I Tame Radiant Beasts!

"What is that?"

The creature zoomed sideways, wings like that of a massive eagle sliced through the wind, and gusts of wind zoomed across the terrain, beating against Mike.

He broke from the trance and reflexively strengthened his footing, arcing his arms around his face. Despite the pressure that came from the creature's flight, Mike was hellbent on catching sight of the creature.

The creature was oddly humanoid, and was of pale blue and white colors, both colors appearing like they were liberally splashed on the creature's body. The face however, was of almost equal halves of both colors. It was massive, about twice as tall and wide as Mike, and Mike was no lanky guy.

Its legs were massive, and they bent sharply at the knees. They were adorned with blue and white feathers.

The chains paid no heed to this creature's eccentric beauty and though it was swift despite its size, the chains were faster, and they caught its legs, wrapping around it. They hastily twisted around the body of this beast, almost fully encompassing it, and there was a bright red glow causing Mike to look away.

When he opened his eyes, the creature was no more, and he met the chains retracting till they were entirely gone.

Mike stood there, befuddled, his eyes unblinking and wide open.

"What the fuck just happened?!"

He looked across his body, eyeing his arms, legs and torso, yet, there was no trace of the chains ever sprouting from him. No breakage, no scars or wounds. It was like he hadn't witnessed what had just happened.

In his state of confusion, his stomach rumbled. All illusion of his current existence vanished once the pangs hit. The events that had happened so far were too detailed to be a dream, though he was still skeptical.

He continued his walk between the trees, stretching his neck, hoping to catch sight of edible fruits or berries.

He reached for his pockets hoping he had stashed something in there, but there was nothing.

He heard a nearby rustling of leaves and caught sight of a berry bush. Some little rodent looking creatures were about it, having the hanging red berries for themselves.

Mike scuttled to the bush, tripping as he got there, and scaring away the rodents. He got up and hastily helped himself to berries.

"Oh my…" His pupils dilated as the intensely sweet taste reached his taste buds. And it wasn't just the immense sweetness, there was something else, Mike couldn't put his fingers on it, and it didn't help that he was preoccupied with stuffing as many as he could into his belly.

The berries replenished his energy greatly–consuming it was invigorating, and he could feel the influx of a foreign energy though he took it as being merely intoxicated.

He stuffed dozens inside of him, staining his yellow shirt and shorts. Suddenly, it was a struggle to keep his eyes open, and before he could do anything else, he fell right there–in the middle of thick roots and dead leaves, and fell to sleep.

"Oi! What are you doing? Do you want to wake up the thing?"

"It looks tasty, and look at that smooth soft hairless skin. I'll take the skin."

"Wh…What?" Mike stammered, his eyes still heavy as he sought to open them.

"It made a sound!"

"Oh please…"

Suddenly, Mike stood up and turned to see two thick bearded creatures, one each by his flanks.

They were of little height, but they made for it with their thick frames. With noses large like little potatoes, they were equipped with thick hairy arms, and their hairy faces weren't a least bit friendly, and yet, they looked human.

They were fair-skinned like he was and just as shaped, except that they were a hundred times more hairy.

Mike turned back and forth between them, trying to be certain that he was not seeing things. The invigorating effect of the berries had worn off, and he felt like he slept with the weight of two men on him.

His body ached, he stank and his clothes were riddled with dirt.

He slowly got on his feet, and the short humanoid creatures watched, their gaze fixed on him.

"Where is it going?" One asked its partner.

"It is trying to run."

Mike couldn't understand the words they exchanged, it wasn't a lick of English. Even with his sluggish mind, Mike could tell that they bore no good intentions for him, and wanted to make a run for it.

"Where are you going?!" One yelled aggressively once Mike turned, and that was his cue to make a run for it.

The ground in front of him shifted and a thick wall of earth sprouted in his front. He struck it hard, and bounced back, twirling as he sought to maintain his footing.

One made a rhythmic movement with its arms and a jaw-dropping thing happened next. A powerful current burst from its arms, moving back and forth in ceaseless rhythm, a violent force contained and controlled.

Mike was almost out of it, he was just a punch away from being knocked out, however, when the gush of water came, his body moved reflexively, he swiped his right arm and a violent gust of wind thrust out of it, countering the water current coming his way.

"It too can tap into radiance. Impossible! I sense no such energy from it."

The wall blocking Mike's path came down, and Mike slipped and fell, but hands caught him before he struck the soil.

"He looks like us too. Perhaps we were harsh in our judgement to eat him."

"Perhaps, the gods would not forgive us if we consumed a radiant."

"You large fellow are coming with us, let's show you our brothers and sisters."

Mike didn't understand any of the words they spoke but he couldn't sense their hostility anymore, strangely, they seemed amicable all of a sudden.

They took his arms on their shoulders and helped him walk. Whatever they had planned, he was too weak to resist anyways, and so, he simply let go