My Werepanther System: Starting with Nine Lives

Rex's life on the streets forced him to pay attention to detail. In schoolyard fights he always had an eye out for the metallic glint of guns and knives between the soft fabric of clothes. In alleyways he always paid attention to the shape of shadows to find who hid there before they found him. 

Now, his finely tuned skill was being used against him. His attention to detail was only allowing him to see in depth how outmanned and outgunned he was. 

They were made of sand. At least that was how they started. Undefined and homogenous. Clones following a simple command. But as they came closer— like a heat-mirage in reverse, they became more real. 

The sand smoothened and solidified into skin. All varying shades of dark browns like the finest leathers and milk chocolates. They were huge with ferocious Lion heads. Even from their shortening distance he could tell they were all seven feet and up with massive heavy boned bodies. 

The earth shook. The sands vibrated. 

In their hands, some wielded weapons— swords like their mother goddess or spears with glowing blades and chained maces so heavy they were seemingly crushing the bounds of their reality. 

Rex looked at the half-goblin clinging to his leg and snarling defensively. 

The horde was only growing. 

The goddesses raised her other hand and another hurricane spawned. From the twisting dunes and spirals, sandstone skyscrapers and community villages that were both advanced and prehistoric in aesthetic rose. Atop the rooftops and from the windows, more WereLions wielding slingshots and manning massive turret contraptions took aim. 

"You're not supposed to win this. Not in a fight. Not the normal way." Rex thought aloud as the titanous goddess continued to bring in her world of unanimous cooperation and togetherness. "It's just like before, as soon as I start playing the game how it's supposed to be played, it's over." 

They inched closer. 

Arrows and boulders covered in fire filled the sky, shrinking down Rex's survival time by large portions. 

"I mean— sure, I know my death isn't permanent….. at least that's what I think, but I could get more rewards if I take this seriously. So how do I crack this? I passed the war domain by existing in my truth. As a warrior— a hunter. So…. The guardians domain is passed he same way. I need to reflect my environment to control it."

Rex looked back down at the half-goblin who hid slightly behind him. Not close enough to touch, but every inch of his body language told Rex he would if he felt comfortable. 

"Ok….. I can be the guardian." Rex stepped completely in front of the boy and took a defensive stance. 

"...."

"..."

An arrow fell and sank into his shoulder with the weight of a support beam. 

He hit the ground and nearly sank under the sand. The half-goblin stumbled backward in fear as the rest of the arrow rain fell. 

Rex cursed himself as he exploded to his feet despite the weight of the arrow and pounced on the boy. 

With his smaller frame hidden beneath Rex, he turned and roared. 

The front half of his body exploded with jungle-fire. Hotter than he'd ever managed as it slowly shifted from dark purple to hot-pink. 

The arrows were turned to ash as they approached him. The heavier ones punctured his chest and legs. He held on— feeling the goddess's eyes on him. 

"This is the test." Rex was sure of it. 

"A guardian— a protector is scarcely unscathed." The goddess said.

Rex pushed his limits— feeling the exhaustion of his fading mana hit.

[10% Mana Remaining…]

Rex's fire flickered out and a spear fell, pinning him to the sand through his stomach beside the boy. 

"I'm not Tezcatlipoca. I won't be so easily persuaded. You can't show me you understand the test and move on. You have to show me you live the life of the lesson I'm teaching. You know how to appear as a guardian. But are you a protector? Do you recognize your pride— your responsibility over them?"

"…..erck!— yes!" Rex snarled in pain as the spear plunged further through him, driving him back into the sand. 

The half-goblin grabbed Rex's hand and pulled. 

He wasn't nearly strong enough. 

"If you are the leader, it's up to you." The goddess said. 

As if the half-goblin boy suddenly understood their language, he let go of Rex's hand and crouched next to him. 

"If you are a guardian, you do your job despite your physical condition. Warrior….pfft— war is nothing if you aren't fighting for what you believe in— who you care for." The goddess who Rex still didn't know the name of said. 

"I prefer the other one." Rex swam in waves of pain as the spear began to twist.

The WereLions were less than a mile away. 

"Are you a guardian, Kalico Rex?"

"Yes." 

"No you're not." 

"Yes. I. Am." Rex grabbed the spear with two hands and pulled it free of his stomach. 

"YOU ARE NOT!" 

The sands rose up in the shape of a lions maw and swallowed Rex. 

He took hold of the half-goblin. 

The last thing the goddess saw was their snarling faces— nearly identical. 

She smiled as the lions maw made of sand turned to purple glass before exploding as fire burned within. 

Rex was left standing with the half-goblin boy on his back— new in form. 

Golden fur covered him and his eyes burned golden. The only remnants of his old form were shown in the black fur of his back and shoulders where Jaguar spots glimmered purple under the sun. 

He was bigger. Nearly ten feet tall with hulking jaws and and even more hulking body. 

The WereLions dematerialized into golden glowing sand once more. 

"If I wasn't a guardian— then what would I be doing here?" Rex asked. 

DING! 

[Panther's Blessing Gained!] 

[Bastet's Blessing Gained!] 

[New Element Unlocked!] 

