer to eat me…

"Get up, Shin!!!" I shouted at myself, scrambling to my feet. "Come on, move! Don't let it catch you!"

I pushed myself up from the ground. I tried to run faster. My lungs felt like they were on fire as I sucked in the hot, dusty air. One of the worms breached ahead of me. Its massive body twisted in the air like a grotesque serpent…

"You've gotta be kidding me!" I yelled, skidding to a stop.

The worm crashed back into the ground, and the impact from it sent a shockwave that nearly knocked me off my feet. I turned sharply while running in the opposite direction…

"Think, Shin, think!!!" I muttered between gasps for air. "How do you outrun something that's literally the size of a skyscraper?!"

The worms' guttural roars were deafening. My body screamed in protest, but I forced my legs to run faster…

Straight ahead, through the haze of the swirling dust, I saw it… a rocky mountain, jagged and imposing, rising like a sanctuary in the barren wasteland…

"Come on, Shin!!!" I muttered to myself, my voice shaking. "Mountains mean rocks, and rocks mean there should be a cave, and that means... hopefully not getting eaten!!!"

I sprinted toward the mountain, my heart pounding like a war drum. Behind me, the worms roared, their enormous bodies tunnelling through the earth with terrifying speed…

As I reached the base of the mountain, my eyes darted frantically, searching for any opening. Finally, I saw it… A narrow cave entrance, half-hidden by fallen rocks…

"There!!!" I shouted while pointing at the cave entrance and ran straight towards the cave opening...

I ran inside the cave, skidding across the rough stone floor as I scrambled to get as far inside as possible. The walls were cool compared to the burning heat outside. My breaths came in ragged gasps as I pressed my back against the wall, listening for any sign of the worms…

The ground outside shook violently as one of the massive creatures emerged outside the cave. Its guttural roar reverberated through the air. Dust and small rocks rained down from the cave ceiling, and I instinctively covered my head to protect myself…

"Oh, come on!!!" I hissed while glancing upward. "Please don't collapse. Please don't collapse!!!"

The worm's roar only grew louder as it slithered closer to the cave, and its massive form cast a shadow over the entrance…

"Okay, Shin!!!" I whispered, my voice trembling. "Time for some divine intervention." I clasped my hands together in mock prayer. "Dear, whatever god is in charge of this alien death planet, I swear I'll never complain about this hellish planet again if you just make this thing go away!!!"

The worm stopped just outside the cave, its circular mouth bristling with rows of jagged teeth. I froze, holding my breath as it sniffed the air…

"Please don't see me...." I muttered under my breath. "I'm just a harmless... space traveler... not worth the calories…"

For a moment, it seemed as though the worm would enter the cave. Its massive head loomed closer, and the shadow swallowed the entrance as the ground shook beneath its weight…

"Dear alien god…" I whispered, squeezing my eyes shut. "Just help me this one time!"

The worm lingered for a few moments before letting out a guttural roar and slamming its body into the ground outside. The impact sent another rain of dust and pebbles falling down from the cave ceiling, but the worm eventually turned away…

I peeked out of the cave cautiously, my heart still racing. The massive creature disappeared beneath the ground, the tremors fading as it tunneled further and further away…

"I... I think it's gone…" I muttered, exhaling a shaky breath. I slumped against the cool stone wall, my legs trembling. "Never thought I'd be grateful for a cave…"

After a few minutes of silence, I slowly emerged from the cave. My footsteps echoed faintly in the cave. I peered out cautiously and scanned the barren landscape for any sign of the monstrous worms…

The dust storm was no longer there, and the wind had died down to a faint breeze. The open field stretched endlessly before me. It was empty and quiet, and the oppressive heat once again dominated the atmosphere…

"Alright, Shin," I said to myself, stepping out of the cave. "Let's pray that shit doesn't appear again…"

I glanced back at the jagged mountain behind me, its towering presence a stark reminder of how close I'd come to being worm food…

"Thanks for not collapsing..." I said while patting the rocky wall.

The silence felt peaceful after the chaos of the chase. I wiped the sweat from my face and squinted at the horizon…

"Okay..." I muttered, placing my hands on my hips. "No more running. No more giant worms. Let's just... find some water or food or anything that could give a little hope…

I took a deep breath and started walking again...

As I walked through the barren landscape, my legs ached, and my throat parched. Five days... Five grueling days of walking under the scorching sun, avoiding death by alien monsters, and cursing this godforsaken planet…

During my journey I had narrowly avoided some massive bird-like creature with talons that looked like they could slice a mountain in two, sidestepped some suspiciously glowing puddles that screamed "radioactive," and outrun another dust storm. This planet clearly had a grudge against me…

"Five days and not a single sign of life that doesn't want to kill me… Not even aliens…" I muttered to myself. "Come on, Shin. You survived five years floating in space. You can handle longer…."

I was starting to believe the entire planet was just an endless desert when I finally saw a line of green on the horizon. It was faint but unmistakable…

"A forest?" I whispered, squinting at the distant trees. "Oh, please don't be a mirage. I swear if this is another trick, I'm punching this planet..."

As I got closer, the details of the forest came into view, and I stopped in my tracks. The trees were enormous, at least several hundred meters tall, and their trunks were as wide as skyscrapers. Their bark shimmered faintly...

The leaves were even stranger. They weren't green but a vibrant mix of blues and purples, their edges glowing faintly like they were lit from within. Some trees bore enormous, bulbous fruits that pulsed faintly, almost like they were breathing…

"Okay…" I said aloud, taking a cautious step closer. "Definitely not like Earth…"

I reached out to touch one of the trees. I ran my hand over the smooth, metallic bark... It was cool to the touch. I could also feel faint vibrations coming from the tree beneath my fingertips...

"Are you alive, or... are you just pretending to be a tree?" I asked the tree, my voice dripping with suspicion.

TO BE CONTINUED