Infection ch1

It came through the Rift.

Slowly and cautiously, it rose on its hind legs, sniffing the air. It could smell others, living things that it could feast upon.

Its black lips soon became covered with drool at the thought of fresh meat.

With the moon glowing in the background, the creature threw its head high, howling.

The monstrous release echoed through the blue battle ground, vibrated against the pillars as it stretched out across the land.

The hunt had begun.

xxxxxx

Cloud paused in his stride, listening as the sound he heard seconds ago left his ears. He waited, listening, but heard nothing.

He knew in this world there were the gods, their pawns, the manikins, and the moogles. He had no fear of any of them, although there was a slight concern if he came across one particular harmonic warrior. He prayed it wasn't her, and then continued on his way. The Lunar Subterrane wasn't a place to often greet guests, hence why Cloud chose this plane. He had hoped for some peace and quiet, but it seemed there was someone else present.

Or rather, something else.

As Cloud continued to walk, he felt the hair rise on the back of his neck as his ears once more collected the sound of something running in his general direction.

It wasn't the heavy boots of a soldier, such as himself. It wasn't the clanking of armor, nor the rustling of fabric. It was the sharp whish noise of hair in the wind.

A loud howl screamed across the plane. Cloud jerked to a halt, snagged his sword from his back, and whirled around. Glowing blue eyes whipping back and forth as he scanned the area, his hands tightened on their grip of the Buster Sword.

Another menacing howl broke through the silence, and this time Cloud saw its source.

He truly wished he hadn't afterward.

Standing in the gap between two rock pillars was a large, horrendous creature. Shaggy black fur covered its form from head to foot, and pointed ears stuck out on both sides of its square head. A long muzzle shot out of its face, fangs dripping with drool, black lips curled into a snarl.

It had large, black claws at the end of huge paws shaped like human hands, and it stood on two muscular legs, reaching almost as high as Chaos standing.

The beast growled again, flexing its claws at Cloud.

With every part of him telling him to run, Cloud calmly positioned his sword in front of himself, eyes glaring back at the red, pupil-less eyes of the beast.