Chapter 2 Born As Prey

Kael's POV

The glowing eyes kept staring at me from the darkness.

I froze.

My heartbeat pounded violently against my chest as low growls echoed around the cave. The smell alone was enough to make me sick.

What the hell is this place?

Slowly, I pushed myself backward across the cold stone floor. Something wet squished beneath my palm. I looked down.

Bones. Human bones.

My stomach twisted violently. The creatures in the darkness moved closer.

Small figures emerged from the shadows one after another, illuminated faintly by cracks of moonlight leaking through the cave walls.

Green skin. Sharp ears. Crooked yellow teeth. My breath caught in my throat.

Goblins? No… No way.

I stared at them blankly as they sniffed the air around me like wild animals. One of them scratched its stomach while another picked at bloody meat stuck between its teeth.

This had to be a nightmare. A hallucination. Maybe I was still trapped beneath the subway rubble. Maybe I was dying. That had to be it.

One of the goblins suddenly leaned close to my face and sniffed me aggressively.

Its breath smelled so horrible I nearly gagged.

Then it grinned.

“New meat awake.”

The voice sounded rough and broken, almost animal-like. My eyes widened.

It spoke. Barely. But it spoke.

Another goblin snorted loudly.

“Small. Weak.”

The others laughed in strange screeching noises.

I tried to move away instinctively, but the moment I did, my arm entered the faint moonlight.

Green skin. Tiny claws. My breathing stopped.

No. No no no…

My shaking hands grabbed my own face desperately. Rough skin. Sharp teeth. Pointed ears.

My pulse thundered in my ears.

“What…?”

Even my voice sounded wrong. Hoarse.

Raspy. Inhuman. Panic exploded inside me.

I scrambled backward frantically until my back slammed against the cave wall.

The goblins burst into laughter.

“Funny runt.”

“Scared runt.”

My chest tightened painfully. This wasn’t real. It couldn’t be real.

I looked down at myself again.

Small body. Green skin. Dirty claws.

I remembered my death. The subway.

The collapse. The darkness.

Then… This.

A horrible realization slowly crawled into my mind. I died.

And somehow… I reincarnated into this nightmare.

A goblin.

The thought made my stomach churn violently..Out of every possible thing…

Why this? Why a monster?

The goblins eventually lost interest in me and moved away toward the center of the cave where chunks of raw meat were scattered across the ground.

I forced myself to breathe slowly.

Think.

Panicking wouldn’t help..I needed to understand what was happening.

The cave was massive, dimly lit by strange glowing mushrooms growing along the walls.

Dozens of goblins crowded the area, fighting over scraps of food and growling aggressively at each other.

Some were injured. Some looked starved.

The stronger goblins shoved weaker ones aside constantly.

No rules. No kindness. Only survival.

One larger goblin suddenly kicked a smaller one across the cave for trying to grab meat first.

The smaller goblin crashed into the wall with a cry. Nobody cared.

The larger goblin simply continued eating while the weaker one curled on the ground whimpering.

I stared silently. Even monsters had hierarchies. And judging from the way the others glanced at me… I was at the very bottom.

A piece of meat suddenly landed near me.

Several goblins lunged toward it instantly.

Without thinking, I grabbed it too.

The moment my fingers touched the meat, another goblin snarled viciously and slammed into me. Pain shot through my ribs as I hit the ground.

“Mine!”

Before I could react, sharp claws scratched across my arm. I gasped painfully.

The goblin ripped the meat away and shoved me hard against the stone floor again. Laughter echoed around me.

Nobody helped. Nobody cared.

I clenched my fists tightly. Even here… I was still weak. Still disposable.

The realization burned worse than the scratches on my arm.

I slowly sat up, breathing heavily.

The goblin who attacked me sneered mockingly before walking away with the meat clenched in its claws.

Rage twisted inside my chest.

Back on Earth, I was weak because life crushed me..But here?

Here strength decided everything.

And weak creatures only existed to suffer.

A soft sound suddenly pulled me from my thoughts. Whimpering. I turned slightly.

The smaller goblin that got kicked earlier sat against the wall nearby, clutching its injured arm. Nobody approached it.

It looked terrified. Hungry. Abandoned.

Something about it felt painfully familiar.

The goblin noticed me staring and flinched.

Then cautiously, it pushed a tiny piece of dried meat toward me..My eyes widened slightly.

Why would it…

“Eat,” it muttered quietly.

Its speech was broken, but understandable. I stared at the tiny meat strip. Then at the goblin. Even after being beaten… it still shared food.

Something inside my chest tightened strangely.

“…Thanks.”

The goblin blinked at me in surprise.

Maybe because I spoke clearly. Or maybe because goblins didn’t normally say thank you.

I slowly ate the dried meat despite the horrible taste. The cave suddenly shook violently. Dust fell from the ceiling.

The goblins froze instantly. Then chaos erupted. Panicked screeches filled the cave as every goblin turned toward the entrance.

I frowned.

What is happening?

A deep horn blast echoed from outside.

Then came distant shouting.mHuman voices.

My body stiffened immediately.

“Burn the nest!”

“Kill every last one!”

Fear spread across the goblins instantly.

Some grabbed crude weapons while others ran deeper into the cave.

Then I smelled it. Smoke. My heartbeat quickened.

No…

Firelight suddenly flickered near the cave entrance.

The goblin beside me whimpered in terror.

Another horn blast echoed. Then screaming followed..Real screaming.

Not goblin screeches.

Pain. Death. The sounds grew closer rapidly..The goblins around me panicked completely now.

I slowly stood. My instincts screamed at me to run..But my legs wouldn’t move.

Heavy footsteps echoed from outside.

Steel armor

clinked loudly.

Then a voice shouted from the entrance,

“Found another chamber!”

The goblins shrieked in fear.

And for the first time since waking in this nightmare… true terror crawled down my spine.

The humans were here.