[Solar-Sand] 

[New Werepanther Form Unlocked, (Anhurian Werelion)] 

[New Aspect Wielder Variant Unlocked, (Ahnhurian/Bastetian Werelion)]

Rex held his hand out, watching as the dematerialized sand beasts flowed into the palm of his hand. 

The sand morphed into a spinning ball. Bits of the debris within burned like the sun— absorbing its heat and empowering him. 

"This is….. incredible." Rex said. 

"This is only a fraction of the power I can give you." Bastet said. 

Rex looked up and found the titanous goddess was now his size. Standing much closer to him. 

He hissed reflexively. 

"You passed my test— but not on your own. I brought you into my domain because I have a love for my kin. Because you need protection." 

Rex was confused, "So I didn't actually pass?" 

"Let me answer your question. If you weren't a guardian, then why would you be here? Simple. Because you can be. You're the last one who can be. You and that boy on your back. You weren't supposed to find my domain yet. You skipped a few steps when you changed that boy. You took it upon yourself to protect him from the dangers that he once lived in. But let's not kid ourselves, your motives were selfish first and foremost." 

Rex nodded, "Being selfish is the reason I'm here." 

"But it won't be the reason you remain." Bastet replied. 

"This power is strongest when it's shared. Expanded upon." Bastet crouched low and held out a hand. "With that being said, a forced bond is only so strong."

The boy jumped off Rex's back and hesitantly walked over to Bastet. 

"Our kind is perceptive. He can feel that your love is conditional. That's not what this kit needs." 

"Yea, he needs parents. But we don't have that." Rex said. 

"You are his parent." Bastet said. 

"Uhhhh—" 

"You see why I said you are no guardian?" Bastet snarled at him as she ran her hands through the boys curly hair.

Rex's shoulders slumped if only for technically failing his second domain. The only reason he passed is because he was in over his head and Bastet was protective of her kind. Which happened to be shrunk down to two individuals…..

"A loophole? Are you kidding me?" 

"But like I said." Bastet explained, "It is possible for us to be what we are not. I see your potential. You've never felt love, but it's those very beings who hold the most capacity for it. And through love— protection, we evolve." 

She waved him over. 

Rex walked over, moving with an odd gait due to him still adjusting to his massive size. 

She pointed at the ground behind the boy. 

Rex took a knee. 

The boy turned. His green spotted skin and curly hair shone more clearly than ever under the sun. The same went for his blue eyes. Rex wondered how he got in the jungles as a slave. Only partially though since he knew the basic premise of the story surrounding the boy's origins.

There was no love there either. 

He felt that familiarity again. 

"…..Rex." The half-goblin said his name with an accent he couldn't place. 

Rex looked from Bastet to the boy. 

"It wasn't me."

"The goblins?" 

"He had to learn passively. Watching and stealing bits of info for himself whenever he could. Fitting for his goblin heritage." Bastet said. 

"Yes. My name is Rex." 

The boy nodded. "What is a name?" 

"It's….. uhh…. It's like a title. I'm Rex. The name is mine. It's my title. I am Rex." 

"What is my title, I am Rex?" The boy asked seriously. 

Bastet made a soft laugh sound. 

Rex ignored the small error to tackle the bigger issue, "I... we don't know your name."

The boy made a concerned face.

The response was crushing in a way Rex never considered. 

He thought them so similar. The same hunger for life and early life forged in trauma. 

But even then, they were nothing alike. Not really. 

Rex had an identity. A sense of self. People around him to grow and learn from. 

The boy he faced had a hybrid heritage that marked him as dead in two worlds. He had no name. No right to knowledge of any kind. He had to steal the very words from the mouthes of others just to grasp the concept of speech. And he had to live that way for decades. 

Alone. 

More alone than anyone Rex had ever known. 

"And I brought him into a war... I was gonna let him be babysat by a deadbeat panther….. and hang out on lunch breaks. What the fuck am I doing?"

Rex coughed in surprise as he found his eyes begin to water. 

Bastet nodded as if she watched the realization hit his— apparently smooth, brain.

Rex tried to wipe away the tears. 

"I'm good— it's just the sand." Rex said with a ball in his throat the size of a boulder. 

"Right." Bastet said.

The half-goblin turned to Bastet and pointed at Rex. 

"Tears."

"Mhm…"

"Pain." The boy said. 

"In here." Bastet pressed a claw against the boys heart.

"Food?" The boy suggested. 

Bastet shook her head, "Food won't help him." 

Rex collected himself, hitting his chest a couple times and letting out a throat clearing roar that made the boy jump once. 

"I….. we'll find you a name." Rex said confidently. 

The boy nodded. 

"We'll figure this out. And all my dinners and beds, I'll share with you. I was tripping but I get it now." 

The boy looked from Bastet to him, "What is share?" 

Rex punched the bridge of his snout, "Dude….. I just stopped crying. Please." 

Bastet stood up suddenly. 

"Time works differently here." Bastet said, "it's barely past midnight in your world. I suggest you take this extra time to get to know eachother. And test your new form." 

Rex stood. 

"Already, you've grown."

Bastet faded with the wind as she turned to sand.

Rex faced the boy. 

"We run. Together."