Erik didn't know how long he had lost consciousness but he remembered WHEN he lost it : when that blind light appeared out of nowhere.
"Damn that man..." he thought to himself as he slowly used his arms to rise from the ground.
However, he quickly noticed that the ground under his hands felt… strange. Blinking a few times, he didn't take long for him to see that he was standing on a grassy ground and after a quick look around, he was shocked by delighted to find himself surrounded by trees, bushes and grasses. In the background, he could see high mountains whose tips were covered in snow.
Was he in a forest ? It seemed to be because there was NO WAY, he would be in a city with the amount of trees he saw.
A smile grew on his face as memories of his childhood passed through his mind and he couldn't help but laughing loudly with amusement….before freezing.
Why ?
Because his laugh sounded deep and cavernous… so unlike how it used to be.
"What the hell ?" Erik asked himself in shock before quickly pressing his hands against his mouth with a look of surprise.
"Wait a minute, is that my voice ?!" Erik asked again with shock but then shrugged
"Alright..."
However, his shock returned when he caught a glimpse of his hands : they were gray in colors and he had dark blue ice-like claws instead of fingers. As he looked further up his arms, he saw that they were covered in white fur…
"WHAT HAPPENED TO ME ?!" he roared in panic and the sound of his roar frightened some birds who flew away from their nests in panic.
Looking around in panic, he was delighted to see a river, peacefully standing a few meters away from him and quickly rushed toward it. Erik approached the shore and he took deep breath before looking down. What he saw then, made him drop his… jaws in shock.
Instead of a muscular young man of 17, with blond hair and blue eyes, he saw that something else was looking at him.
"Is this really me ?" Erik asked to himself in shock and amazement as he stared his reflection.
Staring back at him was a massive Humanoid Bear covered in shaggy white fur (except at his hands and feet which were gray in color) and had glowing blue eyes. The Beast also had runic inscriptions on his upper arms and over his left eye, as well as lightning bolt patterns on his torso.
It also had what looked armored plates on its thighs and the fur on his head and neck is fashioned into a large ponytail in the back while two long braids were draped in front of his shoulders. They were decorated with metal ornaments which also featured glowing blue rune.
He looked like the Creature on the card : Volibear.
"It worked… I can't believe it ! I got reincarnated !" he whispered in amazement as he stared at his body.
He was very muscular and he had never felt so strong before. Erik felt like he could lift mountains ! Flexing his arms, Erik marveled at his biceps and couldn't help but smirking : he will definitely enjoy this. Then he looked at his claws and couldn't help but whistling in amazement at them : they sure looked sharp and strong.
Wanting to test his theory, he hit the nearest tree...and it was cut into several pieces.
"Daaaaaaammmmn..." Erik said with wide eyes of shock and amazement.
However, his amazement was short as he noticed that the area was slowly darkening and after a quick look at the sky, Erik understood that dusk is slowly falling.
"Alright… let's look for a nice place to sleep in..." Erik said to himself with a nod before entering the woods.
It wasn't exactly difficult to walk on his hind legs, but for some reason he felt like he shouldn't. Was it due to the bear part of his new body? Or was that what he thought he had to do because he was literally a bear ?
"Should Itry it?" He thought to himself as he stopped moving to consider this.
Deciding that it wouldn't hurt to try, Erik then went on all four and, instantly, he felt better. After all, walking on four legs was bears' natural way of getting around.
"Okay, Erik,you can do it… Youhave seen bears before so you know how to do it… At least, I hopeI do..." Our hero thought to himself as he hesitantly moved both his right front and rear leg forward.
When he moved his left front and rear leg, he almost fell on his side but quickly caught himself.
"That was close… let's try this again..." Erik grumbled to himself before moving his right front and rear leg forward.
He took a deep breath before moving his other legs and after a few moments he almost fell, he managed to walk properly. Sure he had a lumbering walk but it was the Bears' way !
"I did it !"he roared with happiness, proud of his achievement as he raised his head high with a proud grin.
As he walked through a world of trees, bushes and grasses, Erik's nose caught the scent of the forest and it was amazing. So many scents at once, all belonging either to a plant or to an animal... It was intoxicating but not unpleasant.
Sadly, he remembered his current 'mission' and reluctantly focused on the matter at hands (or is it paws ?) : finding a shelter for the coming night. Shaking his head, he started to look around, either for threats (even if deep down, he knew it was unnecessary because of him being… a fucking Bear God) or for a place to call shelter.
However, a little sound caught his attention and saw a squirrel climbing up a tree a few meters away from him. Erik couldn't help but staring at it as it was about to enter its own den but then, the rodent stopped moving. It then turned its head to look at our hero and for a moment, the two of them stared at one another… until the squirrel bowed his head at him ?!
Erik blinked in confusion and because of this, didn't noticed the little squirrel entering its den until the tip of its fluffy tail disappeared inside completely. Shaking his head to regain his senses, our hero then resumed his search for a shelter and, needless to say that it took him at least TWO FUCKING HOURS before he found the perfect spot.
Having found nothing in the forest, Erik headed towards the nearest mountain and it was there, after a few minutes of climbing, that he found the ideal shelter to sleep: it was a large and deep cave. It was large enough for him to be able to stand on his hind-legs and deep enough to be away from the entrance.
It was a bit dark but it was not a really big problem for Erik. The rocks were smooth looking and a bit damp, but again it was not a problem for a bear.
"Perfect!" Erik thought to himself with a nod as he entered the cave on all four. He thanked whatever deity for having found this cave as the moon was slowly rising in the sky, announcing the beginning of the night.
He headed towards the deeper part of the cave and almost instinctively, the Humanoid White Bear huddled on the ground, making himself comfortable despite the hardness of the ground and the humidity. Opening his mouth to release a loud yawn, Erik then slowly closed his eyes before peacefully waiting for sleep to take him in its gentle embrace. However, before he completely lost himself, his last thought was about :
"Tomorrow will be eventful…"
00/(Next day)/00
Erik woke up at dawn and after stretching his limbs, he began to organize his day: first, he must find something to make his new house more... comfortable. Then, once this work was accomplished, he would begin his training.
What training ?
He wanted to get used to his new body, which was much more massive than his old one, by training: he had to learn to move like a bear, eat like a bear and fight like a bear.
Once that is done, he will focus on how to use the divine powers of the Creature he has become.
The first part of the plan was pretty easy as, thanks to his father (may he rest in peace), he knew how bears lives. Fighting was also pretty easy, because not only he had seen bears fight before, but in his previous life, he had been a decent fighter. Perhaps not the best but a good one.
Fishing had been child-play ! Why ? Because he managed to catch a large trout on his own ! With such claws and fangs, it was easier to grasp the scaly skin of a fish than with ordinary human hands.
Running had been another matter at first but after THREE FUCKING HOURS, he managed to run a few meters WITHOUT making an idiot out of himself by tangling his paws. He swore that he had seen some deers laughing at his failures.
Later, he had tested his new strength by punching a very large boulder...and had been shocked by the fact he had destroyed it with a single punch ! While testing his body, he got to further analyze it and had concluded that he, at least, stood around 13 feet tall in height ! He was literally bigger than a regular Polar Bear !
Right now, he was trying to use the powers of Volibear and so far, nothing. Erik tried to exert something by concentrating on his body… but nothing happened.
And it was frustrating him pretty quickly.
"Damn it ! Why isn't it working ?!" Erik roared in anger, ignoring the birds flying out of the trees with panic.
For the past hour, he had been doing many poses in hope of being able to summon lightings or any other magical stuffs Volibear could use, but again it was a big failure.
Filled with frustration and anger, Erik growled, unaware of the fact they were glowing brighter, and angrily slammed his right fist into the ground with a roar of rage. When his fist made contact with the ground, it caused tiny earthquakes while bluish lightning could be seen coming out of his fist and burning the grass a little.
Erik froze at the sight of not only the fist shaped hole on the ground but the burning area around it as well before slowly turning his furry head to stare at his fist with wide eyes of amazement.
"Did I get it right ?" he asked to himself before trying to recall the feeling he had when the lightnings happened.
It worked but partially.
"Wait a minute, did not that old man told me that Volibear was the physical Manifestation of Storms ? If it is the case, then..." Erik then thought to himself with a frown before closing his eyes.
Soon enough, blue lightings started to surround his body and when he opened his eyes, they were glowing with powers. Above him, the sky, which was clear a few seconds ago, was now filled with dark clouds... and we could see lightings through them. Erik then opened his jaws to release a thunderous roar that echoed throughout the area, scaring many animals in the process.
"RRRROOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRR !"
Just as Erik stopped roaring, the sky cleared again and his body was no longer covered with blue lightnings.
"Heck yeah, I did it !" Our hero said with excitement and pleasure after a moment of shock.
At this moment, like a child, the Humanoid White Bear started to celebrate his victory by dancing.
Who wouldn't in such a situation ?
After five minutes of dancing, Erik stopped when his round ears caught a sound in the distance : it sounded like... hooves ?
"Probably deers..." Erik thought to himself as he was about to leave his current area to head back to his lair.
However, he barely took a step that his stomach started growling. Covering it with his massive clawed hands, Erik sighed deeply before nodding his head in acceptance
"Fine… let's eat first… Been a while since I had deers anyway..." Our hero said to himself with a chuckle before using his ears and nose to track the herbivores.
(To be continue…)